Genealogy Resources
Our experts at the Williams Research Center are available to help you dive into your family history.
HNOC is here to help on your genealogy journey. With a wealth of information available online and at the Williams Research Center, our reference staff can help you navigate primary sources and our wide range of reference materials, free of charge:
- Online databases you can access through HNOC’s institutional subscriptions, including Ancestry Library and FamilySearch (Affiliate Library)
- City directories, abstracts of church and civil records, and locally published newspapers
- New Orleans Cemetery Database
- Federal census material
- Genealogical publications
- The Vieux Carré Survey, a database of French Quarter property data
Contact us at reference@hnoc.org or submit the Ask a Librarian form to get started.
Upcoming Events
Events
Caring For Your Family Tree: Branching Out
October 18, 2025, 10:30 a.m.–3 p.m.
With the help of expert genealogists, learn about how to organize your family records so that they be researched and preserved for future generations.
Contact Our Experts
Research
Williams Research Center
Explore centuries of Gulf South culture with unparalleled access to rare documents, art, and historic treasures.
Research
Ask a Librarian
Have a question about our holdings, or need more information about visiting the Williams Research Center? Our reference staff wants to hear from you.
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Databases & Tools
Explore our world-renowned research tools and databases to uncover hidden histories.
Research & Collections
Online Catalog
Search or browse through HNOC’s vast collections of manuscripts, artifacts, books, artwork, and more in our online catalog.
Vieux Carré Survey
Begun in 1960 to bolster local historic preservation efforts, the survey contains detailed property data about every building and lot in the French Quarter from the French colonial period to the present.
New Orleans Cemetery Database
Explore data contained in the Survey of Historic New Orleans Cemeteries, which covers St. Louis No. 1 and St. Louis No. 2 in New Orleans.
Lost Friends Database
A database of more than 2,500 advertisements placed in the decades following the Civil War chronicles individuals searching for loved ones lost in slavery.
Artist Database
The Artist Database is an index of files on more than 15,700 artists and art organizations that were or are active in New Orleans and the surrounding region. Information from the Collection's publication Encyclopedia of New Orleans Artists 1718–1918 is also contained within the database.
Signature programs
Caring for Your Collection
Explore in-person and online workshops with museum professionals to help you preserve your family heirlooms, research your genealogy, and more.
Caring for Your Family Tree
Explore resources for researching genealogy, burial records, and more.
Caring For Your Family Photographs
Learn tips and tricks from the experts on how to care for and preserve your family photos.
Caring For Your Family Tomb
Local experts help families preserve the unique above-ground tombs found across the New Orleans region.
Caring For Your Heirlooms
Learn how to document your collections by taking an inventory, photographing your belongings, and more.
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Stories from 10 Years of Scavenging Attics, Porches, and Parlors
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HNOC in the News
NY Times: New Pope Has Creole Roots in New Orleans, Genealogist Says
May 8, 2025
Read about how HNOC family historian Jari C. Honora uncovered the family history of Robert Prevost, just hours after he was announced as the next pope.
HNOC in the News
NOLA.com: Pope Leo XIV has Roots in New Orleans’s 7th Ward
May 8, 2025
Less than two hours after his papacy was announced, HNOC family historian Jari C. Honora traced the new pope’s lineage back to the Crescent City.
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