St. Martin Parish was created on March 31, 1807. It is one of the 19 parishes, which were created by dividing the Territory of New Orleans. The parish was named in honor of Saint Martin . The Parish seat is St Martinsville .
St. Martin Parish Courthouse - 1859
The first courthouse was built by slave labor long
before the Civil War, while the present court
house was built in 1859 and has had at least five
major additions and renovations. It is now a
parish landmark.
It is borderd by St. Landry Parish (north), Pointe Coupee Parish (northeast), Iberville Parish (east), Assumption Parish (southeast), St. Mary Parish (southwest), Lafayette Parish (west), Iberia Parish (South of Upper St. Martin/North of Lower St. Martin) . Cites, Towns and Communities include Breaux Bridge, Cecilia, Henderson, Parks, St. Martinville . Unincorporated areas of interest in the parish include Anse La Butte, Bankers, Bushville, Cade, Catahoula, Catahoula Cove, Cecelia, Champaign, Coteau Holmes, Coteau Rodaire, Cypress Island, Duchamp, Hope, Huron, Isle Labbe, Keystone, Levert, Nina, Patin, Ruth, Stephensville and St. John.
The Official County Website is located at http://stmartinparish-la.org/ . See Extended History for More information.
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.
Saint Martin Parish Clerk of Court has Court Records from 1760's and Land Records from 1760's and Probate Records from 1760's has Marriage Records from 1756 and is located at 415 South Main Street, P O Box 308, St. Martinville, LA 70582, (337) 394-2210 . 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 St. Martin Parish Court Records. Email us with websites containing St. Martin 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 St. Martin Parish Vital Records. Email us with websites containing St. Martin 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 St. Martin Parish, Louisiana are 1830, 1840, 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 St. Martin 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 St. Martin Parish Census Records. Email us with websites containing St. Martin 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 St. Martin Parish Maps. Email us with websites containing St. Martin 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 St. Martin Parish Military Records. Email us with websites containing St. Martin 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 St. Martin Parish courthouse.
Below is a list of online resources for St. Martin Parish Tax Records. Email us with websites containing St. Martin 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 St. Martin Parish Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing St. Martin 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 St. Martin Parish Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing St. Martin 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 St. Martin Parish Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing St. Martin 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.
St. Martin Parish predates the establishment of Louisiana. It was organized by the second session of the first legislature of the Territory of Orleans in 1807, five years before the state entered the union in 1812. In 1811, St. Mary Parish was taken from the area which had composed St. Martin Parish, and in 1821, the land which became Lafayette and Vermilion Parishes was separated. In 1868, Iberia Parish was formed from parts of St. Martin and St. Mary Parishes. As a result of this separation, compounded by a surveyor's error, St. Martin Parish has two non-contiguous parts.
Three geographic features dominate the parish's landscape. The most striking is the Atchafalaya Basin. The history and development of the swampland was very different from that of the western portion of the parish. The second major geographic feature is Bayou Teche. The alluvial river-bottom provided prime agricultural lands for the development of a plantation-based economic system. Both of the parish's larger urban centers, Breaux Bridge and St. Martinville, are located on the Teche. Both communities grew as trading centers for the adjacent agricultural hinder lands. Neither became an important manufacturing center, so commerce and agriculture have remained the most important economic activities. The third geographic feature, the prairie in the western portion of the parish, provided the range upon which evolved one of the first and most important economic activities - cattle raising.
From the date of initial penetration of the area by the white man, agriculture has been the major activity. Starting in the 1750's, large land holdings were amassed in the Teche Valley. Indigo was the original staple crop grown on plantations founded by émigrés from France. Slaves were used on the plantations from their founding. Original land purchases were made from a remnant of the Attakapas Indian tribe which had survived a devastating defeat in battle administered by its combined enemies. This occurred shortly before the arrival of European settlers along the Teche. As a result, Native Americans played only a minor role in the story of European penetration of Acadiana, unlike contemporary history in neighboring regions.
The first European government in the area was established by the Spanish. Although France owned Louisiana until 1763, it never sponsored a large penetration of Acadiana and the Teche Valley. The French licensed a trading post to capture the Indian trade on the Teche but never promoted European settlement. That started to change in 1765, with the initial influx of Acadians and the simultaneous arrival of a more aggressive Spanish governmental presence. Two French trading posts (present-day St. Martinville and Opelousas) were turned into military-administrative centers. First Acadians, and then French Royalist émigrés were encouraged to settle in the Teche Valley. The river land was divided into large holdings, while the prairie became a lucrative cattle range. The American State Papers of 1815 indicated that 142 land grants of Spanish origin in the Teche Valley of St. Martin Parish had been converted into United States land grants.
As happened in former English colonies along the Atlantic coast, indigo cultivation was abandoned due to market conditions following the American Revolution. Cotton became the predominate staple crop. Starting in the 1820's, however, the crop for which the Teche Valley is best known, sugar cane, began to be planted widely. Cane has remained the backbone of St. Martin Parish agriculture. Other important crops have been Irish potatoes, corn and rice. The early nineteenth century prosperity of St. Martin Parish can be attributed to, in part, the excellent transportation capabilities provided by the Bayou Teche. Steamboats took agricultural goods to New Orleans for consumption or trans-shipment to other ports. Although adequate for commerce, the connection between St. Martinville and New Orleans was not an efficient one for passengers. When railroads became the major means to convey both freight and passengers, the decline of St. Martin Parish was assured by its failure to attract a trunk rail connection. The main line went elsewhere and with it prosperity and growth. A spur was built fifteen years after completion of the main line, and eventually a track ran along the east bank of the Teche. From 1908 until 1932, a track from Lafayette to Baton Rouge traversed the parish; however, none of these lines brought back the commercial prosperity which had existed in the antebellum years.
From the early eighteenth century on, the major settlement site in the Parish was at what is now St. Martinville. Originally, it was the site of an Indian trading post known as Poste de Attakapas. The Spanish turned the settlement into a military-administrative center in 1769, soon after the Acadians began to settle the area. The first census, taken in 1766, reported 409 persons in the settlement. Subsequent enumerations of the region showed 1070 residents in 1785, 2541 in 1788, and 3744 in 1803.
The influx of people in the late eighteenth century stemmed from two major sources, each of which gave undying legends and fame to St. Martinville. The Acadians were immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem Evangeline. Although the poet's account is historically inaccurate, it has seeped into the texture of St. Martinville life. The community contains the Evangeline and the Gabriel oak trees which are associated with the main characters of the poem. There is a statue of the Evangeline character in the churchyard cemetery adjacent to St. Martin of Tours church. The model for the sculpture was Delores Del Rio, the actress who portrayed Evangeline in the 1929 movie.
The second important myth connected with St. Martinville in the late eighteenth century involves its reputation as the home of numerous French Royalists who emigrated to escape the French Revolution. Supposedly, they replicated in the wilderness a social life which resembled Parisian society as closely as possible. St. Martinville has subsequently been know as "Le Petit Paris". The myth, without doubt, tremendously overrates reality. Although many Royalist may have settled in the region, they could not have been a class of leisure in the New World. The basis of their wealth in most cases was land. They probably were unable to transfer much capital to Louisiana, especially if they fled precipitously from mob attack. Most Royalists probably became firmly entrenched in middle-class occupations or sunk into poverty. If a Petit Paris was established on the banks of the Teche, it would have been short-lived for basic economic reasons.
A detailed account of St. Martinville was written in 1819 by James Leander Carthcart, a timber surveyor employed by the United States Navy. He visited a village of approximately one hundred houses containing six to seven hundred residents. The vast majority of the structures were of mud and moss construction. He specifically noted that formerly wealthy individuals lived in such simple houses. Cathcart added that the community had "an apology for a ballroom".
St. Martinville did experience a measure of prosperity from the 1820's through the mid-1850's for several reasons. The village was at the head of navigation on the Teche for steamboats. As plantations along the bayou grew in prosperity, the major community in the region became and important commercial and social center. With improved transportation provided by steamboats, St. Martinville and the Teche Valley became a popular summer resort for New Orleans residents escaping the city during the yellow fever season. French opera and theatre troupes performed in St. Martinville during the summer season. The first newspaper was established in 1824, which shows the advanced state of culture in the community.
The golden age in St. Martinville's history ended with a series of disasters starting in 1855, the year an outbreak of yellow fever attacked the town. New Orleans summer visitors quickly found new locations for their annual vacation from the city. During February, 1756, a major fire destroyed most of the downtown area of the village. Several years later, a destructive hurricane devastated the crops in the surrounding countryside. Finally, the Teche Valley was subjected to Federal invasion during the Civil War. By the time St. Martinville had recovered from this series of debilitation occurrences, it discovered that events had passed it by. Transportation depended on railroads which ran elsewhere and left St. Martinville behind.
One notable feature of St. Martinville is its historic buildings and sites. Probably the most remarkable is the St. Martin of Tours Church, an 1830's-1840's structure on a site first occupied in 1760. One special feature of the interior is a baptismal font which was sent to Louisiana by Louis XVI. The gift arrived after the donor had been executed. The Castillo Hotel occupies a site which contained the original trading post that started the community. From 1895 until 1987, the hotel had been a high school run by the Sisters of Mercy. At the present time, the hotel is a bed and breakfast and a popular restaurant, Place de Evangeline. Near St. Martinville are two excellent reminders of the plantation culture which once dominated the Teche Valley. In the Longfellow Evangeline State Commemorative area is a 1790's Acadian plantation house which has been connected to Louis Arceneaux, the Gabriel of Longfellow's poem. On the east bank of the Teche is the oak and pine alley which had been part of the plantation of Charles Durand. Durand supposedly had slaves cover spider webs woven among these trees with gold and silver dust in honor of the double wedding of his daughters in 1850.
The second most important community in St. Martin Parish is Breaux Bridge, which also has a long history, having been settled originally in the eighteenth century. There were fifteen households in the area in 1766. The community received its present name in the early nineteenth century because of a bridge over the Teche which connected lands of a father and son named Breaux.
