Louisiana, Orleans Court Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection includes civil case files from the Parish Court, 1822-1840; Commercial Court, 1839-1846, First Judicial District Court, 1839-1842; Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Judicial Court, 1846-1880 and the Sixth and Seventh Judicial District Courts, 1854-1880. This collection is being published as images become available.

Between 1846 and 1880, New Orleans had a system of nine numbered district courts. Despite their name, these district courts weren't divided by geographical location; each district covered the entire Orleans Parish. After 1853, however, each court handled civil mattersuits of a specific type:


 * First District Court -- Criminal Jurisdiction
 * Second District Court -- Probate Matters
 * Third District Court -- Family Matters
 * Fourth/Fifth District Court -- General Civil Jurisdiction
 * Sixth District Court -- Cases Pending in the City of Lafayette/General Civil Jurisdiction
 * Seventh District Court -- Possibly shared Family Matters with Third District Court
 * Eighth District Court -- Disputed Election Cases during the Reconstruction
 * Superior District Court -- Tax-related Cases

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
 * Name
 * Death or recording date
 * Death or recording place
 * Name of administrator
 * Names of heirs or other family members
 * Witnesses
 * Guardians
 * Relationships
 * Residences
 * Property descriptions
 * Inventory of the estate

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the individual
 * The date of the event or the name of a spouse or child

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select the Court
 * 2) Select the Volume Title and Date Range to view the images.

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select the Court
 * 2) Select the Volume Title and Date Range to view the images.

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. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor in the court records, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the names along with the residence to locate census, church, and land records
 * Use the occupations listed to find other types of records such as employment or military records
 * The information in the records may give clues to, or the names of relatives
 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about land transactions

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. Local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Louisiana.
 * Louisiana Guided Research
 * Louisiana Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.