Louisiana, Orleans Parish Vital Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Louisiana  Orleans Parish

What is in the Collection?
This collection includes birth records and an index for 1910. It also includes marriage and death records and indexes for 1960.

Orleans Parish began keeping birth records in 1790, death records in 1804, and marriage records in 1834. Statewide registration of births and deaths began in 1914 and delayed registration of births in 1939. There is no statewide registration of marriages.

For a list of records by date and event currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Image Visibility
Whenever possible, FamilySearch makes records available online to all FamilySearch.org patrons at no cost. However, ultimate rights to view images on our website are granted by the record custodians.

Due to contractual provisions with the Louisiana State Archives, FamilySearch has revised access to the Louisiana, Orleans Parish Vital Records collection online to meet the following guidelines.

Images for the Louisiana, Orleans Parish vital Records, 1910,1960 collection can be viewed through the following means:

1. Images can be viewed by members of the supporting organization, by signing into the website using a member account. 2. Users with public accounts will be redirected to our partnership site at the Louisiana State Archives where image access is fee-based. Viewing fees help the archive fund the preservation and access of valuable records and ensure that research facilities are maintained. 3. An extensive list of microfilms are also available for the Orleans Parish Vital Records. They can be ordered via Online Film Ordering in most parts of the world. The films can also be viewed in-person at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. 4. Images from the collection cannot be printed or downloaded by any viewers.

Coverage Map
To see a coverage map of FamilySearch's holdings of Louisiana marriages, click here.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Information found in the birth records usually contain the following:
 * Date and place of birth
 * Child’s name
 * Child’s gender and race
 * Father's name, age and occupation
 * Mother's maiden name, age and occupation
 * Parents' nativity
 * Parents' residence
 * Date of declaration of birth
 * Name and address of person reporting the birth

Information found in the marriage records contain the following information:


 * Date and place of marriage
 * Full name of groom
 * Groom's birth date and place of birth
 * Groom's current residence, occupation and race
 * Names of groom's parents, including mother's maiden name
 * Parents' birth place
 * Full name of bride
 * Bride's birth date and place of birth
 * Bride's current residence, occupation and race
 * Names of bride's parents, including mother's maiden name
 * Number of marriages for bride and groom
 * Court where legal proceedings of any divorce were finalized
 * Officiator at marriage
 * Names of witnesses

Information found in the death records usually contain the following:


 * Name and age of deceased
 * Death date and place
 * Date and place of birth of deceased
 * Gender, race and marital state of deceased
 * Current residence of deceased
 * Name of parents, including mother's maiden name
 * Parents' birthplace
 * Cause of death
 * Name and address of person reporting the death
 * Place of burial

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * The date of the event or the name of a parent or spouse

View the Images
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 * 1) Select County
 * 2) Select Record Type, Date Range, and Volume

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

For more tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Cite the record just in case you need to find it later. See below for help citing this collection.
 * Use the age or estimated birth date to find other church and vital records such as birth, baptism, marriage, and death records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find land, probate and immigration records.
 * Use the information found in the record to find additional family members in censuses. Witnesses were usually family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records were kept years before counties began keeping records. They are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Indexes and transcriptions may not include all the data found in the original records. You could get a copy of the original record from the State Archives, Baton Rouge.
 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you find possible relatives.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby town or county.
 * Try different spellings of your ancestor’s name.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Check the info box above for additional FamilySearch websites and related websites that may assist you in finding similar records.

Citing this Collection
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