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Creole History and Genealogy
The creole history in Louisiana is long and convoluted. It is hard to define who falls into this category, and sometimes even harder to trace family lines.
Although there is disagreement on exactly what a creole is, most agree that it refers to the southwestern part of Louisiana. Before the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, this area was controlled by the French and Spanish. Many freed slaves lived in this area, and would often inter-marry with the French and Spanish immigrants of the area. This 'gumbo' created a culture that was rich with spicy foods and beautiful music.
Note that creole is different than cajun, which is also from the Louisiana area. Cajuns were French settlers that originally lived in Acadia (Nova Scotia). They were kicked out in 1755 and resettled in Louisiana. Certainly, the Cajuns blended in with the Creoles to some degree, and both cultures helped redefine the other.
Records are only available in the state archives from 1819. There are indices available from 1790 but for those intermediate years there are often no actual data available.
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Note - Lisa Shea wrote this content for the genealogy site at BellaOnline.com - you might still find this content there as well. That's fine :) I gave permission!
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