Louisiana, Orleans Parish Will Books - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The Will Books for Orleans Parish courts include copies of all wills filed in Orleans Parish, 1805-1920. The will books comprise 39 bound volumes. Each volume is individually indexed at the front of each book. The will books were created in several courts including the Court of Probates (1805-1846), Second District Court (1846-1880) and Civil District Court (1880-1920). Volume 31, No. 11 is missing.

For a list of records by volume number and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Citation for This Collection
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Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Information found in this collection may include:


 * Name of deceased *Place of Birth
 * Name of spouse
 * Wife’s maiden name
 * Name of children
 * Date and place of death
 * Date and place of burial
 * Date of will *Occupation *Names of witnesses

Search the Collection
To search the collection image by image ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒Select the appropriate "Volume Title and Year" which takes you to the images

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

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.

Related Websites
(http://nutrias.org/inv/probates/probias.htm Louisiana Court of Probates]

Related Wiki Articles
Louisiana Louisiana Probate Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
“Argentina, Buenos Aires, Catholic Church Records, 1635-1981,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 28 February, 2012), La Plata &gt; San Ponciano &gt; Matrimonios 1884-1886 &gt; image 71 of 389 images, Artemio Avendano and Clemtina Peralta, 1884; citing Parroquia de San Ponciano en la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Matrimonios. San Ponciano, La Plata. When the citation has been replaced with a citation specific to the collection being described, the heading should be changed to “Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection” in Heading style 3.