Where can you find birth records for Nacitoches Louisiana in 1856?

Answer 1

Louisiana did not record births before 1907. This was around the same time most other southern states began recording births and deaths.

If the individual whose record you seek was still alive in 1935 there is still a chance that there is a birth certificate though. That year the Social Security Act became effective, and persons older than 65 were eligible for a monthly Social Security check. To obtain this benefit a claimant needed a birth certificate, so across America old people came into the county (or parish, in Louisiana) courthouse with the family bible or with witnesses, or whatever proof they could offer, to obtain a birth certificate. In my state these are recorded in the Register of Deeds Office in the County Courthouse, in the Index of Delayed Births, which directs the searcher to the correct book and page of birth certificates to find the actual document. Undoubtedly Louisiana has a similar system, though it may call the records something different. Your most likely location for finding this record would be the parish (or county) where the person was living in 1935, if still alive.

Starting with the 1850 census, the names of all persons living in every household were listed on the census. So, you could look on the 1860 census to find your person as a four year old, and presumably the parents would be listed as well. You could confirm this with the 1870 census. This would probably be easiest in Natchitoches, where the Public Library is likely to have the microfilms of the local censuses, and also Indexes for them. The indexes are very important because the census records are not alphabetized, they are a list of names in each house as the enumerator came to them. The Mormon Church (LDS Church) might also have these records, with indexes to find an individual in the mass of names, perhaps even available online.