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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 Simmons Settlement (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 Simmons Settlement. 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 Simmons Settlement ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

While the name of this community is Simmons Settlement, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Simmons Settlement may originally have been Simmon's Settlement.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Simmons Settlement might be written as Simmon Settlement.

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 doctors and 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.

Simmons Settlement is located in Allen 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 Allen Parish: Acadia, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Evangeline, Jefferson Davis, Rapides & Vernon.

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

  • Allen Parish     (The home parish of Simmons Settlement)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Settlement, with the one closest to Simmons Settlement listed first.
    • Mittie
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cherry Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Cherry Grove is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
    • Tenmile
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Tenmile is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
    • Grant
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Oberlin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Canton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Canton is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
    • Elder
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Elder is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
    • Marionville ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Marionville is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marionville
    • Ward
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Ward is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
    • Reids
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Reids is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reids
    • Le Blanc
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Le Blanc is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Blanc
    • Kinder
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Beauregard Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Settlement, with the one closest to Simmons Settlement listed first.
    • Dry Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Sugartown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Fayette ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Fayette is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
    • Longville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Ikes
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Ikes is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ikes
    • Ragley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • DeRidder
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ludington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ludington is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludington
    • Newlin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Newlin is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlin
    • Singer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Evangeline Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Settlement, with the one closest to Simmons Settlement listed first.
    • Basile
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Basile is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Basile
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,791 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Basile <2>
    • Duralde
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Duralde is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duralde
    • Tyrone
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Tyrone is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
    • Unatex
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Unatex is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unatex
    • Reddell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Mamou
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Mamou is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mamou
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,077 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mamou <2>
    • Pine Prairie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Jefferson Davis Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Settlement, with the one closest to Simmons Settlement listed first.
    • Elton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Elton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,134 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elton <2>
    • Fenton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Fenton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <2>
    • Lacassine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Welsh
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Welsh is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welsh
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,195 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welsh <2>
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Settlement, with the one closest to Simmons Settlement listed first.
    • Glenmora
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • McNary
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • McNary is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Longleaf
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Saint Landry Parish
    • Eunice
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Eunice is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eunice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,655 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eunice <2>
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Simmons Settlement, with the one closest to Simmons Settlement listed first.
    • Dido
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Dido is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dido
    • Pitkin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Cole Central
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Cole Central is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole Central
    • Cravens
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Cravens is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cravens
    • Fullerton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Rosepine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Pinewood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Pinewood is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood

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

Cemeteries Near Simmons Settlement ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Simmons Settlement.

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 Simmons Settlement - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Simmons Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Oakland Springs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Horton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Lyles Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hamilton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Oberlin Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oberlin Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Oberlin Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Oberlin.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1963106 <3>
  • Dry Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Durose Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Reed Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Green Oak Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • McGee Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (114 more) ...
    • Lindsey Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Kinder Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Martin Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 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.<4>

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

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

  • Dido
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Dido is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dido
  • Cora
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Cora is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora

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

Newspapers Published in Simmons Settlement ...

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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Simmons Settlement.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Simmons Settlement, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Simmons Settlement.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Simmons Settlement:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Simmons Settlement, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Simmons Settlement) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.