Louisiana African American Genealogy

African American Genealogy online research is much more difficult due to the scant nature of record keeping for African American's prior to the Civil War. This is the reason for creating a separate section for African Americans much like we have for Native Americans who's research can also be hampered by the available records. The links below provide an accurate reflection of what is available to be searched for African American genealogy.

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• National Archives

  • United State National Archives

    • Digital Classroom

    • Genealogy Research at the National Archives

• Archives

  • Louisiana State Archives

  • Amistad Research Center

  • Louisiana African American Griots (hosted at USGenWeb Special Project)

• Libraries

  • The African-American Mosaic  A library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History and Culture.

• Societies

  • Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society

• Biography

  • Notable African Americans from Louisiana (hosted at New Orleans Public Library)

  • Hosted at LAGenWeb Archives

    • Biography of "Uncle Bill" Jones - Winn Parish

    • Biography of Ben Allen and Ike Martin - Winn Parish

    • Biography of Abraham Wyche Jackson - Desoto Parish

    • Biography of W.H.Payne - Planter and Businessman

    • Biography of Uncle Billy - Slave History-Franklin Parish

    • Biography of Jim Thribling - From Kentucky to Louisiana

  • Free Biography Resources (hosted at AccessGenealogy)

    • A  B  Bi C  Ch  Cr  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

•   African American Cemeteries

  • Louisiana African American Cemeteries

  • Access Genealogy's Cemetery Records
    The most complete coverage of Cemetery records available on the web.  They are broken down by county.  We do know know if there are African Americans in these cemeteries, so you should browse them for ancestors also.

•  African American Census Records

  • Louisiana African American Census Records

  • Hosted at Ancestry.com

    • 1870 US Fed Census $$

  • Access Genealogy's Census Records
    Providing the most complete coverage of census records available on the web. We've broken the list down by county, and take a careful look at the index page where we explain which records are missing from the census data and may never be recovered.

• Church Records

  • Hosted at Ancestry.com

    • The First African Baptist Church of North America $$

  • 1880 Natchitoches Parish (hosted at LAGenWeb Archives)

  • Hosted at African American Genealogy USGenWeb Archives

  • Livingston Parish

    • Galilee Baptist Church

    • Macedonia Baptist Church

    • Robert's Chapel United Methodist Church

    • St. James Methodist Church

  • Tensas Parish

    • Grace Episcopal-Baptisms & Births 1856-1857

    • Grace Episcopal-Marriages 1856-1857

• Court Records

  • Hosted at Ancestry.com

    • Slavery petitions and papers $$

  • Hosted at LAUSGenWeb Archives
    • Claiborne Parish
      • Bugg and Handson Marriage Record
      • Hatter and Bugg Marriage Record
      • Martin & Bugg Marriage Record
      • Martin and Jacob Marriage Record
      • Martin and Oliver Marriage Record
    • DeSoto Parish Marriages
    • Cleavins & Ellick Marriage Certificate - Rapides Parish
    • African American Marriages - St. Landry Parish
    • Tensas Parish
      • African American Marriages: 1860-65
      • African American Marriages: 1860-65 (Part 2)
      • African American Marriages(Part 3)
      • Free Person of Color Marriages, 1865-1869 - West Feleciana Parish
    • Conveyance Records
      • Extractions from Porter Conveyance Records
      • Lafourche Parish Conveyances for the Triche Name LaFourche Parish
      • Conveyance Records - Catahoula Parish
      • Conveyance of Bird W. Stroud to Louisa Owens - Natchitoches & Sabine Parish
      • 1810 Conveyance Records - St. Landry Parish
    • Succession Records
      • Succession of George W. Keller - W. Feleciana Parish
      • Succession of Pierre Durand - 1861 - Iberville Parish
      • Succession of Simpson Whaly, Sr. - 1861 - Iberville Parish
      • Succession of Henry Sheridan-1825 - Natchitoches Parish
      • Succession of Robert Anderson - Carroll Parish
      • Succession of Lightfoot Williams - Desoto Parish
    • Notarial Records
      • Lafayette Parish Notarial Records, Page 31-91 Lafayette
      • Lafayette Parish Notarial Records, Page 92-137 Lafayette
      • Lafayette Parish Notarial Records, Page 137-200 Lafayette
      • Lafayette Parish Ntarial Records, Page 1 - 30 Lafayette
    • Emancipation Records
      • Emancipation of Sylvain-1 - St. Charles Parish
      • Emancipation of Sylvain-2 - St. Charles Parish
      • Emancipation of Nancy - Tensas Parish
      • Emancipation of Melite Gradenigo - St. Landry Parish
    • Inquest Records
      • Inquest Of Carolina - Winn Parish
    • Miscellaneous Records
      • Somerset Plantation John Perkins
      • Matilda vs Absalom and Elizabeth Autrey
      • Sheriff Sale - Barbet vs Roth - 1861 - Iberville Parish
      • Adeliza Pickett Vs. Phillip Quay - Carroll Parish
      • Elmore Family of Jackson & Ouachita Parishes
      • Marsh Family of Jackson Parishes
      • Hayes Settlement - Livingston Parish
      • Black Republic Advertisements for Locating Relatives
      • West Livingston High School - Livingston Parish
      • Tensas Parish African American Marriages - 1924
      • Criminal Justice Matters Hal Frazier and Jesse Robinson - Winn Parish
    • Probate Records
    • Hosted at LAUSGenWeb Archives )
      • Deed: Absalom Traylor to James Durbin - St. Helena Parish
      • Deed: Jeremiah Durbin to George Richardson - St. Helena Parish
      • Probate Records - East Feleciana Parish
      • Will of Charles Brumfield - 1815 - Washington Parish
      • Estate of Marie Bihm - St. Landry Parish
      • Last Will and Testement of Antoine Simien

• Help at Ancestry

  • The Challenge of African American Research
    Conducting successful African American genealogical research can be a challenging adventure. In recent years, the challenge has been lessened and the adventure heightened by the growing body of publications relating to this ethnic group. Special-interest groups and genealogical societies nationwide are publishing key guides, new bibliographies, and important how-to books. Before delving into published sources, however, it is always important to pause long enough to organize one’s own personal papers and review standard research methodology. 
  • African American Research, Part 1
  • African American Research, Part 2
  • African American Research, Part 3: Case Studies
    Searching for African American families involves two distinct research approaches. These approaches correspond to the distinct change in the legal status of African Americans in the United States before and after the Civil War. Genealogical techniques used to track slave families before the war are necessarily quite different than those used for white or free African Americans; however, research conducted on African Americans after the war usually involves the same types of records as those used for whites. 
  • African American Genealogy Program at Indiana Historical Society
    Internationally known genealogist Tony Burroughs will present a lecture titled "Black Roots: A Beginner's Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree" at the Indiana Historical Society on February 10, from 1–4 p.m. The program, cosponsored by the IHS and the Indiana African American Genealogy Group, will discuss conducting African American family history research. IHS Program Archivist Wilma Gibbs will present a discussion on research resources available at the IHS and other repositories. 
  • Finding Your African American Ancestors: A BeginnerÆs Guide
    Few areas of American genealogy pose as much challenge as the search for African American ancestry prior to the Civil War. Notwithstanding the inherent difficulties, there are few areas that contain as much unrealized potential. Despite great strides within the last two decades, the basic outlines of the field are only now being clarified. While the difficulties of African American genealogical research are not to be discounted, these difficulties are not always insurmountable. 
  • Celebrating African American Family History
    February is Black History Month in the United States. If you have Black American ancestry, you might want to begin tracing your family tree this month while many museums and archives have special exhibits to mark the month.

• History

  •    Slave Narratives CD-ROM (Windows) $$

  • Ancestry.com Slave Narratives  $$
    Perhaps no other resource approaches the range of human experience found in Ancestry.com's Slave Narratives. This collection of interviews stands in contrast to other slave narratives that appear in most literature anthologies which were written by the rare few who, against staggering odds, had become literate. This database provides a more poignant picture of what it was to live as a slave in the American South. Taken from The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography, this collection is the most complete available picture of the African-American slavery experience. There is simply no other historical document quite like it. The collection contains over 20,000 pages of type-scripted interviews with more than 3,500 former slaves collected over a ten year period. (Requires Ancestry.com Membership) Get 14 Days Free Access!!!

  • Louisiana Slave Records

  • Hosted at Ancestry.com

    • Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1874 $$

  • Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy (hosted at Afro Louisiana History)

  • Hosted at Slaveholders and African Americans 1860-1870

    Ascension Assumption Avoyelles Bossier Caddo Carroll Catahoula Concordia Desoto East Baton Rouge Iberville Jefferson Lafourche Madison Morehouse

    Natchitoches Plaquemines Point Coupee Rapides St. Bernard St. Charles St. James St. John The Baptist St. Landry St. Mary Tensas Terrebonne West Baton Rouge West Feliciana

• Mailing Lists

• People of Color in the Old South (hosted at Tennessee GenWeb)

• Military Records

  • Military Records (hosted at AccessGenealogy)

    • World War I Records

    • Hosted at Ancestry.com

      • WWI Draft Registration Cards $$

    • World War II Records

      • Louisiana World War II Army - Air Corps Casualty List

      • Louisiana World War II Navy - Marines Casualty List

  • African Americans in World War II  (hosted at World War 2)

  • Hosted at Ancestry.com

    • Civil War Service Records $$

  • African-American Civil War Soldiers & Sailors (hosted at Solders and Sailors System)

  • African American Warriors (hosted at African American Warriors)

  • 106th Regiment Colored Infantry (hosted at Least We Forget)

  • US Colored Troops (hosted at Least We Forget)

  • Bureau of Colored Troops - Established May 22, 1863 (hosted at Least We Forget)

  • Roster - 9th United States Volunteer Infantry 1898 to 1899 (hosted at LAUSGenWeb Archives)

  • Louisiana Native Guards (hosted at LAUSGenWeb Archives)

• Newspapers

  • Hosted at LAUSGenWeb Archives )
    • Articles from "The Terrebonne Lifeline" Assumption Parish
  • Ouachita Parish
    • Ouachita Telegraph 1875
    • Ouachita Telegraph 1876
    • Ouachita Telegraph 1877 - Part 1
    • Ouachita Telegraph 1875 - Part 2
    • The Daily Telegraph - 1869 Ouachita Parish
    • The Daily Telegraph - 1883 Ouachita Parish
    • The Daily Telegraph - 1870 Ouachita Parish
    • The Daily Telegraph - 1871 Ouachita Parish
    • The Daily Telegraph - 1886 Ouachita Parish
    • Articles from the La. Intelligencer - 1868 Ouachita Parish
  • Union Parish
    • The Homicide Near Shiloh
    • Abstracts from the 1885 "Home Advocate" Union Parish
    • Abstracts from the 1872-88 "Home Advocate" Union Parish
    • Death of Dick Davenport - 1886 Union Parish
    • New articles surrounding Death of W.P. Mabry Union Parish
  • Washington Parish
    • Abstracts from the Washington Parish Era 1906-1920
  • Other
    • The murder of W.R. Meadows Claiborne
    • Black Settlers Sought an end to Injustice

• Surnames

  • African-American Surnames Database (hosted at Afrigeneas)

• Vital Records

  •  Louisiana Vital Records (hosted at AccessGenealogy)

African American Genealogy