The Notarial Archives (1340 Poydras St., Suite 360) houses the records of Orleans Parish notaries, 1733 - 1970, including acts of sale for all real estate (and, before the Civil War, for sales of enslaved persons). The Notarial Archives' website is notarialarchives.org.

Acts of Sale

The act of sale provides a more complete record of the transaction than that recorded in the Conveyance Office books. In many cases the act of sale will be bound with other documents such as tax and mortgage receipts and possibly copies of surveys made in connection with the sale or a previous sale.

Acts of sale are arranged by the notary and, thereunder, by date. If you have previously traced the chain of title in the Conveyance Office, you will have recorded the notary's name and the date of the act of sale, which will allow you to locate the act in the notary's records.

Annual indexes to the notaries' volumes are also available at the Notarial Archives website at notarialarchives.org/notaryalpha.htm.

After 1970, notarial acts (housed in the Notarial Archives Records Office, 1340 Poydras St., Suite 500) are retrieved throught their "NA number," rather than by notary/date. These more current records can also be accessed online, through a fee-based service. Information on this service

Building Contracts

The Notarial Archives also houses building contracts, 1767-1970. A multi-volume Index for these contracts is available in the Louisiana Division (and the Notarial Archives).

Plan Book Plans

Also located at the Notarial Archives are the Plan Book Plans, more than 5000 19th century watercolor lot surveys, many containing architectural drawings with floor plans, landscape designs, or other details (1803-1918, bulk 1830-1860). Samples of the Plan Book drawings can be found on the Notarial Archives' website, along with additional information about them. Computerized indexing is available in-house at the Notarial Archives, and an older, published index, arranged by municipal district and square, with dates and other identifying information, is available in the Louisiana Division. (976.31 O72p)

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