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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 Williana (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 Williana. 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 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 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, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Williana is located in Grant 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 Grant Parish: La Salle, Natchitoches, Rapides & Winn.

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

  • Grant Parish     (The home parish of Williana)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williana, with the one closest to Williana listed first.
    • Black Creek ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Black Creek is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
    • Dry Prong
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Bentley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Antonia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Antonia is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antonia
    • Georgetown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Pollock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Colfax
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Stay
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Stay is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stay
    • Fishville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Fishville is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
    • Creola
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Creola is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
      • Creola has also been known as:
      • Creola village
    • Fairmount
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
    • Montgomery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • La Salle Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williana, with the one closest to Williana listed first.
    • Zenoria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Zenoria is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenoria
    • Tullos
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Urania
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Trout
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Midway
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Midway is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Summerville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Summerville is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
    • Olla
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Olla is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olla
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,371 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olla <1>
    • Jena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jena is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,430 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jena <1>
    • Standard
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Standard is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standard
    • Sharp Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Sharp Town is located in La Salle Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharp Town
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williana, with the one closest to Williana listed first.
    • Marco
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Marco is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marco
    • Cloutierville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Derry
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Derry is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
    • Melrose
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Gorum
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Natchez
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Clarence
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williana, with the one closest to Williana listed first.
    • Lena
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Rock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Rock is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • Ball
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Ball is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,906 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ball <1>
    • Zimmerman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Zimmerman is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerman
    • Boyce
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Tioga
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hot Wells
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Hot Wells is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Wells
    • Weil
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Weil is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weil
    • Pineville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Libuse
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Flatwoods
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Alexandria
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Alexandria Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Alexandria Junction is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexandria Junction
  • Winn Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Williana, with the one closest to Williana listed first.
    • Atlanta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Whitford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Whitford is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitford
    • Joyce
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Winnfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Couley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Couley is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couley
    • Flat Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Flat Creek is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Creek
    • Calvin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Maurice
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Hudson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Hudson is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
    • Bethlehem
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bethlehem is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
    • Coldwater
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Coldwater is located in Winn Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
    • Dodson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Sikes
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Williana ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Williana.

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

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

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

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.<4>

While we didn't find Williana in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Williana.

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

  • Black Creek ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Black Creek is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
  • Iatt
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Iatt is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iatt
  • Colfax
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Tunica ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Tunica is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunica
  • Atlanta
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Fishville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Fishville is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
  • Fairmount
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Fairmount is located in Grant Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
  • Mount Zion
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Mount Zion is located in Winn Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
  • Winnfield
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Lena
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Montgomery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Chopin
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Chopin is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chopin
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Boyce
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Rapides
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Rapides is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapides
    • Cloutierville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Williana ...

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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Williana.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Williana, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Williana.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Williana:

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>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- Williana) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Williana, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.