Bossier Parish, Louisiana Genealogy
Guide to Bossier Parish, Louisiana ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
| Bossier Parish, Louisiana | |||||||||
| Map | |||||||||
 Location in the state of Louisiana | |||||||||
 Location of Louisiana in the U.S. | |||||||||
| Facts | |||||||||
| Founded | February 24, 1843 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Seat | Benton | ||||||||
| Courthouse | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Address | 204 Burt Blvd., Third Floor P.O. Box 430 Benton, LA 71006 | ||||||||
| Website: www.bossierparishla.gov | |||||||||
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Contents
- 1 Parish Information
- 2 Parish Courthouse
- 3 History
- 4 Places / Localities
- 5 Resources
- 6 Societies and Libraries
- 7 Websites
- 8 References
Parish Information[edit | edit source]
Description[edit | edit source]
The County was named for Pierre Bossier. The County has Benton as its seat and the County was created February 24, 1843. The County is located in the northwest area of the state.[1]
Bossier Parish, Louisiana Record Dates[edit | edit source]
| Birth* | Marriage | Death* | Court | Land | Probate | Census |
| 1914 | 1843 | 1914 | 1843 | 1843 | 1843 | 1700s |
Parish Courthouse[edit | edit source]
Bossier Parish Courthouse
PO Box 369
Benton, LA 71006
Phone: 318.965.2336
Parish Clerk Courthouse has marriage, divorce, probate, land and court records from 1830 and military records from 1917..[3]
History[edit | edit source]
Parent Parish[edit | edit source]
Boundary Changes[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
1888 Fire partially burned the courthouse at Bellevue.
For suggestions about research in places that suffered historic record losses, see:
- Burned Counties. By Michael John Neill at 24-7 Family History Circle.
- When the Records are Gone. By Arlene Eakle at Arlene Eakle's Tennessee Blog.
- Burned Counties Research in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.
Places / Localities[edit | edit source]
Populated Places[edit | edit source]
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:[5]
| Cities | ||
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Census-designated places | ||
Neighboring Parishes or Counties[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
African American[edit | edit source]
- Louisiana African American Griots Project ~ USGenWeb Project
- Afrigeneas - African Ancestored Genealogy
Bible Records[edit | edit source]
- Index to Bossier Parish, Louisiana, Bible Records (USGenWeb Archives)
Biographies[edit | edit source]
- Index to Bossier Parish Biographies (USGenWeb Archives)
- Bossier Parish Biographies (Genealogy Trails)
Cemeteries[edit | edit source]
The following web sites may have additional information on Bossier Parish cemeteries.
- Interment.net Louisiana cemetery records by Parish.
- African American Cemeteries ~ listing by county
Census[edit | edit source]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± |
| 1850 | 6,962 | — |
| 1860 | 11,348 | 63.0% |
| 1870 | 12,675 | 11.7% |
| 1880 | 16,042 | 26.6% |
| 1890 | 20,330 | 26.7% |
| 1900 | 24,153 | 18.8% |
| 1910 | 21,738 | −10.0% |
| 1920 | 22,266 | 2.4% |
| 1930 | 28,388 | 27.5% |
| 1940 | 33,162 | 16.8% |
| 1950 | 40,139 | 21.0% |
| 1960 | 57,622 | 43.6% |
| 1970 | 64,519 | 12.0% |
| 1980 | 80,721 | 25.1% |
| 1990 | 86,088 | 6.6% |
| 2000 | 98,310 | 14.2% |
| 2010 | 116,979 | 19.0% |
| Source: "Wikipedia.org". | ||
- Louisiana Census Images ~ USGenWeb Census Images Project
- 1900 - Bossier County, Ward 2, Census Records (USGenWeb Archives)
Church[edit | edit source]
Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Louisiana denominations, view the Louisiana Church Records wiki page.
- Louisiana Historical Church Information
- Directory of Churches in Louisiana ~ by city ~ Church Angel
List of Churches and Church Parishes
Court[edit | edit source]
Land[edit | edit source]
Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.
See Louisiana Land and Property for additional information about early Louisiana land ownership. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse where records are also currently housed.
- Bossier Parish Land Records (ldsgenealogy.com)
- Bossier Parish Land Records (USGenWeb Archives)
Local Histories[edit | edit source]
Local histories are available for Bossier Parish, Louisiana Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories see the wiki page section Louisiana Local Histories.
- Louisiana Museums
- Various Bossier Parish History Records (USGenWeb Archives)
- Bossier Parish LA Historical Records (ldsgenealogy.com)
Maps[edit | edit source]
- FamilySearch Places:Cities and Towns- How to Use FS Places
for more resources
- Maps of Louisiana (1805-1990)
- Family Maps of Bossier Parish, Louisiana (land patent maps) at HistoryGeo.com ($). Free surname search.
- USGW Digital Map Collection ~ USGenWeb Project
Military[edit | edit source]
Civil War[edit | edit source]
Online Records
- 1861-1865 - Louisiana Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
- 1861-1865 - Louisiana Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- 1898-1950 - Louisiana Confederate Pensions, 1898-1950 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- Roster of Bossier Cavalry (Genealogy Trails)
World War I[edit | edit source]
- 1917-1920 - Louisiana World War I Service Records, 1917-1920 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
World War II[edit | edit source]
- 1940-1945 - Louisiana First Registration Draft Cards, compiled 1940-1945 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
Newspapers[edit | edit source]
- Louisiana Newspaper List ~ listing by name/parish ~ USNPL
- Louisiana Newspaper ~ listing ~ Newslink
Additional newspapers abstracts can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Bossier Parish, Louisiana Genealogy newspapers in online catalogs like:
- WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
- Do a Bossier Parish, Louisiana Genealogy Place-name search for these and other records in the FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
- Bossier Parish News Records (USGenWeb Archives)
Obituaries[edit | edit source]
- Index to Bossier Parish Obituaries (USGenWeb Archives)
- Bossier Parish Newspapers and Obituaries (ldsgenealogy.com)
- Bossier Parish Obituaries and Death Notices (Genealogy Trails)
Probate[edit | edit source]
Probate records before 1845 were kept in probate courts. Since 1845, they have been kept by the Bossier Parish, Louisiana Genealogy clerk of the district court. Many of the probate records are included in the notarial records with the deeds and mortgages. In some parishes they are known as “succession” records.
See the Wiki page Louisiana Probate Records for more information about probate records in Louisiana.
Content: Probate records may give the decedent's date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their place of residence.
Record types: Wills, estates, guardianships, naturalizations, and adoptions.
Louisiana Probate Records ~ information on.
Online Probate Indexes and Records
- 1756-1984 - Louisiana Wills and Probate Records 1756-1984 at Ancestry.com Ancestry.com — index and images $
- Bossier Parish Probate Records (ldsgenealogy.com)
Taxation[edit | edit source]
Louisiana tax records can be used in place of missing censuses and provide lists of residents during years between censuses. There may be gaps of several years. For more information, see Louisiana Taxation.
Vital Records[edit | edit source]
Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents.
Louisiana statewide registration of birth and death records began in 1911. Births and deaths are kept by the Louisiana Vital Records Registry. Marriages were recorded by each parish, and the records are at the parish clerk of court office. See also How to order Louisiana Vital Records or order electronically online.
See Louisiana Vital Records for more information on getting Louisiana records.
- Bossier Parish Vital Records (USGenWeb Archives)
- Louisiana Records and Statistics Information ~ where and how to order information.
Birth[edit | edit source]
- 1912 - Bossier County Birth Records (Genealogy Trails)
Marriage[edit | edit source]
- 1837-1957 - Louisiana, Parish Marriages, 1837-1957 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- Bossier Parish Marriage Announcements (Genealogy Trails)
- Index to Bossier Parish Marriage Records (ldsgenealogy.com)
Death[edit | edit source]
- 1850-1875, 1894-1960 - Louisiana Deaths, 1850-1875, 1894-1960 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection
- 1850 Mortality Schedule. Persons who died during the year ending June 1, 1850, in the Bossier Parish, State of Louisiana. (Genealogy Trails)
- 1870 Mortality Schedule. Persons who died during the year ending June 1, 1870, in the Bossier Parish, State of Louisiana. (Genealogy Trails)
- 1880 Mortality Schedule. Persons who died during the year ending June 1, 1880, in the Bossier Parish, State of Louisiana. (Genealogy Trails)
Societies and Libraries[edit | edit source]
Ark-La-Tex Genealogical Association
3101 Fairfield Avenue
PO Box 4463
Shreveport, Louisiana 71134-0463
E-mail:jjohnson747@suddenlink.net
See also a List of Louisiana Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies
- Louisiana Historical Society
428 Hector Ave
Metairie, La. 70005-4412
Website - Louisiana Historical Association
101 LSU Student Union
LSU Box 25435
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Facebook
Website
Family History Centers[edit | edit source]
Family History Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local Family History Centers or Affiliate Libraries
- Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
- FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a family history center.
Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries
Websites[edit | edit source]
- Bossier Parish, LA History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
- Louisiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
- Bossier Parish, LAGenWeb (USGenWeb Project)
- Bossier Parish, Louisiana Archives (USGenWeb Archives Project)
- FamilySearch Catalog
- Bossier Parish, Louisiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
- Bossier Parish Genealogy and History (Genealogy Trails)
- Bossier Parish LA Genealogy (ldsgenealogy.com)
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Bossier, Louisiana," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bossier_Parish,_Louisiana."
- ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), Bossier Parish, Louisiana. Page 289-293 At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 D27e 2002; Alice Eichholz, ed. Ancestry’s Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources, Third ed. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004), 267-268.
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed., Bossier Parish, Louisiana p. 289 (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ The Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America,10th ed. (Draper, UT:Everton Publishers, 2002).
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Bossier Parish, Louisiana," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bossier_Parish%2C_Louisiana, accessed 31 December 2019.
