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 Sparks (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 Sparks. 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 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 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.
Sparks is located in Pointe Coupee 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 Pointe Coupee Parish: Avoyelles, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Saint Landry, Saint Martin, West Baton Rouge & West Feliciana.
Below are the parishes that are near Sparks. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sparks:
- Pointe Coupee Parish (The home parish of Sparks)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Livonia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lottie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Oscar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fordoche
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jarreau
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dupont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Lakeland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Elliot City ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Elliot City is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot City
- Rougon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Krotz Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- East Krotz Springs is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Krotz Springs
- Glynn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- New Roads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Ventress
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Port Hudson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Port Hudson is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Hudson
- Beauregard Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Beauregard Town is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauregard Town
- Baker
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Baker is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,999 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baker <1>
- Baton Rouge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Tristian Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Tristian Village is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tristian Village
- Zion City
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Zion City is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion City
- Brownfields
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Brownfields is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownfields
- Maribel Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Maribel Village is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maribel Village
- Merrydale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Merrydale is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrydale
- Zachary
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Zachary is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zachary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,417 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zachary <1>
- Essen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Essen is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essen
- Lynwood Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lynwood Village is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynwood Village
- Gardere
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gardere is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardere
- East Feliciana Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Lindsay
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lindsay is located in East Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindsay
- Bells Store ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bells Store is located in East Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Store
- Slaughter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jackson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ethel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Iberville Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Maringouin
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Rosedale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Grosse Tete
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Village is located in Iberville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Morrisonville ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Morrisonville is located in Iberville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisonville
- Plaquemine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Iberville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Iberville is located in Iberville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iberville
- Sunshine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sunshine is located in Iberville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Bayou Goula
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Gabriel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Landry Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Krotz Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Melville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Half Moon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Half Moon is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Moon
- Swayze Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Swayze Lake is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swayze Lake
- Portage
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Portage is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- Elba
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Elba is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
- Arnaudville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Port Barre
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Leonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Palmetto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Frozard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Frozard is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frozard
- Immaculata
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Immaculata is located in Saint Landry Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immaculata
- Saint Martin Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Henderson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cecilia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bayou Chene
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Bayou Chene is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Chene
- Catahoula Cove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Catahoula Cove is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catahoula Cove
- Parks
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bankers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bankers is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankers
- Breaux Bridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Isle Labbe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Isle Labbe is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isle Labbe
- Coteau Holmes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Coteau Holmes is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coteau Holmes
- Saint John
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Saint John is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint John
- Banker Plantation
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Banker Plantation is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banker Plantation
- Levert
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Levert is located in Saint Martin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levert
- West Baton Rouge Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Erwinville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Carey
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Carey is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carey
- Wilbert ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Wilbert is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbert
- Devalls
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Devalls is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devalls
- Arbroth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Arbroth is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbroth
- Lobdell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lobdell is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobdell
- Brusly
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brusly is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brusly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,580 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brusly <1>
- Addis
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Addis is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,464 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Addis <1>
- Port Allen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- West Feliciana Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Saint Francisville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bains
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bains is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bains
- Converse ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Converse is located in West Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
- Wakefield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tunica
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sparks, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Sparks.
Cemeteries Near Sparks ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sparks.
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 Sparks - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sparks covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- St. Peter Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- New Zion Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Mt. Spur Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- West Oak Lane Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Bailey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sunlight Baptissst Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- St. Francis Cabrini Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- False River Station Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for False River Station Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the False River Station Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southeast of Fordoche.
- The False River Station Cemetery has also been known as:
- False River Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2564758 <2>
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cottonwood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (146 more) ...
- St. Ambrose Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Immaculate Conception Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Greater Shiloh Missionary Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
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 Sparks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sparks.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sparks, with the one closest to Sparks listed first.
- Musson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Musson is located in Iberville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musson
- Livonia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rosedale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Grosse Tete
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fordoche
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Devalls
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Devalls is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devalls
- Arbroth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Arbroth is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbroth
- Ventress
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Roads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Ravenswood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ravenswood is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood
- Lobdell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lobdell is located in West Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lobdell
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Anchor
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Anchor is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchor
- Waterloo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Waterloo is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Viva
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Viva is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viva
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sparks. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sparks.
Newspapers Published in Sparks ...
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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sparks.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sparks, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sparks.
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 Sparks:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Pointe Coupee Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- East Feliciana Parish
- Iberville Parish
- Saint Landry Parish
- Saint Martin Parish
- West Baton Rouge Parish
- West Feliciana Parish
- 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sparks) 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 Sparks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |