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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 Leigh (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 Leigh. 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 Counties/Parishes ...

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

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

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

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

Leigh is located in Harrison County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Harrison County: Caddo (LA), Gregg, Marion, Panola, Rusk & Upshur.

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

  • Harrison County     (The home county of Leigh)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leigh, with the one closest to Leigh listed first.
    • Karnack
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Uncertain
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jonesville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Scottsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Baldwin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Baldwin is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
    • Waskom
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Pope City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Pope City is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pope City
    • Woodlawn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Woodlawn is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
    • Marshall
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Elysian Fields
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Nesbitt
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Nesbitt is located in Harrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesbitt
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 281 people
    • Hallsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Harleton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leigh, with the one closest to Leigh listed first.
    • McLeod
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Kildare
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Huffins
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Huffins is located in Cass County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffins
    • Bivins
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Gregg County
    • Easton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leigh, with the one closest to Leigh listed first.
    • Jefferson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kellyville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Kellyville is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyville
    • Lodi
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Sarber
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Sarber is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarber
    • Macedonia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Macedonia is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
    • Jackson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jackson is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
  • Panola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leigh, with the one closest to Leigh listed first.
    • Panola
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • De Berry
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Midyett
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Midyett is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midyett
    • Center Point ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Center Point is located in Panola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Point
  • Rusk County
    • Tatum
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Miller County (AR)
    • Capps City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Capps City is located in Miller County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capps City
  • Bossier Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leigh, with the one closest to Leigh listed first.
    • Benton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Benton is located in Bossier Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,092 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Benton <1>
    • Bossier City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Parkland Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Parkland Village is located in Bossier Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkland Village
    • Alden Bridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Alden Bridge is located in Bossier Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden Bridge
    • Espanita Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Espanita Village is located in Bossier Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Espanita Village
    • Red Chute
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Red Chute is located in Bossier Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Chute
  • Caddo Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Leigh, with the one closest to Leigh listed first.
    • Longwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Longwood is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
    • Mooringsport
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Oil City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Blanchard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Greenwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bethany
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Longwood Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Longwood Village is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood Village
    • Western Hills Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Western Hills Village is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western Hills Village
    • Belcher
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Black Bayou ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Black Bayou is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bayou
    • Vivian
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Vivian is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vivian
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,443 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vivian <1>
    • Garfield ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Garfield is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
    • Edgewood Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Edgewood Village is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood Village
  • De Soto Parish (LA)
    • Stonewall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Leigh ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Leigh.

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

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

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

  • Davis Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Mimosa Hall Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Blocker Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Swanson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Motley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Dean Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Andrews Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Scott Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Hope #2 Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Hope #1 Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (190 more) ...

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.<3>

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

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

  • Latex
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Latex is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latex
  • Scottsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Jonesville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Waskom
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Longwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Longwood is located in Caddo Parish (LA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
  • Mooringsport
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodlawn
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Woodlawn is located in Harrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
  • Marshall
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Greenwood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Blanchard
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Smithland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Smithland is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithland
  • Elysian Fields
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Bethany
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Jefferson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Flournoy
      (17 miles [27.4 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 Leigh. See our List of 1890's Communities around Leigh.

Newspapers Published in Leigh ...

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 73 newspapers that have been published in the area around Leigh.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Leigh, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Leigh.

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 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 Leigh:

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>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 Leigh, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Leigh) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.