Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana Genealogy

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Parish Courthouse
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury 1015 Pithon Street PO Box 1583 Lake Charles, LA 70602

The Police Jury is the governing authority of the Parish.

History
The name Calcasieu (pronounced Cal-ca-shoo) comes from the Atakapan word, "quelqueshue", meaning "crying eagle". It was originally the name of an Atakapa chief, but became the name given to what was formerly the Rio Hondo River (Rio Stondo or "Deep River"), now the Calcasieu River. The parish then inherited this name.

Parent Parish

 * 1840--Calcasieu Parish was created 24 March 1840 from St. Landry Parish, one of the original nineteen civil parishes established by the Legislature in 1807. Parish seat: Lake Charles

Boundary Changes

 * Cameron Parish set off 15 March 1870, from the south portion of Calcasieu
 * part set off for Jefferson Davis Parish 12 June 1912
 * part set off for Beauregard Parish 12 Jun 1912
 * Various parts taken to add to other existing parishes, Rapides 1852, St. Landry 1852, Vermilion 1871, Allen 1912

Record Loss
The parish courthouse was destroyed by a disastrous fire on April 23, 1910, as well as most of downtown Lake Charles, and many of the records of the parish were burned or damaged.

Calcasieu Parish Cemeteries

 * ePodunk
 * Find A Grave
 * la-cemeteries.com
 * Louisiana Cemetery Preservation
 * Louisiana Gravestone Photo Project
 * Southwest Louisiana Cemetery Collection at McNeese University
 * Tombstone Transcription Project
 * usgwarchives.net

Census Information
Calcasieu Parish Census Quick Facts

Church

 * Lists of early and current Calcasieu Parish churches on usgwarchives.net

Land

 * Calcasieu Parish Land Patent Search

Local Histories

 * Calcasieu Parish history on USgenweb
 * Clubs and Organizations
 * Calcasieu Parish places on the National Register of Historic Places
 * On This Day in Southwest Louisiana History
 * Thomas Rigmaiden's Diary - Thomas Rigmaiden, Imperial Calcasieu's first school teacher, kept a diary from 1836 to 1865. The diary entries are a great resource about the people and events of early Calcasieu Parish.

Maps

 * 1895 Map of Calcasieu Parish
 * GIS Maps of Calcasieu Parish - Downloadable/printable pdf maps, including cities, political districts, parks and Government buildings.

Military

 * Confederate Pension Applications - The Louisiana Secretary of State's searchable database contains over 49,000 names that were included in pension applications submitted to the Board of Pension Commissioners.
 * Military Records on USGenWeb
 * Calcasieu Parish, World War II Casualties, Army and Air Force

Newspapers
Lake Charles American Press - Online subscriptions or day passes to the ePaper allow users to search the entire archives.

Taxation

 * 1865 Tax Roll

Vital Records
Birth records going back 100 years are housed by the Calcasieu Parish Health Unit. Phone: 337-478-6020.

Death records - Louisiana Secretary of State - Search the Louisiana death records database and order certified copies of death certificates for deaths that occurred in Louisiana over 50 years ago. Search by deceased's name, parish, or month of death.

Societies

 * Brimstone Historical Society - Sulphur
 * Calcasieu Historical Preservation Society
 * Daughters of the American Revolution - Calcasieu Chapter
 * Daughters of the American Revolution - Louisiana Bayou Chapter
 * The Southwest Louisiana Genealogical Society - A non-profit, educational organization dedicated to gathering, processing and preserving genealogical material by promoting interest in genealogy.
 * The Southwest Louisiana Historical Association - The Southwest Louisiana Historical Association (SWLHA) encourages the study of history in Louisiana, with particular emphasis on the history and traditions of Southwest Louisiana.

Libraries

 * Calcasieu Parish Public Library
 * McNeese State University Archives and Special Collections
 * Louisiana Digital Library - Online library containing photographs, maps, manuscript materials, books, and oral histories that document history and culture
 * Southwest Louisiana Genealogical and Historical Library

Websites

 * FamilySearch.org Family History Library Catalog for Calcasieu Parish.
 * The Calcasieu Parish LAGenWeb Project, a member of The LAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Calcasieu Parish Marriage Project - transcriptions of marriage applications and other marriage records as recorded in the parish court house and state archives.