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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 Roanoke (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 Roanoke. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Roanoke is located in Jefferson Davis 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 Jefferson Davis Parish: Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Evangeline & Vermilion.

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

  • Jefferson Davis Parish     (The home parish of Roanoke)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roanoke, with the one closest to Roanoke listed first.
    • Welsh
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Welsh have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welsh
      • Welsh is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,195 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welsh <2>
    • Jennings
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
      • Jennings is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,660 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jennings <2>
    • Lacassine
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lacassine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacassine
      • Lacassine is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacassine <2>
    • Lake Arthur
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Arthur have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Arthur
      • Lake Arthur is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,736 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Arthur <2>
    • Fenton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fenton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Fenton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <2>
    • Elton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
      • Elton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,134 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elton <2>
  • Acadia Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roanoke, with the one closest to Roanoke listed first.
    • Evangeline
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evangeline have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evangeline
      • Evangeline is located in Acadia Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evangeline <2>
    • Mermentau
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mermentau have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mermentau
      • Mermentau is located in Acadia Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mermentau <2>
    • Egan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Iota
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iota
      • Iota is located in Acadia Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,428 people
    • Morse
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morse have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse
      • Morse is located in Acadia Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 803 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morse <2>
    • Estherwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Estherwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estherwood
      • Estherwood is located in Acadia Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,081 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Estherwood <2>
    • Ellis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
      • Ellis is located in Acadia Parish
    • Crowley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Ebenezer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
      • Ebenezer is located in Acadia Parish
    • Rayne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Branch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch
      • Branch is located in Acadia Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Branch <2>
  • Allen Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roanoke, with the one closest to Roanoke listed first.
    • Lauderdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lauderdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauderdale
      • Lauderdale is located in Allen Parish
    • Coverdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coverdale
      • Coverdale is located in Allen Parish
    • Kinder
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kinder have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinder
      • Kinder is located in Allen Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kinder <2>
    • Indian Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
      • Indian Village is located in Allen Parish
    • Le Blanc
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Le Blanc have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Blanc
      • Le Blanc is located in Allen Parish
    • Elder
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elder have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
      • Elder is located in Allen Parish
    • Oberlin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Reeves
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reeves have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeves
      • Reeves is located in Allen Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reeves <2>
    • Canton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Canton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
      • Canton is located in Allen Parish
  • Calcasieu Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roanoke, with the one closest to Roanoke listed first.
    • Hayes
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hayes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayes
      • Hayes is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hayes <2>
    • Bell City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bell City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
      • Bell City is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bell City <2>
    • Iowa
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa
      • Iowa is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
    • Greinwich Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greinwich Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greinwich Village
      • Greinwich Village is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Moss Bluff
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moss Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Bluff
      • Moss Bluff is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moss Bluff <2>
    • Ararat
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
      • Ararat is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Lake Charles
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Westlake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westlake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
      • Westlake is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,873 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westlake <2>
  • Evangeline Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roanoke, with the one closest to Roanoke listed first.
    • Basile
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Basile have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Basile
      • Basile is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,791 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Basile <2>
    • Tyrone
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tyrone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
      • Tyrone is located in Evangeline Parish
    • Unatex
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Unatex. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unatex
      • Unatex is located in Evangeline Parish
    • Duralde
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duralde
      • Duralde is located in Evangeline Parish
  • Saint Landry Parish
    • Eunice
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eunice
      • Eunice is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,655 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eunice <2>
  • Vermilion Parish
    • Gueydan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gueydan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gueydan
      • Gueydan is located in Vermilion Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,328 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gueydan <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Roanoke ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Roanoke.

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 Roanoke covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Doucet Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Miller Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miller Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Foreman Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Foreman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Foreman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Indian Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McFarlain Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McFarlain Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McFarlain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Leckett Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leckett Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leckett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Broussard Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Broussard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Broussard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Andress Cove Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Andress Cove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Andress Cove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Little Mamou Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Mamou Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Mamou Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (98 more) ...
    • St. Jules Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Lorrain Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lorrain Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lorrain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Gatte Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gatte Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gatte Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Roanoke in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Roanoke.

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

  • Mermentau
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mermentau have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mermentau
    • Mermentau is located in Acadia Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mermentau <2>
  • Cartville ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cartville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartville
    • Cartville is located in Acadia Parish
  • Iowa
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa
    • Iowa is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
  • Estherwood
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Estherwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estherwood
    • Estherwood is located in Acadia Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,081 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Estherwood <2>
  • Chloe
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chloe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chloe
    • Chloe is located in Calcasieu Parish
  • Crowley
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Rayne
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Lake Charles
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Prudhomme
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prudhomme have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prudhomme
    • Prudhomme is located in Acadia Parish

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

Newspapers Published in Roanoke ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Roanoke.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Roanoke, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Roanoke.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Roanoke:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Roanoke. 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 Roanoke, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Roanoke) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Roanoke. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.2369, Longitude: -92.7471       In this case, the coordinates for Roanoke have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025