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 Soco (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 Soco. 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/Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring parishes/counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals 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/counties 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/counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Soco is located in Claiborne 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 Claiborne Parish: Columbia (AR), Union (AR), Bienville, Lincoln, Union & Webster.
Below are the parishes/counties that are near Soco. For each of these parishes/counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Soco:
- Claiborne Parish (The home parish of Soco)
- The following are listed by their distance from Soco, with the one closest to Soco listed first.
- Haynesville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Gordon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Gordon is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Dykesville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dykesville is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykesville
- Blackburn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Blackburn is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Homer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Arizona
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Arizona is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arizona
- Summerfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Summerfield is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
- Holly Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Holly Springs is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Lisbon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wards Mill ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Wards Mill is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wards Mill
- Junction City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Junction City is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
- Athens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Weldon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Weldon is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
- Bossier Parish
- Ivan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ivan is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivan
- Lincoln Parish
- Hico
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hico is located in Lincoln Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hico
- Union Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Soco, with the one closest to Soco listed first.
- Lillie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cane Ridge ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cane Ridge is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Ridge
- Bernice
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Webster Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Soco, with the one closest to Soco listed first.
- Shongaloo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cullen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Springhill
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Sarepta
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cotton Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Minden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Dixie Inn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Dixie Inn is located in Webster Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie Inn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
- Columbia County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Soco, with the one closest to Soco listed first.
- Emerson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Emerson is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Horsehead
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Horsehead is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsehead
- Western
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Western is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
- Calhoun
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Calhoun is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Macedonia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Macedonia is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- Philadelphia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Philadelphia is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
- Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Village is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village
- Welcome
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Welcome is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
- Magnolia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Taylor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- McNeil
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Waldo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Waldo is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,256 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waldo <1>
- Milner ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Milner is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Lafayette County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Soco, with the one closest to Soco listed first.
- McKamie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- McKamie is located in Lafayette County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKamie
- Buckner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Buckner is located in Lafayette County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- Bradley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Ouachita County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Soco, with the one closest to Soco listed first.
- Stephens
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pace City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pace City is located in Ouachita County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pace City
- Union County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Soco, with the one closest to Soco listed first.
- Dodge City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Dodge City is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
- Scotland
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Scotland is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
- Mount Holly
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Junction City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Junction City is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 520 people
- Lisbon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lisbon is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Blanchard Springs ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Blanchard Springs is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanchard Springs
- Dumas City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dumas City is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas City
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Soco, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Soco.
Cemeteries Near Soco ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Soco.
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 Soco - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Soco covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Soco, with the one closest to Soco listed first.
- Wards Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Traylor Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Anderson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Taylor Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Old Haynesville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Friendship Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Teague Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Chalybeate Springs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Elliott Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ware's Chapel UMC Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware's Chapel UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Ware's Chapel UMC Cemetery is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the southeast of Emerson (AR).
- The Ware's Chapel UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ware's Chapel Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1978068 <2>
- Continue List (286 more) ...
- Providence Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<4>
While we didn't find Soco in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Soco.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Soco, with the one closest to Soco listed first.
- Haynesville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Ware
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ware is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Millerton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Millerton is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
- Gordon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Gordon is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Dykesville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dykesville is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykesville
- Shongaloo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brister
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Brister is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brister
- Atlanta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Atlanta is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta
- Horsehead
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Horsehead is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsehead
- Plainfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Plainfield is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
- Blackburn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Blackburn is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Calhoun
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Calhoun is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Spotville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Spotville is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spotville
- Macedonia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Macedonia is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- Homer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Soco. See our List of 1890's Communities around Soco.
Newspapers Published in Soco ...
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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Soco.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Soco, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Soco.
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 Soco:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Claiborne Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Bossier Parish
- Lincoln Parish
- Union Parish
- Webster Parish
- Columbia County
- Lafayette County
- Ouachita County
- Union County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Louisiana
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Soco) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Soco, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |