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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 Roy (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 Roy. 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 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.

Roy is located in Bienville 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 Bienville Parish: Bossier, Claiborne, Jackson, Lincoln, Natchitoches, Red River, Webster & Winn.

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

  • Bienville Parish     (The home parish of Roy)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roy, with the one closest to Roy listed first.
    • Alberta
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Alberta is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
    • Castor
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Burkplace
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Burkplace is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkplace
    • Lucky
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Lucky is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
    • Jamestown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Sparta
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Sparta is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
    • Ringgold
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Saline
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Bienville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Armistead
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Armistead is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armistead
    • Liberty Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Liberty Hill is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
    • Bryceland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Bryceland is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryceland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Mount Lebanon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Mount Lebanon is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Lebanon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
  • Bossier Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roy, with the one closest to Roy listed first.
    • Atkins
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Atkins is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
    • Elm Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Haughton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Claiborne Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roy, with the one closest to Roy listed first.
    • Darley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Darley is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darley
    • Athens
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • De Soto Parish
    • Butler ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Butler is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
  • Jackson Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roy, with the one closest to Roy listed first.
    • Hodge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • East Hodge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • East Hodge is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hodge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
    • Jonesboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • North Hodge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • North Hodge is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hodge
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
    • Quitman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Ansley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Ansley is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansley
  • Lincoln Parish
    • Simsboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roy, with the one closest to Roy listed first.
    • Ashland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ashland is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Chestnut
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Chestnut is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut
    • Goldonna
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Grappes Bluff
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Grappes Bluff is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grappes Bluff
    • Campti
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Campti is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campti
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,033 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campti <1>
    • Caspari ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Caspari is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caspari
    • Powhatan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Clarence
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Forest
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Forest is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
  • Red River Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roy, with the one closest to Roy listed first.
    • Martin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Martin is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 543 people
    • Hall Summit
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Halfway
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Halfway is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
    • Edgefield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Edgefield is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgefield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
    • East Point
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • East Point is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Point
    • Carroll
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Carroll is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
    • Coushatta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Harmon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Westdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Westdale is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westdale
    • Abington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Abington is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abington
    • Hanna
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Hanna is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanna
    • Lake End
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake End is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake End
  • Webster Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roy, with the one closest to Roy listed first.
    • Heflin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Buckhorn ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Buckhorn is located in Webster Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
    • Yellow Pine
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Yellow Pine is located in Webster Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Pine
    • Dubberly
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Sibley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Doyline
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dixie Inn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Dixie Inn is located in Webster Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie Inn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
    • Minden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Winn Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roy, with the one closest to Roy listed first.
    • Pine Ridge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine Ridge is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
    • Coldwater
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Coldwater is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
    • Gansville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Gansville is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gansville
    • Bethlehem
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bethlehem is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
    • Calvin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Dodson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Couley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Couley is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couley

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

Cemeteries Near Roy ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Roy.

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 Roy - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • New Ebenezer Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ebenezer Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the New Ebenezer Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the south of Castor.
    • The New Ebenezer Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Ebenezer Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1960131 <3>
  • Old Castor Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Luke Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Newman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Stafford Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Wimberly Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Bryan Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Huggins Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hathorn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Ramah Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Burt Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (186 more) ...
    • Social Springs Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Holly Springs Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Pickett Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)

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

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

  • Brown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Brown is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown
  • Burkplace
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Burkplace is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkplace
  • Blume
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Blume is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blume
  • Sparta
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Sparta is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
  • Ringgold
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Saline
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Chestnut
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Chestnut is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut
  • Bienville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Friendship
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Friendship is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
  • Armistead
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Armistead is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armistead
  • East Point
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • East Point is located in Red River Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Point
  • Pine Ridge
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pine Ridge is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Bear Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bear Creek is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
    • Liberty Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Liberty Hill is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
    • Coushatta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Roy ...

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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Roy.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Roy, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Roy.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Roy:

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Roy) 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 Roy, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.