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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 Shady Grove (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 Shady Grove. 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.

Name Variations for Shady Grove ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Shady Grove: Shady Grv.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Shady Grove. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Shady Grove.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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.

Shady Grove is located in Natchitoches 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 Natchitoches Parish: Bienville, De Soto, Grant, Rapides, Red River, Sabine, Vernon & Winn.

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

  • Natchitoches Parish     (The home parish of Shady Grove)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
    • Robeline
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Victoria
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Victoria is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
    • Provencal
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Forest
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Forest is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
    • Marthaville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Natchitoches
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Powhatan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Vowells Mill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Vowells Mill is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowells Mill
    • Grappes Bluff
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Grappes Bluff is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grappes Bluff
    • Flora
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Natchez
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Campti
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Bellwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Bellwood is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
  • De Soto Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
    • Butler ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Butler is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
    • Pelican
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Oxford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Oxford is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
  • Grant Parish
    • Montgomery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Red River Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
    • Lake End
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Lake End is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake End
    • Hanna
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Hanna is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanna
    • Coushatta
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Edgefield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Edgefield is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgefield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
    • Carroll
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Carroll is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
    • Harmon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Martin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Martin is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 543 people
    • Halfway
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Halfway is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
    • Abington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Abington is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abington
    • Hall Summit
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Sabine Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
    • Belmont
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Corleyville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville
    • Many
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Many is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Many
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,667 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Many <1>
    • Bayou Scie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
    • Hamlin ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Hamlin is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
    • Fisher
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Florien
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Zwolle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Noble
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Negreet
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Converse
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
    • Alco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Alco is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
    • Kurthwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Hornbeck
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Winn Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shady Grove, with the one closest to Shady Grove listed first.
    • Saint Maurice
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Couley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Couley is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couley
    • Coldwater
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Coldwater is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater

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

Cemeteries Near Shady Grove ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shady Grove.

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 Shady Grove - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Robeline Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Annes Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • St. Lukes Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Provencal Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hawthorne Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Hawthorne Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • McCartney Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Bayou Blue Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (145 more) ...
    • Vascocu Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fern Park Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Cedar Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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.<3>

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

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

  • Robeline
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Victoria
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Victoria is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
  • Provencal
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Allen
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Allen is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
  • Marthaville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Natchitoches
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Timon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Timon is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timon
  • Vowells Mill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Vowells Mill is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowells Mill
  • Grappes Bluff
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Grappes Bluff is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grappes Bluff
  • Lake End
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Lake End is located in Red River Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake End
  • Bellwood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Bellwood is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
  • Clarence
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Campti
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Cypress
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cypress is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress
    • Bermuda
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Bermuda is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bermuda

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

Newspapers Published in Shady Grove ...

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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shady Grove.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shady Grove, 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 Shady Grove.

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 Shady Grove:

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 Shady Grove, 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- Shady Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.