St. James Parish, Louisiana Genealogy Records

Selected record inventories for St. James Parish, their listed years, and where to ask for access.

Selected inventory review: 2026-11-02. Selected collection metadata checked against repository catalog descriptions. This is not a complete holdings audit, examination of original records, or certification of current access. See the access note for limitations. Repository catalog or holdings guide

Formed
1807
Parish seat
Convent
Ascension ParishAssumption ParishEast Baton Rouge ParishIberia ParishIberville ParishJefferson ParishLafourche ParishLivingston ParishOrleans ParishPlaquemines ParishPointe Coupee ParishSt. Charles ParishSt. John the Baptist ParishSt. Martin ParishSt. Mary ParishSt. Tammany ParishTangipahoa ParishTerrebonne ParishWest Baton Rouge ParishSt. James ParishAssumptionIbervilleJeffersonLafourcheLivingstonSt. CharlesSt. John the BaptistSt. MarySt. James
St. James ParishToday's boundaries · U.S. Census Bureau

Listed record inventories

Selected holdings and indexes for St. James 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

  • St. James Parish official website

    Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the clerk of court, and any online record search the parish offers.

  • 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, St. James" 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: Land not yet in any county

German Coast County (Orleans Terr., extinct)Iberville County (Orleans Terr., extinct)Orleans County (Orleans Terr., extinct)Lafourche County (Orleans Terr., extinct)Pointe Coupee County (Orleans Terr., extinct)Attakapas County (Orleans Terr., extinct)Spanish West FloridaAcadia County (Orleans Terr., extinct)ST. JamesST. James
ST. James as created in 1807Where its land was the day beforeToday's boundaryBoundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries

Records stay with the parish that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1807, 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.