Assumption Parish, Louisiana Genealogical Records Information

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Assumption Parish History and Information

Assumption Parish Facts

Assumption Parish was created on 1807 , as an Original Parish and the parish was named in honor of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church, the oldest in the state. The Parish seat is Napoleonville .

It is borderd by Iberville Parish (north, Ascension Parish (north), St. James Parish (northeast), Lafourche Parish (east), Terrebonne Parish (southeast), St. Mary Parish (southwest), Iberia Parish (northwest), St. Martin Parish (west) . Cites, Towns and Communities include Belle Rose, Labadieville, Napoleonville, Paincourtville, Pierre Part, Supreme . The Official County Website is located at http://www.assumptionla.com/ .

Prior to 1750, the French, proceeding south along Bayou Lafourche from where that stream forks with the Mississippi, settled on both sides of "the river of the Chitimacha." They were followed by the Spanish who penetrated as far as Napoleonville which, by the time the exiled Acadians arrived in the 1760's, had become a prosperous little colony. Upon acquisition of the territory by the United States in 1803, English speaking land seekers came and at Napoleonville, named by a soldier who had served under the Little Colonel, they found a thriving market place. Yet another group, the Canary Islanders or Islenos, added to the nationalities entering the area. The Islenos were sent in 1779 and 1780 by Governor Bernardo de GALVEZ to the locality near Plattenville called Valenzuela Post. The post was about at the site of Belle Alliance, where today stands a plantation home bearing the latter name and built in 1846 by Charles KOCK. Nearby are ruins of Belle Alliance Sugarhouse, once one of the most important west of the Mississippi River, and around which a Negro community has grown. South of the parish seat, the area around Labadieville was taken up by French and Spanish, joined by Acadians and a sprinkling of Germans from the Cote des Allemands or German Coast to the east on the Mississippi River. This was during the two decades after 1750. Labadieville takes its name from a pioneer resident, Jean Louis LABADIE.

Descendants of these settlers comprise a very considerable part of Assumption's present population. Upon the cession to Spain in the 1760's the first commandant was Nicolas VERRET. He was succeeded by VILLANEUVA. The story is told that the transfer to the Spanish did not meet the approval of all Assumption men. One, DASPIT ST. AMANT, loudly opposed the new government and his arrest was ordered. ST. AMANT placed a keg of gunpowder in the door of his home and defied officers; the latter retreated on his threat to explode the powder. Friends of ST. AMANT met them during the withdrawal and persuaded the officers that the belligerent citizen should be left strictly alone, which was apparently done.

Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the first Lafourche Parish Judge appointed by Governor W. C. C. CLAIBORNE was James MATHER. He ws succeeded by Bela HUBBARD who in turn ws made Parish Judge, and followed by COURVOISIER, Wincelas PICHOT (who was killed in a duel), and lastly Alexander COVILLIER. See Extended History for More information.

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Assumption Parish Court Records

See Also Louisiana Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

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.

Assumption Parish Clerk of Court has Court Records from 1788 and Land Records from 1788 and Probate Records from 1788 has Marriage Records from 1800 and is located at 4809 LA Highway 1, P ODrawer 249, Napoleonville, LA 70390, (985) 369-6653, (985) 369-2032 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.

There are a few online databases for Court, Land and Probate Records which include:Louisiana Marriages, 1718-1925, Louisiana Marriages to 1850, Louisiana Marriage Records, 1851-1900, New Orleans, Louisiana Marriage Records Index, 1831-1925, Louisiana Land Records. You may also search the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which does cover Louisiana and does cover surrounding states. Many pioneers and settelers bought land from the government instead of individuals.

Click Here to Search Louisiana Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Assumption Parish Court Records. Email us with websites containing Assumption Parish Court Records by clicking the link below:

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Assumption Parish Vital Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

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 Assumption Parish courthouse.

Below is a list of online resources for Assumption Parish Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Assumption Parish Tax Records by clicking the link below:

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Assumption Parish Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Louisiana Genealogical Addresses

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 Assumption Parish Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Assumption Parish Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Terrebonne Genealogical Society- Our quarterly publication is "Terrebonne Life Lines", each issue has a full name index, total of 300 pages of research information published per year. We cover the old Lafourche Interior area - Assumption, Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes.
Local Louisiana Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
Louisiana State Archives , 3851 Essen Lane, PO Box 94125, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125; (225) 922-2012
Louisiana Historical Society, 5801 St. Charles Ave, New Orleans, Louisiana 70115; 504/866-3049, [EMAIL]
Louisiana Genealogical & Historical Society, P.O. Box 82060, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70884-2060-60
National Archives and Records Admin, 501 W Felix Str, Building 1, P.O. 6216, Fort Worth, Texas 76115-3405; archives@ftworth.nara.gov, Fax: 817-334-5511
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.
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Assumption Parish Church & Cemeteries

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.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Assumption Parish. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Assumption Parish Tombstone Transcription Project.

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 Assumption Parish Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Assumption Parish Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

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 Assumption Parish Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Assumption Parish Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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County History

Assumption Parish is situated in the serene bayou country in the south-central portion of Louisiana. It is an irregular-shaped parish and is located about 30 miles south from Baton Rouge and 60 miles west of New Orleans. It is bordered on the north by Iberville and Ascension Parishes, on the east by St. James and Lafourche Parishes, on the south by Terrebonne and St. Mary Parishes, and on the west by St. Martin and Iberia Parishes. The southern tip of the parish is about 25 miles and an extreme width of about 18 miles. The total area of the parish is 236,962 acres, of which 21, 654 acres is water.

The soil of the entire parish is alluvial and divided into three classes – sandy loam, mixed soil (a mix of sand and humus), and black land (contains little or no sand). Many thousands of acres are flooded, however, because of their low elevation and lack of adequate outlets. Most of the flooded soils are in woodland. The most valuable land of the parish lies along Bayou Lafourche, extending back some 80 to 100 acres; no better land than this is to be found in the state.

Sugarcane is the main crop. In proportion to this area, Assumption Parish produces more sugar than any other parish in Louisiana. Most of the soils in the parish not subject to flooding have been used in the production of sugarcane. There are many home gardens since the rich loamy soil is well suited for vegetable crops.

The original inhabitants who lived along the banks of our Bayou are said to have been the “Chetimatches Indian Tribe”, “Washas” and “Chawashas”. For the archeologist, there are the mysterious Indian mounds still found in this parish in the interior of Lake Verett. These were said to have been in existence at least 4,000 years ago. These Indian Tribes used the lakes and bayous for hunting and fishing in their hand-made dugout canoes. Villages were located near the bayous and lakes. Houses were constructed round with walls of a mixture of clay and Spanish moss. Roofs were made of layers of palmetto leaves carefully applied to prevent leakage. Within the village were large thatched “temples” that housed the Chief of the Tribe. Sentries were constantly on guard against invaders with their stations as lookout towers that were placed on stilts at outlying positions near the village.

Assumption Parish was the eighth parish created by the state in 1807, five years before Louisiana entered the Union. Its recorded history dates back to 1699, when French explorers under Bienville were the first white men to explore the Bayou Lafourche valley. The three Indian tribes were the only inhabitants of the area at that time and Bienville named the stream running through the center of the valley “the River of the Washas” after reaching the chief Washa village, where Labadieville is now. The French later re-named the stream “Lafourche of the Chitamatchas” for the tribe located where the bayou connects with the Mississippi River.

French and Spanish colonists established the first permanent settlements in the middle of the 18th Century. French Acadians, exiled from Nova Scotia, settled here between 1755 and 1765. Germans eventually joined them from the “German Coast” of the Mississippi River along with a large number of Spanish immigrants about 1778 while Louisiana was under Spanish rule.

Early settlers stayed close to Bayou Lafourche but, after Louisiana achieved statehood, many Anglo-Americans bought large farms and came to the parish with their slaves. One such family, the Pugh’s of North Carolina, arrived in the 1820’s. They acquired 18 plantations and built magnificent homes such as Madewood near Napoleonville, one of the most important historical structures in the parish.

As the land’s use changed from the small, individual plots farmed by the Acadians to large plantations run by the Anglo-Americans, use of the parish’s lifeline – Bayou Lafourche – was likewise altered. Pirogues and flatboats had been used since the first settlements were established in the 1700’s, but in 1812 the first steamboat appeared on the Mississippi River and within a decade others made their way to Bayou Lafourche.

Assumption Parish was the scene of a skirmish during the Civil War in October 1862. A Union army of 3,000 troops was confronted at Georgia Plantation near Labadieville by a smaller Confederate unit. Out-manned and out-maneuvered, the Confederate unit was quickly overcome. Other Union forces later camped in Napoleonville.

Napoleonville has always been the parish seat. In 1832, Louis Monginot bought a quarter-mile square of land along the bayou for $2,000 and subdivided it into town-like markings. Legend has it that Monginot had been a solider under Napoleon Bonaparte and named the community in honor of the “Little General.” However, records suggest that the town was probably named for the Napoleon family, which was instrumental in the community’s early development.

The first courthouse was built in 1818, but it was destroyed by fire, as was the second building. The present courthouse was built in 1895 and features Spanish architecture seldom seen in such structures in south Louisiana.

The Catholic religion of the people of Assumption is interwoven with the history of the parish itself. The focus of the community’s Catholic faith is visible in the beautiful churches in each of the parish towns.

Perhaps the most historic of Assumption’s churches is Christ Episcopal Church in Napoleonville.

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