Records of Enslaved People
Records on Slavery and Enslaved People
Microfilm of the original Heartman collection at Xavier University. The collection includes materials from all over the U.S., but mostly from Louisiana, and especially from New Orleans. The collection is described in Xavier’s Guide to the Heartman Manuscripts on Slavery (call number: LOUR306.362 G946), which includes index entries for surnames included.
- Heartman Manuscripts on Slavery
- Available on microfilm, call number: mf XU-1
New Orleans (La.) Office of the Mayor.
The Conseil de Ville in 1831 required that any person importing enslaved individuals from other states into the city for sale must first make a declaration before the Mayor. The declarations were to show the number of enslaved persons imported, along with the sex, age, name, and place of origin of each individual. The records are manuscript declarations by the master of the ship carrying the enslaved persons or by the person to whom the enslaved were consigned. In addition to the data called for in the ordinance, each list also states the name of the ship and its place of origin and date of arrival.
- Lists of Enslaved People Imported for Sale in the City of New Orleans, 1831
- Available on microfilm, call number: mf AA253
- This record is indexed in L’Heritage, vol. 10
Manuscript declarations of owners introducing enslaved persons into New Orleans, with their assurances that the enslaved would not be sold or otherwise disposed of in violation of state law. Enslaved persons are listed by name, sex, and “color.” Each declaration notes the place from which the enslaver and enslaved individual migrated. Each is signed by the owner and endorsed and dated by the judge of Parish Court as well as by the clerk of the court. They are arranged in chronological order by date of filing.
- Declarations of Individuals Importing Slaves into New Orleans, 1831-1833
- Available to view by appointment, call number: VCP252, 1831-1833
- Unfilmed materials must be requested according to Materials Request Guidelines.
New Orleans (La.) Office of the Mayor.
At the rear of one volume of records kept by the Mayor is a section recording passports issued during the period August 24, 1818 – March 15, 1831. These were given to free persons of color to travel outside New Orleans (and presumably to be able to legally reenter the city) or to white enslavers who wished to take enslaved persons on journeys with them. In some cases, the individuals of color are described by age and/or physical appearance. There is a name index to the first 18 pages of passports.
- Passports, 1818-1831
- Available on microfilm, call number: mf AA420, 1812; 1818-1831
- The passports were digitized as part of Louisiana State University’s digital collection Free People of Color in Louisiana: Revealing an Unknown Past.
An artificial collection (a single folder) made up of various documents that provide evidence of the free status of individual persons in the city of New Orleans during the years 1854-1858. Among the items are certificates from public officials, copies of notarial acts, extracts from the Registers of Free People of Color maintained in the Mayor’s Office, extracts from records in the Orleans Parish Conveyance Office, court judgments, and affidavits from private citizens. Each of these documents at least identifies the free person and makes some reference to the source of his freedom. Some of the items also include additional identification or other information about the individuals. Some of the items give the appearance of actually having been carried as proof of freedom by the named individuals. Others may be record copies retained in the files of the issuing agency.
- Freedom Papers, 1854-1858
- Available on microfilm, call number: mf LM650 1854-1869
- These documents were digitized as part of Louisiana State University’s digital collection Free People of Color in Louisiana: Revealing an Unknown Past.
Emancipation Records
Parish Court (Orleans Parish)
As president of the Police Jury, the Parish Judge received slave emancipation petitions and presented them to the Jury for consideration [see below for a description of the Police Jury records]. He retained the original documents, which, in addition to the petitions themselves, sometimes include letters, public notices, and extracts from other records. The Parish Court records include petitions that are not duplicated in the Police Jury documents; it is likely that the reverse is true as well.
- Emancipation Petitions, 1813-1843
- Available on microfilm, call number: mf VCP320
- The emancipation petitions were digitized as part of Louisiana State University’s digital collection Free People of Color in Louisiana: Revealing an Unknown Past. (To locate a petition, search by the name of the person being freed.)
- An index to Parish Court emancipation records is available digitally.
Orleans Parish (La.) Police Jury
In 1827 the state legislature gave the Police Jury of Orleans Parish responsibility for consideration of petitions for the emancipation of enslaved people. The Jury exercised this power until 1846 when the body was abolished and emancipation petitions became the responsibility of the municipality councils.
The Archives holds three volumes of the Police Jury’s proceedings in emancipation matters, 1827-1846. A fourth volume indexes the emancipation proceedings. The actual petitions were retained by the Judge of the Parish Court who also served as the president of the Police Jury. The Jury’s record books merely record the actions taken on each petition, identifying the petitioning enslaver by name, as well as naming the enslaved person(s) in question and giving their ages and, sometimes, racial designation. In some cases, several individuals were being freed together; where relationships existed between or among them, they are noted in the record.
- Petitions for the emancipation of enslaved people, 1827-1846
- Available on microfilm, call number: mf VJA320
New Orleans (La.). First Municipality Council.
With the abolishment of the Police Jury for the Left (East) Bank of Orleans Parish in 1846, responsibility for controlling the emancipation of enslaved persons fell to the three municipality councils. For the First Municipality Council there is one volume of Emancipation Records, covering the period July 1, 1846 – July 7, 1851, recording chronologically the deliberations of the Council in matters of emancipations. Generally, the record for each emancipation includes the name of the enslaver desiring to emancipate and the name of the person(s) being emancipated (sometimes with their age and color included).
- Emancipation Docket, 1846-1851
- Available on microfilm, call number: mf AB300 1823-1836 sec sess
- These documents were digitized as part of Louisiana State University’s digital collection Free People of Color in Louisiana: Revealing an Unknown Past.
New Orleans (La.) Third Municipality Council.
One book in the records of the Third Municipality Council’s Ordinances and Resolutions records slave emancipations before the Council, June 29, 1846 – March 3, 1851. These records include copies of the petitions for emancipation (giving name of petitioner, name, and age of the enslaved person(s), and date of consideration of the petition) and a record of the proceedings ratifying decisions initially made on each petition. The records are microfilmed and filed under call number mf AB310 1836 at the end of vol.1 of subseries II.
New Orleans (La.). Office of the Mayor.
Records the names of individuals emancipated by the First Municipality Council for the period 1846-1850. This book also contains loose sheets with the names of emancipated persons from the Second and Third Municipalities. Generally the records show the names of enslavers, names of enslaved persons (along with age and, in some cases, “color”), and date of council approval. In 1855, the civil courts assumed jurisdiction over emancipations.
Redhibition Suits
Explore dataset of Redhibition Suits regarding sales of enslaved persons. Filed in Parish Court, 1813-1846.
Learn MoreFreedom Suits
Explore dataset of Freedom Suits in which enslaved people sue their enslavers for their freedom. Filed in Parish Court, 1813-1846.
Learn MoreMany of the record collections described here have been digitized and are available through Louisiana State University’s digital collection Free People of Color in Louisiana: Revealing an Unknown Past.
Statement on Archival Content and Description. In describing records regarding the institution of slavery and enslaved individuals, the City Archives & Special Collections follows the National Archives’ reparative description recommendations.
Digital Collections
Free People of Color and Freedmen
New Orleans register of Free Persons of Color entitled to remain in the state, and additional Freedmen's records.
Search records
