Ancestry.com Library Edition

This popular consumer online genealogy resource is now available to library patrons for free. It features an online collection of over 4 billion individuals from North America, Europe, Australia, and more. Explore genealogy sources like censuses, vital records, immigration records, family histories, military records, court and legal documents, directories, photos, maps, and more.

Available in-library only.

African American Heritage by ProQuest

African American Heritage is a groundbreaking digital resource exclusively devoted to African American family history research. This collection was created in partnership with leading African American genealogists and recognized leaders in genealogical information to develop a comprehensive mix of resources, records, and tools specifically pertaining to African Americans.

As a consequence of slavery and the changing legal status of African Americans, research in this area can be more challenging than other genealogical inquiries.

African American Heritage helps individuals address these unique issues by not only bringing together records critical to African American family research, but also by connecting them to a community of research experts, whose mentoring and assistance can frequently be the difference between research success and futility.

Available in-library and from your home with your Livingston Parish Library card.

Heritage Quest

Discover the amazing history of you with HeritageQuest Online. With more than 4.4 billion records, it delivers an essential collection of genealogical and historical sources—with coverage dating back to the 1700s - that can help people find their ancestors and discover a place’s past.

HeritageQuest is available in-library and from your home with your Livingston Parish Library card.

Fold 3

Fold3 Library Edition by Ancestry provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served.  This continually-growing collection contains millions of records from world-class archives, many of which are exclusively available on Fold3.

With content from the Revolutionary War onward, Fold3 Library Edition is an invaluable research resource for historians, genealogists, researchers, military enthusiasts, veterans and their families, teachers, and battle reenactors.

The Fold3 name comes from a traditional flag folding ceremony in which the third fold is made in honor and remembrance of veterans who served in defense of their country and to maintain peace throughout the world.

LPL Digital Archives

The Livingston Parish Library Digital Archives houses complete, text-searchable issues of the Livingston Parish News dating back to January 1925. Search and browse by keyword, first and last name, year, and more! Newspaper images can also be cropped and printed, or saved as PDF files.

Louisiana Digital Library

Louisiana Digital Library

An online library of over 144,000 digital materials about Louisiana's history, culture, places, and people. It also includes digitized, searchable newspaper resources featuring a collection of papers from the Antebellum Period and selected Louisiana newspapers from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Available in-library and from home with a library card number.

Microfilm at the LPL

The LPL offers microfilm reading at the Main Branch in Livingston. Our new digital microfilm reader can store images into a digital document that can be transferred to a USB Drive, e-mailed, or printed. All microfilm is available for in-library use only. As a part of this service, patrons are now able to order microfilm from interlibrary loan that can be viewed in the library. Interlibrary loan allows patrons to request materials not found in the LPL collection from outside of the Livingston Parish Library System. In order to request microfilm from interlibrary loan, please see a staff member.

Click here to view microfilm resources available at the Main Branch in Livingston.

Patrons can also order microfilm from FamilySearch.org, a nonprofit website that offers free family history and genealogy records through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Main Branch of the Livingston Parish Library is a designated FamilySearch Center that can receive materials for patrons on loan from FamilySearch.org. If you're interested in ordering microfilm at the LPL, please call Collection Development at (225) 686-2489 to submit your request.

Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy

Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy is a comprehensive website for research on African-Americans who may have been slaves in Louisiana between 1719 and 1820.

Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Land Management is a source of information on the initial transfer of land titles from the federal government to individuals. In addition to verifying title transfer, this information will allow researchers to associate an individual (Patentee, Assignee, Warrantee, Widow, or Heir) with a specific location (Legal Land Description) and time (Issue Date).

Cyndi's List

Cyndi's List is an online index to genealogy subjects on the internet. Any topic related to genealogy is covered in some form here, from Acadian genealogy to researching the War of 1812.

Digitizing Louisiana Newspapers Project (DLNP)

Digitizing Louisiana Newspapers Project (DLNP) is managed by LSU Libraries and contains 56 newspapers published in Louisiana between 1836 and 1922. You can search by keyword within a specific publication or across all publications in Louisiana. This site is linked with the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America (Chroniclingamerica.loc.gov) project which contains digitized newspapers from across the country.

DistantCousin Genealogy

DistantCousin is a free online archive of genealogy records and scanned images of historical documents from a wide variety of sources, such as newspaper obituaries, city directories, census records, ship lists, school yearbooks, military records, and more. In all, there are more than 10 million genealogy records from over 4,273 sources online. There are no fees or memberships required to use the records at DistantCousin. Everything on the site is available for your use.

Family Search

FamilySearch.org is the largest genealogy organization in the world. The site is completely free and provides access to census records, the social security death index, wills, burial records, and much more. The site also has a valuable Learn section with lessons about various aspects of genealogy research.

Family Search also has a searchable catalog of microfilm records. You can order microfilm that you find on the site through our collection development department and read them on our microfilm reader. For more information, call (225) 686-2489.

GenForum

GenForum is host to forums discussing genealogy topics including specific states, countries, and surnames. It’s a great resource to find and contact other genealogists.

Louisiana State Archives

While visiting the Louisiana State Archives in person is the only way to access all of the available content, their website offers research guides and indexes to the physical collection. Use the site to access a database of Confederate soldiers included in the Confederate Pension Application Index, or to find a list of names included on New Orleans Ship Passenger Lists in 1851.

Starting Your Genealogy Research

A guide to genealogy resources available at the National Archives.

USGenWeb

USGenWeb is run by a group of volunteers working together to provide free genealogy websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. This Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free genealogy access for everyone.

The Edward Livingston Historical Association

The Edward Livingston Historical Association meets the third Thursday of every month at 6:00 PM in our Main Branch in Livingston. The group is dedicated to local history and genealogy. They invite speakers on topics of interest and compile and publish information about Livingston Parish History. If you are interested in joining or learning more about the organization, attend one of their monthly meetings.

Livingston Parish Clerk of Court

The Livingston Parish Courthouse contains records relevant to genealogical research such as marriage licenses, land records, and plats. To contact the Clerk of Court, call 225.686.2216 or e-mail questions@livclerk.org.