Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Catahoula Parish, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
Deeds and land
Marriages, births and deaths
Wills and estates
See the repository's descriptions and search options
Repository access note: Selected parish microfilm holdings described by New Orleans City Archives, supplemented by county-specific land maps in the State Library of Louisiana historical microfilm guide. These are holdings at the named repositories, not a complete parish inventory. Check exact volumes, gaps and current access before requesting records.
Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.
Where to find the records
- Find Catahoula Parish's official website
We haven't checked this parish's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the clerk of court.
- The clerk of court
In Louisiana the parish clerk of court keeps conveyances (deeds), mortgages, marriages (outside Orleans Parish) and successions (estates), and court records.
- The Louisiana State Archives
In Baton Rouge: state birth records more than 100 years old (before 1911, mainly Orleans Parish), death records more than 50 years old, and historical Orleans Parish marriages.
- Louisiana State Archivesfree
The state archives in Baton Rouge, with historical birth, death and Orleans Parish marriage records and Confederate pension applications.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Louisiana, Catahoula" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent parishes
Formed from: Rapides Parish
Check the parent parish for earlier records: Rapides Parish
Later formed partly from Catahoula Parish: Caldwell Parish, Franklin Parish, LaSalle Parish, Winn Parish
Records stay with the parish that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1808, search the parent parish. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Louisiana uses civil law, so estates are "successions" and parishes take the place of counties. Catholic church records, which in Louisiana go back to the 1700s, are often the best early source.