FRANCÊTRES:
Genealogy of Louisiana and French forts of the West

Old French Louisiana and French forts of the West

Old French Louisiana, named by Louis XIV, covered center of USA from New Orleans to Ontario and Manitoba. Settlement was weak and featured many forts mostly scattered along the Mississippi. Louisiana was sold to USA in 1803.

There are records for a few French forts, but no dictionary covers the period 1760-1803.

For purposes of presentation, the Fort of Détroit is included here.

Principal genealogical sources

• Denissen, Révérend Frère Christian, Genealogy of the French Families of the Detroit River Region, 1701-1911, edit. by Harold Frederic Powell, The Detroit Society for Genealogical Research, " Burton Historical Collection ", Detroit Public Library, 5201 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Michigan, 1976, 2 vol.
• PFF: Faribault-Beauregard, Marthe, La population des forts français, 2 vol., covering BMS occuring in French Forts
• Vidrine, Jacqueline, Love's Legacy, by University of Southwestern Louisiana, Center for Louisiana Studies, 19..., Lafayette, La. Includes the early marriages of Mobile (Alabama), 1724-1786
• : See State of Louisiana for more references
• ANF: Archives nationales de France (original records)
• LDS: Latter Day Saints church(microfilms)
• NAC: National Archives of Canada (microfilms)

List of old French forts with records

Register: type and year of registers.

Fort	Today	US state/ Province	Registers	Publication
Fort Frontenac	Kingston, Co. Frontenac-Kingston	Ontario	bms:1747-1752	PFF 1
Fort La Présentation	Ogdensburg, Co. Grenville	Ontario	bms:1750-1760	PFF 1
Assomption de la Pointe de Montréal du Détroit	Sandwich, Co. Essex	Ontario	bms:1764-1799	NAC:C-2894-2895
Mission des Hurons de la Pointe de Montréal du Détroit	Sandwich, Co. Essex	Ontario	b:1761-1767	NAC:C-2894
Fort de la Rivière St-Joseph des Illinois	Près de Windsor, Co. Lambton	Ontario	bms:1720-1773	PFF 1
Fort Condé de la Mobile Fort Louis de la Louisiane	Mobile, Co. Mobile	Alabama	bms:1704-1764	C-2224 Old Mobile -- Fort Louis de la Louisiane 1702-1711 Vidrine
Poste des Arkansas	???	???	bms:1744-1799 census:1723,1726,1727	NAC:C-2899
Cahokia (Ste-Famille)	Cahokia, Co. St.Clair	Illinois	census:1735,1752,1787 m:1735-1839 s:1784-1794	PFF 1
Kaskaskia (Notre-Dame de la Conception)	Kaskaskia, Co. Randolph	Illinois	census:1726, 1752, 1787 bms:1695-1834	ANF:G1-412 NAC:F-597 NAC:C-2899 PFF 2
Prairie du Rocher (St-Joseph)	Prairie du Rocher, Co. Randolph	Illinois	bms:1761-1799	NAC:C-2899 PFF 2
Fort de Chartres (Ste-Anne)	Fort Cavendish, Co. ???	Illinois	bms:1720-1765	ANF:G1-412 NAC:C-2899 NAC:F-597 PFF 2 The village of Chartres in Colonial Illinois
Fort de Vincennes (St-François-Xavier) ou Ouabache	Vincennes, Co. Knox	Indiana	bms:1749-1786	PFF 2 NAC:C-2896
Fort Rosalie Natchichoses (N.-D. de l'Immaculée-Conception	Natchez, par. Natchitoches	Louisiana	bms:1726-1796	ANF:G1-464 NAC:F-804 PFF 2
Fort St-Philippe	???	Louisiana	bms:1761-1765	NAC:C-2899
Mission des Illinois du Chapilatas à la Pointe Coupée	Pointe-Coupée, par. Pointe-Coupée	Louisiana	bms:1722-1723
Pointe-Coupée (St-François)	Pointe-Coupée, par. Pointe-Coupée	Louisiana	bms:1756-1794	NAC:C-2237 NAC:C-2900 Bâton Rouge Diocese Records
St-Martin des Attakapas	Attakapas (St.Martin), par. Assumption	Louisiana	bms:1756-1794	First register of St.Martin des Atakapas, etc.
Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit (Ste-Anne)	Detroit, Co. Wayne	Michigan	bms:1704-1800	NAC:C-2893-2895 Denissen
Fort Michilimakinac (Ste-Anne, St-Ignace)	MacKinaw City, Co. Mackinac	Michigan	b:1695-1821 m:1725-1821 s:1743-1806	PFF 1 NAC:C-2900 LDS:0865224
Fort Biloxi	Biloxi (Harrison)	Mississippi	s:1720-1723	ANF:G1-412 NAC:F-597
St-Louis des Illinois	???	???	bms:1776-1800
Poste St-Philippe des Illinois (La Visitation)	?	Missouri ?	census:1752 bms:1761-1765	NAC:C-2899 PFF 2
Fort St-Frédéric	Crown Point, Co. Essex	New York	bms:1732-1760	NAC:C-3023 NAC:M-866 PFF 1
Fort Duquesne (L'Assomption)	Pittsburg, Co. Allegheny	Pennsylvania	bs:1753-1756	NAC:C-3023 PFF 1
Fort de la Presqu'Isle du Lac Erié (L'Assomption)	Erié, Co. Erie	Pennsylvania	bs:1753-1756	NAC:C-3023 PFF 1
Fort de la Rivière aux Boeufs	Waterford, Co. Erie	Pennsylvania	s:1753-1754	NAC:C-3023 PFF 1

US State of Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is only a small part of the old Louisiana. Firstly settled by French, then conquered in part by Spanish (1762-1800), Louisiana was finally american and formed a US state in 1812. A part of Louisiana settlement includes Acadians who came around 1785 (from France) and refugees from St-Domingue/Haiti which declared her independence in 1804.

There are many old records and there is an effort to gather all vital records in one collection (catholics, not-catholics and state) in some catholic dioceses.

Important Remark: in Louisiana, counties are called " parish ". Thus, " New Orleans, Orleans Parish " is New-Orleans, in the county of Orleans and not the catholic parish of Orléans.

Principal genealogical sources

• Sacramental Records of the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, (BMS 1718-1812, 10 vol. and continues), published in New Orleans, by the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The price is $30.00 per vol, "postpaid", with appropriate TAX charged to Louisiana residents. Available from: Archdiocese Historical Archives, 1100 Charters St., New Orleans, La. 70116-2596
• Bâton Rouge Diocese (BMS 1707-1876, 13 vol. and continues)
• Hébert, Donald J., South Louisiana (BMS 1794-1920, 12 vol. and continues)
• Hébert, Donald J., South-West Louisiana (BMS 1756-1903, 35 vol. and continues)
• Many other books covers some towns for shorter periods

Internet Links

• USGENWEB Project, Louisiana
• Page from Everton about Louisiana
• page of Cajun Clickers Genealogy SIG from Bâton-Rouge, Louisiana
• French Families of Avoyelles
• The Cajun and Creole Pages
• German-Acadian Coast of Louisiana

Version française

Copyright 1997 Denis Beauregard; Click here for details about reproduction permissions.

Last update: March 7th 1997