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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 Samtown (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 Samtown. 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 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 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 parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Samtown is located in Rapides 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 Rapides Parish: Allen, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Grant, La Salle, Natchitoches & Vernon.

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

  • Rapides Parish     (The home parish of Samtown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Samtown, with the one closest to Samtown listed first.
    • Alexandria Junction
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Alexandria Junction is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexandria Junction
    • Anandale
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Anandale is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anandale
    • Alexandria
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pineville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Moreland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Moreland is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
    • Kolin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Tioga
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Weil
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Weil is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weil
    • Libuse
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodworth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Whittington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Whittington is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittington
    • Ball
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Ball is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,906 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ball <1>
  • Allen Parish
    • Pawnee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Pawnee is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
  • Avoyelles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Samtown, with the one closest to Samtown listed first.
    • Center Point
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • North Point
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • North Point is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Point
    • Effie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Egg Bend
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Egg Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egg Bend
    • Moncla
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Moncla is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moncla
    • Vick
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Vick is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vick
    • Hessmer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Marksville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bunkie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bunkie is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,826 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunkie <1>
    • Eola
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Eola is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
    • Mansura
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Enterprise
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Enterprise is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
  • Evangeline Parish
    • Turkey Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Grant Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Samtown, with the one closest to Samtown listed first.
    • Creola
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Creola is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
      • Creola has also been known as:
      • Creola village
    • Stay
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Stay is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stay
    • Bentley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Fishville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Fishville is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
    • Pollock
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Fairmount
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Antonia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Antonia is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antonia
    • Dry Prong
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Colfax
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Black Creek ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Black Creek is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
  • La Salle Parish
    • Sharp Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Sharp Town is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharp Town
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • Marco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Marco is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marco
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Samtown, with the one closest to Samtown listed first.
    • Leander
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Leander is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
    • Lacamp
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Samtown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Samtown.

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

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

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

  • Garden of Memories Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Anandale Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Sunlight Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Figgins Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Lincoln Memorial Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Holly Oak Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Alexandria National Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Wesley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Jewish Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Methodist Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • B'nai Israel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (199 more) ...

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

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

  • Alexandria
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Pineville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Moreland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Moreland is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
  • Weil
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Weil is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weil
  • Lamourie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Lamourie is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamourie
  • Rapides
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Rapides is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapides
  • Poland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Poland is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poland
  • Lecompte
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Holloway
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Holloway is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloway
  • Crane
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Crane is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane
  • Milford ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Milford is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
  • Melder
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Loyd
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Loyd is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
    • Boyce
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Elmer
      (17 miles [27.4 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 Samtown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Samtown.

Newspapers Published in Samtown ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Samtown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Samtown, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Samtown.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Samtown:

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 Samtown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Samtown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.