Orleans Parish, Louisiana Genealogy

United States &gt; Louisiana &gt; Orleans Parish

Parent Parish
New Orleans was founded about 1718 by Jean-Baptiste LeMoyne, Sieur de Bienville, then governor of the French Louisiana colony, who named the settlement for Philippe II, Duc d'Orléans, then regent of France. In 1722 the town was made the capital of the colony. Following the partition of Louisiana between England and Spain in 1762-1763, New Orleans (called Nouvelle-Orléans) became the capital of Spanish Louisiana. The French citizens revolted against Spain and expelled the Spanish governor in 1768. The revolt was short-lived, however, and a show of force in 1769 reestablished Spanish rule. New Orleans was ceded secretly to France in 1800, and in the space of only twenty days (November 30-December 20, 1803) it was formally ceded first to France and then, by the terms of the Louisana Purchase, to the United States. Under American enterprise, development of the city was rapid.

Populated Places
The city was incorporated in 1805 and became the State capital in 1812. In 1815, at the close of the War of 1812, the city was attacked by a British force. General Andrew Jackson commanded an American army that decisively defeated the invaders in the Battle of New Orleans, on January 8, 1815.

During the following four decades New Orleans enjoyed great prosperity. Trade was tremendously increased by the advent of the steamboat and railroads, and by 1852 the city was the third largest in the United States.

During the Civil War, New Orleans, as the chief Confederate port and a military center, was a focal objective of Union troops. Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, commanding a Union fleet, captured the city in April 1862, and the port was held by the Union until the end of the war.

From 1865 5o 1877 the history of New Orleans was characterized by racial and political strife incited by so-called carpetbaggers, who encouraged the freed slaves to persecute their former masters. Riots became so frequent that the Federal government declared maritial law in 1874. The government forces were withdrawn in 1877.

During the period of Reconstructin the city slowly recovered. The capital was transferred to Baton Rouge in 1880, and civic enterprise devoted itself to commercial development and public works.

Web Sites

 * Family History Library Catalog for this parish.