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Home >> State of Louisiana >> De Soto Parish >> Whitley >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Whitley. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Whitley to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Whitley, 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 Whitley (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 Whitley. 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 southeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next parish to the east. 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/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 south 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Whitley is historic, it would have been located within present day De Soto 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 De Soto Parish: Caddo, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, Panola (TX) & Shelby (TX).

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

  • De Soto Parish     (The home parish of Whitley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitley, with the one closest to Whitley listed first.
    • Keachi
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Keachi is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keachi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • Longstreet
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Gloster
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Screamerville ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Screamerville is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamerville
    • Stonewall
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Grand Cane
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Logansport
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Stanley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Stanley is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Frierson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Mansfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • South Mansfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • South Mansfield is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Mansfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Oxford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Oxford is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
  • Bossier Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitley, with the one closest to Whitley listed first.
    • Bossier City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Elm Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Atkins
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Atkins is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
    • Parkland Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Parkland Village is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkland Village
  • Caddo Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitley, with the one closest to Whitley listed first.
    • Spring Ridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Spring Ridge is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Ridge
    • Bethany
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Keithville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Edgewood Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Edgewood Village is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood Village
    • Reisor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Reisor is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reisor
    • South Towne Heights
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • South Towne Heights is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Towne Heights
    • Greenwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Summer Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Summer Grove is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer Grove
    • Silver Pine Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Silver Pine Village is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Pine Village
    • Chateau Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Chateau Village is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chateau Village
    • Ellerbe Woods
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Ellerbe Woods is located in Caddo Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerbe Woods
    • Western Hills Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Red River Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitley, with the one closest to Whitley listed first.
    • Abington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Abington is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abington
    • Westdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Westdale is located in Red River Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westdale
  • Harrison County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitley, with the one closest to Whitley listed first.
    • Elysian Fields
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Waskom
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Waskom is located in Harrison County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waskom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,150 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waskom <2>
    • Jonesville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Scottsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Panola County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitley, with the one closest to Whitley listed first.
    • Midyett
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Midyett is located in Panola County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midyett
    • De Berry
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Panola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Woods
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Woods is located in Panola County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods
    • Carthage
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Murvaul
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Murvaul is located in Panola County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murvaul
    • Gary City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Buncome
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Buncome is located in Panola County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buncome
    • Beckville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Delray
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Delray is located in Panola County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delray
    • Clayton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Center Point ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Center Point is located in Panola County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
  • Shelby County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Whitley, with the one closest to Whitley listed first.
    • Haslam
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Haslam is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslam
    • Joaquin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Tenaha
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 <2>
    • Campti
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Campti is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campti
    • Center
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 <2>
    • Africa ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Africa is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Africa
    • Shelbyville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Timpson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Timpson is located in Shelby County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timpson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,130 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Timpson <2>
    • Huxley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • 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 Whitley, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Whitley.

Cemeteries Near Whitley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Whitley.

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

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

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

  • Gatlin Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Hogeye Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Old Home Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Fullalove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Centennial Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Reeves Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Adams Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Pyle Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Gamble Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Flower Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Hughes Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Union Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (178 more) ...
    • Pollard Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Old Prospect Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Mt. Zion Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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 Whitley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Whitley.

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

  • Keachi
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Keachi is located in De Soto Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keachi
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
  • Longstreet
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Centennial
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Centennial is located in Panola County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial
  • Deadwood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Deadwood is located in Panola County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deadwood
  • Gloster
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Spring Ridge
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Spring Ridge is located in Caddo Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Ridge
  • Midyett
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Midyett is located in Panola County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midyett
  • Grand Cane
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Stonewall
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Logansport
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • De Berry
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Bethany
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Joaquin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Keithville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cook ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Cook is located in De Soto Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook

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

Newspapers Published in Whitley ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Whitley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Whitley, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Whitley.

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 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 Whitley:

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 Whitley, 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>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Whitley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.