ORLEANS PARISH, LA HISTORY AND LOOKUP

Parish History Books

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Orleans Parish, Louisiana: A Genealogical Overview

Located in southeastern Louisiana, Orleans Parish is geographically and culturally defined by the Mississippi River and the city of New Orleans, with which its borders are coterminous. As one of America’s most historic and unique urban centers, its history is a complex and vibrant blend of French, Spanish, African, Caribbean, and American influences. For genealogists, this “melting pot” creates an exceptionally rich but often complex tapestry of records reflecting its distinct legal and cultural heritage, shaped by its time under multiple colonial flags.

I. Parish Formation and Evolution

Understanding Orleans Parish’s formation as an original jurisdiction and its role as a “mother parish” to several others is critical for locating the correct records for ancestors in the greater New Orleans area.

  • 1807: Parish Formed: Orleans Parish was formally established by the first territorial legislature in 1807. It was created from the former “County of Orleans,” one of the 12 original counties of the Territory of Orleans established in 1805.
  • Parent Parish: It was an original jurisdiction, not created from a pre-existing parish. Records prior to 1805 would be found within the French and Spanish colonial records for the city of New Orleans.
  • Subsequent Parish Formations: Orleans Parish was originally much larger. Researchers must be aware of these boundary changes: St. Bernard Parish was created from its territory in 1807. Jefferson Parish was carved from its western portion in 1825. Parts of Plaquemines and St. Tammany parishes were also part of its original vast territory. Records for ancestors in these areas before these dates will be found in Orleans Parish records.
  • Name Origin: The parish is named for the city of New Orleans, which was founded in 1718 and named in honor of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was the Regent of France at the time.
  • Parish Seat History: The parish seat has always been New Orleans. Since 1805, the City of New Orleans and the Parish of Orleans have been legally and governmentally consolidated, meaning they function as a single entity.

II. Settlement and Early History

  • Early Inhabitants: The region was originally inhabited by Native American peoples, including the Chitimacha, Houma, Bayougoula, and other Muskogean-speaking groups who lived in the Mississippi River delta.
  • Colonial Settlement and Economy: The area was founded as La Nouvelle-Orléans by the French in 1718. It was ceded to Spain in 1763, then briefly returned to France in 1803 before being sold to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. This triple colonial heritage is fundamental to its records, language, and legal system (civil law vs. common law). The population was a unique Creole mix of French and Spanish settlers, enslaved Africans, a significant population of free people of color (gens de couleur libres), German coast farmers, Acadians, and later waves of Irish, Italian, and American immigrants. The economy was dominated by its strategic importance as a port, shipping cotton and sugar produced by enslaved labor from plantations upriver.

III. Genealogical Records and Resources

This section provides practical information for locating ancestral records specific to Orleans Parish’s unique repositories.

  • Clerk of Civil District Court: Located at 421 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112. This office is the primary repository for parish records including probate (called successions), civil court cases, and conveyance (land) records. The New Orleans Notarial Archives Research Center at the same location is a vital and unique resource, holding the original acts of notaries (marriage contracts, wills, property sales) dating to the 1730s.
  • Vital Records:
    • Birth and Death Records: For births over 100 years old and deaths over 50 years old, check the New Orleans Public Library’s Louisiana Division/City Archives. More recent records are held by the Louisiana Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Records. Statewide registration began in 1914; prior records are inconsistent and often found only in church archives.
    • Marriage Records: Marriage licenses from 1870-present are held by the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office. Orleans Parish Clerk of Court has marriage records from 1831 onward. For the earliest marriages (pre-1831), researchers must consult church records.
  • Libraries, Archives, and Churches:
    • New Orleans Public Library, Louisiana Division & City Archives: Located at 219 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112. An essential starting point, holding city directories, newspapers, maps, and copies of vital records.
    • The Historic New Orleans Collection: A premier museum and research center in the French Quarter with extensive manuscripts, books, and visual materials.
    • Archdiocese of New Orleans Archives: Absolutely critical for research before 1900. Its sacramental records (baptisms, marriages, funerals) are the primary source for vital information in the colonial and early American periods. The records of St. Louis Cathedral are particularly important.
  • Bordering Jurisdictions:
    • Jefferson Parish, LA
    • St. Bernard Parish, LA
    • Plaquemines Parish, LA
    • St. Tammany Parish, LA (across Lake Pontchartrain)

Please share any resources you have and will do lookups or links to resources you are aware of. Thanks