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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 French Town (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 French Town. 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 French Town ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

Another variation: Frenchtown.

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

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 Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

French Town is located in Deer Lodge County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Deer Lodge County: Beaverhead, Granite, Jefferson, Powell, Ravalli & Silver Bow.

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

  • Deer Lodge County     (The home county of French Town)
    • The following are listed by their distance from French Town, with the one closest to French Town listed first.
    • Gregson ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Gregson is located in Deer Lodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregson
    • Anaconda - Deer Lodge County
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Anaconda - Deer Lodge County is located in Deer Lodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anaconda - Deer Lodge County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,204 people
    • Sunnyside
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Sunnyside is located in Deer Lodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
    • Mine Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Mine Creek is located in Deer Lodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mine Creek
    • Anaconda
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Stump Town
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Stump Town is located in Deer Lodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stump Town
    • Warm Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Warm Springs is located in Deer Lodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warm Springs
    • Cable City ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Cable City is located in Deer Lodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cable City
    • Georgetown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Georgetown is located in Deer Lodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
    • Southern Cross ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Southern Cross is located in Deer Lodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southern Cross
  • Beaverhead County
    • The following are listed by their distance from French Town, with the one closest to French Town listed first.
    • Wise River
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Lion City ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Lion City is located in Beaverhead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lion City
    • Glendale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Glendale is located in Beaverhead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Elkhorn ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Elkhorn is located in Beaverhead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
  • Granite County
    • Granite ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Granite is located in Granite County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite
  • Jefferson County
    • Woodville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Woodville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
  • Silver Bow County
    • The following are listed by their distance from French Town, with the one closest to French Town listed first.
    • Fairmont Hot Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairmont Hot Springs is located in Silver Bow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont Hot Springs
      • Fairmont Hot Springs has also been known as:
      • Gregson Fairmont Hot Springs
      • Gregson Hot Springs
      • Gregson Springs
      • Gregson
    • Ramsay
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Butte - Silver Bow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Butte - Silver Bow is located in Silver Bow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butte - Silver Bow
      • Estimated population in 2019: 34,207 people
    • Divide
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Williamsburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Williamsburg is located in Silver Bow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
    • Butte
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • North Walkerville ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • North Walkerville is located in Silver Bow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Walkerville
    • Walkerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Janney
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Janney is located in Silver Bow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janney
    • Moose Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Moose Town is located in Silver Bow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moose Town
    • Highland City ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Highland City is located in Silver Bow County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland City
    • Melrose
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to French Town, see our County-by-County Page for French Town.

Cemeteries Near French Town ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of French Town.

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 French Town - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Norton Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Lower Hill Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Upper Hill Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • New Hill Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Dewey Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Sunset Memorial Gardens
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Sunset Memorial Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sunset Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the southeast of Anaconda.
    • The Sunset Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Sunset Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #21134 <3>
  • Anaconda Catholic Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Patricks Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Patricks Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Butte.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #21101 <3>
  • B'nai Israel Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for B'nai Israel Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the B'nai Israel Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Butte.
    • The B'nai Israel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bnai Israel Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #20750 <3>
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Mt. Moriah Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Moriah Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Moriah Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Butte.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #21007 <3>
    • Maurice Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Glendale Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)

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

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

  • Gregson ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Gregson is located in Deer Lodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregson
  • Dewey
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Dewey is located in Beaverhead County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey
  • Mill Creek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Mill Creek is located in Deer Lodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
  • Buxton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Buxton is located in Silver Bow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buxton
  • Stuart
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Stuart is located in Deer Lodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuart
  • Anaconda
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Feely
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Feely is located in Silver Bow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Feely
  • Woodin
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodin is located in Silver Bow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodin
  • Silver Bow ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Silver Bow is located in Silver Bow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Bow
  • Divide
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Rocker
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Rocker is located in Silver Bow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocker
  • Burlington ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Burlington is located in Silver Bow County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Warm Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Warm Springs is located in Deer Lodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warm Springs
    • Glendale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Glendale is located in Beaverhead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Butte
      (22 miles [35.4 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 French Town. See our List of 1890's Communities around French Town.

Newspapers Published in French Town ...

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 92 newspapers that have been published in the area around French Town.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of French Town, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for French Town.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 French Town:

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