THE HISTORICAL RESEARCH CENTER
PRESERVING THE RELIGIOUS RECORDS OF OUR ANCESTORS.
The Catholic Church, for almost two centuries, has recorded and documented Church members and church parishes in Terrebonne, Lafourche and east St. Mary. From birth and baptism to death and burial records, church registers contain valuable historical information on ancestors; information that often cannot be found elsewhere.
Official records concerning church operation, administrative decisions of local pastors, select records of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux pertaining to the area and a variety of correspondence are among the records kept. Today, they serve as authoritative chronicles on the growth of the Catholic Church and, concurrently, the growth of the communities that formed the Church in this area.
In 1979, the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux established an archival program. Four years later, in 1983, the Historical Research Center was dedicated. The Center is located on the Nicholls State University campus in Thibodaux, Louisiana. A modern, spacious structure, the Historical Research Center is an education center that has become the repository for the tri-parish area of all church records prior to and including 1910. It serves to secure these valuable records and to organize and index the information so that they may be more accessible to researchers. Trained staff and volunteers assist the public in locating and translating material stored in the facility.
ACCESSIBLE CHURCH COMMUNITY RECORDS
All records collected by the Historical Research Center fall into two categories:
1) Parish Records
Parish registers, prior to and including 1910, can now be found only in the Historical Research Center. The earliest such register dates back to 1817, when St. Joseph Parish in Thibodaux was officially established. These parish registers contain the following information: birth, baptism, confirmation, marriage, death and burial documentation. Certified copies of records are available at the archives.
2) Administrative records
For years, the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux stored records pertaining to the tri-parish area. Some of these records have been deposited in the research center.
Administrative records generated by the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux also are stored in the building. These include correspondence, policy decisions, materials from the various diocesan departments and the Bishop’s records.
GENEALOGY COLLECTIONS AND ORIGINAL ART ATTRACT
STUDENTS AND RESEARCHERS
Because of the high degree of interest in genealogy research, the Historical Research Center does have a small collection of published family genealogies and welcomes donations of such publications. Other research tools are also available.
In addition to the historical documents, the facility has on permanent display four noteworthy oil paintings. The J.W. Richardson family of Shreveport, Louisiana donated the paintings to the Diocese in 1983. Portrait titles are: King Philip IV of Spain 1614-1685 by Spanish court painter Juan Carreao De Miranda, The Descent from the Cross 1593-1678 by Flemish historical portrait painter, Jacob Jordaens, Mistress Ball Patterson 1738-1815 by John Singleton Copley and The Gypsy Madonna 1778-1860 by American Painter, Rembrandt Peale.
THE HISTORICAL RESEARCH CENTER
PRESERVING THE RELIGIOUS RECORDS OF OUR ANCESTORS.
The Catholic Church, for almost two centuries, has recorded and documented Church members and church parishes in Terrebonne, Lafourche and east St. Mary. From birth and baptism to death and burial records, church registers contain valuable historical information on ancestors; information that often cannot be found elsewhere.
Official records concerning church operation, administrative decisions of local pastors, select records of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux pertaining to the area and a variety of correspondence are among the records kept. Today, they serve as authoritative chronicles on the growth of the Catholic Church and, concurrently, the growth of the communities that formed the Church in this area.
In 1979, the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux established an archival program. Four years later, in 1983, the Historical Research Center was dedicated. The Center is located on the Nicholls State University campus in Thibodaux, Louisiana. A modern, spacious structure, the Historical Research Center is an education center that has become the repository for the tri-parish area of all church records prior to and including 1910. It serves to secure these valuable records and to organize and index the information so that they may be more accessible to researchers. Trained staff and volunteers assist the public in locating and translating material stored in the facility.
ACCESSIBLE CHURCH COMMUNITY RECORDS
All records collected by the Historical Research Center fall into two categories:
1) Parish Records
Parish registers, prior to and including 1910, can now be found only in the Historical Research Center. The earliest such register dates back to 1817, when St. Joseph Parish in Thibodaux was officially established. These parish registers contain the following information: birth, baptism, confirmation, marriage, death and burial documentation. Certified copies of records are available at the archives.
2) Administrative records
For years, the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux stored records pertaining to the tri-parish area. Some of these records have been deposited in the research center.
Administrative records generated by the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux also are stored in the building. These include correspondence, policy decisions, materials from the various diocesan departments and the Bishop’s records.
GENEALOGY COLLECTIONS AND ORIGINAL ART ATTRACT
STUDENTS AND RESEARCHERS
Because of the high degree of interest in genealogy research, the Historical Research Center does have a small collection of published family genealogies and welcomes donations of such publications. Other research tools are also available.
In addition to the historical documents, the facility has on permanent display four noteworthy oil paintings. The J.W. Richardson family of Shreveport, Louisiana donated the paintings to the Diocese in 1983. Portrait titles are: King Philip IV of Spain 1614-1685 by Spanish court painter Juan Carreao De Miranda, The Descent from the Cross 1593-1678 by Flemish historical portrait painter, Jacob Jordaens, Mistress Ball Patterson 1738-1815 by John Singleton Copley and The Gypsy Madonna 1778-1860 by American Painter, Rembrandt Peale.