THIS 24-PAGE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER INCLUDES messages from the President and Editor, articles, photos, maps, members’ letters, information on forthcoming meetings and speakers, announcement of new members.

SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE: Articles are always welcome, preferably in "word" format if you have a computer, but handwritten memories of life in Algiers are also encouraged. When submitting articles, please put all last names in capital letters.

ORDER BACK COPIES: Past hard copies of "e Algerine" can be purchased at $3 each (limited number available.) Also (from Sept., 2006 [issue No. 24]) available as .pdf files for the same price. Free subscriptions are available to local libraries and schools as a .pdf file.  All newsletter are now available on CD at $30 each (or $20 with $15 membership) from our Treasurer.  Check out the issues at your left for the articles of your choice.

When Judi ROBERTSON and Kevin HERRIDGE started the Algiers Historical Society, Judy was very active with the Friends of Algiers Courthouse, an organization that, through private and public funding, renovates the Courthouse and its grounds. Judy encouraged Kevin to become a member as she had a dream that one day, the stables would be converted into a museum to celebrate Algiers and its people.

Thanks to a Louisiana State Grant, and smaller grants from Entergy and the New Orleans City Council, work began in 1999 when a new roof was put on the building, and the exterior was made leak-proof. The interior brickwork was cleaned, the interior of the roof was insulated, air conditioning/heating was added, stairs, bathrooms, offices, kitchen, and storerooms were installed. The whole building was painted and re-cycled cypress was formed into a banister and handrail for the mezzanine floor. Concrete was poured for the floor, which was then stained and scored in a tile pattern.

Jessica HACK  was appointed curator and Kevin and Judy assembled five display panels that celebrate Algiers’ rich Jazz history.

 If you have any Algiers’ photographs, memorabilia, artifacts, etc., that can be copied or donated or loaned, please contact Jessica at (504)366-0786, or
Kevin at (504)368-1123.  If you would like to support the Friends of Algiers Courthouse and become a member, please visit the site or contact Kevin and he
will pass on your information.

The Times-Picayune Saturday, June 12, 2010 R. Stephanie Bruno

The New Orleans Library has a terrific guide to researching a New Orleans home's history -- a potentially ambitious project in a city founded nearly 300 years ago. 

Titled "Sources for Researching the History of Your House (Or Other Building) in New Orleans," it's available online  http://nutrias.org/~nopl/house2/intro.htm 

Here's a brief outline of steps and resources, paraphrased from the library's online guide.    
 
STEP 1: 
Find the "Conveyance Office Book" number and "Folio" (or page) number on which the most recent sale of the property has been recorded. These number codes will open the lock to finding older information. 

If you are researching your own house, check your legal records for the code:  For example, COB 409/FOL 361 refers to Conveyance Office Book volume 409 and
Folio (page) 361.

If you don't have your records or are researching a different house, go to the assessors' website (http://www.nolaassessor.com/) and look up the address of the property. On the property data page, you'll see entries next to "Book" and "Folio" -- those are the COB and FOL numbers you'll need.

 STEP 2: 
To find the chain of title, visit the city's Conveyance Division (formerly Conveyance Office) of Civil District Court at 1340 Poydras St., 4th floor. 

Armed with the COB/FOL, ask to see the appropriate book and a staff member will provide it. Find the page or folio, and you'll be able to collect information on who sold the property to whom, for what price and when, and what notary officiated.

You'll also find a reference to the previous conveyance, which you will then use to access a copy of a second book, and so on, using the COB/FOL found on each entry to develop a history of ownership of the property.  
 
STEP 3:
Visit the Notarial Archives (1340 Poydras St., Suite 360), where, armed with the names of notaries and dates of sales found in the Conveyance Office Books, you will be able to access actual acts of sale for each transaction. 

You will search first by notary, and then by date. Acts of sale sometimes include surveys and other information not available elsewhere. 

Also at the Notarial Archives, you may find building contracts that can tell you when your home was built or renovated, and "Plan Book Plans," 19th and early
20th century watercolors that might depict what your house looked like. 

The Main Library's Louisiana Division/City Archives holds a wealth of information. 

Other places to look for information include the Williams Research Center of the Historic New Orleans Collection, the Southeastern
Architectural Archive at Tulane, and the Louisiana Historical Center of the Louisiana State Museum at the Old U.S. Mint. 

Information to look for includes:  
Indexes to street name and house number changes (many online at the public library) 
Sanborn Insurance Maps, which show the footprint of buildings on lots, dating to 1885 
The Robinson Atlas, similar to the Sanborn Maps but includes information from as early as the late 1870s 
Plan Books, prepared by surveyors in the 1900s 
Old maps, which may show "improvements" (buildings) on lots 
Sewerage & Water Board house connection records 
Property tax records (Jumps in assessments often occur when a house is built or renovated.) 
Building permits 
Blueprints, some at the library 
Civil Court records/sheriff's sales 
Fire Department monthly reports, useful if you suspect that an earlier structure on a lot was destroyed by fire or if your home was damaged
by a fire 
Board of Zoning Adjustments minutes and documents 
City Council ordinances 
Surveyor's Office and City Engineer records 
City Planning Commission minutes and zoning documents 
Comptroller's Office annual and semi-annual reports 
Vieux Carre Commission and Historic District Landmarks 
Commission records, which detail changes requested or made to buildings in the French Quarter and other historic districts 
City directories and federal Census records, which can show who lived at your address in the past 
Photographs, in the public library's "Louisiana Division" 
Books, especially the Friends of the Cabildo's architectural books 
Newspapers and periodicals, some available online with a library card