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

New Orleans Newspapers: Historic (powered by Newsbank) provides access to the full text and image archive of the Times-Picayune (1837-1988), New Orleans Item (1877-1958), New Orleans States (1916-1957) and States-Item (1960-1979). These newspapers include photographs, obituaries and advertisements. New Orleans Newspapers: Current (powered by Newsbank) provides text access to the New Orleans Times-Picayune from 1989-2016 (without photographs, obituaries, or advertisements); and full access from 2017-present day (with photographs, advertisements, and obituaries). The New Orleans Advocate is available in text from 2012-present and with photographs from 2018-present. This database also includes several additional current Louisiana newspapers and additional papers from across the United States.
Newspapers.com is an extensive online database of thousands of historical newspapers from the early 1700s into the early 2000s. This version of the database features historic papers from across the southeastern U.S., including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. It includes many Louisiana and New Orleans papers that were previously only available on microfilm in the Louisiana Division.
Ancestry Library Edition, an enhanced library version of the subscription database Ancestry.com, provides access to genealogical materials including vital records, censuses, immigration records, passenger lists, military records, and much more. Records are available from the USA, Europe and the United Kingdom, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and South America. This database can only be used at New Orleans Public Library branches. While Ancestry Library Edition can't be accessed at home, the database HeritageQuest can, and offers many of the same collections (see below for more details). Users should note that some features available to commercial Ancestry.com subscribers are not available through Ancestry Library Edition.
HeritageQuest is a database featuring many Ancestry.com collections such as the census, city directories, genealogy publications, and more. It is available for use at home by any New Orleans Public Library cardholder. This database provides a convenient way to search many genealogical records from the comfort of your home.
Fold3 Fold3 features premier collections of original military records. These records include the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served in the military. Many of the records come from the U.S. National Archives, The National Archives of U.K. and more.
Fire Insurance Maps Online (FIMo) is a research portal for viewing high-definition, color Sanborn fire insurance maps from New Orleans and Louisiana, real estate atlases, plat books, and other historical maps showing building structures, building construction details, property ownership, property uses, and more.