In the Catholic church, access to historical sacramental records (baptisms, marriages and burials) is generally decided at the Archdiocese-level and varies significantly from allowing older records to be microfilmed to virtually no access at all. (How many of us have sent checks and requests into the black hole of church archives?)
With the installation of a new Archbishop in New Orleans in 2002 we are seeing a glimmer of long-awaited light with the release of "Slave and Free People of Color Baptismal Records" online index.
http://www.archdiocese-no.org/archives/sfpc.php
This release compliments the 19-volume printed indexes to sacramental records (1718 - 1831). Volume 20 has been postponed since Hurricane Katrina.
In the 1850's, New Orleans was one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. Thousands of Irish and German immigrants used this port with its easy access to the Mississippi River and the farms and towns that lay upriver. New Orleans hosted these new immigrants, sometimes for generations, before they moved on to new opportunities.
