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Municipal Cemeteries (New Orleans)

Bayou St. John Cemetery.       Finding Aid

The Bayou St. John Cemetery is a "lost" cemetery, the exact location of which remains uncertain. An educated guess would place it closer to the intersection of Bayou St. John with the Carondelet (Old Basin) Canal rather than the area closer to present-day Esplanade Ave. The first recorded burials in the cemetery occurred at the beginning of 1835; interments were discontinued after 1844, and by 1880, all trace of the cemetery had vanished.

Note: In earlier cataloging the individual volumes in this record group were variously identified as records of the Bayou St. John Cemetery, the City Cemetery, the First Municipality Cemetery, the New Cemetery, and the Potters' Field. The records previously were microfilmed under the old designations. The following inventory indicates the location of each item within the microfilm collection.

Mayor's Office Records, 1835-1844.

Copies of interment records made by the cemetery keeper for the Mayor's Office. Volume 1 appears to be made up of individual reports and lists of burials. Volume two also appears to be made up of copies of monthly lists made by the cemetery keeper for the Mayor's Office. For the period of March-October, 1839, the lists for the Bayou St. John cemetery alternate with lists from the Catholic Cemeteries.
v. 1 January 1, 1835 – December 31, 1844 [Filed under call number mf LMC430 1835-1844]
v. 2 February 1, 1839 – October 31, 1843 [Filed under call number mf LMB410 1881]

Sexton's Records. Paid Burials, 1835-1841.

v. 1 March 20, 1835 – December 31, 1837 [Filed under call number mf LMC430 1835-1844]

v. 2 January 1, 1838 – June 30, 1841 [Filed under call number mf LMC430 1838-1841]

Sexton’s Records. Unpaid Burials, 1835-1841.

[Filed under call number mf LM433 1841cg]

"Potter's Field" Records, 1842-1843.

[Filed under call number mf LMC430 1838-1841]

First Municipality Comptroller's Records, 1836-1839.

These loose documents may be copies made by the cemetery keeper for the Comptroller of the First Municipality. The data includes duplicates found in the bound volumes. Manuscript translations, in pencil, are also included. [Filed under call number mf AA253 1831]

Lafayette Cemetery       Finding Aid

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 was established in 1833 by the Council of the City of Lafayette in the square bounded by Prytania St., Washington Ave., Sixth St., and Plaquemine (now Coliseum) St. By 1847 the cemetery on Prytania appears to have been reaching capacity, and in October, the Council resolved that there be no new burials in the original cemetery. It is unclear just when the city did purchase the land for the new burial ground, in the square bounded by present-day Sixth, Loyola, Washington, and Saratoga streets, but on May 20, 1851, the Council ordered the new cemetery (Lafayette No. 2) divided into three sections as the old cemetery had been divided.

  Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 is indexed online at www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/1248.

Lot Registers, ca. 1838-1953.

These volumes, which appear to have been compiled at some later date from previously existing records, give the names of the owners of the lots, vaults, and tombs in the two cemeteries. Transfers of ownership are also indicated.

v. 1 – 1838-1943. Includes records for both of the Lafayette cemeteries along with the Valence Street and Carrollton cemeteries.
v. 2 – ca. 1858-1953. Deals with Lafayette #2
v. 3 – ca. 1865-1953. Deals with Lafayette #2
[Filed under call number mf LM100]

Interment Records, 1836-1968.

The records appear to be sexton's books or transcriptions of sexton's books. For the most part, they contain the following information: name, age, sex, occupation (through volume 6), bond/free status (through volume 7), disease, when/where born/died, period of residence in the city, marital status, and remarks (these vary). The volumes are arranged by date, except for volumes 1a and 3, which are arranged by first letter of surname. Beginning with volume 6, the record notes whether burials took place in cemetery #1 or #2. Volume 10 appears to be a register of vaults or plots; the dates given are questionable. The final volume also records the permit number, name of undertaker, and the square/lot number and is only available on microfilm, the original being still in the custody of the Cemeteries Office. Random pages are missing from several of these volumes.

The following is an inventory of the volumes available:

v. 1 – 10/31/1836-11/23/1846. [Filed under call number mf AA820 1822]
v. 1a – 1837-1842. Originally cataloged and microfilmed as a record of the "City Cemetery." [Filed under call number mf II LM430 1836-1842]
v. 2 – 8/26/1841-8/2/1843. [Filed under call number mf II LM430 1841-1849]
v. 3 – 3/31/1843-3/24/1849. [Filed under call number mf II LM430 1841-1849]
v. 4 – 8/3/1843-3/26/1849. [Filed under call number mf II LM430 1843-1849]
v. 5 – 6/8/1849-2/12/1853. [Filed under call number mf II LM430 1849-1853]
v. 6 – 9/1853-12/31/1861 [Filed under call number mf LM430 1853-1872]
v. 7 – 3/1862-6/15/1872. Also includes some references to burials in Locust Grove Cemetery. [Filed under call number mf LM430 1853-1872]
v. 8 – 8/1/1873-4/15/1896. Also includes scattered records of burials in Carrollton, Valence Street, Locust Grove, and possibly other cemeteries. [Filed under call number mf II LM430 1843- 1849]
v. 9 – 9/1/1896-11/24/1920. Also includes records for Valence Street Cemetery, 9/1/1896-9/30/1900. [Filed under call number mf LM100 1838-1953]
v. 10 – 1/4/1930-8/30/1943. [Filed under call number mf LM430 1930-1968]
v. 11 – 8/20/1950-8/22/1968. [Filed under call number mf LM430 1930-1968]

Receipts for Sales of Lots and Vaults, 1851-1852.

[Filed under call number mf II LM430 1841-1849]

Monthly Reports of the Sexton, 1853-1859.

4 folders. Unfilmed

Death Certificates, 1854; 1856-1859; 1869.

Originally described and microfilmed as records of the Coroner's Office. [Filed under call number mf AA253 1831]

Jefferson City/Valence Street Cemetery

The Jefferson City Cemetery (later called the Valence St. Cemetery), located at St. Patrick (now S. Saratoga), St. David (now Danneel), Valence and Bordeaux Streets, became a City cemetery in 1870 when Jefferson City was annexed to the City of New Orleans.

Record of Interments in the Jefferson City (Valence St.) and Catholic Cemeteries, 1855-1870.

This volume gives the name of the deceased, age, and sometimes place of birth, cause of death, and name of person certifying death. Place of residence (in general terms) is occasionally given, as is information as to whether the deceased was buried at the city's expense. Included are some burials in the "Catholic" Cemetery – i.e., St Vincent Cemetery, also known as the Soniat Street Cemetery or St. Stephen's Cemetery. A few burials in "Odd Fellows tomb" are also given. [Filed under call number mf II LM430 1841-1849]
Note: On the microfilm copy of the Jefferson City Cemetery records, vol. 1 is incorrectly identified as part of this series. Vol. 1 is actually the Jefferson City Register of Deaths, 1868-1870.

Register of Lots, Valence Street Cemetery, 1877-1969.

This volume from the Commissioner of Police and Public Buildings, gives date, lot number, name of deceased, and remarks (used to indicate transfers of lot ownership). Arranged by square number. [Filed under call number mf LM100 1838-1958]

Interments in Valence Street Cemetery, 1900-1952.

Apparently sexton’s records, these volumes give the date of interment, name of deceased, cause of death, place of death, sex, race, place of birth, name of person certifying death, and (usually) the location of the grave.
v. 1 – December 1900-January 1931 [Filed under call number mf LM100 1838-1958]
v. 2 – March 25, 1931-January 2, 1952. Unfilmed

Carrollton Cemetery

In June, 1848, the City of Carrollton purchased the square bounded by Adams St., Hillary St., Sixth (now Birch) St., and Seventh (now Hickory) St. to establish the Carrollton Cemetery. An additional square bounded by Hillary, Lowerline, Birch and Hickory Streets was added in 1871. The administration of the Carrollton Cemetery was transferred to the Department of Police and Public Buildings in 1874, when the City of Carrollton was annexed to the City of New Orleans.

Register of Lots, 1850-1925

The two volumes of lot registers cover essentially the same time period; while they are not exact copies of each other, there should be duplication between them. Each book gives name, date, lot number, and remarks (which sometimes record transfers of lot ownership).
v. 1 – 1850-1925 [Filed under call number mf IILM430 1849-1853]
v. 2 – 1851-1925 includes a few transfers of ownership as late as 1947. Unfilmed

Interments, 1883-1925

These volumes include (usually) the name, age, sex, race, place of birth, date of death, cause of death, name of person certifying death, and date of burial. Marital status is occasionally given. Volume 1 and volume 4 are arranged chronologically; volumes 2 and 3 are arranged alphabetically. Volume 4 gives only name, age, date of burial, race and sex; this volume was apparently used originally for private purposes, and the interments do not begin until page 137.
v. 1 – 1883-1884 [Filed under call number mf LMH430 1908-1924]
v. 2 – 1887-1903 [Filed under call number mf II LMH430 1849-1853; on the film, this volume is incorrectly labeled as volume 1]
v. 3 – 1908-1924 [Filed under call number mf LMH430 1908-1924]
v. 4 – 1920-1925 Unfilmed

St. Mary's Cemetery

St. Mary's Cemetery, bounded by Spruce, Adams, Lowerline, and Cohn Streets, was transferred to the City from the Archdiocese of New Orleans in April, 1922.

Lot Registers and Interments, ca. 1893-1966

The dates given are approximate, and there is considerable duplication among the lot registers.
v.1 – 1893-1925. Includes both interments and lot ownership records. For each square, the lot register gives the date (usually), lot number, size of lot, owner's name, and remarks. Plans for each square are included. Records for burials in the "Colored Section" are given at the end of the volume. Interments (1922-1925) give the name, age, place of birth, date of death, cause of death, name of certifying doctor, and date of burial; the interments begin on p. 160 in the volume. Unfilmed
v.2 – 1900-1966. This volume was kept by the Department of Public Property, Division of Public Buildings. Arranged by square number, it gives generally the same information as volume one, but plans and measurements of lots are not included. Numerous inserts were also filmed showing transfers of ownership. Although notations of lot transfers extend to 1966, the bulk of the records end in the mid-1940s. [Filed under call number mf II LM430 1849-1853]
v.3 – Undated (lot register); 1937-1947 (interments). Apparently a sexton's book, this volume lists the lot number and owner in each square. Plans of squares are included. The interment records, which are recorded on pp. 100-103 and pp. 130-199, include the same categories as in volume 1. Unfilmed

Locust Grove Cemetery

In 1859, the City established the Locust Grove cemetery, located in the square bounded by Sixth, Seventh, Magnolia (now Freret) and Locust (now S. Robertson) Streets, for the indigent. Locust Grove No. 2, in the square bounded by Sixth, Harmony, Locust, and Magnolia Streets, opened in 1877. Both cemeteries closed in 1879 and in 1905 they were demolished to make way for the Thomy Lafon school and a playground.

Orders for Burial,1866-1868.

This volume, kept by the Street Commissioner, consists of printed forms giving the following information: date, name of deceased, age, sex, race, occupation, place of birth, place of death, date of death, cause of death, name of person certifying death. [Filed under call number mf LMC430 1838- 1841]

Receipts for Burial Orders, 1876-1879.

The records, from the Administrator of Police, are two volumes of stubs for burial receipts, giving the following information: date, name of deceased, age, sex, race, disease (or cause of death), place of birth, time resident in the city, place of death, date of death, and name of person certifying death.
v. 1 – March 2, 1876 – June 4, 1877 [Filed under call number mf II LM430 1836-1842]
v. 2 – June 4, 1877 – January 14, 1879 [Filed under call number mf LMB410 1881]

Holt Cemetery

In 1879, Locust Grove Nos. 1 and 2 closed, and to replace them the City opened the Holt Cemetery on lower City Park Ave., at the intersection of St. Louis St. and New Metairie Road. Holt was enlarged in 1909.

Interments, 1881.

This very fragmentary volume, from the Administrator of Police, lists burials in Holt only for the months of January and February, 1881. Entries include the deceased's name, age, and race. Also included in the volume are figures showing the total number of charity burials in Holt, January-March, 1881. [Filed under call number mf LMB410 1881]

Interments in Holt Cemetery, 1901-1953.

These records, presumably kept by the cemetery sexton, give the date of interment, name of deceased, cause of death, race, age, place of birth, place of death, sex, and name of person certifying death (physician, funeral director, etc.); the death certificate number is often included. The entries are arranged chronologically. There is a gap in the record between late June, 1906 and May 12, 1912. [Filed under call number mf LMB430]

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Other City Cemetery Records

New Orleans (La.) Office of the Mayor. Renunciations Made by Owners of Vaults Fronting on St. Louis Street in the Old Catholic Cemetery No. 1, 1847-1850.     Finding Aid

In February, 1847 the Board of Church Wardens of the St. Louis Church agreed to relinquish to the First Municipality the section of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 fronting on St. Louis Street and encroaching upon the line running from Basin Street toward Bayou St. John, to allow the Municipality to make improvements in that area. In return, the Municipality agreed to construct new vaults on the Basin and Conti Street sides of the cemetery for the remains in the displaced vaults. The resolution also provided that if any families preferred to remove their relatives' remains to private vaults, the municipality would pay for the construction of these vaults, on ground designated by the Wardens.

The record, in French and English, contains statements signed before Mayor A.D. Crossman by the owners of vaults (or someone authorized to act for the owner) renouncing all rights and claims to the vaults "encroaching on St. Louis Street." The earliest is dated September 20, 1847 and the latest, August 9, 1852. The records were originally cataloged as "Mayor's Office. Renunciations made by owners of vaults fronting on St. Louis Street in the Old Catholic Cemetery No. 1, 1847-1852" (LMA360). [Filed under call number mf LM433 1841-1842c]

Records of Interments in the Non-municipal Cemeteries of New Orleans, 1841-1846.     Finding Aid

Beginning in 1841, with the establishment of the Board of Health, cemetery sextons required death certificates before an interment could take place. The sextons were to record all certificates in a book and, if so requested, to send that book at the end of each year to the Mayor's Office for retention in the archives of the city. Five manuscript volumes of interment records for non-municipal cemeteries survive in the City Archives, apparently the copies provided to the Mayor's Office by the sextons in compliance with the new regulations. Each volume has columns for the following data: name, "quality, calling or trade," age, sex, bond or free (or color), disease, when born, where born, when died, where died, period of time in the city, married or single, and remarks. Not all columns are filled in consistently for all cemeteries.

These volumes were previously cataloged as records of the individual cemeteries represented and were microfilmed according to that cataloging arrangement. The following inventory keys the present cataloging to the existing four rolls of microfilm.

Catholic Cemeteries (St. Louis I and II). July, 1841-January, 1842.

[Filed under call number mf LM433 1841-1842c]
(See also below)

Cypress Grove Cemetery. July-December, 1841.

Founded in 1840 by the Firemen's Charitable and Benevolent Association. In 1841, remains of firemen buried elsewhere were removed to Cypress Grove. Many Protestant families are also buried here.
[Filed under call number mf LM433 1841cg]
(See also below)

Protestant [Girod Street] Cemetery. July-December, 1841.

Opened in 1822 by the wardens of Christ Church. The remains of Protestants in St. Louis No. 1 were removed here. The Girod Street Cemetery did not bar slaves from purchasing tombs, and the cemetery contained a number of tombs owned by slave benevolent societies. The cemetery was demolished in 1957; the remains of whites were reinterred in Hope Mausoleum; African-Americans were removed to Providence Memorial Park. [Filed under call number mf LMC430 1835-1844]
(See also below)

St. Patrick's Cemetery. May, 1841-January, 1842.

Opened in 1841 by the vestry of St. Patrick's Church. [Filed under call number mf LMC430 1835-1844]
(See also below)

St. Vincent de Paul Cemetery. September, 1842-September, 1846.

Labeled "St. Vincent's Cemetery" on microfilm. [Filed under call number mf II LM430 1836-1842]

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Non-Municipal Cemeteries (New Orleans)

Note: Dates given are inclusive, covering the beginning and end dates of all types of records (interments, ownership records, etc.) included for each cemetery.

Cypress Grove and Greenwood Cemeteries, 1849-1970

Cypress Grove Cemetery No. 1 was founded in 1840 by the Firemen’s Charitable and Benevolent Association, initially as a burial place for firemen. A second section of Cypress Grove was later added but closed in 1920. This organization also founded Greenwood Cemetery in 1852.

The records include interments for both Cypress Grove and Greenwood cemeteries, acts of conveyance, lot cards, and a title book (Cypress Grove only). Also included in this series is a Widows and Orphanage Roll Book for the Firemen’s Charitable and Benevolent Association (1890-1960). mf GS36-132 to 158

  Additional information on these cemeteries can be found at www.greenwoodnola.com.
(See also above)

Girod Street Cemetery, ca. 1815-1939

The Girod Street Cemetery was New Orleans’ earliest Protestant cemetery, opened in 1822 by Christ Church (Episcopal) Cathedral. The cemetery was deconsecrated in 1957. Remains of white persons were transferred to Hope Mausoleum; those of African Americans, to Providence Memorial Park.

The records consist of a typescript transcription of a “master file” in the possession of the Louisiana State Museum; they may duplicate all or part of the WPA Tombstone Index described above. Included are name, date of death, age, and (sometimes) place of birth. mf DAR16
(See also above)

Hope Mausoleum and St. John Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, 1867-1974

St. John, the city’s second Protestant cemetery, was founded in 1867 by the St. John Evengelical Lutheran congregation (the cemetery was also known as the First German Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery). The cemetery continued to be operated by the church until 1929, when it was sold to John Huber. Under the direction of Huber and, later, his heirs, the cemetery became non-sectarian. Huber also constructed Hope Mausoleum in 1931.

One roll of film (GS36-127) covers early interments in St. John Cemetery (1867-1922). The remaining records (crypt and ground interment cards and an alphabetical listing of deceased owners, keyed to the interment cards) are primarily for Hope Mausoleum, although some burials in St. John are included. Many of the interment cards include copies of the obituary, clipped from the newspaper. The index gives the owner and lists other interments in the crypt. mf GS36-116 to 131

Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery, 1849-1961

Odd Fellows Rest was founded by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and opened in 1849.

The records include lot/tomb cards, indexed at the beginning of the roll. mf LN76

St. Joseph Cemeteries, 1855-1925

St. Joseph Cemetery No. 1 was founded in 1854 by the St. Joseph German Orphan Asylum Association in order to provide burial space for German immigrants who lived in the City of Lafayette and to provide income for the School Sisters of Notre Dame, who ran the orphanage. It was later taken over by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. St. Joseph No. 2 opened in 1873.

The records include interments and ownership records. mf GS36-96 to 108

St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, 1833-1919

St. Louis No. 1 is New Orleans’ earliest existing cemetery, founded in 1789.

The records include interments (with indexing). mf GS36-78 to 82 and 91

  An enormous amount of information on St. Louis No. 1 (including a “tomb search”) can be found at Dead Space, a project of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Fine Arts Collaborative Studio. See cml.upenn.edu/nola/index.html.
(See also above)

St. Louis Cemetery No. 2, 1843-1882

St. Louis No. 2 opened in 1823. The third of the cemetery’s three squares includes burials for many early New Orleans free people of color.

The records include interments (indexed) and lot ownership records. mf GS36-83 to 91
(See also above)

St. Louis Cemetery No. 3, 1895-1917

St. Louis No. 3 opened in 1854.

The records include interments (indexed) and lot ownership records. mf GS36-92 to 95

St. Patrick Cemeteries, 1844-1972

St. Patrick was founded in 1841 by the Irish immigrants who built St. Patrick’s Church on Camp Street. (Many of the Irish victims of the 1853 Yellow Fever epidemic were buried here). The cemetery was taken over by the Archdiocese of New Orleans in 1966.

The records are interments. mf GS36-108 to 111
(See also above)

St. Roch, 1881-1959

St. Roch Cemetery was founded in 1874 by Father Peter Leonard Thevis of Holy Trinity Church. A second section was added in 1895.

The records include interments and an index of vaults. mf GS36-112 to 115

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Cemeteries Outside of New Orleans

Chalmette National Military Cemetery. Burial Registers, 1864-1973

These four volumes record burials in several different arrangements: volume 1, by rank/state of regiment/branch of service; vol. 2, by square number in the cemetery; and volumes 3 and 4, alphabetically by name of the deceased. The microfilm begins with a typescript “index,” giving names alphabetically and year of death. It is unclear how much duplication occurs among the various volumes. Although this microfilm carries an “LN” call number, the records were filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah. mf LN44

A second series of microfilm from the U.S. Army Office of the Quartermaster General also records burials at “Monument Cemetery” (i.e., Chalmette National Cemetery). These records are labeled “Abstracts of Interments at ‘Monument Cemetery,’ New Orleans, La. and cover the period 1864-1868, inclusively. The records also include a “Record Sheet of Disinterments.” Again, it is unclear how much duplication occurs among the various volumes. mf LN45

  These records are indexed online at www.cwc.lsu.edu/cwc/projects/dbases/chalmla.htm. Given the confusion of the microfilmed records, researchers would be well advised to use the online index.

Red Rock, Oak Grove, Manasco (Old Home Place) Cemeteries (Natchitoches Parish)

Typescript of information recorded from tombstones in three Natchitoches Parish cemeteries. The records give name of deceased, date of death, and date of birth. mf 929.5365 N273

Daughters of the American Revolution. Louisiana Tombstone Transcriptions.

This series includes transcriptions for the Parishes of Acadia, Avoyelles, Bienville, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Claiborne, DeSoto, East Carroll, Evangeline, Grant, Iberia, Jackson, Lafayette, Lincoln, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Sabine, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Tensas, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn. mf DAR1-7

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Funeral Home Records

Mothe Funeral Home (Algiers). Records, 1933-1991.

Death records and obituaries for burials from Mothe Funeral Home, with accompanying index. In addition to information about the funeral and burial (date of death and interment, cemetery used, cost and details of the funeral service and burial), the records give detailed information about the deceased, including date of birth, parish of residence, occupation, birthplace, parents’ names, cause of death, and whether the death was due to “external violence.” mf GS36-220-265