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African American Resources for Louisiana

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Introduction[edit | edit source]

A list of resources for researching African American ancestors who lived in Louisiana.

Online Resources[edit | edit source]

Research Strategy[edit | edit source]

History[edit | edit source]

See these websites to learn more about African Americans in Louisiana history:


See these books and articles to learn more about African Americans in Louisiana history:

  • Dunbar-Nelson, Alice. "People of Color in Louisiana: Part I". The Journal of Negro History vol. 1, no. 4 (October 1916): 361-376.
  • Perkins, A. E., ed. Who's Who in Colored Louisiana, 1930. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Douglas Loan CO., 1930].
  • The Large Slaveholder of Louisiana 1860. Joseph Karl Menn. New Orleans: Pelican Publishing Co., 1964. FHL Collection
  • Bonham, Milledge L. Jr. "Reconstruction in Louisiana after 1868". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review Vol. 5, No. 3 (December 1918): 366-368.

Resources[edit | edit source]

Biographies[edit | edit source]

Cemeteries[edit | edit source]

Census Records[edit | edit source]

Church Records[edit | edit source]

Emancipation Records[edit | edit source]

Funeral Homes[edit | edit source]

Genealogies[edit | edit source]

Land and Property[edit | edit source]

Plantation[edit | edit source]


Oral Histories[edit | edit source]

Other Records[edit | edit source]

Military Records[edit | edit source]

Newspapers[edit | edit source]

Probate Records[edit | edit source]

Reconstruction Records[edit | edit source]

Freedman’s Bank[edit | edit source]

An excellent source is the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company (visit the African American Freedman's Savings and Trust Company Records page to learn more). This company was created to assist African American soldiers of the Civil War and freed slaves. Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company signature cards or registers from 3 March 1865 to 25 July 1874 may list the name of the depositor, date of entry, age, birthplace, residence, complexion, name of employer or occupation, wife or husband’s name, death information, children’s names, name of father and mother, brothers’ and sisters’ names, remarks, and signature. Early books sometimes contained the name of the former master or mistress and the name of the plantation. Copies of death certificates were sometimes attached to the entries. The collection is organized alphabetically by state, then city where the bank was located, then date the account was established, then account number.

Online collections of Freedman's Bank records:

Freedmen's Bureau[edit | edit source]

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was created by the US government in 1865 until 1872 to assist former slaves in the southern United States. The Bureau created a wide variety of records extremely valuable to genealogists. Such documents include censuses, marriage records, and medical records. These records often include full names, former masters and plantations, and current residences.[1] For 1865 and 1866, the section on abandoned and confiscated lands includes the names of the owners of the plantations or homes that were abandoned, confiscated, or leased. It gives the county and location, a description of the house, the number of acres owned, and the number of cabins of former slaves. These films do not appear to contain the names of former slaves.

To find Freedmen's Bureau records:

Other FamilySearch collections not included:

Visit the African American Freedmen's Bureau Records page to learn more about utilizing these records.

School Records[edit | edit source]

Slavery Records[edit | edit source]

Vital Records[edit | edit source]

Birth[edit | edit source]

Marriage[edit | edit source]

The Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872) was created by the US government to assist former slaves in the southern United States. One of their responsibilities was to record the marriages (past and present) of the former slaves. These records can be found in the collections below and include the lists of marriages that occurred previously, marriage certificates, and marriage licenses. The information contained on the records may include the name of the husband and wife/groom and bride, age, occupation, residence, year or date of marriage, by whom, number of children, and remarks.

Death[edit | edit source]

Divorce[edit | edit source]

Voting Registers[edit | edit source]

Archives and Libraries[edit | edit source]

The Amistad Research Center
Tulane University
Tilton Hall
6823 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70118
Phone: (504) 862-3222

The Amistad Research Center is the nation's oldest, largest and most comprehensive independent archive specializing in the history of African Americans and other ethnic groups.

New Orleans Public Library
219 Loyola Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: (504) 596-2560

The New Orleans Public Library has a large African American collection. See African-American Genealogy Sources for more information.

River Road African American Museum
406 Charles Street
Donaldsonville, LA 70346
Phone: (225) 474-5553
Email: kathe@aamuseum.org

Tangipahoa African American Heritage Museum & Veterans Archives
1600 Phoenix Square
Hammond, LA 70403
Phone: 985-542-4259

Louisiana Digital Archives

Societies[edit | edit source]


References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau," "African American Heritage," National Archives, accessed 11 May 2018.


v • d • e
Links to African American Research-related articles
Topics
Repositories
Allen County Public Library · Family History Library · Library of Congress · National Archives I · National Archives Regional Branches · National Underground Railroad Freedom Center · Birmingham Civil Rights Institute · Black Archives of Mid-America · Duke Univeristy Rubenstein Library · Family History Centers · Godfrey Memorial Library · Kalamazoo College Black History Mobile Museum · New England Historic Genealogical Society · Newberry Library · John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg · Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture · Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum · University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Libraries · University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center · University of Pittsburgh Hillman Library
States


v • d • e
Links to Louisiana-related articles
Topics
Parishes
Acadia · Allen · Ascension · Assumption · Avoyelles · Beauregard · Bienville · Bossier · Caddo · Calcasieu · Caldwell · Cameron · Catahoula · Claiborne · Concordia · DeSoto · East Baton Rouge · East Carroll · East Feliciana · Evangeline · Franklin · Grant · Iberia · Iberville · Jackson · Jefferson · Jefferson Davis · Lafayette · Lafourche · LaSalle · Lincoln · Livingston · Madison · Morehouse · Natchitoches · Orleans · Ouachita · Plaquemines · Pointe Coupee · Rapides · Red River · Richland · Sabine · St. Bernard · St. Charles · St. Helena · St. James · St. John the Baptist · St. Landry · St. Martin · St. Mary · St. Tammany · Tangipahoa · Tensas · Terrebonne · Union · Vermilion · Vernon · Washington · Webster · West Baton Rouge · West Carroll · West Feliciana · Winn
City: New Orleans
Extinct
 Parishes
Major
 Repositories
Migration
 Routes
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