Listed record inventories
Selected records and local publications, with source links and the coverage described by each repository. Consult the access note for gaps, formats and research requirements.
Newspapers
- L'impartial = the Impartial (Vermillonville [i.e. Lafayette, La.])Publication: 1840-1861
- Lafayette Guide (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1963-19??
- Lafayette Pictorial (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1947-1950
- Louisiana Republican (Lafayette [La.])Publication: 1925-????
- New-Orleans Daily Telegraph (New Orleans [La.])Publication: 1845-18??
- Southside Guide (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1962-1963
- The Attakapas Vindicator (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1890-1???
- The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1914-Current
- The Daily Press (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1913-1916
- The Gladiator (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette] La.)Publication: 1839-18??
- The Guide (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1963-1963
- The Lafayette Advertiser (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], La.)Publication: 1865-19??
- The Lafayette Advertiser (Vermilionville [Lafayette], La.)Publication: 1865-19??
- The Lafayette Gazette (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1893-1921
- The Lafayette Progress (Lafayette, Lafayette Parish, La.)Publication: 1939-1962
- The Live Oak (City of Lafayette [La.])Publication: 1848-????
- The Louisiana Cotton-Boll (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La.)Publication: 1872-1883
- The Louisiana Cotton-Boll (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, Louisiana.)Publication: 1872-1883
- The Signal (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1843-????
- The Southern Times (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1834-????
- The Times (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1982-2003
- The Times of Acadiana (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1980-1982
- Undercurrents (Lafayette, La.)Publication: 1971-1971
- Weekly Mail (Youngsville, La.)Publication: 1984-1986
Open the source inventory or catalog
Repository access note: Selected newspaper titles whose Library of Congress catalog records explicitly name this county and state. Publication dates describe the title’s history, not surviving issues, library holdings or online images. Uncertain dates and open ends follow the catalog. Consult the linked title records for holding libraries and access; multiple formats of the same title/place/date are grouped. This is a selection from a focused county query, not an exhaustive newspaper census.
Source: Library of Congress, Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries.
Where to find the records
- Find Lafayette 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, Lafayette" 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: St. Martin Parish
Check the parent parish for earlier records: St. Martin Parish
Later formed partly from Lafayette Parish: Vermilion Parish
Records stay with the parish that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1823, 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.