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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 Pontchartrain Shores (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 Pontchartrain Shores. 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 Pontchartrain Shores ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Pontchartrain Shores: Pontchartrain Shrs.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pontchartrain Shores. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pontchartrain Shores.

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 ...

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

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

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

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

Pontchartrain Shores is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson Parish: Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, Saint Charles, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Tammany & Tangipahoa.

Below are the parishes that are near Pontchartrain Shores. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pontchartrain Shores:

  • Jefferson Parish     (The home parish of Pontchartrain Shores)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontchartrain Shores, with the one closest to Pontchartrain Shores listed first.
    • Kenner
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Kenner is located in Jefferson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenner
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66,288 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenner <1>
    • Metairie
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Elmwood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • River Ridge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jefferson
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Harahan
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bridge City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Avondale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Waggaman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Westwego
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Harvey
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Marrero
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Lafourche Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontchartrain Shores, with the one closest to Pontchartrain Shores listed first.
    • Gheens
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Raceland Junction
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Raceland Junction is located in Lafourche Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raceland Junction
  • Orleans Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontchartrain Shores, with the one closest to Pontchartrain Shores listed first.
    • Milneburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Milneburg is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milneburg
    • Gentilly Terrace
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Gentilly Terrace is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentilly Terrace
    • Gentilly
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Gentilly is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentilly
    • New Orleans
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Pine Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Pine Village is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Village
    • Lake Catherine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Lake Catherine is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Catherine
  • Plaquemines Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontchartrain Shores, with the one closest to Pontchartrain Shores listed first.
    • Belle Chasse
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • English Turn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • English Turn is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Turn
    • Scarsdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Scarsdale is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarsdale
    • Braithwaite
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedar Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedar Grove is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Stella
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Stella is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
    • Linwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Linwood is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
    • Jesuit Bend
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jesuit Bend is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesuit Bend
    • Carlisle
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Monsecour
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Monsecour is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monsecour
    • Myrtle Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Myrtle Grove is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Grove
  • Saint Bernard Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontchartrain Shores, with the one closest to Pontchartrain Shores listed first.
    • Arabi
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Chalmette
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Versailles
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Versailles is located in Saint Bernard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
    • Meraux
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Saxonholm
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Saxonholm is located in Saint Bernard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxonholm
    • Story
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Story is located in Saint Bernard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Story
    • Mohawk City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Mohawk City is located in Saint Bernard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk City
    • Violet
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Poydras
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Poydras is located in Saint Bernard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poydras
    • Sebastopol
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Sebastopol is located in Saint Bernard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebastopol
    • Saint Bernard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Toca
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Toca is located in Saint Bernard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toca
  • Saint Charles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontchartrain Shores, with the one closest to Pontchartrain Shores listed first.
    • Ama
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Davis ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Davis is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
    • Elkinsville ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Elkinsville is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkinsville
      • Elkinsville has also been known as:
      • Freetown
    • Saint Rose
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Destrehan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lone Star
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Lone Star is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
    • Luling
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • New Sarpy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Mimosa Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mimosa Park is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mimosa Park
    • Boutte
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Hahnville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Norco
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Saint James Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontchartrain Shores, with the one closest to Pontchartrain Shores listed first.
    • Gramercy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Lutcher
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Lutcher is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lutcher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,127 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lutcher <1>
    • North Vacherie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • North Vacherie is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Vacherie
    • South Vacherie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • South Vacherie is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vacherie
  • Saint John the Baptist Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontchartrain Shores, with the one closest to Pontchartrain Shores listed first.
    • Frenier
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Frenier is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenier
    • Laplace
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Edgard
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Reserve
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Garyville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Mount Airy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Wallace
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Wallace is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace
  • Saint Tammany Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontchartrain Shores, with the one closest to Pontchartrain Shores listed first.
    • Lewisburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Lewisburg is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Mandeville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Lacombe
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • North Shore Beach
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • North Shore Beach is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore Beach
    • Madisonville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • North Shore
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • North Shore is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
    • Eden Isle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Eden Isle is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Isle
    • Lake Shore Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Shore Village is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore Village
    • Oak Harbor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Harbor is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Harbor
    • Huntwyck Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Huntwyck Village is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntwyck Village
    • McClane City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • McClane City is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClane City
  • Tangipahoa Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontchartrain Shores, with the one closest to Pontchartrain Shores listed first.
    • Akers
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Manchac
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Manchac is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchac
    • Katie ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Katie is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katie

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

Cemeteries Near Pontchartrain Shores ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pontchartrain Shores.

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 Pontchartrain Shores - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Providence Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Garden of Memories
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Charity Hospital Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Jewish Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Metairie Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Firemens Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Holt Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Masonic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Lake Lawn Park Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Carrollton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (102 more) ...

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.<3>

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

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

  • Kenner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Kenner is located in Jefferson Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenner
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 66,288 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenner <1>
  • Jefferson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Ama
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Waggaman
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Milneburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Milneburg is located in Orleans Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milneburg
  • Westwego
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • New Orleans
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Gentilly
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Gentilly is located in Orleans Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentilly
  • Elkinsville ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Elkinsville is located in Saint Charles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkinsville
    • Elkinsville has also been known as:
    • Freetown
  • Davis ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Davis is located in Saint Charles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
  • Harvey
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Algiers
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Algiers is located in Orleans Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algiers
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • La Branche
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • La Branche is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Branche
    • Luling
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Gretna
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Gretna is located in Jefferson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gretna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,615 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gretna <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Pontchartrain Shores ...

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 555 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pontchartrain Shores.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pontchartrain Shores, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pontchartrain Shores.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Pontchartrain Shores:

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>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.
<3>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 Pontchartrain Shores, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Pontchartrain Shores) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.