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 Prairie Laurent (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 Prairie Laurent. 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.
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 southwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next parish to the west. 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 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 south 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.
Prairie Laurent is located in Saint Landry 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 Saint Landry Parish: Acadia, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Lafayette, Pointe Coupee & Saint Martin.
Below are the parishes that are near Prairie Laurent. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Prairie Laurent:
- Saint Landry Parish (The home parish of Prairie Laurent)
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie Laurent, with the one closest to Prairie Laurent listed first.
- Leonville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Opelousas
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grand Coteau
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sunset
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Frozard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Frozard is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frozard
- Port Barre
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lewisburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lewisburg is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
- Arnaudville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lawtell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Washington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Cankton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cankton is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cankton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Portage
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Portage is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- Swayze Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Swayze Lake is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swayze Lake
- Acadia Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie Laurent, with the one closest to Prairie Laurent listed first.
- Church Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Higginbotham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Higginbotham is located in Acadia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginbotham
- Branch
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Castille
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Castille is located in Acadia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castille
- Rayne
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ellis
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ellis is located in Acadia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Crowley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ebenezer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ebenezer is located in Acadia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
- Iota
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Iota is located in Acadia Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,428 people
- Avoyelles Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie Laurent, with the one closest to Prairie Laurent listed first.
- Gold Dust
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Gold Dust is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Dust
- Milburn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Milburn is located in Avoyelles Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
- Evangeline Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie Laurent, with the one closest to Prairie Laurent listed first.
- Chataignier
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Ville Platte
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mamou
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Reddell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Landry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Tyrone
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Tyrone is located in Evangeline Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
- Duralde
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Duralde is located in Evangeline Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duralde
- Unatex
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Unatex is located in Evangeline Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unatex
- Bayou Chicot
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bayou Chicot is located in Evangeline Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Chicot
- Pine Prairie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lafayette Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie Laurent, with the one closest to Prairie Laurent listed first.
- Carencro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Stekey
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Stekey is located in Lafayette Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stekey
- Ossun
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Ossun is located in Lafayette Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ossun
- Scott
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Lafayette
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Duson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Broussard
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Ridge is located in Lafayette Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
- Billeaud
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Billeaud is located in Lafayette Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billeaud
- Milton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Youngsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Pointe Coupee Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie Laurent, with the one closest to Prairie Laurent listed first.
- East Krotz Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- East Krotz Springs is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Krotz Springs
- Elliot City ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Elliot City is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot City
- Lottie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ravenswood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ravenswood is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood
- Fordoche
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Livonia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Saint Martin Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie Laurent, with the one closest to Prairie Laurent listed first.
- Cecilia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Breaux Bridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Parks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Catahoula Cove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Catahoula Cove is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catahoula Cove
- Levert
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Levert is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levert
- Saint John
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Saint John is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint John
- Duchamp
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Duchamp is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duchamp
- Isle Labbe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Isle Labbe is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isle Labbe
- Saint Martinville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cade
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Banker Plantation
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Banker Plantation is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banker Plantation
- Bankers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bankers is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankers
- Vermilion Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie Laurent, with the one closest to Prairie Laurent listed first.
- Maurice
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Indian Bayou
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Bayou is located in Vermilion Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Bayou
- Leroy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Leroy is located in Vermilion Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
- Andrew
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Andrew is located in Vermilion Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andrew
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Prairie Laurent, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Prairie Laurent.
Cemeteries Near Prairie Laurent ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Prairie Laurent.
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 Prairie Laurent - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Prairie Laurent covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Prairie Laurent, with the one closest to Prairie Laurent listed first.
- Montgomery - Wilkins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Bellevue Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Daly Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Grand Coteau.
- The St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery has also been known as:
- Grand Coteau Cemetery
- St. Charles Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #68777 <3>
- St. Landry Catholic Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Landry Catholic Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Landry Catholic Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Opelousas.
- The St. Landry Catholic Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Landry Cemetery
- St. Landry Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1924120 <3>
- Green Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- St. Francis Regis Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- De Viller Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- McBride Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Saquette Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hebrew Rest Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (156 more) ...
- Strauss Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Ring Zion Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pitre Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
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 Prairie Laurent in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Prairie Laurent.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Prairie Laurent, with the one closest to Prairie Laurent listed first.
- Leonville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Grand Coteau
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Opelousas
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Shuteston
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Shuteston is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shuteston
- Sunset
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Frozard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Frozard is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frozard
- Port Barre
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Arnaudville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Washington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Plaisance
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Plaisance is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plaisance
- Church Point
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carencro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Beggs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Beggs is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beggs
- Breaux Bridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Garland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Garland is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Prairie Laurent. See our List of 1890's Communities around Prairie Laurent.
Newspapers Published in Prairie Laurent ...
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 Prairie Laurent.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Prairie Laurent, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Prairie Laurent.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Prairie Laurent:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Saint Landry Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Acadia Parish
- Avoyelles Parish
- Evangeline Parish
- Lafayette Parish
- Pointe Coupee Parish
- Saint Martin Parish
- Vermilion Parish
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Louisiana
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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Prairie Laurent) 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 Prairie Laurent, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |