Orleans Parish, Louisiana Genealogy

Guide to New Orleans and Orleans Parish, Louisiana ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, immigration records, and military records.

Quick Dates
Orleans Parish's civil records start the following years:

Parish Courthouse
Orleans Parish Courthouse 421 Loyola Avenue, Room 402 New Orleans, Louisiana 70112 Phone: (504) 592-9100 Fax: (504) 592-9128 Chief Deputy: (504) 592-9118

Clerk of Civil District Court has divorce, probate and court records from 1805. Public Library has voter registration records, 1895-1941, city directories from 1805, and precinct books 1895-1952.

History
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.

Parent Parish
Orleans Parish was created 10 April 1805 as an original parish.

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.

African American

 * Slave and Free People of Color Baptismal Records in the Archives 1777-1801, available online, courtesy: Office of Archives: Archdiocese of New Orleans.
 * Blassingame, John W. Black New Orleans, 1860-1880. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, [1973]. - xvii, 301 p. ill. Bibliography: p. 275-292 F378.N59 B42
 * African American Resource Center - a reference division of the New Orleans Public Library

Cemeteries of Orleans Parish

 * ePodunk
 * Find A Grave
 * Grave Addiction
 * Louisiana Gravestone Photo Project
 * Index of Orleans Parish cemeteries on usgwarchives.net
 * Orleans Parish on Interment.net

Specific Cemeteries
Lafayette Cemetery Number 1, New Orleans BillionGraves

Census Records

 * Orleans Parish 1850 Mortality Schedule
 * 82 Census Links For Orleans Parish

Church

 * Orleans Parish Genealogy - Churches
 * New Orleans Churches.com - an historical photo album of historic places of worship in the New Orleans area.
 * German Churches of New Orleans - an inventory of records

Catholic

 * List of churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans (Wikipedia)

Episcopal
Mt. Olivet Church, Algiers

Baptism


 * 1857-1937 - Mt. Olivet Church, Algiers, Baptism Index 1857-1937. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Marriage


 * 1858-1905 - Mt. Olivet Church, Algiers, Marriage Index 1858-1905. Batch at FamilySearch - free.

Court

 * Digging Up Roots in the Mud Files: Sources for Family History Research in the Orleans Parish Civil Court Records
 * Finding Aids, Inventories and Indexes for Orleans Parish Civil &amp; Criminal Courts

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Louisiana, Orleans Court Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Directories

 * Fold3.com ($) has New Orleans City Directories 1861 and 1866-1923 (3 yrs. missing) available online.

Land
Registrar of Conveyances 1340 Poydras Street 4th Floor New Orleans, LA 70130 Phone: (504) 592-9170 Fax: (504) 523-4320 Email: daleatk@orleanscdc.com

Registrar of Conveyances has records of all transfers of real estate dating back to 1827.


 * Guide to Genealogical Materials in the New Orleans Public Library's Louisiana Division &amp; City Archives - Land records
 * Interactive Search of Louisiana Land Records - interface to the pre-1908 Homestead and Cash Entry Patents from the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office Automated Records Project
 * New Orleans Notarial Archives - government agency that files and maintains land records and other contracts recorded in Orleans Parish.

Local Histories

 * About.com: In American History, New Orleans

The Historical Marker Database: Orleans Parish Markers - Photos, inscriptions and maps of historical markers in Orleans Parish


 * History.com: New Orleans
 * LouisianaTravel.com: Historical stories of Louisiana
 * Navy History and Heritage: Orleans Parish

Maps

 * Maps of Louisiana (1805-1990)
 * Maps of Orleans Parish (with links to districts for neighborhood level data)
 * Louisiana Parish Maps on Censusfinder.com - links to map of 1788 New Orleans Fire; 1798 plan of the City of New Orleans showing plantation ownership; 1819 map of New Orleans showing plantation owners; 1908 and 1924 New Orleans maps; Orleans Parish Cemetery maps.
 * USGenWeb Archives Project - Maps of Orleans Parish
 * Linkpendium - Orleans Parish Maps and Gazetteers
 * zipmap.net- Google Map with an overlay of Zip Codes for Orleans Parish

Military

 * Guide to Genealogical Records in the New Orleans Public Library's Louisiana Division &amp; City Archives - Military Records
 * Linkpendium - Orleans Parish Military Records and Histories
 * USGenWeb Archives Project - Orleans Parish War and Military Records

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

Confederate:


 * - 1st Regular Battery, Louisiana Artillery
 * - 4th Regiment, Louisiana Infantry
 * - 5th Regiment, Louisiana Infantry
 * - 12th Battalion, Louisiana Heavy Artillery, Companies A and B
 * - 14th Regiment, Louisiana Infantry
 * - Consolidated Crescent Regiment, Louisiana Infantry
 * - Fenner's Battery, Louisiana Light Artillery
 * - Green's Company, Louisiana Artillery (Louisiana Guard Battery)
 * - Hutton's Company, Louisiana Artillery (Crescent Artillery Company A)
 * - Miles' Legion, Louisiana Volunteers (Confederate) Company A
 * - Siege Train Battalion, Louisiana Artillery, Company C
 * - Watson Battery, Louisiana Artillery
 * - Holmes' Battery, Louisiana Light Artillery
 * - Washington Battalion, Louisiana Artillery, 1st Company, 2nd Company, 3rd Company, 4th Company, 5th Company and 6th Company.

Union:


 * - 14th Regiment, Maine Infantry, Companies B, C and H.

Civil War Battle
The following Civil War battle was fought in Orleans Parish:


 * April 25–May 1, 1862 = New Orleans
 * Map showing Civil War battles in Louisiana.

World War II

 * 1940-1945 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers

 * New Orleans Times Picayune
 * Times Picayune Orleans Parish Obit Index - a project of USGenWeb Archives
 * Chronicling America - Orleans Parish - Directory of Orleans Parish newspapers, Library of Congress website. The site allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1860-1922 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.
 * Louisiana Biography &amp; Obituary Index If you do not live near Jefferson Parish, where you can easily access the obituaries from this collection at the Jefferson Parish Library, you can use GenealogyBank (paid site). You need to be aware that their index will not find very many Obituaries. Using this index you can find the date, page and column of the obituary you are looking for and then, using GenealogyBank, access the online obituary. Combining these two great assets you will have access to all of your obituaries.

Probate

 * General Index of all Orleans Parish Successions, 1805-1846 - (New Orleans Public Library City Archives)


 * Louisiana, Orleans Parish Estate Files, 1804-1846 has a name index and images of probate estate files. Each estate file consists of multiple images.The event date is the probate date. Description.

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

Taxation

 * Orleans Parish Assessor

Vital Records
Louisiana Vital Records 1450 Poydras Avenue New Orleans, Louisiana 70113 Information: (504) 593-5100 Marriage Licenses: (504) 593-5116

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents.

Orleans Parish began keeping marriage records in 1718. The original Orleans parish marriage records are at the Office of Public Health. Louisiana statewide registration of birth and death records began in 1911. Births and deaths are kept by the Louisiana Vital Records Registry. See Louisiana Vital Records for more information on getting Louisiana records.

Marriage

 * 1837–1957 -  at FamilySearch — index and images

Unsorted
 * New Orleans Marriage Records
 * USGenWeb Archives Project Yellow Fever Death Records - Lists of Interments in New Orleans cemeteries, 1828-1878
 * Louisiana Vital Records - Searchable databases to help locate records maintained by the Louisiana Secretary of State (Louisiana death records, Orleans Parish birth records and Orleans Parish marriage records)
 * Vital Records Registry, Louisiana - For information on Louisiana birth records (less than 100 years old), death records (less than 50 years old), and Orleans Parish marriage records (less than 50 years old).

A wiki article describing an online collection is found at:

Louisiana, Orleans Parish Vital Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Societies and Libraries
See also a List of Louisiana Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies

Societies
Genealogical Research Society Of New Orleans PO Box 51791 New Orleans 70151 Website

Genealogy West 5644 Abbey Dr. New Orleans 70130-3808

Multicutural Genealogical Society 4310 St. Anthony Ave. New Orleans 70122-310


 * Algiers Historical Society: The organization is devoted to researching the history of Algiers and its people. Membership is $10 per year. For more information, [mailto:cockney@bellsouth.net email]or call Kevin Herridge at (504) 367-8461.
 * Genealogical Research Society of New Orleans - The organization was established in 1960 to foster an interest in family research and to encourage preservation of genealogical records in New Orleans, in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.
 * The Jewish Genealogical Society (JGS) of New Orleans - The JGS is a non-profit organization for those who desire to research their Jewish roots in Louisiana and worldwide.
 * Louisiana Historical Society - Founded in 1835, the Louisiana Historical Society is the oldest historical organization in the state.
 * La Creole Research Association - a New Orleans based non-profit family research organization dedicated to the study of the history and culture of the Creoles of Color of Louisiana through ancestral research, education, and celebration.

Libraries

 * Libraries, Museums and Archives Links on Linkpendium
 * Guide to Genealogical Materials in the New Orleans Public Library's Louisiana Division &amp; City Archives

Websites

 * Orleans Parish, LA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Louisiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Louisiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Family History 101 - History, records, facts, genealogy and ancestry links
 * Orleans Parish Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Orleans Parish Genealogy Forum
 * Orleans Parish Genealogy on Genealogylinks.net
 * USGenWeb Archives Project - Orleans Parish - lots of information from the New Orleans Volunteer Association
 * ePodunk - Orleans Parish Ancestry and Family History
 * Orleans Parish Genealogy (Louisiana Genealogy)
 * Orleans Parish Genealogy (Louisiana Genealogy)

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:


 * Louisiana, Orleans Parish Estate Files (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Louisiana, New Orleans Passenger Lists (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Louisiana, Orleans Parish Second District Judicial Court Case Files (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Thanks to the Orleans Parish Contributors
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