Many people are now interested in learning more about their ancestors. Unfortunately, most Americans were not famous, and they didn't leave a large written record of themselves for later generations. For many people, their only written legacy is those few times they came into contact with some official representative of a government. In the United States, a census is taken every ten years. Marriages, births, and deaths were often recorded in urban areas. In many rural areas, they were not.
Today, most people can be easily tracked by Facebook and their smartphones. Finding evidence of people's lives, however, even in the recent past, can be a real challenge.
This LibGuide is meant to be a first step for those living in Louisiana. General sources are listed, as are the resources that this library has, either in a tangible format or an electronic format.
Four immigrants and their belongings, on a dock, looking out over the water; view from behind, circa 1912, from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.
