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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 Simmesport (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 Simmesport. 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.

Simmesport is located in Avoyelles 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 Avoyelles Parish: Catahoula, Concordia, Evangeline, La Salle, Pointe Coupee, Rapides & Saint Landry.

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

  • Avoyelles Parish     (The home parish of Simmesport)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmesport, with the one closest to Simmesport listed first.
    • Odenburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Odenburg is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odenburg
    • Hamburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Dupont
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Dupont is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
    • Bordelonville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Moreauville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Plaucheville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hickory
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Hickory is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
    • Cottonport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Mansura
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Enterprise
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Enterprise is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
    • Evergreen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Hessmer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Concordia Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmesport, with the one closest to Simmesport listed first.
    • Acme
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Bougere
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Bougere is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bougere
    • Fairview
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairview is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
  • Evangeline Parish
  • Pointe Coupee Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmesport, with the one closest to Simmesport listed first.
    • Legonier
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Legonier is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legonier
    • Lettsworth
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Innis
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Smithland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Smithland is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithland
    • Williamsport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Williamsport is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsport
    • Batchelor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Morganza
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ravenswood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Ravenswood is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood
    • Fordoche
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • New Roads
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • East Krotz Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • East Krotz Springs is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Krotz Springs
    • Dupont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmesport, with the one closest to Simmesport listed first.
    • Echo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Cheneyville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Ruby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Saint Landry Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmesport, with the one closest to Simmesport listed first.
    • Bayou Jack
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Bayou Jack is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Jack
    • Elba
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Elba is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
    • Palmetto
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Morrow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Immaculata
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Immaculata is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immaculata
    • Lebeau
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Rosa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Rosa is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
    • Melville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Half Moon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Half Moon is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Moon
    • Swayze Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Swayze Lake is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swayze Lake
    • Boretta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Boretta is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boretta
    • Washington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • West Feliciana Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmesport, with the one closest to Simmesport listed first.
    • Angola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Tunica
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Weyanoke
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Bains
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Bains is located in West Feliciana Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bains
    • Converse ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Converse is located in West Feliciana Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
    • Wakefield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Saint Francisville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilkinson County (MS)
    • Artonish
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Artonish is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artonish

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

Cemeteries Near Simmesport ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Simmesport.

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

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Simmesport had a population of 103 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Simmesport had a population of 2,032 people.

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

  • Legonier
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Legonier is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legonier
  • Red Fish
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Red Fish is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Fish
  • Odenburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Odenburg is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odenburg
  • Merrick
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Merrick is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrick
  • Big Bend
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Big Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
  • Hamburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Red River Landing
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Red River Landing is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River Landing
  • Smithland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Smithland is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithland
  • Bordelonville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Moreauville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Bayou Current
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Bayou Current is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Current
  • Angola
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Mansura
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Cottonport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Elba
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Elba is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba

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

Newspapers Published in Simmesport ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Simmesport.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Simmesport, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Simmesport.

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 either 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 Simmesport:

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