Updates for genealogical requests for the Diocese of Lafayette

Like many of our customers who do research at the Clayton Genealogical Library, I have ancestral roots in the historically Catholic parishes of Southwestern Louisiana. One of the most useful genealogical sources for researching our Louisiana Catholic ancestors are the Father Hebert Southwest Louisiana record volumes. What many may not know is that anyone wanting to acquire copies of original records from any of the regional Catholic churches no longer need to contact them directly. The Diocese of Lafayette in Lafayette, Louisiana has microfilmed and digitized copies of sacramental records from the all the Catholic churches in Southwestern Louisiana. To make a copy request, go to https://diolaf.org/  and search under the Offices tab for the archives department. You should see genealogical research under another tab that says resources. Once you get there, you can request orders online using a credit card and they will send you a digitized copy of the original record instead of certificates in four to sixth weeks. Be sure to provide all the information you can on the genealogical request form gathered from the Catholic abstracts found in the Father Hebert volumes. Happy Hunting! 
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Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy 1719-1820

The Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy 1719-1820 is a searchable database consisting of the names of 100,000 Louisiana slaves abstracted from wills, bill of sales and manumission records from all over the Louisiana beginning in the early days of the colony to the early decades of American statehood to 1820. The names of slaves, their ages, physical appearance, ethnicity, and familial relationships are contained in these records. There is also a database of slave manumissions which list the freer providing clues for genealogists to cross reference with other records. Ancestry.com has the Afro-Louisiana and Genealogy database as part of their genealogical database collection. The website can be accessed at https://www.ibiblio.org/laslave/introduction.php.


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Louisiana Colonial Documents Digitization Project

 The colonial records of the French Superior Council (1714–1769) and the Spanish Judiciary(1769–1803) have been digitized as part of the Louisiana colonial documents digitization project. There is also a searchable database where historians and genealogists can search records my surname and geographic location. There is also a category where the names of slaves and free persons of color were abstracted. This resource should benefit historians of Louisiana and curious genealogists alike. 

http://www.lacolonialdocs.org/post/1/overview



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Free people of Color in Louisiana: Revealing an Unknown Past

Free People of Color in Louisiana: Revealing an Unknown Past is a digital collection created by a Louisiana State University Archives compiles historical documents and other resources related to the history of free persons of color in Louisiana from the French to the late antebellum period.

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http://lib.lsu.edu/sites/all/files/sc/fpoc/

Archdiocese of New Orleans Sacremental Records Online

The Archdiocese of New Orleans has digitized their sacramental records and made them available online for uploading. The oldest sacramental records begin in 1720 and end in the early decades of American statehood from the St. Louis Cathedral Catholic Church. There also colonial sacramental records available for St. John the Baptist and St. Bernard parish churches. I was able to locate the baptismal record of my ancestor, François BIROTTE, a free Creole and infant of color, in the colonial registers of St. Louis Cathedral. These records are a valuable resource for anyone with ancestral roots in Spanish and French Louisiana. https://archives.arch-no.org/sfpc

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History of Louisiana Negro Baptists : from 1804 to 1914

I've found many interesting historical sources of genealogical value on HathiTrust such as the  Colored Methodist Episcopal conference minutes which enabled me to find valuable information relating to my own Methodist ancestors. Recently, I came across the book, "History of Louisiana Negro Baptists from 1804 to 1914" by William Hicks. This particular work provides a detailed history of all the African-American Baptist churches and organizations that existed in Louisiana from statehood to the first decade of the 20th century. One can find the names of ministers as well as the detailed biographies of clergymen[many of them former slaves]. There is also information about the founding of Educational institutions and photographs. Sometimes, the most valuable information lies in non-traditional sources.https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=emu.010000426979;view=1up;seq=7



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Official Journals of the Louisiana Annual Conference

The Centenary College of Louisiana Archives and Special Collections has uploaded issues of the "Official Journal of the Louisiana Annual Conference" on Archive.org. The OJLAC was the annual conference minutes for African-American Methodist ministers in the South. The earliest issue begins in 1869 and end in the 1930s. These conference minutes provide valuable biographical and genealogical detail for African-American researchers with Methodist ancestors who had official capacities in the church as ministers, secretaries and educators.
There are obituaries of church members born in slavery before the Civil War which provide clues to migration patterns into Louisiana. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my maternal 3rd great-grandmother's half-brother, Daniel Joel PRICE, served as secretary of the Journal. He even appeared on the cover of the 1900 edition.

Louisiana Parish Marriage Records

For those of you with Louisiana roots, Familysearch.org has begun uploading Louisiana Parish courthouse marriage records onto their database beginning as early as the 1830s to the late 1950s.
I was able to find the marriage licenses of several relatives searching the database.

Currently, the "Louisiana Parish Marriage Records" database is 17% complete and the majority of the Parishes included so far are in Southwest Louisiana and Orleans. You can search the database by the names of the groom and bride. Many of the marriages provide valuable genealogical information such as the names of parents, witnesses and sometimes offer hints to the religious affiliation of the couples.

Happy hunting!!!!

Rodney Sam

Figure 1: courtesy of FamilySearch.org
Marriage of Ermogene JACK to Marie CULARD

 

AFRO-LOUISIANA HISTORY & GENEALOGY, 1718-1820

Database of Africans in Louisiana from 1719 to 1820

http://www.ibiblio.org/laslave/

Becky