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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Moss Lake (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Moss Lake. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Moss Lake ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Moss Lake: Moss Lk.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Parishes/Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring parishes/counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next parish to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the parish to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring parishes/counties instead of the parish in which they lived:  their home parish contained property and probate records; the parish to the east contained birth and death records; the parish to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring parishes/counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Moss Lake is located in Calcasieu Parish.

To see how the shape of Louisiana's parishes may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of Calcasieu Parish: Beauregard, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Newton (TX) & Orange (TX).

Below are the parishes/counties that are near Moss Lake. For each of these parishes/counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Moss Lake:

  • Calcasieu Parish     (The home parish of Moss Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Moss Lake, with the one closest to Moss Lake listed first.
    • Carlyss
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Carlyss is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlyss
    • Prien
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Prien is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prien
    • Sulphur
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Greinwich Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Greinwich Village is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greinwich Village
    • Lake Charles
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Westlake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Edgerly
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Edgerly is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerly
    • Ararat
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Ararat is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
    • Moss Bluff
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Vinton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Vinton is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vinton <1>
    • Iowa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Iowa is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
    • Bell City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Dequincy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Beauregard Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Moss Lake, with the one closest to Moss Lake listed first.
    • Helme
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Helme is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helme
    • Ragley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Cameron Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Moss Lake, with the one closest to Moss Lake listed first.
    • Grand Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Grand Lake is located in Cameron Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
    • Hackberry
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Cameron
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Creole
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Creole is located in Cameron Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creole
  • Jefferson Davis Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Moss Lake, with the one closest to Moss Lake listed first.
    • Lacassine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Fenton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Fenton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <1>
  • Newton County (TX)
  • Orange County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Moss Lake, with the one closest to Moss Lake listed first.
    • Orange
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Orange is located in Orange County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,832 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orange <1>
    • Pinehurst
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Pinehurst is located in Orange County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehurst
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,959 people
    • West Orange
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Bridge City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Lemonville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Lemonville is located in Orange County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemonville
    • Orangefield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Moss Lake, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Moss Lake.

Cemeteries Near Moss Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Moss Lake.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Moss Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Moss Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Moss Lake, with the one closest to Moss Lake listed first.

  • Dutch Cove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Landry Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Benoit Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Mimosa - Pines South Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mimosa - Pines South Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mimosa - Pines South Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the southeast of Carlyss.
    • The Mimosa - Pines South Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mimosa - Pines Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #68231 <3>
  • Farqurar Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • H.J. Moss Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for H.J. Moss Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the H.J. Moss Cemetery is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the southwest of Sulphur.
    • The H.J. Moss Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Calcasieu Cemetery
    • Moss Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #68268 <3>
  • Burleson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Consolata Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Prien Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Roseland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Pujol Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (67 more) ...
    • Grand Lake Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake Cemetery
      • The Grand Lake Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Big Lake Cemetery
      • Grand Lake Community Cemetery
      • Hebert Cemetery
      • Herbert Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #67747 <3>
    • Perkins Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Orange Grove Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>

While we didn't find Moss Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Moss Lake.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Moss Lake, with the one closest to Moss Lake listed first.

  • Grand Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Grand Lake is located in Cameron Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
  • Hackberry
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Lake Charles
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Westlake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Edgerly
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Edgerly is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerly
  • Vinton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Vinton is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,211 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vinton <1>
  • Chloe
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Chloe is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chloe
  • Cameron
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Iowa
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Iowa is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
  • Echo
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Echo is located in Orange County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
  • Orange
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Orange is located in Orange County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,832 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orange <1>
  • Tulane
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Tulane is located in Orange County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulane

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Moss Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Moss Lake.

Newspapers Published in Moss Lake ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Moss Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Moss Lake, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Moss Lake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Moss Lake:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Moss Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<4>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Moss Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.