Guide to Genealogical Materials Home
Introduction
Selected Books
Louisiana Library Connection Databases
Newspapers/Indexes/Obituaries
Periodicals
Note on Vital Records
Birth Records
Death Records
Burial Records
Marriage Records
Civil Records (Parishes other than Orleans)
Census Records
Orleans Parish Civil Court Records
Slavery, Free People of Color & Freedmen
Immigration Records
Naturalization Records
Hospital & Insanity Records
Church Records
Military Records
Land Records
Voter Registration Records
Employment Records
New Orleans Police Department Records
Records of Correctional Institutions
Additional Sources
Appendix A: Ordering By Mail
Appendix B: Genealogical Periodicals
Appendix C: Soundex/Miracode System
Appendix D: Orleans Parish Civil Courts

  Information on ordering court records by mail can be found at neworleanspubliclibrary.org/info/louinfo/courtfee.htm.

Civil Courts

Louisiana has gone through several very different court systems since its purchase by the United States. The periods covered by each system and the courts active during those periods are as follows:

Territorial Period (1803-1812)

Governor's Court (1803)

This court was established by Governor Claiborne to handle cases still pending in Spanish Courts. Except for several items, the records are no longer extant.

Court of Pleas (1804)

On December 30, 1803 William C. C. Claiborne, acting as Governor General and Intendant of the Province of Louisiana, established a Court of Pleas for the City of New Orleans. The Court was to consist of not less than seven justices who were to be appointed by the Governor and to serve at his pleasure. It was to meet at least once each week. Three justices were deemed sufficient to form a court, with a majority of those present required for a decision to be rendered. Claiborne gave the Court jurisdiction in all suits not exceeding $3000. He also provided that justices would have summary power to make individual decisions in civil matters in which the value at stake was less than twenty dollars. In addition, Claiborne gave the justices power to rule on minor criminal offenses. Disputed matters valued at more than $500 were appealable to the Governor.

Only the minute book has survived.

County Court (1804-1807)

The County Court (covering the Territorial County of Orleans) was given jurisdiction in civil matters involving debts of more than fifty dollars or injuries to persons or property of less than one hundred dollars. The court also had jurisdiction in all non-capital criminal matters; that is, those which could not be punished with death or which were not exclusively within the jurisdiction of a superior court.

Superior Court (1804-1813)

The Superior Court was created in March 1804 (Act 284, 1st Session) to replace the Court of Pleas, which had been established under the temporary government of Territory of Orleans following the Louisiana Purchase. During the territorial period, the Superior Court was roughly analogous to today's Louisiana Supreme Court, i.e., operating as a court of last resort. The records of this court have not been microfilmed. Due to the fragile condition of many of the records, photocopies may not be made from the original records.

Court of Probates (1804-1846)

The Court of Probates was established in 1804 to provide for the judicial supervision of the disposition of the estates left by deceased property owners in Orleans Parish. The court ceased operation in 1846. The records of this court are available on microfilm.

City Court (1807-1813)

The City Court for the parish of the city of New Orleans was established by act of the Louisiana Legislature on March 31, 1807 with the same jurisdiction as had been given to the previous County Court for New Orleans. In addition to criminal matters and civil causes for amounts under $100, the Court also heard insolvency suits in which debtors petitioned for protection from the demands of their creditors. The records of this court have not been microfilmed.

Criminal Courts

The City Archives holds the original records of the Orleans Parish criminal courts from 1830-1932. Even though information on ancestors might certainly be found among these records, the Genealogical Society of Utah did not consider them to be “genealogical,” and, therefore, did not microfilm them. Indexing to the criminal courts is not always available.

Missing Suit Records

There can be any number of reasons why a specific suit record may not be on the microfilm roll where it belongs. The Court of Probate records, especially those toward the beginning of the alphabet, can be particularly difficult to find. Not only are there no discrete filing numbers to use as guides, but there also is a lack of white space on the film to mark the end of one record and the beginning of the next. We strongly recommend that researchers be very thorough in any search of the Court of Probate records. If a given record can=t be found on the roll that it should be on, consider checking the roll just before and/or after. There are a very few Probate Court records that were transferred to new docket numbers in Civil District Court. A book listing Transferred Suit Records is available at the Louisiana Reference Desk [a film copy of the transferred record list is available as item 5 filed under call number VSG300 1872].

Some Second District Court records similarly were transferred to new locations in CDC. Sometimes the new docket number is noted on the microfilm, sometimes the record is shown to be missing, and sometimes it is simply not on the film and there is no on-film explanation. In the last instance researchers should still consult the Transferred Suit Record book noted above. If the record was not transferred to CDC and is not identified as missing on the film, ask an archivist or reference librarian to check the Second District Court Inventory (some original suit records were not microfilmed for one reason or another; staff can retrieve the original file in such instances). A similar Inventory is available for Civil District Court; it should be consulted if your record is not in its proper numerical place in the VT290 films.

Inevitably, some records are just plain missing. Even then, though, all is not necessarily lost – there are ways to reconstruct at least some of the lost data. If a record is missing, check into the following:

• If it is a probate record, check to see if there was a will (by consulting the index to the Will Book [VRD410] for the year of death). If a notary public recorded the will, his acts (available at the New Orleans Notarial Archives) may include additional documents relating to the probate or succession proceeding.

• For missing Civil District Court records from docket 1 or 5, refer to the Docket Book [VT350a for docket 1; VT350b for docket 5] entry for the number in question. If the docket entry refers to a Judicial Record Book (or JRB) volume and page number, look up the reference in VT_410 (where the letter in the blank corresponds to the Division of the Court; for example, VTC410 refers to a Judicial Record Book from Division C). The Judicial Record Book entry will include copies of key documents extracted from the original suit record.

• For missing succession (and other) records from most other courts ask an archivist to retrieve the original Docket Book for the suit (if it is available). From the docket entry note the dates when petitions were filed and when orders and judgments were rendered. You can then look those dates up in the microfilmed Minute Books of the court and in some cases, but definitely not in all, find information on the judicial proceeding in question.

• The suit may have been appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court [usually the docket entry will show this]. While the high court generally returned original suit records to the lower court, it may have caused a transcript of key documents to be recorded in its own files. The Louisiana Supreme Court records are housed at the Department of Archives, Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans.