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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 Rio (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 Rio. 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 Counties/Parishes ...

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

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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 counties/parishes 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 counties/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Rio is located in Washington Parish.

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

The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of Washington Parish: Saint Tammany, Tangipahoa, Marion (MS), Pearl River (MS), Pike (MS) & Walthall (MS).

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

  • Washington Parish     (The home parish of Rio)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rio, with the one closest to Rio listed first.
    • Lees Creek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Creek
      • Lees Creek is located in Washington Parish
    • Bogalusa
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bogalusa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogalusa
      • Bogalusa is located in Washington Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,412 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bogalusa <2>
    • Enon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enon
      • Enon is located in Washington Parish
    • Varnado
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Varnado have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varnado
      • Varnado is located in Washington Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 332 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Varnado <2>
    • Pine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine
      • Pine is located in Washington Parish
    • Franklinton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Angie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Angie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angie
      • Angie is located in Washington Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Angie <2>
    • Stoney Point
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Point
      • Stoney Point is located in Washington Parish
    • Mount Hermon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hermon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hermon
      • Mount Hermon is located in Washington Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Hermon <2>
    • Sunny Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Hill
      • Sunny Hill is located in Washington Parish
  • Saint Tammany Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rio, with the one closest to Rio listed first.
    • Sun
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
      • Sun is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sun <2>
    • Bush
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Talisheek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Abita Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Benedict
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Benedict have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Benedict
      • Saint Benedict is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Benedict <2>
    • Folsom
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Folsom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
      • Folsom is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 871 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Folsom <2>
    • Covington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hickory
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
      • Hickory is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Goodbee
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodbee
      • Goodbee is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Pearl River
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Mandeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mandeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandeville
      • Mandeville is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,559 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mandeville <2>
    • Lewisburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
      • Lewisburg is located in Saint Tammany Parish
  • Tangipahoa Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rio, with the one closest to Rio listed first.
    • Husser
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Husser have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husser
      • Husser is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Husser <2>
    • Henry City ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henry City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry City
      • Henry City is located in Tangipahoa Parish
    • Katie ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Katie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katie
      • Katie is located in Tangipahoa Parish
    • Robert
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robert
      • Robert is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Robert <2>
    • Wilmer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wilmer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmer
      • Wilmer is located in Tangipahoa Parish
    • Loranger
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loranger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loranger
      • Loranger is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loranger <2>
  • Hancock County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rio, with the one closest to Rio listed first.
    • Gainesville ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville
      • Gainesville is located in Hancock County (MS)
    • Necaise
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Necaise
      • Necaise is located in Hancock County (MS)
    • Napoleon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Napoleon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoleon
      • Napoleon is located in Hancock County (MS)
  • Pearl River County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rio, with the one closest to Rio listed first.
    • Picayune
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Picayune have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Picayune
      • Picayune is located in Pearl River County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,886 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Picayune <2>
    • Nicholson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson
      • Nicholson is located in Pearl River County (MS)
    • Juniper Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniper Grove
      • Juniper Grove is located in Pearl River County (MS)
    • Poplarville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poplarville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplarville
      • Poplarville is located in Pearl River County (MS)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,780 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poplarville <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Rio ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rio.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Otzenberger Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Otzenberger Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Otzenberger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jenkins Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jenkins Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jenkins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walker Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Mizell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mizell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mizell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jewel Pierce Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Pierce Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Sheridan Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sheridan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sheridan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Duffys Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Duffys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Duffys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Knight Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Knight Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Knight Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rogers Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rogers Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rogers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sun Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sun Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sun Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pounds Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pounds Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pounds Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (415 more) ...
    • Hillview Memorial Gardens
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillview Memorial Gardens
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillview Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jenkins Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jenkins Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jenkins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Talleys Chapel Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)

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.<5>

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

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

  • Sun
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
    • Sun is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sun <2>
  • Lees Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Creek
    • Lees Creek is located in Washington Parish
  • Chinquapin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chinquapin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinquapin
    • Chinquapin is located in Pearl River County (MS)
  • Talisheek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Zona
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zona
    • Zona is located in Washington Parish
  • Franklinton
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Covington
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Florenville
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florenville
    • Florenville is located in Saint Tammany Parish
  • Pearl River
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Poplarville
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poplarville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplarville
    • Poplarville is located in Pearl River County (MS)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,780 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poplarville <2>
  • Mandeville
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mandeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandeville
    • Mandeville is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,559 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mandeville <2>
  • Madisonville
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madisonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madisonville
    • Madisonville is located in Saint Tammany Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Madisonville <2>
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Orvisburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orvisburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orvisburg
      • Orvisburg is located in Pearl River County (MS)
    • Gainesville ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gainesville
      • Gainesville is located in Hancock County (MS)
    • Hillsdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
      • Hillsdale is located in Pearl River County (MS)

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

Newspapers Published in Rio ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rio.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rio, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rio.

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 Rio:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rio. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Louisiana: https://www.louisiana.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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 Rio, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Rio) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rio. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.6930, Longitude: -89.8901       In this case, the coordinates for Rio have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025