|
Avoyelles
Parish
Fr.
dim. of avoie, 'small
vipers')
The parish is named for the Avoyel
Indian tribe. The parish was
established on March 31, 1807 and
was named Marksville became
the parish seat. This is where a
circuit rider had held
court. A tribe spoken of in
the 18th century as one of the
nations of the Red River, having
their villages near the mouth of
that stream, within what is now
Avoyelles Parish, La. They
probably belonged to the Caddoan
family, the tribe representing a
group that had remained near the
ancient habitat of its kindred.
The country occupied by the
Avoyelles was fertile and
intersected by lakes and bayous,
one of the latter being still
called by their name. They were
known as the "people of the
rocks". They disappeared
pretty rapidly. The Tunica Indians
were still living in a village
near the town of Mansura,
Avoyelles Parish as late as 1930.
The Tunica were from across the
river in Natchez, Mississippi and
settled near Marksville.T he
remnant of the Tunica, consisting
of about 30 people, are now east
and southeast of Marksville, the
parish seat, on what is called
Marksville prairie. They speak
Tunica, Creole, and English.
The
parish seat is Marksville
Cities and towns
Bunkie
Cottonport
Evergreen
Hessmer
Mansura
Marksville
Moreauville
Plaucheville
Simmesport
Adjacent parishes
La
Salle (north)
Catahoula
(north)
Concordia
(northeast)
West
Feliciana (east)
Pointe
Coupee (southeast)
St.
Landry (south)
Evangeline
(southwest)
Rapides
(west)
|
Welcome
to this Avoyelles Louisiana
Genealogy Trails Website.
My name is Janice,
and I am your host for
Louisiana. If you would like
to submit data for this site,
please email
me with your submissions.
Happy Trails to you on your quest
for your ancestors.
This
is a new site, fashioned after our
successful Illinois Trails
websites, and we hope to soon add
data here that can help Louisiana
researchers as much as we've been
able to help our Illinois
researchers.
We need some help to do that
though - volunteers to host these
county websites. If you can make a
basic webpage, and you have a
desire to transcribe data for the
free use of all researchers, we
can use your talents!
Review our Volunteer
Information
and email
Kim.
In the meantime,
join
our mailing list
to be kept apprised of updates to
this website.
|
