The ability to trace your family history though Catholic records is a valuable resource that perpetuates faith being passed from one generation to the next.

New Genealogy form for 2021
Please see bottom of page

Would you like to do your own research?  
Click here for Indices for all churches from 1718 - 1815 and to 
access PDFs of original Sacramental books from 1718 to 1815

Genealogical Research
In order to ensure continued preservation of the sacramental registers held at the Archdiocesan Archives, these records are unavailable to those engaged in genealogical studies or family research. All requests for individual sacramental and cemetery records are handled by mail according to the procedures outlined below. Please allow for approximately six weeks for your request(s) to be answered. 

Requesting a Genealogical Certificate Policies

• Certificates will be issued for the specific record requested and will include all pertinent family information.
• When a record is not found a research report will be issued.
• Family tree research/genealogy lines are not available.
• Only four requests may be submitted at one time.
• FEE:   $15 per item requested.   If you are submitting more than one request please include all forms and a check for the total. 4 requests = 4 forms + $60

• If an exact date or church is not known, you MUST provide detailed information such as, but not limited to: parents’ names, birth dates of first children, New Orleans address, name of the priest who performed the marriage, death date, etc.
• This information can be obtained by checking old city directories, census records, obituaries and state issued marriage licenses, birth certificates and death certificates. (Please see below for links to these resources )
• The number of Catholic churches in the city of New Orleans increased rapidly after 1840. Requests for records after 1845 must include the nameof the church or the address of the participants, particularly the bride.
•  Cemetery records, in general, are not indexed. Therefore, requests must include name, date of death (within a month), and, if possible, thecemetery.
• Broader access is allowed to older sacramental records than more recent ones. At present, the cutoff date for unrestricted use of sacramental records is the year 1919. 

For us to begin researching your request, you will need to have dates of birth, dates of marriage, dates of death, and church the sacrament took place at, if church is unknown you must provide ward or address at time of sacrament  (you only need the dates pertaining to the record you are looking for). We recommend you use the provided links to find the information I mentioned that is needed to locate records. 

Check here for birth, marriage and death dates. If it is a marriage record you are seeking, you should order the marriage record from the state first. If the priest is listed, it will help us determine in which church the marriage took place at. 
https://www.sos.la.gov/HistoricalResources/ResearchHistoricalRecords/Pages/OnlinePublicVitalRecordsIndex.aspx
 
Helpful in figuring out marriage date and place 
http://nutrias.org/inv/jpmarrindex/jpmarrindex.htm
 
Helpful for finding death date and possible burial location 
http://nutrias.org/~nopl/obits/obits.htm
http://nutrias.org/guides/genguide/burialrecords.htm
https://www.findagrave.com/
https://nolacatholiccemeteries.org/maps
Historic New Orleans Collection Survey of Historic New Orleans Cemeteries 

You should check census records and city directories to locate addresses of the people whose records you are requesting. 
https://sites.google.com/site/onlinedirectorysite/Home/usa/la/orleans

This is an overall guide to genealogical resources for the above listed records and additional information. http://archives.nolalibrary.org/~nopl/guides/genguide/gguide4.htm

Identifying Your Catholic Ancestors | Fall 2020 Genealogy Series

Sacramental Books Held by the Office of Archives and Records

Click here for Genealogy Request Form