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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Thomas. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Thomas to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Thomas, please Contact Us.

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 Thomas (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 Thomas. 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 and doctors 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Thomas is historic, it would have been located within present day Rapides 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 Rapides Parish: Allen, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Grant, La Salle, Natchitoches & Vernon.

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

  • Rapides Parish     (The home parish of Thomas)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Libuse
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Ball
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Ball is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,906 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ball <2>
    • Tioga
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Pineville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Kolin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Alexandria Junction
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Alexandria Junction is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexandria Junction
    • Alexandria
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Deville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Anandale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Anandale is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anandale
    • Weil
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Weil is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weil
    • Moreland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Moreland is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
    • Ruby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Avoyelles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Center Point
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • North Point
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • North Point is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Point
    • Effie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Vick
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Vick is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vick
    • Moncla
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Moncla is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moncla
    • Egg Bend
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Egg Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egg Bend
    • Marksville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hessmer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mansura
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Catahoula Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Rhinehart
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Utility
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Utility is located in Catahoula Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utility
  • Grant Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Fishville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Fishville is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
    • Pollock
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Creola
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Creola is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
      • Creola has also been known as:
      • Creola village
    • Stay
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Stay is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stay
    • Antonia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Antonia is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antonia
    • Bentley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Dry Prong
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairmount
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Colfax
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Black Creek ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Black Creek is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
    • Georgetown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • La Salle Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.
    • Sharp Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Sharp Town is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharp Town
    • Jena
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jena is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,430 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jena <2>
    • Midway
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Midway is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Trout
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Zenoria
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Zenoria is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenoria
    • Summerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Summerville is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
    • Tullos
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • Marco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Marco is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marco

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

Cemeteries Near Thomas ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thomas.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Thomas, with the one closest to Thomas listed first.

  • Forest Lawn Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Lofton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Clear Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Maryhill Seminary Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Restland Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Greenwood Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • B'nai Israel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Holly Oak Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Libuse Czech Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Leckie Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Alexandria National Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Lincoln Memorial Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (214 more) ...
    • Craig Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Hooper Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Pollock Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)

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.

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

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

  • Pineville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Holloway
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Holloway is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloway
  • Fishville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Fishville is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
  • Alexandria
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Rapides
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Rapides is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapides
  • Weil
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Weil is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weil
  • Moreland
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Moreland is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
  • Poland
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Poland is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poland
  • Lamourie
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Lamourie is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamourie
  • Fairmount
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
  • Boyce
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Crane
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Crane is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Egg Bend
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Egg Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egg Bend
    • Lecompte
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Colfax
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Thomas ...

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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thomas.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thomas, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thomas.

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 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 Thomas:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Thomas, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Thomas) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.