Louisiana Genealogy, Facts and Records Resources

Welcome to the Louisiana family history research page. Here you'll find record collection links, history, and genealogy resources to help you trace your Louisiana ancestors.

Its location at the mouth of the Mississippi, and position within the southernmost regions of the United States has combined to give Louisiana a very long and diverse history. Most people are well aware of the different cultures that come together in the state, and many also have some sort of familial connection to the region. There is a lot of demand for materials for Louisiana genealogy research, but it does take a bit of preparation to know how to obtain it effectively.

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Louisiana Facts

Early Spanish explorers were Alvárez Piñeda, 1519; Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, 1528; and Hernando de Soto in 1541. Sieur de la Salle reached the mouth of the Mississippi and claimed all the land drained by it and its tributaries for Louis XIV of France in 1682.

Louisiana became a French crown colony in 1731 but was ceded to Spain in 1763 after the French and Indian Wars. (The portion east of the Mississippi came under British control in 1764.) Louisiana reverted to France in 1800 and was sold by Napoleon to the U.S. in 1803. The southern part, known as the territory of Orleans, became the state of Louisiana in 1812. See also Louisiana History Page for more Details

Louisiana was organized as territory on March 26, 1804 and entered the union as the 18th state on April 30, 1812. It has 64 Parishes. The capital is Baton Rouge and the official state website is http://louisiana.gov/.

Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas (north), Mississippi (east), Texas (west). It has a land area of 51,843 square miles making it the 31st largest state. The 2010 population was 4,533,372 and the largest cities (2010) are New Orleans, 343,829; Baton Rouge, 229,493; Shreveport, 199,311; Metairie, 138,481; Lafayette, 120,632; Lake Charles, 71,993; Kenner, 66,702; Bossier City, 61,315; Monroe, 48,815; Alexandria, 47,723.

Louisiana was named by the French explorer Sieur de La Salle in 1682 to honor King Louis XIV of France. The State Nickname is "Sportsman's Paradise" (formally Pelican State). The State Motto is "Union, Justice, and Confidence " .

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How to Search for Louisiana genealogy Data

Best Ways of Searching for Louisiana genealogy Data - In this day and age when we need to “look something up” we don’t wait to head to the library, but will instead use a mobile device with Internet service or a regular computer. This is something that genealogists can do as well thanks to the impressive amount of digitized material available. Consider that in searching for Louisiana genealogy information you can head online and use Louisiana’s resources to begin acquiring facts and copies of the materials needed.

Remember, however, that just because there are so many resources online it does not also imply that ALL of the information for Louisiana genealogy is available in this format. Though Louisiana has a large number of convenient resources, there are still many organizations and groups that have yet to digitize their collections. This means that your research for Louisiana genealogy materials will also have to incorporate offline locations.

It is extremely efficient for a genealogist to learn about the tools to use for Louisiana genealogy, and how to recognize which are online resources, and which are not.

A Modern Method for Louisiana genealogy Research - It is the public records to so easily qualify as the most frequently used resources for Louisiana genealogy, and they are found in the following places:

  1. Local Records – state research will normally begin in a county clerk’s office or website, and then head to the historical societies, local genealogical societies, small local libraries, and school or college libraries for Louisiana genealogy data. These are materials that are usually offline and viewable by appointment or special arrangement.
  2. Vital Records – these will always cover the basic birth, marriage, divorce, and death records from county, state, and national archives. These might also contain cemetery or obituary information, census records, newspaper items, military records, immigration and naturalization details, and passenger lists and records as well. These are going to be available as online or offline resources for Louisiana genealogy.
  3. State Records – from probate information to private manuscripts, surname lists, newspapers, state census information, marriage details, military or veterans information, land records, maps, estate information, genealogical folders, death records, deeds, birth certificates, cemetery information and more, such records are available as online and offline resources for Louisiana genealogy.

The Very Best Resources for Louisiana genealogy - To be successful, you will need to learn which resources work for Louisiana genealogy projects. Below we have indicated some of the best for Louisiana genealogy:

  • Office of Public Health, Vital Records Registry, P.O. Box 60630, New Orleans, LA 70160; Website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/louisiana.htm . This is where anyone can order birth, death, marriage and divorce records via a written request or even online.

Additional state and local records can be found at the:

  • Louisiana State Archives, 3851 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 70809; Website: http://www.sos.la.gov/tabid/83/Default.aspx . With its impressively long history, the state of Louisiana has a huge amount of material available for Louisiana genealogy research. Currently it is possible to access passenger manifests, a Confederate database, an array of vital records, and more through their website.

Also, consider using the Louisiana State Library’s Page at: http://www.state.lib.la.us/.

Finally, these popular websites provide a tremendous amount of state-specific details to those in search of details for Louisiana genealogy projects.

 

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