All Ascension Parish Library locations will be closed on Friday, April 18, 2025, and Sunday, April 20, 2025, in observance of Good Friday and Easter.
Explore your family history through a variety of print, electronic, and microfilm resources for genealogy research. The main genealogy collection is housed at our Gonzales location.
Accessible Archives on History Commons is a digital collection of historical American newspapers, books, and journals. Includes the following resources: African American Newspapers, African American Newspapers in the South, American County Histories, American Inventor, Anatomy of Protest in America, Frank Leslie’s Weekly, Godey’s Lady’s Book, History of Woman Suffrage, National Anti-Slavery Standard, Native Americans in History, Quarantine and Disease Control, Reconstruction of Southern States, Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman, South Carolina Newspapers, The Civil War Collection, The Liberator, The Pennsylvania Gazette, The Pennsylvania Genealogical Catalogue, The Pennsylvania Newspaper Record, The Virginia Gazette, The Woman’s Tribune, Twelve Years A Slave, Women’s Suffrage, and World War I Military Camp Newspapers.
Ancestry Library Edition delivers billions of records in census data, vital records, directories, photos, and more. It’s an unprecedented online collection of individuals from North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and more.
Answers await everyone—whether professional or hobbyist, expert or novice, genealogist or historian—inside the more than 7,000 available databases. Here, you can unlock the story of you with sources like censuses, vital records, immigration records, family histories, military records, court and legal documents, directories, photos, maps, and more.
Ancestry is only available inside your local library.
HeritageHub is the largest and most comprehensive collection of newspaper obituaries and death notices. Extensive editorial review of all newspaper sections ensures thorough selection of obituaries for easy access. An easy-to-use interface allows searching by name, date range, or text such as institutional name, social affiliation(s), geographic location(s), philanthropic activities, etc.
HeritageQuest Online is a comprehensive treasury of American genealogical sources—rich in unique primary sources, local and family histories, and finding aids.
18th Century or 20th Century. European or Native American. Farm or Factory. East Coast or West Coast. Where does your American past begin?
Internet Genealogy is a magazine that focuses on keeping today's family historian up-to-date with the vast and ever-growing collection of genealogy-related resources, software, tools, products, technologies and more. With each new issue you will find website reviews, social networking strategies, as well as tips, and stories from a wide variety of seasoned professional authors who share the benefit of their many years experience of doing traditional and online genealogy research.
New Orleans Genesis is the journal of the Genealogical Research Society of New Orleans and was first published in 1962. The society was established in 1960 to foster an interest in family research and to encourage preservation of genealogical records in New Orleans, and in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast south.
The digital edition of New Orleans Genesis is published each year in April and July. Print editions are published yearly in October and can be used in the library at the Gonzales and Donaldsonville locations.
Start with yourself and work from the known (names, dates, places). Keep in mind who, where, when and what.
At home, look for:
At libraries, check these sources:
When you find information, whether you copy or photocopy it, write down the author, title, page number, and volume number (if it has one), or photocopy the title page. Some day you might have to recheck your work.
Go, or write to, parish courthouses, state archives, or diocesan archives for:
When you write to other parishes, counties, or states, etc., be sure to give as much information as you can about the person you are searching for. Be as clear and brief as possible. Follow the agency's instructions on how to receive the information.
When you do your research, remember to:
Be patient. You won't find everything in one day.
General Works
Louisiana Works
