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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 Springs (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 Springs. 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 Union Springs ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Union Springs: Union Spgs. (or less commonly used: Union Spngs. or Union Sprngs.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Union Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Union Springs.

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.

Union Springs 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 Union Springs. For each of these parishes/counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Union Springs:

  • Sabine Parish     (The home parish of Union Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Springs, with the one closest to Union Springs listed first.
    • Converse
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Noble
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hamlin ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hamlin is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
    • Pleasant Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Bayou Scie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
    • Zwolle
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Belmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Many
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Negreet
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fisher
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • De Soto Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Springs, with the one closest to Union Springs listed first.
    • Oxford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Oxford is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
    • Stanley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Stanley is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Pelican
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • South Mansfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • South Mansfield is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mansfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Mansfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Logansport
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Grand Cane
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Screamerville ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Screamerville is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamerville
    • Butler ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Butler is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
    • Longstreet
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Gloster
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Keachi
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Keachi is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keachi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • Frierson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Springs, with the one closest to Union Springs listed first.
    • Marthaville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Robeline
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Red River Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Springs, with the one closest to Union Springs listed first.
    • Abington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Abington is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abington
    • Harmon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hanna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Hanna is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanna
    • Carroll
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Carroll is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
    • Lake End
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Lake End is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake End
    • Coushatta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Westdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Westdale is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westdale
    • Edgefield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Edgefield is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgefield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
  • Panola County (TX)
    • Woods
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Woods is located in Panola County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
  • Sabine County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Springs, with the one closest to Union Springs listed first.
    • Geneva
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Milam
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Rosevine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Rosevine is located in Sabine County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosevine
  • San Augustine County (TX)
    • San Augustine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Shelby County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Union Springs, with the one closest to Union Springs listed first.
    • Huxley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Huxley is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 376 people
    • Campti
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Campti is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campti
    • Haslam
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Haslam is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslam
    • Joaquin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Shelbyville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Africa is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
    • Choice
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Choice is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choice
    • Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Center is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,043 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Center <1>
    • Short
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Short is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
    • Tenaha
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Tenaha is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenaha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,134 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tenaha <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Union Springs ...

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

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

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

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

  • Bossler Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Pollard Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Pauls Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Barber Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Wimberly Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Cassel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Sebastian Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Strong Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Brown Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (204 more) ...
    • Prude Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Sardis Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Williams Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Lula
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Lula is located in De Soto Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lula
  • Mitchell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Mitchell is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
  • Cook ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Cook is located in De Soto Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook
  • Oxford
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Oxford is located in De Soto Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
  • Pelican
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Mansfield
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Logansport
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • East Hamilton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • East Hamilton is located in Shelby County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hamilton
  • Bayou Scie
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bayou Scie is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Scie
  • Pleasant Hill
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Shelbyville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Grand Cane
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Joaquin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Patroon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Patroon is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patroon
    • Sexton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Sexton is located in Sabine County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton

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

Newspapers Published in Union Springs ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Union Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Union Springs, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Union Springs.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Union Springs:

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