R E S E A R C H   G U I D A N C E

Louisiana
Research Outline
   

Table of Contents
Records Of The Family History Library
Family History Library Catalog
Archives And Libraries
Bible Records
Biography
Cemeteries
Census
Church Records
Court Records
Directories
Emigration And Immigration
Gazetteers
Genealogy
History
Land And Property
Maps
Military Records
Naturalization And Citizenship
Newspapers
Notarial Records
Periodicals
Probate Records
Vital Records
Voting Registers
For Further Reading
Comments And Suggestions

EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATIONLook this term up in the glossary.


ImmigrantsLook this term up in the glossary.

Pre-statehood settlers of Louisiana generally came from eastern Canada, France, Germany, the West Indies, Spain, and Africa. During the Revolutionary WarLook this term up in the glossary. many other immigrants arrived from the Atlantic states. When the territory was formed, large numbers of Americans from southern Ohio moved to this new acquisition.

The Irish were the largest immigrant group in Louisiana during the nineteenth century. They settled mainly during the 1840s and 1850s. Large numbers of Germans arrived in two waves, one just after 1810 and the second between 1840 and 1860. Small numbers of ScandinaviansLook this term up in the glossary. came in the 1820s. Some Mexicans settled here in the 1830s. Later immigrant groups included Italians, Hungarians, and Slavs.

Records and histories of ethnic groups in Louisiana, including AcadiansLook this term up in the glossary. (“CajunsLook this term up in the glossary.”), Blacks, Canary Islanders, Chinese, CreolesLook this term up in the glossary., French, Germans, and Yugoslavs, are listed in the catalog under LOUISIANA - MINORITIES.


Passenger ListsLook this term up in the glossary.

The major port of entry to Louisiana has been New Orleans. Lists of some of the colonial passengers have been published and are at the Family History Library. The Family History Library and the National Archives also have microfilms of:

  • Original passenger lists for New Orleans (1820-1921)
  • Indexes (1820-50, 1853-1952)
  • Quarterly summaries of passenger lists for New Orleans (1820-75)

The National Archives also has:

  • Passenger lists for New Orleans (1903-45)
  • Five of the six volumes of Passenger Lists . . . Port of New Orleans. These are typescripts of lists from some years between 1813 and 1867. Each volume contains an index.

Further information on immigration sources is in the United States Research Outline.


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GAZETTEERSLook this term up in the glossary.

Two helpful guides to Louisiana place-names are:

Gibson, Dennis A., ed. Index to Louisiana Place Names Mentioned in the War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Lafayette: University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1975. (FHL book 976.3 E5i.)

Hansen, Harry, ed. Louisiana: A Guide to the State. New York: Hastings House, 1971. (FHL book 976.3 E6h.) This is a revised edition of a 1941 WPALook this term up in the glossary. publication.


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GENEALOGYLook this term up in the glossary.

Most archives, historical societies, and genealogical societies have special collections and indexes of genealogical value. These must usually be searched in person.

An important manuscript collection of compiled genealogies is the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Collection. This collection consists of transcripts of Bible, cemetery, church, marriage, death, obituary, and will records. It was microfilmed in 1971 at the DAR Library in Washington, D.C., and is available on 23 microfilms at the Family History Library. The volumes are generally arranged by county, and many have individual indexes.

Some major published genealogical collections for Louisiana include:

Arthur, Stanley, and George de Kernion. Old Families of Louisiana. New Orleans: Harmanson, 1931. (FHL film 1425655 item 5.)

West, Robert C. An Atlas of Louisiana Surnames of French and Spanish Origin. Baton Rouge: Geoscience Pub., L.S.U. 1986. (FHL book 976.3 D4w; fiche 6088326.)

Whittington, Hattie, and Gladys Sandefur. Louisiana Ahnentafels, Ancestor Charts and Family Group Sheets. Natchitoches, La.: Natchitoches Genealogical and Historical Association, 1982. (FHL book 976.3 D2s.)

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