Laplace Genealogy Records
Laplace genealogy records are maintained by the St. John the Baptist Parish Clerk of Court, since Laplace is an unincorporated community in St. John the Baptist Parish. Land, marriage, probate, and court records for the Laplace area are filed at the clerk's office in Edgard, with older vital records searchable through the Louisiana State Archives online database.
Laplace Quick Facts
Laplace Genealogy Records at the St. John the Baptist Parish Clerk of Court
The St. John the Baptist Parish Clerk of Court is the primary records keeper for Laplace genealogy research. As an unincorporated community, Laplace has no city government records. All land records, mortgage filings, marriage licenses, succession and probate documents, and 40th Judicial District Court records for the Laplace area are held at the parish clerk's office in Edgard.
| Office | St. John the Baptist Parish Clerk of Court |
|---|---|
| Address | 2393 Highway 18, Edgard, LA 70049 |
| Phone | (985) 497-3331 |
Marriage licenses in St. John the Baptist Parish name both parties, their ages, birthplaces, witnesses, parents, and the officiant. Records go back into the 19th century and cover the full parish including the Laplace area. Succession and probate filings name all heirs and include estate inventories that often reveal family structures and relationships. Land records trace property ownership along the River Road corridor and the German Coast, one of the most historically significant areas in Louisiana genealogy. This region was settled by German and French colonists in the early 18th century, and the records here can extend family lines further back than most parts of the state.
The St. John Parish Library at 2920 Highway 51, LaPlace, phone (985) 652-6857, website www.stjohn.lib.la.us, is the local library resource for Laplace residents. The library holds local history materials and provides access to genealogy databases during open hours.
Search Laplace Genealogy Records Online
St. John the Baptist Parish participates in eClerks LA, which provides free public index access to land, mortgage, and marriage records. Search by name and date range to locate index entries. The ClerkConnect platform may also provide document image access for St. John Parish records.
The German Coast of Louisiana, which includes St. John the Baptist Parish, has specialized genealogy resources beyond the standard civil records. Church records from the German Coast parishes are particularly important for tracing families back to the colonial period. The Louisiana State Archives holds church records on microfilm and census indexes that can extend a Laplace family line significantly beyond what the parish clerk holds. Researchers should also check FamilySearch and other online databases that have indexed colonial Louisiana records for the German Coast region.
Note: Because the clerk's office is in Edgard, not Laplace, plan for the drive when visiting in person. The office is on the west bank of the Mississippi River across from the Laplace area.
Louisiana State Archives Records for Laplace
The Louisiana State Archives in Baton Rouge holds St. John the Baptist Parish vital records meeting the access thresholds under RS 40:41: death records open 50 years after the event and birth records open after 100 years. Search the statewide index at the State Archives vital records index for free online. The full State Archives research resources describes the broader collections, including church records and census materials relevant to the German Coast parishes.
The Archives is at 3851 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, open Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Photocopies cost $5; certified copies are $10. Mail requests go to P.O. Box 94125, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125 with a 4-6 week processing time. For Laplace researchers with deep roots in St. John Parish, the Archives' colonial-period records from the German Coast can provide unique insight into early settlement-era families.
Vital Records for Laplace Residents
Louisiana is a closed record state. Birth and death certificates for Laplace residents are not available at the parish clerk level. All requests go to the Vital Records Registry in New Orleans at 1450 Poydras Street, Suite 400, phone (504) 593-5100, open Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 3:30 PM. Birth certificates cost $15; death certificates are $7. Laplace is relatively close to New Orleans, making a walk-in visit practical. Mail requests take 8-10 weeks.
Online ordering through VitalChek offers expedited processing for residents who prefer to handle the request remotely. For records old enough to be in the State Archives system, contact the Archives in Baton Rouge directly rather than the Vital Records Registry.
Genealogy Resources in Laplace
The St. John Parish Library in LaPlace is the most convenient local starting point for genealogy research. The library holds local history materials and provides database access during open hours. For deeper German Coast genealogy, the Louisiana State Library and the State Archives in Baton Rouge hold the key collections of church records and colonial documents that are essential for tracing St. John the Baptist Parish families back to their origins. The National Archives at Fort Worth at archives.gov/fort-worth holds federal census, military, and naturalization records for Louisiana including the River Road parishes.
The St. John the Baptist Parish Clerk of Court ClerkConnect portal is shown below, providing online access to land and civil records for the Laplace area.
Researchers can use the ClerkConnect system to search and view land, mortgage, and marriage index records filed in St. John the Baptist Parish without visiting the clerk's office in Edgard.
What Laplace Genealogy Records Contain
Birth records for Laplace area residents list the child's full name, birth date and place, parents' names, ages, and birthplaces, plus the informant and filing date. Death records add cause of death, marital status, spouse's name, and burial location. Marriage licenses from St. John the Baptist Parish name both parties, their ages and birthplaces, witnesses, parents, and the officiant. Land records along the River Road and German Coast describe the property and identify the grantor, grantee, price, and date. Probate filings name all heirs and include inventories of personal property.
Under RS 44:1, most Louisiana government records are public. Land, court, and succession documents at the St. John the Baptist Parish Clerk are open to researchers. The 40th JDC civil records document family relationships through divorce, guardianship, and civil proceedings. The German Coast parishes, including St. John the Baptist, have some of the most genealogically rich records in Louisiana because the region was settled early and the church kept continuous records from colonial times forward. Researchers working on Laplace families with old River Road roots can often trace their lines back two or three centuries with careful use of civil records, church records, census data, and plantation documents.
St. John the Baptist Parish Genealogy Records
Laplace is in St. John the Baptist Parish, so genealogy records are filed through the St. John the Baptist Parish Clerk of Court. For full details on the clerk office, online access systems, fees, and all record types available, visit the parish page.
Nearby Cities
These nearby cities in the greater New Orleans area and River Road corridor each have their own genealogy record pages.