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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Turtle Beach (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 Turtle Beach. 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.

Name Variations for Turtle Beach ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Turtle Beach: Turtle Bch.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 northeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors were in the next parish to the east. 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/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 north 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.

Turtle Beach is located in Sabine 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 Sabine Parish: De Soto, Natchitoches, Vernon, Newton (TX), Sabine (TX) & Shelby (TX).

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

  • Sabine Parish     (The home parish of Turtle Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Turtle Beach, with the one closest to Turtle Beach listed first.
    • Negreet
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Toro
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Toro is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toro
    • Florien
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Fisher
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Zwolle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Many
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Many is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Many
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,667 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Many <1>
    • Rock ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Rock is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • Corleyville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville
    • Bayou Scie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
    • Noble
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Hamlin ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Hamlin is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
    • Belmont
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Turtle Beach, with the one closest to Turtle Beach listed first.
    • Vowells Mill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Vowells Mill is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowells Mill
    • Bellwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Bellwood is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
    • Marthaville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Robeline
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Victoria
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Victoria is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
    • Provencal
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Turtle Beach, with the one closest to Turtle Beach listed first.
    • Hornbeck
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Anacoco
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Kurthwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Westwood Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Westwood Village is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
    • Fertitta Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fertitta Park is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertitta Park
    • Leesville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Alco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Alco is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alco
    • Evans
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • New Llano
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Jasper County (TX)
    • Browndell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Browndell is located in Jasper County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browndell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
  • Newton County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Turtle Beach, with the one closest to Turtle Beach listed first.
    • Toledo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Toledo is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
    • South Toledo Bend
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • South Toledo Bend is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Toledo Bend
    • Burkeville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Wiergate
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Sabine County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Turtle Beach, with the one closest to Turtle Beach listed first.
    • Milam
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Hemphill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mason
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Mason is located in Sabine County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
    • Fairmount
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Fairmount is located in Sabine County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Geneva
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Rosevine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Rosevine is located in Sabine County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosevine
    • Pineland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bronson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Brookeland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • San Augustine County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Turtle Beach, with the one closest to Turtle Beach listed first.
    • Rebecca
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Rebecca is located in San Augustine County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rebecca
    • Maxey Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Maxey Town is located in San Augustine County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxey Town
    • San Augustine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Shelby County (TX)
    • Huxley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Huxley is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people

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

Cemeteries Near Turtle Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Turtle Beach.

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 Turtle Beach - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Miller Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Sabinetown Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Isaac Low Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Redland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Harper's Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Roberts Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Gandy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Caney Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Carroll Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Anderson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Low's Chapel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (237 more) ...
    • Pilgrim Rest Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Oliphant Memorial Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • McMillion Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)

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 Turtle Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Turtle Beach.

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

  • Columbus ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Columbus is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
  • Negreet
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Toro
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Toro is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toro
  • Milam
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Hemphill
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Many
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Many is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Many
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,667 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Many <1>
  • Fairmount
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Fairmount is located in Sabine County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
  • East Hamilton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • East Hamilton is located in Shelby County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hamilton
  • Geneva
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Toledo
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Toledo is located in Newton County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
  • Corleyville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville
  • Bayou Scie
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Sexton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Sexton is located in Sabine County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton
    • Anacoco
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Vowells Mill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Vowells Mill is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowells Mill

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

Newspapers Published in Turtle Beach ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Turtle Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Turtle Beach, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Turtle Beach.

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 helpful 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 Turtle Beach:

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 Turtle Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Turtle Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.