Orleans Parish, Louisiana Genealogy

United States   Louisiana    Orleans Parish

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

Parish Courthouse
Parish seat: New Orleans

Orleans Parish began keeping marriage records in 1718, land records in 1832, probate records in 1805 and court records in 1805.

Orleans Parish Civil Court 421 Loyola Avenue New Orleans, LA 70112

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
See an interactive map of Orleans Parish boundary changes.

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.
 * African American Resource Center - a reference division of the New Orleans Public Library

Cemeteries of Orleans Parish

 * ePodunk
 * Find A Grave
 * Grave Addiction
 * la-cemeteries.com
 * Louisiana Cemetery Preservation Wiki
 * Louisiana Gravestone Photo Project
 * Louisiana Tombstone Transcription Project
 * Index of Orleans Parish cemeteries on usgwarchives.net
 * The USGenWeb Archives Project - Cemetery and Burial Records
 * Orleans Parish on Internment.net

Census Records

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

Church

 * Orleans Parish Genealogy - Churches
 * List of churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans (Wikipedia)
 * NewOrleansChurches.com - an historical photo album of historic places of worship in the New Orleans area.
 * German Churches of New Orleans - an inventory of records

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

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

Land

 * 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 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

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.

Probate

 * General Index of all Orleans Parish Successions, 1805-1846 - (New Orleans Public Library City Archives)
 * Description of FamilySearch's Collection of Orleans Parish Estate Files

Taxation

 * Orleans Parish Assessor

Vital Records

 * 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).

Societies

 * 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

 * 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
 * ePodunk - Orleans Parish Ancestry and Family History

Thanks to the Orleans Parish Contributors
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