West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana Genealogy

Guide to West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records. 

Description
The County was named for the bâton rouge, French for red stick. The County has Port Allen as its seat and the County was created March 31, 1807. The County is located in the central area of the state.

Parish Courthouse
West Baton Rouge Parish Courthouse PO Box 107 Port Allen, LA 70767-0757 Phone: 225.383.0378 Clerk Court has birth, marriage, probate and land records.

Parent Parish

 * 1807--West Baton Rouge Parish was created 31 March 1807 from Pointe Coupee Parish. Parish seat: Port Allen

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Louisiana Parish boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Louisiana Parish Boundary Maps" (1805-1990) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Neighboring Parishes or Counties

 * East Baton Rouge
 * East Feliciana
 * Iberville
 * Pointe Coupee
 * West Feliciana

African American

 * Louisiana African American Griots Project
 * Afrigeneas - African Ancestored Genealogy
 * African American Cemeteries, listing by county
 * 1719-1820 - West Baton Rouge Parish Slave Records (Genealogy Trails)

Biographies

 * West Baton Rouge Parish Biographies (Genealogy Trails)
 * Index to West Baton Rouge Parish Biographies (USGenWeb Archives)

Cemeteries
The following web sites may have additional information on West Baton Rouge Parish cemeteries.


 * Interment.net Louisiana cemetery records by Parish.
 * African American Cemeteries, listing by county

Census

 * West Baton Rouge Parish Census Records (USGenWeb Archives)
 * Louisiana Census Images (USGenWeb Census Images Project)

Church

 * Louisiana Historical Church Information
 * Directory of Churches in Louisiana, by city (Church Angel)

Court

 * West Baton Rouge Parish Court Records (USGenWeb Archives)

Local Histories

 * Louisiana Museums

Maps

 * Maps of Louisiana (1805-1990)
 * USGW Digital Map Collection (USGenWeb Archives)

Military

 * Louisiana Military History Online
 * 1818-1872 - West Baton Rouge Pensioners, 1818-1872 (Genealogy Trails)

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1898-1950 - at FamilySearch — images

World War I

 * 1917-1920 - at FamilySearch — index and images

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * West Baton Rouge Enlistments, World War II (Genealogy Trails)

Newspapers

 * Louisiana Newspaper List, listing by name/parish (USNPL)
 * Louisiana Newspaper listing (Newslink)

Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
 * WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
 * Do a West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Obituaries

 * West Baton Rouge Parish Obituaries and Death Notices (Genealogy Trails)
 * Index to West Baton Rouge Parish Obituaries (USGenWeb Archives)

Probate
Louisiana Probate Records

Online Probate Records
 * 1756 – 1984 Louisiana Wills and Probate Records 1756-1984 at Ancestry — index and images $

Vital Records

 * Louisiana Records and Statistics Information ~ where and how to order information.

Birth

 * 1847-1853 - West Baton Rouge Parish Birth Records (Genealogy Trails)

Marriage

 * 1837–1957 -  at FamilySearch — index and images
 * West Baton Rouge Parish Marriage Records (Genealogy Trails)

Death

 * 1850-1875, 1894-1960 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * West Baton Rouge Parish Death Records (Genealogy Trails)

Societies and Libraries

 * West Baton Rouge Genealogical Society PO Box 1126 Port Allen, LA 70767-1126 Facebook
 * West Baton Rouge Museum and Historical Society 845 North Jefferson Avenue Port Allen, LA 70767-2417 Phone: 225-336-2422 or 1-888-881-6811 Fax: 225-336-3448 Website
 * Louisiana Historical Society Website
 * Louisiana Historical Association Website

Websites

 * Louisiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Louisiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana (USGenWeb Archives)
 * West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, Genealogy and History (Genealogy Trails)
 * West Baton Rouge Parish LA Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
 * West Baton Rouge Parish LA Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)