Bossier Parish, Louisiana Genealogical Records Information

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Bossier Parish History and Information

Bossier Parish Facts

Bossier Parish was created on February 24, 1843 , was created on , from an area cut out of Claiborne Parish by Act 33 of 1843 and the parish was named in honor of General Pierre Evariste John Baptiste Bossier, who was elected to congress from this district the same year Bossier Parish was created. General Bossier, who received his title as a general of the Louisiana Militia, was born in Natchitoches in 1797 of a Creole family which was one of the first to settle in this community. The Parish seat is Bossier City. Claiborne Parish was part of Natchitoches Parish, one of the original nineteen parishes established in 1807. In 1888, the courthouse at Bellevue was partly burned.

It is borderd by Miller County, AR (northwest), Lafayette County, AR (north), Webster Parish (east), Bienville Parish (southeast), Red River Parish (south), Caddo Parish (west) . Cites, Towns and Communities include Benton, Bossier City, Eastwood, Haughton, Plain Dealing, Red Chute . The Official County Website is located at http://www.mybossier.com/ .

The first parish seat was Freedonia; however, within a short time it was renamed Society Hill, and finally Bellevue. The first police jury was organized on June 19, 1843. In the early days of Bossier Parish, the police jury exercised powers of government long since taken away from the parishes. In 1850 the first official census was taken and the population of Bossier Parish was listed as 6,952. Benton has been the parish seat of government since 1888, when the courthouse at Bellevue was partly burned. Since Bellevue had no railroad, it became necessary that the parish seat be moved to a place where transportation could be utilized to the best advantage of the public. At that time there arose much rivalry between Haughton, Benton and Cane's Landing (modern-day Bossier City). The necessary steps were taken by the police jury to authorize relocating the parish seat, and eventually election results showed that the majority favored Benton. However, some members of the police jury, being disgruntled at the outcome, refused to meet and promulgate the official returns of the election. While this controversy was being carried on, a wide-awake citizenry from Benton slipped into Bellevue at the crack of dawn and loaded the remains of the records belonging in the courthouse and successfully transported them to Benton. After some time, the police jury met and authorized the construction of a courthouse, and in 1890 moved into the structure. This courthouse, with the addition of a jail and several adjacent structures, served the parish until its age and overcrowding necessitated a change.

The existing Bossier Parish courthouse was constructed in the early 1970's. The population of Bossier Parish has increased from 7,000 in 1840 to approximately 100,000 in the 2000 census. Bossier has long been regarded as the fastest growing parish in the state of Louisiana. See Extended History for More information.

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Bossier 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. In 1888, the courthouse at Bellevue was partly burned.

Bossier Parish Clerk of Court has Court Records from 1843 and Land Records from 1843 and Probate Records from 1843 has Marriage Records from 1843 and is located at 204 Burt Boulevard, POBox 430, Benton, LA 71006, (318) 965-2336, (318) 965-2713 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 Bossier Parish Court Records. Email us with websites containing Bossier Parish Court Records by clicking the link below:

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Bossier 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 Bossier Parish courthouse.

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

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

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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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Bossier 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 Bossier Parish. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Bossier 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 Bossier Parish Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Bossier 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 Bossier Parish Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Bossier Parish Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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County History

For thousands of years before Europeans arrived, the area that is now Bossier Parish wasBossier History Quiz home to Native Americans. Artifacts from as early as the Paleolithic period, around 9,000 years ago and more, have been found in this area. The Caddo culture started around 900 A.D. The early Caddo traded extensively with other Native Americans. They built earthen mounds for religious ceremonies, and were noted for their beautiful pottery. They lived in round, thatched houses and grew corn, beans and squash. The Caddo Indians lived in the Bossier Parish until 1835, when they sold their lands and moved to Texas.

Although European explorers crossed through this region as early as the 16th Century, settlement did not really begin until after Henry Miller Shreve cleared the Great Raft, a hundred-mile long logjam that blocked the Red River. After the Raft was cleared in the late 1830s, steamboats began to come up the Red from New Orleans, bringing goods and settlers. Many of the new residents came from the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, and Kentucky. These people were primarily Protestant, and were of English, Scotch, Irish and Scotch-Irish descent. Their culture, religion, and language were very different from those of the residents of South Louisiana. Some of the early settlers brought slaves along with them, and there were also a few free people of color who lived in this area before the Civil War. People of African-American descent made up over half of Bossier's population during most of the 19th Century.

When the early settlers arrived, the land that is now Bossier Parish was still part of Old Claiborne Parish- a vast wilderness filled with wild animals and swampy areas. When Bossier Parish was formed in 1843, it was larger than it is today, and the parish seat at Bellevue. The new parish was named for General Pierre Evariste Jean Baptiste Bossier, a native of Natchitoches [Nak'-uh-tish]. Bossier was a General in the state militia, a state Senator, and a Congressman. He died in Washington in 1844.

The economy of antebellum Bossier Parish was based on cotton. Farmers and planters depended on the Red River steamboats to take their bales of cotton to market. Almost every plantation on the river had a steamboat landing. Stores and plantations also depended on the steamers to bring supplies and mail from New Orleans.

In the late 1850s and early 1860s, secessionist sentiment ran strong in the Parish and produced what may have been the first act of secession in the South. On Nov. 26, 1860, a group of Bossier citizens met at the Hughes' House in Rocky Mount. At this meeting, the men formed a military company called the Minute Men of Bossier Parish and passed a resolution to "sustain the rights of the State of Louisiana against the aggressions of the....Republicans." Six military companies from Bossier Parish served in the Civil War. Although no battles were fought in the Parish, many families lost male relatives.

After the war, cotton continued to be the main cash crop in the Parish, and getting the cotton to the steamboat landings over the wet or rutted roads was still a problem. East of present-day Bossier City lay a wide swamp that made travel especially difficult. In the early 1870s, Judge J. D. Watkins found a solution: he built a toll road under a nine-mile long shed. This "Shed Road" made transportation easier for some farmers. Present-day Shed Road in Bossier City follows a portion of the original road bed.

The late 19th century brought other changes to Bossier Parish-changes that would contribute to the need for a new parish seat. In 1871, the new parish of Webster was formed from the eastern portion of Bossier Parish, making Bossier smaller. The coming of the railroad in the 1880s created new towns while many older communities were bypassed. Bellevue was no longer near the center of the Parish nor was it on a rail line. After great debate and a number of hotly-disputed elections, Benton became the new Parish seat and the records were transferred there by wagon.

One of the towns that had vied for the title of parish seat was a little community on the site of Mrs. Cane's plantation on the banks of Red River. This little community had been called by several names, but it finally adopted the name "Bossier City" in the hopes that this would help it win the parish seat election. Although Bossier City did not win the election, the little community continued to grow. In 1907, Bossier City was incorporated and by 1920 it had over 1,000 citizens.

In spite of a devastating fire in 1925, Bossier City to continued to grow. One factor in its development was the opening of Barksdale Field, now Barksdale Air Force Base, in 1933. Although Barksdale was located on land purchased and donated by the City of Shreveport, the air base was geographically in Bossier Parish. Barksdale benefited Bossier economically, and brought men and women from other parts of the country to this area. Another boost was the construction of the Dixie-Overland Highway (Hwy 80). The opening of Hwy 80 further linked Bossier City with the rest of the nation. Today, Bossier City is the largest city in Bossier Parish.

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