New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., Marriage Records Index, 1831-1964

This database is an index to marriage records for New Orleans (which is coextensive with Orleans Parish) between the years 1831-1964. New Orleans was one of the first cities to establish the keeping of vital records, which they began doing in 1790. It wasn't until 1914 that the keeping of vital records became a statewide mandate. In addition to providing the names of the people who were married, the index provides their ages, sex, marriage date, and a reference to the original record. The index was obtained from the Secretary of State in Louisiana, Division of Archives, Records Management, and History.

Vital records can be great sources of genealogical information. Besides providing the name of the person whom the record was created for, vital records can provide a wealth of other information. Birth records at a minimum will generally include the name of the child, the date and place of birth, and the parents' names. Often birth records will include the race of the parents, their ages, occupations, birthplaces, and marital status. Death records at a minimum will contain the deceased person's name, and the date and place of death. However, they often will also include the cause of death, age at time of death, place of birth, parents' names, occupation, name of spouse, name of the person giving the information, and the informant's relationship to the deceased. Information found in marriage records can range from just the bride and groom's names and the date and place of marriage to including the bride and groom's ages, birthplaces and dates, their residences, and their parents' names.

To obtain copies of vital records prior to 1914 you can write the Louisiana State Archives at 3851 Essen Lane PO Box 94125, Baton Rouge, LA 70804. To obtain copies of vital records after 1914 you can write the Louisiana Vital Records Registry at PO Box 60630 New Orleans, LA 70160. For more information about how to obtain copies of Louisiana vital records visit the Louisiana Vital Records Information website.

Taken from Chapter 3: Research in Birth, Death, and Cemetery Records, The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy by Johni Cerny; edited by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking (Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Incorporated, 1997).