Cloutierville Marriages, 1847-1855. Marriage Register One, Church of St. Jean Baptiste de Cloutierville, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana

In 1847, the Catholic parish of St. Jean Baptiste de Cloutierville was carved from the lower reaches of the historic civil parish of Natchitoches. Sprawling across some 400 square miles, St. Jean Baptiste served French, Spanish, Native, African American, and Anglo American families, cheek by jowl.

The unions documented within this first marriage register for St. Jean Baptiste are especially critical for the study of Lower Cane River families. Prior to 1855, the civil parish of Natchitoches maintained no marriage registers. Couples who planned to wed were required by law to obtain a license and post a bond guaranteeing that the marriage met legal requirements; however, those bonds and licenses have not survived. Some propertied couples filed marriage contracts that were recorded within the courthouse registers for deeds and mortgages. But actual marriage registers, recording the returns made by licensed ministers and justices, did not begin until 1855. This register maintained at Cloutierville helps to fill the void for the lower reaches of the parish.

Elizabeth Shown Mills

2026, 6" x 9", paper, index, 64 pp.

ISBN: 9780788457265

101-M5726