Louisiana, Orleans Parish Estate Files - FamilySearch Historical Records

Collection Time Period
County probate records were kept from the time a county was formed to the present. This collection includes records for the years 1804-1846. With the adoption of the 1845 constitution, the official term for all of Louisiana's primary civil divisions has been parishes. Prior to 1845, there were both counties and parishes.

Record Description
Estate files are folders containing loose papers. These files normally included wills, settlement papers, inventories, successions, receipts, and other records pertaining to the estates.

Estate files were generally well preserved, though there may be some record loss due to fire or other disasters.

Record Content


Probate records (or succession records) include petitions, successions, inventories, accounts, decrees and other court documents.

Genealogical facts found in these records include:


 * Name of testator or deceased
 * Names of heirs such as spouse, children, and other relatives or friends
 * Name of executor, administrator, or guardian
 * Names of witnesses
 * Residence of testator
 * Document and recording dates (These are used to approximate event dates, i.e., a will was usually written near time of death.)

How to Use the Records
Use probate records to identify heirs and relatives. Probate records may contain a person’s death date, the names of family members, family relationships, and residences. Use this information to search for information in other records. You may learn about adoptions or guardianship of minor children and dependents. You may have to use probate records as a substitute for civil birth and death records because they exist for an earlier time period.

Record History
Each county began keeping probate records from the time the county was created. Until handling of probate records was assigned to the Clerk of the District Court for each parish in 1845, probate records were kept in county Probate Courts. Some of the early records in this collection that were created shortly after the Louisiana Purchase were written in French.

In Louisiana probate records are also referred to as succession records. Estate files are compilations of wills, successions, petitions, letters, bonds, inventories, settlements, and other probate records. Probate records are generally recorded in the county where the person resided. Estates were probated for approximately 25 percent of the heads of households in the United States before 1900, whether or not the individual left a will. Wills are more likely to be found in rural communities than in larger cities and industrial areas.

Why This Collection Was Created?
Probate records are used to legally dispose of a person’s estate after his or her death. The probate process transfers the legal responsibility for payment of taxes, care and custody of dependent family members, liquidation of debts, and transfer of property title. The transfer is to an executor or executrix if the deceased had made a will, to an administrator or administratrix if the deceased had not made a will, or to a guardian or conservator if the deceased had heirs under the age of twenty-one or if heirs were incompetent due to disease or disability.

Record Reliability
The death date, residence, and other facts that were current at the time of the probate proceeding are quite reliable, though there is still a chance of misinformation. The records may omit the names of deceased family members, those who have previously received an inheritance, or the spouse mentioned in a will may not be the parent of the children mentioned. Some wills do not name family members.

Related Web Sites
Estate Inventories of Orleans Parish Civil Courts, 1803-1877

Related Wiki Articles
Louisiana Probate Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection
"Lousiana, Orleans Parish Estate Files, 1804-1846." index and images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org): 20 January 2011). entry for Thomas William Dalton, 1833; citing Estate Files,, digital folder number 004,166,072; Parish Court House, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Sources of Information for This Collection:

 * Louisiana, Orleans Parish Estate Files, 1804-1846; index and images, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/). Digital images of original records contained in Probate Court in various parishes throughout Louisiana.