Genealogical series to shed light on New Orleans Catholic ancestors

The New Orleans Public Library, the Office of Archives and Records of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries are teaming up to offer a free, six-session, Zoom-based series designed to help members of the public research their Catholic ancestors from the New Orleans area.

The virtual series, entitled “Identifying Your Catholic Ancestors,” will run Sept. 12-Oct. 17 on six successive Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Here is a summary of each Saturday session:

• Sept. 12: “Basics of Genealogical Research” will provide a short introduction to genealogical research followed by an overview of archdiocesan records – what is available; what isn’t available; and what can be requested.

• Sept. 19: “Requesting Genealogy Records” will teach participants how to order records, what forms to use and all about where to find the information one needs to have on hand before placing a request.

• Sept. 26: “Navigating Newspaper Databases for Obituaries” will teach participants how to use their regional public library cards to access newspaper databases and find obituaries – often the starting point for locating and researching Catholic ancestors.

• Oct. 3: “Archdiocesan Indexes and Digital Resources” will explore the available indexes and digital resources of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries.

• Oct. 10: “Cemetery Research” will explore cemetery research and care, including where to get started and the various tablet and tomb types. This session will also cover New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries’ Perpetual Care and restoration programs.

• Oct. 17: “Cemetery Exploration: Identifying Burial Locations" will enable participants to experience virtual examples of working with archival records to identify burial locations within various cemeteries, complete with visuals and sample searches.

The series’ presenters, each of whom holds a master's degree in her area of expertise, are:

• Kimberly Johnson, a certified archivist and the senior processing archivist/records analyst at the archdiocesan Office of Archives and Records. Johnson helps manage the conservation and preservation of historic and current records.

• Katie Vest, a research archivist with the archdiocesan Office of Archives and Records whose expertise includes researching and translating genealogy requests in French, Spanish, Italian and German.

• Heather Veneziano, the director of public engagement and development at New Orleans Catholic Cemeteries, is also an architectural historian and cultural heritage advisor with the preservation firm Gambrel and Peak.

• Amanda Fallis is a certified archivist and librarian at NOPL’s New Orleans City Archives & Special Collections, where she works with genealogical and municipal government records.

The series has a maximum capacity of 300 participants. Register for the Zoom sessions at https://bit.ly/2G4CXms. Digital handouts will be available before each session at archives.nolalibrary.org. Recordings will be posted after each session airs.

The project can also be followed at www.facebook.com/NolaCatholicCemeteries and www.facebook.com/loudiv.