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 Spencer (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 Spencer. 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 southeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most 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/counties 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/counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Spencer is located in Union 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 Union Parish: Ashley (AR), Union (AR), Claiborne, Lincoln, Morehouse & Ouachita.
Below are the parishes/counties that are near Spencer. For each of these parishes/counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spencer:
- Union Parish (The home parish of Spencer)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Ouachita City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ouachita City is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ouachita City
- Haile
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Haile is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haile
- Marion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wilhite
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wilhite is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilhite
- Farmerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Downsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Oakland is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Truxno
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Truxno is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truxno
- Spearsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pisgah
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Pisgah is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Jackson Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Cartwright
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cartwright is located in Jackson Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
- Eros
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lincoln Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Sibley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sibley is located in Lincoln Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibley
- Averit ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Averit is located in Lincoln Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averit
- Cedarton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Cedarton is located in Lincoln Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarton
- Choudrant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dubach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Unionville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Unionville is located in Lincoln Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Morehouse Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Bastrop
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Collinston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Windsor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Windsor is located in Morehouse Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
- Mer Rouge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Brodnax ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brodnax is located in Morehouse Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodnax
- Oak Ridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bonita
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ouachita Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Sterlington
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Fairbanks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Northpark Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Northpark Village is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northpark Village
- Leisure Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Leisure Village is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Village
- Swartz
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Claiborne
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Claiborne is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claiborne
- Monroe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Spanish City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Spanish City is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spanish City
- West Monroe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- West Monroe is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Monroe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,086 people
- Eureka
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Eureka is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Forksville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Forksville is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forksville
- Frost Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Frost Town is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost Town
- Richland Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Start
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Rayville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Alto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alto is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Ashley County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Meridian
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Meridian is located in Ashley County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
- Elon ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Elon is located in Ashley County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Crossett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- West Crossett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- West Crossett is located in Ashley County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Crossett
- Union County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Huttig
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Huttig is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huttig
- Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
- Felsenthal
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Felsenthal is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felsenthal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
- Bolding
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bolding is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolding
- Lapile
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Lapile is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapile
- Strong
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spencer, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Spencer.
Cemeteries Near Spencer ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spencer.
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 Spencer - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Spencer covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Cook Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Parks Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Spencer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Thompson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Crossroads Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Port Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Glendora Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bartholomew Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Burton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rock Row Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Phillips Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (171 more) ...
- Macedonia Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Abscent Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Abstent Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Spencer in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Spencer.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spencer, with the one closest to Spencer listed first.
- Ouachita City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ouachita City is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ouachita City
- De Siard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- De Siard is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Siard
- Colsons ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Colsons is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colsons
- Point
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Point is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point
- Bastrop
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Marion
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Moselys Bluff
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Moselys Bluff is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moselys Bluff
- Walnut Lane ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Walnut Lane is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Lane
- West Monroe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- West Monroe is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Monroe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,086 people
- Monroe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Sicard
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Sicard is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sicard
- Doss ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Doss is located in Morehouse Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doss
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Farmerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Cheniere
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Cheniere is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheniere
- Cleora ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Cleora is located in Morehouse Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleora
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spencer. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spencer.
Newspapers Published in Spencer ...
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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spencer.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spencer, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Spencer.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Spencer:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Union Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Jackson Parish
- Lincoln Parish
- Morehouse Parish
- Ouachita Parish
- Richland Parish
- Ashley 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> | 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 Spencer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Spencer) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |