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Records Relating to Legal and Judicial Matters Jackson Square, showing the Presbytere at the right of the Cathedral. From the 1820s to 1910, the Presbytere housed the Louisiana Supreme Court and the civil courts of Orleans Parish. FromCrescent City Business Directory for 1858-1859. | 
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VA 1st Mun
The First Municipality Council, by ordinance of May 20, 1840, provided for the appointment of two attorneys, a principal Attorney and a second Attorney. The principal or first attorney had the control and management of all claims that the municipality felt compelled to prosecute by judicial proceedings. He was to furnish to the Council monthly a report on the suits instituted and their progress. Subsequent ordinances (see those of March 8 and May 17, 1841) made it clear that the second attorney was to act only with the concurrence and approbation of the principal. The second attorney also reported monthly to the Council on the "situation of all cases confided to his care." He also was to pay monthly to the Treasurer all sums that he collected during that period. The ordinances of the municipality made it clear that no suits were to be instituted by any other officer than the first or second attorneys. The records are two manuscript "Judiciary books" [VA410] apparently used during the period 1846-1849 to record the activities of the attorneys in lawsuits involving the municipality. The first volume records suits in which the municipality was the defendant, the second those in which it was plaintiff. In both books are recorded the number of each suit, the court in which it was filed, the name of the defendant/plaintiff, the name of his attorney, a statement of the cause of action, judgment, remarks and "execution & return." Not all of these elements of information, especially beyond the cause of action, are recorded consistently in these volumes. Available as part of one roll of 35mm microfilm, see the following inventory for roll/call numbers. Inventory
VA410
This manuscript volume, in English, appears to record suits in which the attorney represented the municipality. Brief records for each suit give the suit number, name of the party being sued, very brief reference to the nature of the suit, and an amount, presumably the amount of tax or other obligation being sued for. At the rear of the volume are other, possibly related, records dealing with moneys collected by the attorney for the municipality. Available as part of one 35mm microfilm, roll #89-355; filed under call number HC205L 1845-1850 2nd Mun.
Section 34 of the 1852 city charter provided for the election by the Common Council of an officer to serve as "their legal advisor on all matters in which his advice may be necessary, and represent them, within the State in all judicial proceedings ... in which they may have an interest." His term of office was set at two years. Ordinance #1448 (1854) further defined his duties and responsibilities. That law stated that he would act as legal advisor to the Council "and of any officer of the city, upon all matters which may be submitted to him for his opinion." The Attorney was also to draft ordinances when requested, prepare contracts and other documents, and inspect accounts and contracts prior to their execution. Twice annually he was to report to the Council on all matters then in his hands. At his office in the City Hall, the Attorney was required to maintain books recording all actions prosecuted or defended by him. Other duties specifically directed to be performed by the City Attorney included attendance to all cases of habeas corpus or other legal proceedings relating to the House of Refuge, as well as executing the requisite legal steps for the admission of indigent insane persons into the State asylum at Jackson. The 1852 charter also provided for the election of an Assistant City Attorney who duty was "to collect the bills of all defaulting taxpayers, all bills of all persons in default liable to license tax, and the fine denounced by law or any ordinance of the city for violations thereof." The assistant Attorney was to report monthly to the Comptroller and annually to the Council on the status of the various collections placed in his hands. There is contradictory evidence concerning the Assistant Attorney's independence from the City Attorney. This record describes materials from both officers as being records of the City Attorney's Office; the researcher, however, should be aware that those dealing with the collection of taxes, etc,, probably were created by the Assistant City Attorney and the others by the City Attorney. The records are manuscript volumes as described below.
Available on three rolls of 35mm microfilm, see the following inventory for roll numbers. Inventory [mf roll #89-289]
VA204
VA410
VA411
[mf roll #89-290]
VA530
VA531
[mf roll #89-291]
VA990
VA991
It is uncertain just when the office of City Notary was first established in New Orleans. An ordinance of December 29, 1830 provided that, "the Notary of the Corporation shall be appointed every year by the Mayor and the City Council on the third Saturday in January." The list of "notaries who acted in the capacity of City Notary," compiled by Guy J. Seghers and published in Rudolph H. Waldo's guide to the Notarial Archives, begins with Joseph Cuvillier in 1850. The WPA-compiled "Administrations of the Mayors of New Orleans, 1803-1936" suggests that John Lynd served as the city's notary during the 1815-1820 administration of Mayor August Macarty. The record books, all manuscript volumes, are also "shrouded in mystery" to some extent. One volume records notarial acts involving city business during the period 1809-1824. The data is recorded on forms headed "Record of notarial acts executed by the City of New Orleans before ... the City Notary," but the records appear to have been compiled at some time after the date of the last act recorded. The record is an inventory of the various acts, showing date, "style of act" (sale, deposit, contract, etc.), "party thereto," "purpose thereof,", price, and remarks. The second volume is made up of extracts from acts of sale for various properties located in the area comprising the city's second municipality during the period 1836-1852. The sales represented in the book date from ca. 1817-1841. The extracts may have been made by the notary for the second municipality or by some other officer interested in the titles of properties in the municipality. Each extract summarizes the original act of sale, much the same as in the deeds recorded in the Conveyance Office. Marginal notes, moreover, identify the streets on which the subject properties were located, a feature unique to this record book. This permits access to property sale records by the geographical location of the properties involved, access that is facilitated by a street name index at the beginning of the volume. Volume three includes copies of notarial acts involving the New Orleans municipal government. Many are acts of sale in 1810 for parcels of the former plantation of Claude Treme. Among the other acts is one for the sale by the city of the land for Charity Hospital, various documents concerning the College d'Orleans, and one pertaining to a grant by the King to aid in the reconstruction of the Cabildo by Almonester following the fire of 1794. Of special note, attached to documents involving the property of Henry Metzinger, is the original grant of land by Carondelet to Metzinger in 1796. There is a typewritten inventory of these various acts at the front of the volume; this inventory has some defects (poor translations, incorrect dates) but it should be of some use as a finding aid. Available on 35mm microfilm, see the following inventory for roll/call numbers. Inventory
VB160
VB340
VB690
Manuscript records, in Spanish and French, of the proceedings in eight court cases involving local citizens and interests. Volume 1 includes the records of three cases: Don Fermin Songy vs the succession of Don Pedro Rillieux, 1799- ; Hilario Boutte vs Claudio Chabot, 1791-1800 (in two sections); and Martin Braquier vs the succession of Colonel Don Gilberto Antonio de San Maxent, 1796-1798. The volume also includes minutes of the Court of Pleas for the Orleans Territory for the period March 1-September 20, 1804. Volume 2 also includes the records of three cases: Don Lorenzo Sigur vs Dona Isabel Larroche, 1795-1796; Sigur vs Don Andres Almonester y Roxas, 1798; and Claudio Treme vs Don Gilberto Guillemard, 1804-1808 (including documents from as early as 1797). The third volume includes the record of the proceedings instituted by Francisco Blache to execute the last will and testament of Luis Blondeau, 1799-1803. Contained in the remaining six volumes is the extensive record of the succession of Don Gilberto Antonio de San Maxent, 1784-1803. San Maxent was one of the great landowners of Spanish Louisiana. The documents in the sixth book of this record, dated 1794-1795, appear to have been kept together separate from the remainder of the succession proceedings. The Songy vs Rillieux record deals with the former's efforts to obtain payment of back wages due him for the four years that he administered the Rillieux property on the German Coast. The Boutte vs Chabot case involves the non-payment of a 1773 peso debt owed by Chabot to Boutte. Among the documents in this record is lengthy testimony by Chabot's wife in which she offers proof that property seized in the course of the proceedings was actually her own separate property. She also describes the imprisonment and subsequent illness of her husband, as well as the nature of her business ventures. The Braquier vs San Maxent record documents the former's effort to collect a 287 peso debt owed him by San Maxent. Sigur's suit against Larroche involves the settlement of certain accounts between the two parties. His suit against Almonaster relates to a plantation that he sold to Don Andres. The Treme suit, actually filed before the Superior Court of the Orleans Territory in 1804, concerns his attempt to obtain a copy of an earlier (1757?) plan of his property. The documents comprising this series originally were bundles of loose papers. They subsequently were bound into the present volumes. Many of the documents filed in these records were prepared by and are signed by the notary publics of the city, including Pedro Pedesclaux, Rafael Perdomo, Narcisso Broutin, and Carlos Ximenes. Also included are documents signed by the members of the legal tribunals that heard the suits, including colonial governors Carondelet, Casa Calvo, Miro, Galvez, and Gayoso de Lemos. Abstracts and/or partial translations are available for the records in Songy vs Rillieux, Boutte vs Chabot, Braquier vs San Maxent, Blache vs Blondeau, and one volume of the San Maxent succession. All of the records are available on 35mm microfilm. While these records probably had their origins in the same tribunals represented in the Spanish Judicial Records held by the Louisiana State Museum, these are identified as being part of the municipal archives collection in an inventory dated 1845. They may also be enumerated in Laussat's inventory of the municipal archives dated 1803. Available on thirteen rolls of 35mm microfilm, see the following inventory for roll numbers. Inventory
VC290
The jurisdiction of justices of the peace was first defined by the Territorial legislature in 1805. This act did not discuss their duties concerning marriage, but two years later, on February 24, 1807, the legislature legalized all marriages that had been made in the Territory of Orleans by a county judge, justice of the peace, minister, or commandant, if these marriages had been "contracted agreeably to the laws and usages of the country." Later in 1807, the legislature did detail regulations for marriage. This act stipulated that no marriage was to be celebrated unless a license had first been obtained from a parish judge. It also established that marriage ceremonies were to be performed only by ordained priests or ministers who had themselves been issued a license by the parish judge. If there was an insufficient number of priests or ministers residing in the parish, however, the judge could issue licenses to perform marriages to justices of the peace. The 1807 act also set up several regulations which remained in effect throughout the period covered by these records. In order to obtain a marriage license, minors were required to obtain consent of their parents (or closest family member), to be given in writing before the parish judge. Those over twenty-one were required to present proof that they were of age, in the form of "registers of their birth" or the "oath of two credible witnesses." The groom was also to post a bond as security that no legal impediment existed to the marriage. In 18l6, the legislature divided the city and suburbs of New Orleans into 8 districts and authorized the governor to appoint a justice of the peace for each district. The act defined their jurisdiction in civil matters but, again, failed to specify their duties in connection with marriage. In 1820, however, the legislature passed another law legalizing marriages celebrated by parish judges and reiterating the authority of the parish judge to license justices of the peace to celebrate marriage. This law was enacted, the statute says, in order to put an end to doubts arising "as to the validity of certain marriages celebrated by the parish judges...as well as justices of the peace...." This court system was fairly short-lived. Nine years later, on February 19, 1825, the legislature repealed "all acts and parts of acts creating justices of the peace" in New Orleans and replaced the justice of the peace courts with the City Court of New Orleans, comprised of one presiding judge and four associate judges. The judges of the City Court assumed all powers and duties previously vested in the justices of the peace, including the authority to celebrate marriages in Orleans Parish. Licenses to celebrate marriages were issued to the City Court judges by the Parish judge. In 1845, the legislature required all ministers or magistrates celebrating a marriage to make a duplicate of the act of celebration, to be "signed by himself, by the parties, and three witnesses"; one of the copies was then to be sent to the Clerk of the District Court. These records are not included in the City Archives collection; records of the early justices of the peace have not survived. In 1846, the legislature once again changed the court system in Orleans Parish and established the system of issuing marriage licenses and certificates that governs the records described here. At this time, the legislature abolished the City Court and revived the justice of the peace court system, dividing Orleans Parish into 6 districts, each of which was to elect a justice "at every general election thereafter...." This act authorized justices of the peace to issue marriage licenses, as well as to perform marriage ceremonies, and instructed them to keep records of both and "to deliver the said records to their successors in office." Another 1846 act established 6 justice of the peace in Jefferson Parish and gave them the power to issue marriage licenses and perform marriage ceremonies. The system established in 1846 continued in effect during the entire time period covered by these records. However, beginning in 1870, changes in the system of registering marriages and further changes in the judicial system in Orleans Parish gradually lead to the end of the justice of the peace system. In 1870, the Recorder of Births and Deaths for Orleans Parish became the Recorder of Births, Marriages and Deaths and was given "concurrent power with other officers now designated by law, in the Parish of Orleans, to issue marriage licenses..."; all licenses were to be returned to his office, and all marriages were to be registered with him. In 1877, the Recorder of Births, Marriages and Deaths was placed under the aegis of the Board of Health, which was given the responsibility of registering all marriages (and other vital statistics). Act 45 of 1880 established three City Courts for Orleans Parish (a fourth was added later that year), which replaced the justice of the peace courts. All "archives, books, and papers" of the justices of the peace were transferred to the City Courts. Finally, in 1882, the legislature amended Article 99 of the 1870 Civil Code, which had granted justices of the peace in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes the right to grant licenses. Licenses in Orleans Parish were henceforth to be granted by the Board of Health and by judges of the City Courts. Changes in the boundaries of the justice of the peace districts outlined in 1846 and the adding or abolishing of districts at later dates complicate the task of researchers seeking records within a particular physical location in the city. With the exception of the 1st and 2nd Justice of the Peace districts (which remained stable throughout the period covered by the records) and the 8th Justice of the Peace district (stable after its creation in 1877), all of the districts underwent boundary changes. Thus, the records of the 4th Municipal District (formerly the city of Lafayette), for example, can be found, at different time periods, in the records of both the 6th and the 7th Justice of the Peace (some pre-1864 records remained with the records of the City of Lafayette and are cataloged separately). Records for the right bank of the Mississippi River can be found among the records of both the 5th and the 6th Justice of the Peace. The 7th Justice of Peace district created in 1856 and abolished in 1865 covers a completely different physical area than the 7th Justice of the Peace district created in 1871. A chart reflecting the boundary changes is appended to this finding aid. (Researchers should be aware, however, that there was no requirement that residents obtain their licenses from the justice of the peace for the district in which they lived.) The records are, for the most part, printed forms filled in by the justices of the peace; some are manuscript. Some volumes contain marriage certificates only; others contain both marriage licenses and certificates; the majority contain licenses only. Five volumes among the 4th Justice of the Peace marriage licenses contain receipts for licenses rather than the licenses themselves; a sixth volume contains both licenses and receipts. In addition to certificates, licenses, and receipts issued by the justices of the peace, the records also include 2 volumes containing licenses granted to and certificates issued by City Court judges; also included are four volumes of marriage licenses and certificates returned as proof of marriage to various justices of the peace by ministers or other celebrants. Volumes containing records other than justice of the peace certificates and licenses are indicated in the inventory. One volume of the 2nd Justice of the Peace licenses and several volumes among the 3rd Justice of the Peace records include indexes. Some volumes (primarily from the First and Second Justices of the Peace) are badly damaged and contain pages that are completely or nearly illegible. In a few instances, beginning and end dates of volumes are illegible; other volumes contain irregularities in dating. Notes or other documents are occasionally attached to the records. Indexes, damaged volumes, problems with dates, and attachments are all noted in the inventory. The marriage certificates are for marriages performed by the justices of the peace themselves. (With the exception of a few volumes of certificates returned to justices of the peace as proof of marriage, certificates for ceremonies performed by priests, ministers or other celebrants are available only in church records or, after 1870, in the records of the Board of Health.) Although the actual wording of the certificates (usually printed forms) varies over time, all certificates give the following information: date of marriage and names of bride, groom, three witnesses, and the justice of the peace performing the ceremony. The licenses, generally, are printed forms in three parts: first, a statement of two witnesses swearing that the parties applying for the license are over the age of twenty-one, signed by the justice of the peace granting the license; second, a bond posted by the groom and attested to by one witness as security that no legal impediment to the marriage existed when the license was granted (should no such impediment appear within two years, the obligation was voided); third, a statement giving consent for a minor to be married, including the minor's age and the signature of the family member consenting to the marriage and of the justice of the peace. In the case of minors, age is recorded. Sometimes, the name of the minister or magistrate licensed to perform the ceremony is also recorded. The forms, of course, are dated. Receipts for licenses state simply that a license was granted on a certain date and give the name of the person performing the ceremony and the names of the bride and groom. (One volume of receipts has been cataloged separately as Orleans Parish, Fourth Justice of the Peace, Receipts for licenses, 1863-64 [VEE678r].) Documents returned as proof of marriage include various types of marriage records (licenses, receipts for licenses, certificates) or handwritten statements returned by ministers or other celebrants of marriages to the justice of the peace who issued the license. Information included in these records varies according to the type of record returned. Some certificates used by churches or ministers contain more information than the certificates used by the justices of the peace (e.g., name and address of the church or other location where the marriage took place); license receipts sometimes include a form on the verso which records the birthplaces of the bride and groom and their parents' names. A card index to the records (in progress), arranged by name of bride and groom, is located in the Louisiana Division. The records are continued by the records of the Board of Health and the City Court. The former overlap those of the Justice of the Peace from 1870-1880 and generally provide more information than the Justice of the Peace records (including the place of birth and age of the couple being married, and parents' names). The records are available on 86 rolls of 35mm microfilm; 42 of these rolls are available for interlibrary loan.
Justice of the Peace Boundary Changes 1846-1855
1st Justice of the Peace - Felicity Road to Julia 1855-1864
1st Justice of the Peace - Felicity Road to Julia 1864
1st Justice of the Peace - Felicity Road to Julia 1871 7th Justice of the Peace created - Sixth Municipal District 1877 8th Justice of the Peace created - Seventh Municipal District Inventory + Indicates that the volume contains damaged documents
[reel #1; mf roll #906309]
VH678
[reel #4; mf roll #906312]
[reel #5; mf roll #906313]
[reel #26; mf roll #906333]
[reel #27; mf roll #906335]
[reel #40; mf roll #903915]
[reel #43; mf roll #903917]
[reel #54; mf roll #903928]
[reel #56; mf roll #903929]
VEE678r
[reel #66; mf roll #903939]
[reel #75; mf roll #903948]
[reel #80a; mf roll #900167--there is no second copy of this film].
[reel #85; mf roll #903958]
[reel #86; mf roll #903958]
Article 83 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1845 provided for the election of a Sheriff in each Parish of the State. This officer served a term of two years. His duties (set by legislative act in 1813 when the office was appointive) included the execution of all judgments and orders of the courts sitting in the Parish from which he was elected. A new act passed in 1847 defined the Sheriffs' duties relative to judicial sales (presumably this responsibility had been included in the general language of the 1813 act). The 1847 legislation charged the Sheriffs to carry out all court-ordered sales, except for succession proceedings, in which the representative of the succession was permitted to choose whether the sale would be conducted by the Sheriff or by an auctioneer. The act also set the amount of commission that could be charged for such sales. Each volume includes records of the sales of both movable and immovable properties as ordered by the civil courts of the Parish. In most cases an individual record includes a clipping of the newspaper advertisement for the sale and manuscript notations as to amount of sale, sheriff's fees, interest, and other charges. Often the clippings are in both English and French; the manuscript notations seem to be exclusively in English. For sales of immovables there is usually a detailed inventory of the items being sold, along with the amount paid for each item, and the name of the purchaser. Among the records are sales of the contents of private residences and of businesses such as dry goods stores, coffee houses, and book stores, all with item-by-item or lot-by-lot inventories. There are also several records of hotel sales, including at least one for the St. Charles Hotel, again with room-by-room listings of furnishings and inventories of the contents of the public rooms. Each volume is indexed by the titles of the suits which led to the court-ordered sale. Also included is one manuscript volume of "account sales" (1838-1840) which show date, name of suit prompting the sale, name of court in which the suit was heard, description of the property being sold (land, slaves, and moveable properties are included), name of purchaser, and amount and terms of sale. The fees charged by the Sheriff are also listed and totaled, and subtracted from the sale price to give the amount of net proceeds. Available on six rolls of 35mm microfilm; see the following inventory for roll numbers. Inventory [NOTE: THE INVENTORY INCLUDED ON THE MICROFILM VERSION OF THESE RECORDS CONTAINS ERRORS; THE FOLLOWING IS THE CORRECT INVENTORY FOR THESE RECORDS.VF 800 1846-1863 Sales books, 1846-1863.
VF801 Account sales, 1838-1840.
The insolvent laws of the state of Louisiana provided that persons unable to meet their credit obligations could avoid legal proceedings against them by surrendering all of his estate to his creditors. Along with his petition to the judge the debtor was to file a schedule of his outstanding debts along with names and residences of the creditors to which those debts were owed. The judge, once he was satisfied as to the intentions of the debtor, authorized a meeting of the creditors to receive the property to be surrendered to them. The Sheriff's Office was responsible for notifying all creditors of the meeting call. The record is a manuscript volume listing each call for creditors' meeting separately. For each meeting is recorded the name of the debtor, the names of the attorneys representing both he and his creditors, the date of the meeting, and the number of the suit asking for permission to settle the debt. Available as item 8 of 35mm microfilm roll #89-355, filed under call number HC205L 1845-1850 2nd Mun.
The 1836 city charter of New Orleans provided for a Recorder to serve in each of the city's three municipalities. This officer was to have, within his municipality, all powers and duties prescribed by law and was specifically to exercise all duties of a magistrate and conservator of the peace, concurrently with the Mayor. Each recorder was to keep an office nearby the chamber of the municipality council and to keep it open from 9 until 2 daily, except for Sunday. Their salaries were to be fixed by the municipality councils, but were not to exceed $3,500. Legislative act of March 14, 1820 had required that the Recorder be chosen from among the heads of families who had been resident within the city at the time of the election. They were to be at least thirty years of age, citizens of the United States, and possessed of at least $3,000 in real property within the city. In addition to their judicial duties, the Recorders, along with the municipality councils, served as the administrators of the business of the municipalities. The Recorder of the First Municipality was designated to serve as acting Mayor in case of a vacancy in that office.
See also: New Orleans (La.) Third Municipality Guard. Records (Reports of the Captain of the Guard), in the City Archives Collection. Available on two rolls of 35mm microfilm, see the following inventory for roll numbers. Inventory
[mf roll #89-171] Witness docket, 1847-1849.
VG410
VG411
VG530
The charter of the city of New Orleans, passed in 1852, included among the executive officers of the city four Recorders to be elected to two year terms, one from each of the four municipal districts. The Recorder for the Third District, therefore, served that portion of the city to the east of Esplanade Ave. The qualifications for this office were the same as those of the members of the state's general assembly. The Recorders were to serve as ex- officio justices of the peace and were to exercise all of the duties previously invested in the Recorders of the separate municipalities of the city. Each Recorder was to keep a record book with the different criminal cases brought before him. Subsequent legislation specified additional duties of the office. Ordinance #1537 (1854) directed them to commit to the workhouse all runaway slaves and free persons of color found to be illegally in the state. In the following year, ordinance #2324 made it the duty of each Recorder to "hear and determine all complaints which may be brought before them, for the violation of every ordinance of the city;" persons found guilty of such offenses were to pay the appropriate fine or be imprisoned for up to thirty days in the parish prison. In 1856 they were authorized (by ordinance #3174) to grant permits for the opening of tombs in the city cemeteries. Ordinance #3267 (1857) called for the appearance before the appropriate Recorder of all women arrested for violation of the ordinance concerning "lewd and abandoned women." The records are manuscript volumes as follows:
Available on eight rolls of 35mm microfilm, see the following inventory for roll numbers. Inventory [mf roll #89-258]
VGC205
VGC350
VGC410
[mf roll #89-261]
VGC412
VGC430
VGC450
[mf roll #89-262]
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