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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 Shamrock (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 Shamrock. 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 doctors 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.

Shamrock 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 Shamrock. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Shamrock:

  • Natchitoches Parish     (The home parish of Shamrock)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shamrock, with the one closest to Shamrock listed first.
    • Robeline
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Marthaville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Victoria
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Victoria is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
    • Provencal
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Vowells Mill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Vowells Mill is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowells Mill
    • Forest
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Forest is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
    • Powhatan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Natchitoches
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Bellwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Bellwood is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
    • Flora
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Natchez
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Grappes Bluff
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Grappes Bluff is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grappes Bluff
  • De Soto Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shamrock, with the one closest to Shamrock listed first.
    • Butler ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Butler is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
    • Pelican
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Oxford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Oxford is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
  • Grant Parish
    • Montgomery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Red River Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shamrock, with the one closest to Shamrock listed first.
    • Lake End
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Lake End is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake End
    • Hanna
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Hanna is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanna
    • Coushatta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Edgefield
      (23 miles [37 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
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Carroll is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
    • Harmon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Halfway
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Halfway is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
    • Martin
      (27 miles [43.5 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
    • Abington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Abington is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abington
  • Sabine Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shamrock, with the one closest to Shamrock listed first.
    • Belmont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Many
      (13 miles [20.9 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>
    • Corleyville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville
    • Bayou Scie
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
    • Hamlin ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Hamlin is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
    • Fisher
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Florien
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Zwolle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Noble
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Negreet
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Converse
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shamrock, with the one closest to Shamrock listed first.
    • Hornbeck
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Kurthwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Alco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Alco is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
  • Winn Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shamrock, with the one closest to Shamrock listed first.
    • Saint Maurice
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Couley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Couley is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couley

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

Cemeteries Near Shamrock ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shamrock.

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

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

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

  • Robeline Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • McCartney Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Ft. Jesup Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • St. Annes Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Provencal Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Red Rock Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Cedar Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Hope Castle Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Hawthorne Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (142 more) ...
    • Hawthorne Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • St. Lukes Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Wofed Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)

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

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

  • Robeline
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Marthaville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Victoria
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Victoria is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
  • Provencal
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Allen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Allen is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
  • Vowells Mill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Vowells Mill is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowells Mill
  • Many
    (13 miles [20.9 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>
  • Timon
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Timon is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timon
  • Pleasant Hill
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Bayou Scie
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
  • Corleyville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville
  • Bellwood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bellwood is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Natchitoches
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Lake End
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Lake End is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake End
    • Butler ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Butler is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler

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

Newspapers Published in Shamrock ...

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 Shamrock.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shamrock, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shamrock.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Shamrock:

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