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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 Westlake (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 Westlake. 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/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 northwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors were in the next parish to the west. 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 west 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.

Westlake is located in Calcasieu Parish.

To see how the shape of Louisiana's parishes have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of Calcasieu Parish: Beauregard, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Newton (TX) & Orange (TX).

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

  • Calcasieu Parish     (The home parish of Westlake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westlake, with the one closest to Westlake listed first.
    • Ararat
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
      • Ararat is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Lake Charles
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Moss Bluff
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moss Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Bluff
      • Moss Bluff is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moss Bluff <1>
    • Prien
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prien
      • Prien is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Sulphur
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Greinwich Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greinwich Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greinwich Village
      • Greinwich Village is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Carlyss
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlyss
      • Carlyss is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Edgerly
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerly
      • Edgerly is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Iowa
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa
      • Iowa is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
    • DeQuincy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for DeQuincy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeQuincy
      • DeQuincy is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,009 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DeQuincy <1>
    • Vinton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vinton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
      • Vinton is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vinton <1>
    • Bell City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bell City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell City
      • Bell City is located in Calcasieu Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bell City <1>
  • Allen Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westlake, with the one closest to Westlake listed first.
    • Indian Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
      • Indian Village is located in Allen Parish
    • Reeves
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reeves have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeves
      • Reeves is located in Allen Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 243 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reeves <1>
    • Le Blanc
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Le Blanc have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Blanc
      • Le Blanc is located in Allen Parish
    • Kinder
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kinder have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinder
      • Kinder is located in Allen Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kinder <1>
  • Beauregard Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westlake, with the one closest to Westlake listed first.
    • Ragley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ragley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragley
      • Ragley is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ragley <1>
    • Helme
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helme have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helme
      • Helme is located in Beauregard Parish
    • Longville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longville
      • Longville is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longville <1>
    • Singer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Singer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singer
      • Singer is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Singer <1>
    • Newlin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newlin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlin
      • Newlin is located in Beauregard Parish
  • Cameron Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westlake, with the one closest to Westlake listed first.
    • Grand Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
      • Grand Lake is located in Cameron Parish
    • Hackberry
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hackberry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackberry
      • Hackberry is located in Cameron Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hackberry <1>
  • Jefferson Davis Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westlake, with the one closest to Westlake listed first.
    • Lacassine
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lacassine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacassine
      • Lacassine is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacassine <1>
    • Fenton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fenton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Fenton is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <1>
    • Welsh
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Welsh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welsh
      • Welsh is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,195 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welsh <1>
    • Roanoke
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roanoke have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roanoke
      • Roanoke is located in Jefferson Davis Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roanoke <1>
  • Newton County (TX)
  • Orange County (TX)
    • Orange
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
      • Orange is located in Orange County (TX)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,832 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orange <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Westlake ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Westlake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westlake, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westlake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Westlake:

Cemeteries Near Westlake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westlake.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Perkins Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Perkins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Perkins Cemetery
  • Bagdad Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bagdad Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bagdad Cemetery
  • Bilbo Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bilbo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bilbo Cemetery
  • West Fork Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Fork Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Fork Cemetery
  • Ritchie Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ritchie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ritchie Cemetery
  • Orange Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Orange Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Orange Grove Cemetery
  • Goos Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Goos Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goos Cemetery
  • Emanuel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emanuel Cemetery
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Combre Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Burleson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burleson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burleson Cemetery
  • Consolata Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (64 more) ...
    • Prien Memorial Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Royer Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Royer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Royer Cemetery
    • Roseland Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roseland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roseland Cemetery

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Westlake had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Westlake had a population of 4,873 people.

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

  • Lake Charles
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Chloe
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chloe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chloe
    • Chloe is located in Calcasieu Parish
  • Edgerly
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerly
    • Edgerly is located in Calcasieu Parish
  • Grand Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
    • Grand Lake is located in Cameron Parish
  • Iowa
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa
    • Iowa is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
  • Hackberry
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hackberry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackberry
    • Hackberry is located in Cameron Parish
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hackberry <1>
  • Vinton
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vinton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
    • Vinton is located in Calcasieu Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,211 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vinton <1>
  • Echo
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
    • Echo is located in Orange County (TX)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Westlake. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Calcasieu Parish: www.cppj.net/

The official website for State of Louisiana: louisiana.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Westlake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Westlake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.2604, Longitude: -93.2635       In this case, the coordinates for Westlake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Westlake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024