Descendants of 272 Slaves to Receive Admission Advantages to Georgetown University

"Georgetown University has announced that descendants of 272 slaves, from whose sale the school profited in 1838, will receive "an advantage in the admissions process" as part of a larger effort to address the school’s early ties to slavery."  [Georgetown Univ. Announces Admissions 'Advantage' for Descendants of 272 Slaves Sold in 1838]

School President John DeGioia created the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation, which issued the recommendations, and has personally met with descendants of the slaves living in Washington State and Louisiana.

Read more about this story and view the Georgetown Slavery Archive at the following sites:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/02/us/slaves-georgetown-university.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/us/georgetown-university-search-for-slave-descendants.html

One Genealogist-Historian Making a Difference

Sara Lauzon started researching inmates at the Cornwall House of Refuge when she was 16 years old. She discovered many were buried in unmarked graves and became determined to rectify that. 

At present she has researched 220 of the 906 inmates to try to find out where they are buried. She hopes to raise enough money to have a memorial erected with the names of those inmates whose burial locations she discovers.

At the same time she lobbied to have a photograph and plaque placed in the Cornwall Courthouse in honour of Judge O’Reilly, who died on the job in the courthouse in 1929  after serving for 29 years. When Sara started her lobby there was nothing to indicate he had ever worked there. It took 5 years but when she was 21 people started taking her more seriously and her voice was finally heard. There is now a photo of the judge on the Courthouse walls.

Read more and listen to Sara's podcast at Canada's History

If you think your ancestor may have been in a Poorhouse (House of Refuge, Almshouse, Workhouse) you can consult the following databases on Olive Tree Genealogy

* Almshouse children (orphans) sent to New Netherland (New York) from Amsterdam Holland on the ship De Waegh (The Weigh-House), August 1655

* New York Almshouse Records 1782-1813. Records contain name of ancestor, date admitted, age, where from or born, complaint [illness], discharged, died, remarks.

* New York Almshouse Records  1819-1840

* New York City Almshouse Records  1855-1858

* Society for Relief of Half-Orphans & Destitute Children 1900, Manhattan New York

* Milwaukee County Almshouse & Poor Farm Cemeteries Wisconsin List of Burials 1872-1892; 1914-1974

* Leeds Moral & Industrial Training School, Yorkshire, England 1881

* Child Apprentices (Orphans & Impoverished Children) in America from Christ's Hospital, London 1617-1778

* Register of patients transported to the State Insane Asylum, 1882-1917 Orleans Parish (Louisiana) Civil Sheriff

* Almshouse Cemetery Plot, Potter's Field in Yaphank, Suffolk County, New York 1871-1876

* Cemetery Records of the Suffolk County Almshouse, Yaphank, New York, 1871-1953

Louisiana Biography and Obituary Index 1804-1972

Did you know that The Louisiana Biography and Obituary Index is an index to obituaries and death notices published in New Orleans newspapers from 1804-1972.

It also includes biographical information published in older Louisiana collective biographies. The original index, housed in the Louisiana Division of New Orleans Public Library, is an alphabetical card file of more than 650,000 names. It is free to search so if you have Louisiana ancestors, don't wait!

Genealogy Workshop Louisiana Oct 25

The Alexandria Genealogical Library, the Central Louisiana Genealogical Society, and the Rapides Parish Library have teamed up to offer Beginning Family History, a workshop for basic genealogy research at 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25, at Martin Branch Library, 801 West Shamrock, Pineville Louisiana

Topics will include census records, basic resources, reference books, and courthouse research. To register or for more information, contact Kelly at (318) 445-2411, ext. 241.

New Orleans Ship Records

New Features on the One-Step website

A commercial website, ancestry.com, has the ship records
for the major US ports These include the Ports of New York,
Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Galveston, and San
Francisco. The One-Step website already had a trio of
search forms for each of those ports -- one to simplify the
searching for passengers, the second to provide for direct
access to the manifest microfilms if you know the roll and
frame number, and the third to determine the roll and frame
number for any ship arrival. Now the One-Step site has
added such tools for the Port of New Orleans as well.

These new forms appear in the Other Ports section of the
One-Step site.

Also see New Orleans ships passenger lists at OliveTreeGenealogy.com Don't miss the JJ Cooke Shipping Lists arriving in New Orleans 1847-1871

Census Tables for the French Colony of Louisiana from 1699 Through 1732 online

See Census News for details on how to search the online Census Tables for the French Colony of Louisiana from 1699 Through 1732

This is a compilation of the twenty-eight earliest census records of Louisiana. These census records cover Fort Maurepas, Biloxi, Mobile, Natchez, New Orleans, and other locations. The records are both civilian and military and they cover from 1699 through 1732.

Besides census records, there are lists of 1,704 marriageable girls, a 1726 list of persons requesting negroes, landowner lists, and a list of persons massacred at Fort Rosalie in 1729.

Other features include a synopsis of Louisiana's colonial history, tips on French colonial naming practices, and a comprehensive index of 5,000 names.

Also find ancestors on Ships Passenger Lists to Louisiana in this early period.

Finding Ships Passenger Lists to Louisiana after 1820

The WPA (Works Project Administration) indexed names for New Orleans Louisiana passengers. Vols. 1, 2 and 3 of the 6 volumes they prepared are found on microfilm M2009 from NARA. It covers the years 1813-1849. Vol. 5 is missing; Vol. 4 & 6
have not been filmed.

You can also consult CD#358 New Orleans Passenger & Immigration Lists, 1820-1850

See Ships Passenger Lists to Louisiana for information on these resources.

You can also search OR browse 281 ships and their passengers to New Orleans Louisiana from Jan to July 1851

See a complete list of NARA and FHC microfilm numbers for ships arriving in Louisiana

Search for ancestors at Ships to Louisiana after 1820

To use custom search engines to search multiple websites at once, see the page Search FREE Ships Passenger Lists to Louisiana (over 528 ships)