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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 Taft (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 Taft. 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 northwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next parish to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the parish to the north.

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 north 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.

Taft is located in Saint Charles 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 Charles Parish: Jefferson, Lafourche & Saint John the Baptist.

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

  • Saint Charles Parish     (The home parish of Taft)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Montz
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Montz is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montz
    • Hahnville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Norco
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Killona
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • New Sarpy
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Gypsy
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Gypsy is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gypsy
    • Destrehan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Luling
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Paradis
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Boutte
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lone Star
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lone Star is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Star
    • Davis ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Davis is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
    • Elkinsville ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Elkinsville is located in Saint Charles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkinsville
      • Elkinsville has also been known as:
      • Freetown
  • Ascension Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Sorrento
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Amant
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Brittany
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Aben
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Aben is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aben
      • Aben has also been known as:
      • Abend
    • Burnside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Cofield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Cofield is located in Ascension Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cofield
  • Jefferson Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Kenner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Kenner is located in Jefferson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenner
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66,288 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenner <1>
    • River Ridge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Avondale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Elmwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Harahan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Waggaman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Bridge City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Jefferson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Metairie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Westwego
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Marrero
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Estelle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Estelle is located in Jefferson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
    • Harvey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Lafourche Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Kraemer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Raceland Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Raceland Junction is located in Lafourche Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raceland Junction
    • Godchaux
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Godchaux is located in Lafourche Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godchaux
    • Raceland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Gheens
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Mathews
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Chackbay
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Chackbay is located in Lafourche Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chackbay
    • Lockport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Thibodaux
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Acadia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Acadia is located in Lafourche Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acadia
    • Bayou Blue
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bayou Blue is located in Lafourche Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Blue
    • Larose
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Livingston Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Clio
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Clio is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clio
    • Maurepas
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Killian
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Killian is located in Livingston Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killian
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,337 people
    • French Settlement
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Springfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Orleans Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • New Orleans
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Gentilly Terrace
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Gentilly Terrace is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentilly Terrace
    • Gentilly
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Gentilly is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gentilly
    • Milneburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Milneburg is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milneburg
    • Pine Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Pine Village is located in Orleans Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Village
  • Plaquemines Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Belle Chasse
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Cedar Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedar Grove is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • English Turn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • English Turn is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Turn
    • Scarsdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Scarsdale is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarsdale
    • Linwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Linwood is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
    • Stella
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Stella is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
    • Jesuit Bend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jesuit Bend is located in Plaquemines Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jesuit Bend
  • Saint Bernard Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Arabi
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Chalmette
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Versailles
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Versailles is located in Saint Bernard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
    • Meraux
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Saint James Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Gramercy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Lutcher
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Lutcher is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lutcher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,127 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lutcher <1>
    • North Vacherie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • North Vacherie is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Vacherie
    • South Vacherie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • South Vacherie is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vacherie
    • Paulina
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Vacherie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Hester
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Hester is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
    • Lagan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Lagan is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lagan
    • Convent
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Saint James
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Uncle Sam
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Burton Lane
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Burton Lane is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton Lane
    • Chatman Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Chatman Town is located in Saint James Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatman Town
  • Saint John the Baptist Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Laplace
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Edgard
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Reserve
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Frenier
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Frenier is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenier
    • Garyville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Airy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Wallace
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Wallace is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace
  • Tangipahoa Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Akers
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Manchac
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Manchac is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchac
    • Wadesboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Wadesboro is located in Tangipahoa Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadesboro
    • Ponchatoula
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Terrebonne Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft listed first.
    • Gray
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Schriever
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Magnolia Plantation
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Magnolia Plantation is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Plantation
    • Minerva Plantation
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Minerva Plantation is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva Plantation
    • Broadmoor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Broadmoor is located in Terrebonne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadmoor

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

Cemeteries Near Taft ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Taft.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Taft, with the one closest to Taft 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>

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

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

  • Hahnville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Sarpy ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Sarpy is located in Saint Charles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarpy
  • Killona
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Lucy
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lucy is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucy
  • Luling
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • La Branche
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • La Branche is located in Saint Charles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Branche
  • Boutte
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Edgard
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Vallier
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Vallier is located in Saint Charles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vallier
  • Davis ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Davis is located in Saint Charles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
  • Elkinsville ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Elkinsville is located in Saint Charles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkinsville
    • Elkinsville has also been known as:
    • Freetown
  • Frenier
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Frenier is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenier
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Ama
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Des Allemands
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Johnson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Johnson is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson

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

Newspapers Published in Taft ...

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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Taft.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Taft, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Taft.

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 Taft:

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 Taft, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Taft) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.