The 1950 Census is Here!!!

Due to what is called "The 72 year rule", census records may only be released to the general public 72 years after the date they were done. Today, the 1950 census turns 72 and you can look at it here: https://1950census.archives.gov/ . It looks like the Archives has already made it name searchable, so this … Continue reading The 1950 Census is Here!!! →

A Great Ouachita Parish Genealogy Resource

Many genealogy societies are beginning to place their magazines online. When you are doing genealogy research, you may not think about genealogy society newsletters and magazines. They are great research tools! Some have information you will absolutely never find anywhere else. Among the societies that are digitizing is the Ark-LA-Tex Genealogical Association. They have scanned … Continue reading A Great Ouachita Parish Genealogy Resource →

About to go on Facebook Live.

Posting a little early today to say that in 30 minutes I will be going live on the Ouachita Parish Public Library Facebook page. I will be presenting a short program about genealogy tips and tricks you may not be aware of! If you can't catch it this morning, it will be available for viewing … Continue reading About to go on Facebook Live. →

Bureau of Land Management Land Records

Did your ancestor get land from the federal government? Would you like to see where it was and what the document looks like? Go here: https://glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx to search and see if your ancestor had any land ! The maps available here are incredible!

A New Genealogy Page for the Ouachita Parish Public Library

A few weeks ago, the library launched a new webpage at http://www.oplib.org. If you look at the top right section of the home page, you will see a link to Family and Local History. That leads you to our page, which has a lot of useful links at the bottom. The Databases page links to … Continue reading A New Genealogy Page for the Ouachita Parish Public Library →

Looking Up Louisiana State Death Certificates

Louisiana has very strict privacy laws. As a result, Louisiana death certificates are sealed for fifty years before they are available to the general public. If you are looking for a death after 1970, you must be a direct relative of the person whose info you are requesting (son, daughter, spouse, parent, etc...) and go … Continue reading Looking Up Louisiana State Death Certificates →

Interesting Ouachita related information.

Want to see a map of the Ouachita river way before even Fort Miro was founded? Go here: https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/6560 . The site marked "P. des canots" would be the eventual site of Monroe. The Wisconsin Historical society has the Monroe chapter of C.O.R.E. records from 1961 - 1966 if you are interested in the Civil … Continue reading Interesting Ouachita related information. →

Miscellaneous Ouachita Parish Related Collections

I was interested in knowing what Ouachita Parish items are in other collections around the country and was surprised at what I found! Isaiah Garrett's business ledger is at the University of Alabama: https://archives.lib.ua.edu/repositories/3/resources/4802 Sarah Lois Wadley's diary and the papers of the Ladies Aid Society of Ouachita Parish are at the University of Chapel … Continue reading Miscellaneous Ouachita Parish Related Collections →

Useful Ouachita Parish Genealogy Websites

There are some great genealogy websites out there to help you in your research. One of the best is the Ouachita Parish Genweb Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/ouachita.htm There are lots of obituaries, courthouse and vital records that have been transcribed here. New submissions are always welcome! Genealogy Trails is very similar and is just starting to get … Continue reading Useful Ouachita Parish Genealogy Websites →