Caddo Parish was created on January 18, 1838 , from Natchitoches Parish and the parish was named in honor of the Caddo Native American people . The Parish seat is Shreveport .
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
Caddo Parish Clerk of Court has Court Records from 1835 and Land Records from 1835 and Probate Records from 1835 has Marriage Records from 1835 and is located at 501 Texas Street, Room 103 , Shreveport, LA 71101, (318) 226-6780, (318) 227-9080 Fax . The Clerk of Court for each parish in Louisiana performs the functions of more than one office. As the Recorder, the office of the Clerk of Court receives, files, records and indexes all mortgages, conveyances and all other instruments recorded in the Public Records for the Parish. The Clerk’s Office receives and files all pleadings, such as petitions, answers, motions and other filings in Civil and Probate matters, as well as indictments, bills of information and other filings in Criminal matters. The Clerk’s Office also handles special Juvenile matters and Criminal Neglect cases. Another function of the Clerk’s Office is the issuance of Marriage Licenses and recording their returns after the marriages are performed.
Below is a list of online resources for Caddo Parish Court Records. Email us with websites containing Caddo Parish Court Records by clicking the link below:
Records of the U.S. Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, New Orleans Division: Petitions, 1838-1861(The National Archives): NARA P2233. Naturalization records in this publication include petitions and oaths for new citizens in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1838 to 1861. Included here are petitions for naturalization and oaths by petitioners and two witnesses. Occasionally, declarations of intention filed in other courts are included. Each document contains the name and residence of the petitioner, country of birth, city and date of arrival, and names of the witnesses.
Click Here to Search Louisiana Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Vital Records Registry Office of Public Health, 325 Loyola Avenue, P.O. Box 60630. New Orleans, LA 70160; Tel: 504-568-5150 504- 568-5152 (automated) is the repository for all Louisiana Birth Certificates less than 101 years old and all
Louisiana Death Certificates less than 51 years old. Existing records of births which occurred in Louisiana more than
100 years ago or deaths which occurred more than 50 years ago are maintained by the Louisiana State Archives. They have the following records:
Birth Certificates: State office has had records since July 1914. Birth records
for city of New Orleans are available from 1892. Death records
are available since 1942. Older birth, death, and marriage
records are available through the Louisiana State Archives,
P.O. Box 94125, Baton Rouge, LA 70804.
Cost: The cost of a birth record is $15.00. Fees must be remitted by personal check, money order or Credi/Debit Card Online for the exact amount at the time the order is placed. No credit
cards are accepted except online. If the record is not on file, one fee is retained to cover the expense of the search. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 4-6 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order Online Below
Death Certificates: Death records maintained by Arkansas Vital Records start with February 1, 1914 through the present. Arkansas Vital Records does have a limited number of deaths occurring prior to 1914 for Little Rock and Fort Smith dating from 1881. The Arkansas History Commission has a death index of deaths occurring in Arkansas from 1914 through 1949. This is only an alphabetical listing of deaths occurring in Arkansas. The History Commission does not have copies of the death records.
Cost: The cost of a death record is $7.00. Fees must be remitted by personal check, money order or Credi/Debit Card Online for the exact amount at the time the order is placed. No credit
cards are accepted except online. If the record is not on file, one fee is retained to cover the expense of the search. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 4-6 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order Online Below
Marriage Certificates: Orleans Parish records only from Vital Records Registry or the Louisiana State Archives. For other parishes, certified copies are available from the Clerk of the Court in the parish where the license was issued.
Divorce Certificates: Divorce records are available from Clerk of Court in parish where divorce was granted. Fees vary. Call Civil District Court, (504) 592-9100.
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Order By Mail: SUBMIT APPLICATION, COPY OF STATE OR FEDERAL PHOTO ID AND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO: Vital Records Registry, P.O. Box 60630, New Orleans, LA 70160. Please do not send cash in the mail.
IF NO RECORD IS FOUND, YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED AND FEES WILL BE RETAINED FOR THE SEARCH PER R.S. 40:40.
Below is a list of online resources for Caddo Parish Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Caddo Parish Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Louisiana newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Click Here to Search Louisiana Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Parishwide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Caddo Parish, Louisiana are 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Caddo Parish, Louisiana are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.
Statewide Records that exist for Louisiana are 1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. After the 1803 purchase of Louisiana it became an American possession; therefore, the first federal census report taken for the state was 1810.
As early as 1860 the federal government began attempts to identify Native Americans. In 1900 and 1910 it created a special Indian schedule. The first page was the same as the population census only it had “Indian Population” as its heading. The second page provided for such important information as: tribal affiliation, the tribe of each parent, the person's Indian blood quantum, and—if not full blooded —their precise racial mixture. These schedules will be found at the end of the ward or district in which the Native American resided.
Below is a list of online resources for Caddo Parish Census Records. Email us with websites containing Caddo Parish Census Records by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Louisiana and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Louisiana showing all the parish boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in parish boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Louisiana showing all the parish boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in parish boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.
Below is a list of online resources for Caddo Parish Maps. Email us with websites containing Caddo Parish Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Louisiana Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Caddo Parish Military Records. Email us with websites containing Caddo Parish Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Louisiana (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Tax records are a valuable but little-used source. Almost everything was taxed: household and personal goods, livestock, slaves, and property. Tax lists can be used as a substitute census, to create complete neighborhoods for a neighborhood study, establish relationships, locate land, and so on. Unfortunately, most of these lists no longer exist in Louisiana, but those that are extant are usually found in the tax assessor's office in the Caddo Parish courthouse.
Below is a list of online resources for Caddo Parish Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Caddo Parish Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Caddo Parish Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Caddo Parish Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Louisiana Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Louisiana Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
Most Catholic church registers are still in the local parish
church. Many of them have been translated and published.
The recording of cemetery inscriptions in Louisiana
has long been a project of the DAR and numerous genealogical
societies. Genealogical
publications continually print these inscriptions in their issues.
Below is a list of online resources for Caddo Parish Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Caddo Parish Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Louisiana obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Louisiana newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Louisiana.
Click Here to Search Louisiana Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Caddo Parish Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Caddo Parish Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Louisiana Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
One of the sixty-four parishes of Louisiana, Caddo Parish was formed in 1838. A parish is the same as a county in any other state, as Louisiana is the only state to have parishes. Early on, however, Louisiana was divided into counties.
In 1804 President Thomas Jefferson appointed William C. C. Claiborne as governor of the Territory of Orleans, as Louisiana was known in its first years. On April 10, 1805, Louisiana was divided into twelve counties. The largest, Natchitoches County, included all of Louisiana north of Rapides County and west of Washita (Ouachita) County. To better understand the vastness of this area, nine parishes were subsequently formed from this area: Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, and Webster.
The legislature soon established nineteen parishes to coexist with the counties. In 1812, when Louisiana became a state, North Louisiana included Natchitoches, Ouachita, Warren, Catahoula, Concordia, and Rapides Counties. People were heading north and west into Texas from Louisiana, and enough of a population existed in Natchitoches County to create Claiborne Parish, named for the governor, in 1828. This parish consisted of all the land east of the Red River in northern Natchitoches County.
In 1835 the Caddo Indians ceded their land to the United States, and the area was opened up for settlement. Within three years the area had enough people to create another parish. Thus, Caddo Parish was created on January 18, 1838. The name, suggested by legislation member W. H. Sparke, refers to the Caddo Indians.5 Caddo's first parish seat was at the Wallace family home situated along Wallace Lake, but it eventually moved to Shreveport. The boundaries of the new parish were not set until 1841. Originally Caddo Parish was framed by the Arkansas line at the north and the Red River at the east, but it extended farther south than it does today. The western boundary was the line dividing the established United States from the territory which had been part of the Louisiana Purchase. The line was accepted by settlers in the area, but in 1841 a survey of the border was made and determined to be seven miles east of the generally accepted line; therefore, Louisiana lost a stretch of land seven miles wide and about seventy miles long. (This area is now part of Harrison, Marion, Cass, and Bowie Counties in Texas).
In 1843 DeSoto and Sabine Parishes were created and took land from the southern part of Caddo Parish. In 1845 the state created a new constitution which was based solely on the parish system, and the counties evaporated.
In 1845 the state of the parish's western boundary was altered when Texas was annexed to the Union. No longer would the western boundary be an international boundary. But that has not been the only boundary change. The course of the Red River, the eastern boundary, has changed often, although the river as a boundary has not. Several sections of land east of the river, which appear to be in Bossier Parish, actually belong to Caddo Parish, and the opposite is true for Bossier Parish. Settlers bought the land in Northwest Louisiana from the government and established plantations, primarily growing cotton, which was the staple crop of the South. By 1860 Caddo Parish was leading in cotton production in the state with Carroll Parish (which had not yet divided into East and West Carroll Parishes) following closely behind.
With the onslaught of the Civil War, military activity accelerated from June until December of 1861 with some of the parishes surpassing their required number of soldiers. The parishes in the river areas of North Louisiana, such as Caddo, Carroll, Bossier, and Ouachita had pulled together several companies, and these parishes subsequently increased their war efforts with more military units, such as the Caddo Rifles in North Louisiana.
In 1873 the state was still suffering greatly from the harshness of the Reconstruction government. Caddo, Bossier, and DeSoto Parishes found the situation intolerable and attempted to break away from Louisiana to join Texas. For this to happen, Louisiana's legislature would have had to approve, and the carpetbaggers serving as members would not allow it.
Sawmills came to the area because of the timber, and steamboats and railroads transported the lumber to the Northeast factories. Cotton and timber served as the greatest economic resources until the turn-of-the-century; however, farmers in Caddo Parish were frustrated. Drilling water wells for their livestock or for drinking water for themselves proved useless, as their water continuously came out sour. Some began to wonder if natural gas could be causing the problem.
In 1901 oil was discovered near Beaumont, Texas at Spindletop and at Jennings and at White Castle, Louisiana. Four years later in May, five barrels of oil were produced in the Caddo-Pine Island Field. By 1911 the Gulf Refining Company had successfully drilled oil on Caddo Lake; this was the first off-shore drilling in the nation. The 1930's saw another oil boom as people began to flock to Rodessa.
