Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Van Buren. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Van Buren to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Van Buren, 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 Van Buren (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 Van Buren. 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 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 Van Buren is historic, it would have been located within present day Livingston 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 Livingston Parish: Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Saint Helena, Saint James, Saint John the Baptist & Tangipahoa.
Below are the parishes that are near Van Buren. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Van Buren:
- Livingston Parish (The home parish of Van Buren)
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Holden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Albany
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Livingston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Springfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Killian
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Killian is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killian
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,337 people
- Starns
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Starns is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starns
- Maurepas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Clio
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clio is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clio
- Walker
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Walker is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,302 people
- French Settlement
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Port Vincent
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Port Vincent is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Vincent
- Population from the 2020 Census: 650 people
- Georgeville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Georgeville is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
- Ascension Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Summerfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Summerfield is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
- Claybank
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Claybank is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claybank
- Galvez Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Galvez Town is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galvez Town
- Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lake is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake
- Brignac
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brignac is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brignac
- Galvez
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Galvez is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galvez
- Little Prairie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Little Prairie is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Prairie
- Hobart
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hobart is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobart
- Saint Amant
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Brittany
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Duplessis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hope Villa
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hope Villa is located in Ascension Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Villa
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Shenandoah
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Shenandoah is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shenandoah
- Stonypoint ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stonypoint is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonypoint
- Old Jefferson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Old Jefferson is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Jefferson
- Woodshire Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Woodshire Village is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodshire Village
- Baywood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Baywood is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Greenwell Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Monticello
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Monticello is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
- Central
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Central is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Population from the 2020 Census: 29,450 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Central <2>
- Perkins Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Perkins Village is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins Village
- Boganvilla
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Boganvilla is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boganvilla
- Inniswold
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Village Saint George
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Village Saint George is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Saint George
- East Feliciana Parish
- Blairstown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Blairstown is located in East Feliciana Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairstown
- Iberville Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Saint Gabriel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Iberville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Iberville is located in Iberville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iberville
- Sunshine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Sunshine is located in Iberville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Carville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Charles Parish
- Gypsy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gypsy is located in Saint Charles Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gypsy
- Saint Helena Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Montpelier
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Montpelier is located in Saint Helena Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montpelier
- Population from the 2020 Census: 239 people
- Pine Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Grangeville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Grangeville is located in Saint Helena Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grangeville
- Greensburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Saint James Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Gramercy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lutcher
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Paulina
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Uncle Sam
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Chatman Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Chatman Town is located in Saint James Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatman Town
- Free Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Free Town is located in Saint James Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Free Town
- Hester
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hester is located in Saint James Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
- Vacherie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Burton Lane
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Burton Lane is located in Saint James Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton Lane
- Convent
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- North Vacherie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- North Vacherie is located in Saint James Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Vacherie
- Saint John the Baptist Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Garyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Mount Airy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Frenier
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Frenier is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenier
- Edgard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Reserve
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wallace
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Wallace is located in Saint John the Baptist Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace
- Laplace
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Tammany Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Goodbee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Goodbee is located in Saint Tammany Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodbee
- Madisonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Tangipahoa Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Baptist
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Baptist is located in Tangipahoa Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baptist
- Wadesboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Wadesboro is located in Tangipahoa Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadesboro
- Hammond
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Ponchatoula
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Natalbany
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Genessee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Genessee is located in Tangipahoa Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genessee
- Tickfaw
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Independence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Akers
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Manchac
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Manchac is located in Tangipahoa Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchac
- Robert
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Loranger
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Van Buren, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Van Buren.
Cemeteries Near Van Buren ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Van Buren.
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 Van Buren - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Van Buren covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Efferson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Zeigler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Smiley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- McLin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- James Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bankston Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Carters Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- St. Margarets Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Kinchen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Courtney Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Red Oak Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Colyell Baptist Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (320 more) ...
- Lard Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Pennington Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Redding Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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 Van Buren in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Van Buren.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Van Buren, with the one closest to Van Buren listed first.
- Springville
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Springville is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Colyell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Colyell is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colyell
- Bayou Barbary
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Bayou Barbary is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Barbary
- Springfield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Killian
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Killian is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killian
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,337 people
- Maurepas
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Clio
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clio is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clio
- Starns
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Starns is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starns
- Whitehall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Whitehall is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehall
- Walker
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Walker is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,302 people
- Port Vincent
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Port Vincent is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Vincent
- Population from the 2020 Census: 650 people
- French Settlement
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Head of Island
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Head of Island is located in Livingston Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Head of Island
- Ponchatoula
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Hammond
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Van Buren. See our List of 1890's Communities around Van Buren.
Newspapers Published in Van Buren ...
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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Van Buren.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Van Buren, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Van Buren.
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 Van Buren:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Livingston Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Ascension Parish
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- East Feliciana Parish
- Iberville Parish
- Saint Charles Parish
- Saint Helena Parish
- Saint James Parish
- Saint John the Baptist Parish
- Saint Tammany Parish
- Tangipahoa Parish
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Louisiana
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 Van Buren, 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> | 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- Van Buren) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |