Morehouse Parish Genealogy Records

Morehouse Parish genealogy records are kept by the Clerk of Court in Bastrop, Louisiana, with most surviving records dating from 1870 onward after a courthouse fire that year destroyed nearly all earlier documents, though eight conveyance books and five mortgage books from before 1870 did survive. Researchers can access records in person at the Bastrop courthouse, by mail, or online through ClerkConnect for post-fire records.

Morehouse Parish Clerk of Court

Hon. Tifani Stuckey Thomas serves as Clerk of Court for Morehouse Parish. The office is at the Morehouse Parish Courthouse in Bastrop. The clerk shares judicial district resources with Ouachita Parish through the 4th JDC website. Both ClerkConnect and eClerks LA provide online access to Morehouse Parish records.

In-person research is open to the public. Self-service copies range from $0.25 to $1.00 per page; certified copies cost $5.00 to $10.00 per document. Public terminals are available at the courthouse. Photo ID is required. For vital records, birth certificates cost $34.00 and death certificates are $26.00. Additional copies of birth records are $15.00 each and death records are $14.00 each.

The 4th JDC website provides Morehouse Parish clerk information, including department contacts for civil, criminal, and property records divisions.

Visit the 4th Judicial District Court website for Morehouse Parish department information and judicial district resources.

The 4th JDC serves both Morehouse and Ouachita parishes, and the website provides contacts and procedure information for both parishes' clerk offices.

Search Morehouse Parish Genealogy Records Online

ClerkConnect is the primary online portal for Morehouse Parish records. A subscription gives you access to civil, criminal, and property records. Search by party name, case number, date range, or record type. ClerkConnect is a multi-parish system, so a single account covers Morehouse and other participating Louisiana parishes. This is useful for researchers tracking families across northeast Louisiana.

eClerks LA also covers Morehouse Parish and provides e-filing and recording alert services. It supplements ClerkConnect by allowing you to set up name-based notifications for new filings. Both tools together give you good coverage of modern Morehouse Parish records.

For historical vital records, the Louisiana Online Public Vital Records Index lets you search for births and deaths that have passed Louisiana's confidentiality period: 100 years for births, 50 years for deaths, under RS 40:41. This free index is a good first check before paying for a certified copy.

Note: Because the 1870 fire destroyed most pre-fire records, online portals only cover post-1870 documents. For families in Morehouse Parish before 1870, researchers should check the Louisiana State Archives, statewide census records, and any church records that may have survived independently of the courthouse.

Genealogy Records in Morehouse Parish

The March 16, 1870 courthouse fire is the defining event for Morehouse Parish genealogy research. The fire destroyed the brick courthouse and nearly all parish records. Only eight conveyance books and five mortgage books from before 1870 are known to have survived. This means families living in Morehouse before 1870 are significantly harder to document through courthouse records alone.

Post-1870 records are intact. The clerk's office in Bastrop holds the following from 1870 onward: marriage records, probate and succession records, civil and criminal court records, and land conveyances and mortgages. Pre-1870 land records also survive in those eight conveyance books and five mortgage books, which date from parish formation in 1844.

Birth and death certificates are available from the Louisiana Vital Records Registry. Certified copies can be ordered through VitalChek. The Morehouse Clerk's office charges $34.00 for birth certificates and $26.00 for death certificates when ordered locally.

Louisiana State Archives and Morehouse Parish

For Morehouse Parish researchers, the Louisiana State Archives at 3851 Essen Lane in Baton Rouge is especially important because of the 1870 fire. The Archives may hold copies, abstracts, or indexes of pre-fire records that survived in other forms, as well as statewide collections such as federal census records and military records that document Morehouse families across different time periods.

The FamilySearch research guide for Morehouse Parish lists digitized and microfilmed collections that can supplement courthouse records. Census records from 1840, 1850, 1860, and 1870 can identify families present in the parish before and after the fire, even when courthouse documentation is missing. Early church records from the Bastrop area may also contain baptismal, marriage, and burial information that was recorded independently of the courthouse and thus survived the fire.

The statewide vital records index from the Secretary of State's office is another resource worth checking. For deaths before 1920 and births before 1926, the index draws on both official and unofficial sources that predate statewide registration in 1914.

How to Request Morehouse Parish Records

In-person visits to 100 E. Madison St. in Bastrop are the most complete option for Morehouse records. The courthouse is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Public terminals are available for self-service research. Bring photo ID and as much detail as possible about the record: full names, approximate dates, and the document type.

For mail requests, write to P.O. Box 1543, Bastrop, LA 71221-1543. Include the full names of all parties, approximate dates, and the record type. Prepayment by check or money order is required, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope. Call (318) 281-3343 to confirm record availability and get a cost estimate before sending payment.

Online access through ClerkConnect is available for subscribers. Log in, search by party name or case number, and download available documents. Payment is by credit card through the ClerkConnect platform. For records not yet digitized, a visit or mail request is still needed.

Vital records (birth and death certificates) go to the Louisiana Vital Records Registry in New Orleans, not to the parish clerk. Order through VitalChek for the fastest processing or write directly to the Vital Records Registry at 1450 Poydras Street, Suite 700, New Orleans, LA 70112.

What Morehouse Parish Records Contain

The surviving pre-1870 conveyance and mortgage books from Morehouse Parish contain property transfer records from the 1844 parish formation through just before the fire. These name the parties to each transaction, the legal description of the land, the price or consideration, and the date. They are among the oldest surviving primary sources for families in the Bastrop area and worth examining even when other pre-fire records are gone.

Post-1870 marriage records name both spouses, the date and location of the marriage, and often list parents or witnesses. Land records from 1870 onward document conveyances and mortgages in the same format as the earlier surviving books. Succession records (probate) from 1870 include petitions naming heirs, inventories of estates, and court orders distributing assets. These are detailed and genealogically rich documents.

Civil and criminal court records from 1870 cover lawsuits, guardianships, and criminal matters. Birth certificates issued through the clerk list the child, parents, place and date of birth, and are available for records in the last 100 years for a fee of $34.00 each. Death certificates are available for records since July 2012 at the clerk's office at $26.00 each. All other birth and death records go through the state Vital Records Registry.

Records within Louisiana's confidentiality periods under RS 44:1 are restricted to authorized requestors. Contact the clerk's office to confirm what documentation you may need to establish access to restricted records if you are requesting a record for a close relative.

The ClerkConnect screenshot below shows the multi-parish portal used to access Morehouse Parish genealogy records online.

Use ClerkConnect to search Morehouse Parish records with a subscription that covers multiple Louisiana parishes.

ClerkConnect provides subscription access to Morehouse Parish civil, criminal, and property records and is the primary online tool for this parish's genealogy research.

Cities in Morehouse Parish

Bastrop is the parish seat and main city of Morehouse Parish. Other communities include Mer Rouge, Oak Ridge, and Collinston. The nearest city is Monroe in Ouachita Parish to the south.

For regional records resources, see Monroe.

Nearby Parishes

Morehouse Parish borders Union, Ouachita, Richland, West Carroll, and East Carroll parishes to the south and east, and Arkansas to the north. Families who lived near the parish borders often have records in multiple parishes, especially given the reorganization of northeast Louisiana parishes in the 19th century.