RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Louisiana >> Saint John the Baptist Parish >> Ruddock >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Ruddock (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 Ruddock. 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 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.

Ruddock is located in Saint John the Baptist 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 John the Baptist Parish: Ascension, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Saint Charles, Saint James & Tangipahoa.

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

  • Saint John the Baptist Parish     (The home parish of Ruddock)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruddock, with the one closest to Ruddock listed first.
    • Frenier
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Frenier is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenier
    • Laplace
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Reserve
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Edgard
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Garyville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Airy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Wallace
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Wallace is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace
  • Ascension Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruddock, with the one closest to Ruddock listed first.
    • Brignac
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Brignac is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brignac
    • Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Lake is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake
    • Saint Amant
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Sorrento
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Summerfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Summerfield is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
    • Brittany
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Claybank
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Claybank is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claybank
    • Weber City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Weber City is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber City
    • Galvez Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Galvez Town is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galvez Town
    • Galvez
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Galvez is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galvez
    • Gonzales
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Burnside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Cofield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Cofield is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cofield
  • Jefferson Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruddock, with the one closest to Ruddock listed first.
    • Kenner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • River Ridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Elmwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Harahan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Metairie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jefferson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Waggaman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Avondale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bridge City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Westwego
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Marrero
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Gretna
      (29 miles [46.7 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>
    • Harvey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lafourche Parish
  • Livingston Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruddock, with the one closest to Ruddock listed first.
    • Clio
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Clio is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clio
    • Killian
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Killian is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killian
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,337 people
    • Maurepas
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Springfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Albany
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Albany is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,170 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albany <1>
    • French Settlement
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Holden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Port Vincent
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Port Vincent is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Vincent
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 650 people
    • Livingston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Starns
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Starns is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starns
  • Orleans Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruddock, with the one closest to Ruddock listed first.
    • Gentilly Terrace
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Gentilly Terrace is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentilly Terrace
    • Gentilly
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Gentilly is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentilly
    • Milneburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Milneburg is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milneburg
    • New Orleans
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Pine Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine Village is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Village
  • Saint Bernard Parish
    • Arabi
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Saint Charles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruddock, with the one closest to Ruddock listed first.
    • Gypsy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Gypsy is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gypsy
    • Montz
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Montz is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montz
    • Killona
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Norco
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Taft
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Taft is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taft
    • Hahnville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • New Sarpy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Destrehan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Saint Rose
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Davis ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Davis is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
    • Elkinsville ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Elkinsville is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkinsville
      • Elkinsville has also been known as:
      • Freetown
    • Lone Star
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Lone Star is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
    • Ama
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Saint James Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruddock, with the one closest to Ruddock listed first.
    • Gramercy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Lutcher
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Paulina
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • North Vacherie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • North Vacherie is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Vacherie
    • Vacherie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Hester is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
    • South Vacherie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • South Vacherie is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vacherie
    • Uncle Sam
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Burton Lane
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Burton Lane is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton Lane
    • Chatman Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Chatman Town is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatman Town
    • Convent
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Free Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Free Town is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Free Town
    • Lagan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Lagan is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lagan
  • Saint Tammany Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruddock, with the one closest to Ruddock listed first.
    • Madisonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lewisburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lewisburg is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Mandeville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Goodbee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Goodbee is located in Saint Tammany Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodbee
    • Covington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lacombe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Abita Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Benedict
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Tangipahoa Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruddock, with the one closest to Ruddock listed first.
    • Akers
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Manchac
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Manchac is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchac
    • Wadesboro
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Wadesboro is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadesboro
    • Ponchatoula
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Katie ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Katie is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katie
    • Hammond
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Hammond is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,359 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hammond <1>
    • Baptist
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Baptist is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baptist
    • Robert
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Natalbany
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Genessee
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Genessee is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genessee
    • Tickfaw
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Loranger
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Independence
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Ruddock ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ruddock.

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

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

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

  • Davidson Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • St. John the Baptist Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Montz Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Schroeder Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Bishop Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Green Hill Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Holy Rosary Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • McKinney Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Tucker Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Maurepas Community Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Howes Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (201 more) ...
    • Mitchell Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Pennington Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Wetmore Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)

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

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

  • Frenier
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Frenier is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenier
  • Manchac
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Manchac is located in Tangipahoa Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchac
  • Lucy
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lucy is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucy
  • La Branche
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • La Branche is located in Saint Charles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Branche
  • Edgard
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Killian
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Killian is located in Livingston Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killian
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,337 people
  • Clio
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Clio is located in Livingston Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clio
  • Killona
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Sarpy ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Sarpy is located in Saint Charles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarpy
  • Hahnville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Maurepas
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Mount Airy
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Springfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ponchatoula
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Kenner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>

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

Newspapers Published in Ruddock ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ruddock.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ruddock, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ruddock.

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 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 Ruddock:

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 Ruddock, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ruddock) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.