Library Guides: ENLS-5010-01 English Capstone Seminar, Colored Conventions Project: Census Records/City Directories

City Directories

City directories are similar to telephone books. They usually have a list of both residents and businesses.

Some directories have a description of the city, including street guides, government officials, churches, schools and organizations.

Louisiana Division New Orleans Public Library New Orleans City Directories
NOTE that New Orleans city directories 1861-1960 have been digitized and are now available at Ancestry.com. (These are part of Ancesty.com's "U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989" database.) See directly below for Tulane link.

Ancestry Library Edition This link opens in a new window
Provides access to family history via documents that record the lineage of individuals from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and more.

Gardner's New Orleans Directory for 1866- Including Jefferson City, Gretna

Duncan & Co.'s New Orleans business directory for 1865, with a complete list of the trade stores in the country parishes, and an appendix containing a list of the federal, state and city officers by William Baker comp.
Call Number: Jones Hall Louisiana Research Collection 976.31 (917) N533 1865
Publication Date: ca. 1865
Murray's 1871-1872 planters' directory of Louisiana, containing the names, locations, and post office address of all of the principal cotton, sugar, rice, and ramie planters of the state, together with a large amount of historical and statistical informat by William L. Murray comp.
Call Number: Check holdings at Jones Hall Louisiana Research Collection 976.3 (630.3) M984
Publication Date: 1871
New Orleans (Louisiana) city directory.
Call Number: Check holdings at Jones Hall Louisiana Research Collection F379.N5 A18

Google Books
Use Google Books to do a full-text search of books in their database. If you find something you want, copy the title into Library Search and see if it's available. If not, order it through Interlibrary Loan (ILLIAD)

HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
NOTE: Tulane University has switched to using a new method for logging in to HathiTrust. Researchers that have previously built a personal collection in HathiTrust will need to take action to recover access to that collection before December 1, 2024. Instructions for collection recovery can be found at https://www.hathitrust.org/tulane-university-login-changes-september-2024/

Extract from the Reconstructed Constitution of the State of Louisiana with Portraits of the Distinguished Members of the Convention Assembly, 1868

The Historic New Orleans Collection

Census

Population Census Items 1790-1940

Each census questionnaire was different, so the family details obtained vary.

1790

Name of family head; free white males of 16 years and up; free white males under 16; free white females; slaves; other persons.

1800

Names of family head; if white, age and sex; race; slaves.

1810

Name of family head; if white, age and sex; race; slaves.

1820

Name of family head; age; sex; race; foreigners not naturalized; slaves; industry (agriculture, commerce, and manufactures).

1830

Name of family head; age; sex; race; foreigners not naturalized; slaves; industry.

1840

Name of family head; age; sex; race; slaves; number of deaf and dumb; number of blind; number of insane and idiotic and whether in public or private charge; number of persons in each family employed in each of six classes of industry and one of occupation; literacy; pensioners for Revolutionary or military service.

1850

Name; age; sex; race; whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic; value of real estate; occupation; birthplace; whether married within the year; school attendance; literacy; whether a pauper or convict. Supplemental schedules for slaves, and persons who died during the year.

1860

Name; age; sex; race; value of real estate; value of personal estate; occupation; birthplace; whether married within the year; school attendance; literacy; whether deaf and dumb; blind, insane, idiotic, pauper, or convict; number of slave houses. Supplemental schedules for slaves, and persons who died during the year.

1870

Name; age; race; occupation; value of real estate; value of personal estate; birthplace; whether parents were foreign born; month of birth if born within the year; month of marriage if married within the year; school attendance; literacy; whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, or idiotic; male citizens 21 and over, and number of such persons denied the right to vote for other than rebellion. Supplemental schedule for persons who died during the year.

1880

Address; name, relationship to family head; sex; race; age; marital status; month of birth if born within the census year; occupation; months unemployed during the year; sickness or temporary disability; whether blind, deaf and dumb, idiotic, insane, maimed, crippled, bedridden, or otherwise disabled; school attendance; literacy; birthplace of person and parents. Supplemental schedules for persons who died during the year.

1890

General schedules – destroyed. Supplemental schedules for Union veterans of the Civil War and their widows.

1900

Address; name; relationship to family head; sex; race; age; marital status; number of years married; for women, number of children born and number now living; birthplace of person and parents; if foreign born, year of immigration and whether naturalized; occupation; months not employed; school attendance; literacy; ability to speak English; whether on a farm; home owned or rented and if owned, whether mortgaged.

1910

Address; name; relationship to family head; sex; race; age; marital status; number of years of present marriage for women, number of children born and number now living; birthplace and mother tongue of person and parents; if foreign born, year of immigration, whether naturalized, and whether able to speak English, or if not, language spoken; occupation, industry, and class of worker; if an employee, whether out of work during year; literacy; school attendance; home owned or rented; if owned, whether mortgaged; whether farm or house; whether a survivor of Union or Confederate Army or Navy; whether blind or deaf and dumb.

1920

Address; name; relationship to family head; sex; race; age; marital status; if foreign born, year of immigration to the U.S., whether naturalized, and year of naturalization; school attendance; literacy; birthplace of person and parents; mother tongue of foreign born; ability to speak English; occupation, industry, and class of worker; home owned or rented; if owned, whether free or mortgaged.

1930

Address; name; relationship to family head; home owned or rented; value or monthly rental; radio set; whether on a farm; sex; race; age; marital status; age at first marriage; school attendance; literacy; birthplace of person and parents; if foreign born language spoken in home before coming to U.S., year of immigration, whether naturalized, and ability to speak English; occupation, industry, and class of worker; whether at work previous day (or last regular working day); veteran status; for Indians, whether of full or mixed blood, and tribal affiliation.

1940

Address; home owned or rented; value or monthly rental; whether on a farm; name; relationship to household head; sex; race; age; marital status; school attendance; educational attainment; birthplace; citizenship of foreign born; location of residence 5 years ago and whether on a farm; employment status; if at work, whether in private or non-emergency government work, or in public emergency work (WPA, CCC, NYA, etc.); if in private work, hours worked in week; if seeking work or on public emergency work, duration of unemployment; occupation, industry, and class of worker; weeks worked last year, income last year.