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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 Sorrel (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 Sorrel. 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 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.

Sorrel is located in Saint Mary 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 Saint Mary Parish: Iberia, Saint Martin & Terrebonne.

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

  • Saint Mary Parish     (The home parish of Sorrel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sorrel, with the one closest to Sorrel listed first.
    • Adeline
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Adeline is located in Saint Mary Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adeline
    • Ashton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Ashton is located in Saint Mary Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
    • Bodin
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Bodin is located in Saint Mary Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodin
    • Caneland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Caneland is located in Saint Mary Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caneland
    • Charenton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Baldwin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Home Place
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Home Place is located in Saint Mary Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Place
    • Glencoe
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Glencoe is located in Saint Mary Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
    • Katy
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Katy is located in Saint Mary Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katy
    • Franklin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Florence
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Florence is located in Saint Mary Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Caffery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Caffery is located in Saint Mary Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caffery
  • Assumption Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sorrel, with the one closest to Sorrel listed first.
    • Belle River
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Belle River is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle River
    • Pierre Part
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Bayou Corne ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Bayou Corne is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Corne
    • Attakapas Landing
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Attakapas Landing is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attakapas Landing
    • Grand Bayou
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Grand Bayou is located in Assumption Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Bayou
  • Iberia Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sorrel, with the one closest to Sorrel listed first.
    • Jeanerette
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Patoutville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Patoutville is located in Iberia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patoutville
    • Lydia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Morbihan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Morbihan is located in Iberia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morbihan
    • Loreauville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • New Iberia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Avery Island
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Derouen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Derouen is located in Iberia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derouen
  • Lafayette Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sorrel, with the one closest to Sorrel listed first.
    • Billeaud
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Billeaud is located in Lafayette Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billeaud
    • Youngsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Broussard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Saint Martin Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sorrel, with the one closest to Sorrel listed first.
    • Coteau Holmes
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Coteau Holmes is located in Saint Martin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coteau Holmes
    • Bayou Chene
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Bayou Chene is located in Saint Martin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Chene
    • Bankers
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Bankers is located in Saint Martin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankers
    • Keystone
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Keystone is located in Saint Martin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
    • Banker Plantation
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Banker Plantation is located in Saint Martin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banker Plantation
    • Delacroix
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Delacroix is located in Saint Martin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delacroix
    • Saint Martinville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Isle Labbe
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Isle Labbe is located in Saint Martin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isle Labbe
    • Saint John
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Saint John is located in Saint Martin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint John
    • Catahoula Cove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Catahoula Cove is located in Saint Martin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catahoula Cove
    • Cade
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Levert
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Levert is located in Saint Martin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levert
  • Vermilion Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sorrel, with the one closest to Sorrel listed first.
    • Delcambre
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Erath
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Erath is located in Vermilion Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erath
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,030 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erath <1>
    • Youngs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Youngs is located in Vermilion Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs

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

Cemeteries Near Sorrel ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sorrel.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sorrel, with the one closest to Sorrel 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 in 1895, Sorrel had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Jeanerette
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Baldwin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Charenton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Glencoe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Glencoe is located in Saint Mary Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
  • Patoutville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Patoutville is located in Iberia Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patoutville
  • Franklin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Irish Bend
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Irish Bend is located in Saint Mary Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irish Bend
  • Cypremort
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cypremort is located in Saint Mary Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypremort
  • Loreauville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Bayou Sale
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bayou Sale is located in Saint Mary Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Sale
  • New Iberia
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Segura
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Segura is located in Iberia Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Segura
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Ricohoc
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Ricohoc is located in Saint Mary Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricohoc
    • Bayou Chene
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Bayou Chene is located in Saint Martin Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Chene
    • Derouen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Derouen is located in Iberia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derouen

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

Newspapers Published in Sorrel ...

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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sorrel.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sorrel, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sorrel.

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 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 Sorrel:

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 Sorrel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Sorrel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.