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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 Union Hill (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 Union Hill. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Union Hill is located in 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 Union Hill. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Union Hill:

  • Rapides Parish     (The home parish of Union Hill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Hill, with the one closest to Union Hill listed first.
    • Glenmora
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • McNary
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • McNary is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Elmer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Longleaf
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Hineston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Forest Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Otis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Sieper
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Hemphill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Hemphill is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
    • Woodworth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Gardner
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Lecompte
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Allen Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Hill, with the one closest to Union Hill listed first.
    • Mab
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Mab is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mab
    • Pawnee
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Pawnee is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
    • Elizabeth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakdale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Reids
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Reids is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reids
    • Marionville ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Marionville is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marionville
    • Ward
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Ward is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
    • Tenmile
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Tenmile is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
    • Grant
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Canton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Canton is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
    • Bond
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Bond is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bond
    • Cherry Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Cherry Grove is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
  • Avoyelles Parish
    • Eola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Eola is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
  • Beauregard Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Hill, with the one closest to Union Hill listed first.
    • Sugartown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Dry Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ikes
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Ikes is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ikes
  • Evangeline Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Hill, with the one closest to Union Hill listed first.
    • Turkey Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Pine Prairie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Bayou Chicot
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Bayou Chicot is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Chicot
    • Reddell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Landry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Grant Parish
    • Fairmount
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Hill, with the one closest to Union Hill listed first.
    • Dido
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dido is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dido
    • Leander
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Leander is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
    • Pitkin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Fullerton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Lacamp
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cravens
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Cravens is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cravens
    • Hicks
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hicks is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
    • Cole Central
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Cole Central is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole Central
    • Simpson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Walnut Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Walnut Hill is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
    • Slagle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Fort Polk North
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Fort Polk North is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Polk North

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

Cemeteries Near Union Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Union Hill.

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 Union Hill - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Union Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Stanley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Melder Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Occupy #1 Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Occupy #1 Cemetery
    • The Occupy #1 Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Occupy Church Number 1 Cemetery
    • Ten Mile Cemetery
    • Tenmile Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #191365 <2>
  • Osburn Willis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Elisha Memorial Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Lone Star Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Doyle Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Campground Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • West Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Elizabeth Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (180 more) ...

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

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

  • Melder
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Elmer
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Hineston
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Dido
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dido is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dido
  • Cora
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Cora is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora
  • Hemphill
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Hemphill is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
  • Milford ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Milford is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
  • Lecompte
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Lamourie
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lamourie is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamourie
  • Hicks
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hicks is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
  • Loyd
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Loyd is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
  • Moreland
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Moreland is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Crane
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Crane is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane
    • Weil
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Weil is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weil
    • Simpson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Union Hill ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Union Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Union Hill, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Union Hill.

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 Union Hill:

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