Bienville Parish was created on 1848 , from Claiborne Parish and the parish was named in honor of the founder of the city of New Orleans, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. . The Parish seat is Arcadia .
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.
Bienville Parish Clerk of Court has Court Records from 1848 and Land Records from 1848 and Probate Records from 1848 has Marriage Records from 1848 and is located at 100 Courthouse Drive, Room 100, Arcadia, LA 71001, (318) 263-2123, (318) 263-7426 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 Bienville Parish Court Records. Email us with websites containing Bienville 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 Bienville Parish Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Bienville 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 Bienville Parish, Louisiana are 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 Bienville 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 Bienville Parish Census Records. Email us with websites containing Bienville 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 Bienville Parish Maps. Email us with websites containing Bienville 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 Bienville Parish Military Records. Email us with websites containing Bienville 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 Bienville Parish courthouse.
Below is a list of online resources for Bienville Parish Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Bienville 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 Bienville Parish Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Bienville 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 Bienville Parish Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Bienville 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 Bienville Parish Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Bienville 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.
It is doubtful if LaSalle in his 1687 exploration of Louisiana ever set foot in Bienville Parish. But, in 1690 the area was explored by Don Domingo Teran DeRios who was sent from Mexico to scout the complete area of the Caddo Federation of Indians. He was considered the first white leader to sight Lake Bistineau. Father Masinettes, who was with the expedition, established a mission called "Mission Loretteto". This site is believed to be near present day Ringgold, Louisiana.
In 1700, Bienville and St. Denis explored the areas west of the Mississippi River. In 1714, St. Dennis founded Natchitoches, the first permanent settlement in present Louisiana. Bienville Parish was part of Natchitoches County.
Originally, Bienville Parish was a part of the Territory of Orleans, then it was known as the Catholic Parish of St. Francis. In 1805 it became part of Natchitoches County which was changed to Natchitoches Parish in 1807. In 1828 old Natchitoches was divided and portions of it (including present Bienville Parish)became Claiborne Parish. In 1848 the lower part of Claiborne became Bienville Parish, it being named in honor of the "Father of Louisiana", Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Bienville. Legislative Act 183, creating Bienville Parish, was enacted during the administration of Governor Isaac Johnson.
Mt. Lebanon became the first permanent stable community in Bienville Parish. Reuben Drake came to the area, scouting land for his South Carolina families. A church and school were at the top of their priority list. For many years these people and their descendants led the state in Christianity and education. Mt.Lebanon University and its Female College branch were the pride of the region and owed their existence to the Louisiana Baptists. The college was moved to Pineville in 1907 and became Louisiana College.
The town of Sparta was the first parish seat. It was the cultural and political center of the parish until the late nineteenth century. It was built on an incredibly sandy, eight-acre tract of federal land which was transferred to the parish. Wagon roads led to Sparta from almost all the communities in the parish as early as the 1850's and perhaps sooner. Despite its centralized location, Sparta proved to be a remote community. Unfortunately, Sparta was located far away from any navigable watercourse. Merchants had to haul their goods from Lake Bistineau, 18 miles away, or from the Ouachita River. But it was the coming oft he railroad that doomed Sparta. The railroad was constructed in the northern part of the parish thus cutting off the town of Sparta. Arcadia and Gibsland, 20 miles north of Sparta, became boom towns and the economic focus of the parish began to shift.
In 1890 citizens of Arcadia and Gibsland petitioned the state legislature for permission to hold a referendum to decide whether or not to move the parish seat. In the third referendum, Arcadia carried the election by 65 votes eliminating other candidates, Bienville and Gibsland.
Controversy still surrounds what the residents call "the midnight raid". Approximately thirty minutes after the final tabulation of the ballots six wagons, loaded with Arcadians, surrounded the deserted Sparta courthouse. Some of the Arcadians entered the building and tossed out most of the parochial records to their waiting companions. In a wild chase which ensued, it is more than likely that some records were lost.Many newspaper articles referred to that night in 1893 as the night "Bienville government was stolen".
Undoubtedly, the early settlers envisioned a prosperous land as a legacy to future generations. But the road to prosperity took a sharp turn with the beginning of the Civil War. Dr. Philip C. Cook in his article "Bienville Parish: A History of Progress" gives the following account of that period of Bienville Parish history. "Religious, social and educational institutions were becoming a familiar part of BienvilleParish life, along with the government and political activities that were characteristic of the older regions.All evidence points toward a Bienville Parish in 1860 that was well on its way toward fulfilling the dreams and ambition of its settlers. Yet that same year marked the beginning of a disastrous war that would destroy this progress and long retard the entire region.
While human losses were high, the Civil War took a much greater toll in the economy of the parish.The boom years of the 1850's and the strong demand for cotton had led everyone who could possibly do so to stake everything on cotton farms and slaves. Fortunes large and small were lost and more significantly, away of life was 'gone with the wind'. Although genteel plantation culture never existed to a great extent in Bienville Parish, the hopes and dreams of the more numerous common farmers were oriented that way.Instead, the abolition of slavery ended those dreams and produced a somewhat leveling effect, wiping out wealth and reducing many of the previously affluent struggling for survival."
Economic recovery was slow as a nation torn apart by war had to heal many wounds and find new ways of doing business. The dependence on cotton had lulled innovative minds to sleep. But the drastic decline in cotton prices in 1877 was a chilling wake-up call. King cotton was dethroned.
The coming of the railroad infused new hope in a tired land. The rails opened up markets for a natural resource that had been overlooked - timber. Sawmills came into the parish to harvest virgin timber.Sawmills brought jobs. Jobs and the sale of timber supplemented the income derived from cotton farming.The timber industry continues to dominate the economy of Bienville parish today.
In 1934 Bienville Parish became famous as the location where law officers gunned down the infamous criminals "Bonnie and Clyde". The back-country outlaws were accused of killing 12 people, nine of them policemen. In 1967 Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway portrayed the outlaws in a movie. Local residents have mixed emotions about the notoriety gained for the parish. Many feel that the movie glamorized the outlaws who were really cold-blooded murderers.
