RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Louisiana >> Rapides Parish >> Wilsons Ferry >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Wilsons Ferry (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 Wilsons Ferry. 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 Wilsons Ferry ...

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.

While the name of this community is Wilsons Ferry, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Wilsons Ferry may originally have been Wilson's Ferry.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Wilsons Ferry might be written as Wilson Ferry.

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

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 ...

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 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 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, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Wilsons Ferry is located in Rapides 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 Rapides Parish: Allen, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Grant, La Salle, Natchitoches & Vernon.

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

  • Rapides Parish     (The home parish of Wilsons Ferry)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilsons Ferry, with the one closest to Wilsons Ferry listed first.
    • Echo
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ruby
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Whittington
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Whittington is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittington
    • Kolin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Cheneyville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Lecompte
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Loyd
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Loyd is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
    • Moreland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Moreland is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
    • Anandale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Anandale is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anandale
    • Alexandria Junction
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Alexandria Junction is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexandria Junction
    • Woodworth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Deville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Alexandria
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Allen Parish
    • Pawnee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Pawnee is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
  • Avoyelles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilsons Ferry, with the one closest to Wilsons Ferry listed first.
    • Egg Bend
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Egg Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egg Bend
    • Center Point
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Effie
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Moncla
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Moncla is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moncla
    • Vick
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Vick is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vick
    • Hessmer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Marksville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • North Point
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • North Point is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Point
    • Mansura
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Bunkie
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Bunkie is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,826 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunkie <2>
    • Enterprise
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Enterprise is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
    • Eola
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Eola is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
    • Cottonport
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Concordia Parish
  • Evangeline Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilsons Ferry, with the one closest to Wilsons Ferry listed first.
    • Saint Landry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Turkey Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bayou Chicot
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Bayou Chicot is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Chicot
    • Pine Prairie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Grant Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilsons Ferry, with the one closest to Wilsons Ferry listed first.
    • Creola
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Fishville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Fishville is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishville
    • Stay
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Stay is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stay
    • Pollock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Bentley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Antonia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Antonia is located in Grant Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antonia
  • Pointe Coupee Parish
    • Legonier
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Legonier is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legonier
  • Saint Landry Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilsons Ferry, with the one closest to Wilsons Ferry listed first.
    • Morrow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Bayou Jack
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Bayou Jack is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Jack
    • Boretta
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Boretta is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boretta
    • Rosa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Rosa is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa

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

Cemeteries Near Wilsons Ferry ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilsons Ferry.

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 Wilsons Ferry - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Pierce Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Wise Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Belledeau Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Kalone Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Hays Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Island Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • St. Catherine Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Wise Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Campbell Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Stafford Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (192 more) ...
    • Christians Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • French Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hopewell Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)

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

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

  • Poland
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Poland is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poland
  • Egg Bend
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Egg Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egg Bend
  • Lecompte
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Loyd
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Loyd is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
  • Cheneyville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Lamourie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Lamourie is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamourie
  • Moreland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Moreland is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
  • Marksville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Haas
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Haas is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haas
  • Mansura
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Bunkie
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Bunkie is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkie
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,826 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunkie <2>
  • Alexandria
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Eola
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Eola is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
    • Evergreen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cottonport
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Wilsons Ferry ...

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 Wilsons Ferry.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wilsons Ferry, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wilsons Ferry.

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 helpful 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 Wilsons Ferry:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<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>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 Wilsons Ferry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Wilsons Ferry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.