As a follow-on to the Cemetery Project, the Obituary Project Committee volunteers of the Pointe de l'Eglise:  Acadia Genealogical and Historical Society, Inc., went about the process of screening available Acadia Parish newspapers, hardcopy and microfilm, on file in the Acadia Parish Library and elsewhere.  They have been researching, copying, cutting, organizing, pasting, and indexing reports of death from the newspapers published in Crowley, Rayne and Church Point.  Each book includes an index.  In the process, they have amassed a  deck of index cards containing cross-reference data on no less than 66,500 names, so far.  Work continues, as they strive to work through the newspapers and microfilm from the late 1800s to the present day. 

Meantime, we have been developing an electronic database of these records to aid researchers in their search. The indices from each of the obituary books have been scanned-in and edited to a similar file format.  During November 2004, we have begun the process of adding these "draft" obituary indices to this site.  The records are arranged alphabetically by name within the respective year blocks and cross to the appropriate book and page where the obituary is located.  The files are in Adobe Acrobat portable document format (pdf).  If you need a copy of Abobe Acrobat Reader to read these files, the program can be downloaded free from http://www.adobe.com/.  These files are not complete in many respects (e.g., scanning errors, duplicate records, missing information), but, absent a better alternative, we believe users will find them useful -- especially our members living outside the commuting area of Acadia Parish. 

•   Church Point Newspaper (CPN) Obituary Index Files

1907-1908 (partial list from Church Point Democrat);
1947-1954;  1959-1967;  2003 - 2004

•   Rayne Newspaper (Ra) Obituary Index Files

1904-1905;  1925-1932;  1933-1940;  1945-1946  2004

•   Crowley Newspaper (Cr) Obituary Index Files

1870-1910;  1911-1919;  1920-1929;  1930-1935
(missing Jul-Dec 1930; Jan-Jun 1933; and, Jan 1-11, 1934); 
1936-1939  (missing  Jan-Jun 1937);  1940-1943  (missing Jan-Jun 1940);
1944-1946;  1947-1948;  1949; 1950-1951;  1952-1953;  1954-1955;  1956-1957;  1958-1959;  1960;  1961;  1995;  1996;  1997;  1998;  1999;  2000;  2001;  2002;  2003;  2004

These draft files are part of a building block for a larger project aimed at abstracting and publishing a wider array of information from the newspaper obituary.  Since that effort will take several years, we hope you will be understanding when coming across errors in these files. In that regard, if you are able to fill in any missing information, especially married and maiden names, please let us hear from you.

 Hard copies of published volumes and their respective library location include the following years:

• Church Point Library

        Church Point News 1941-1943; 1947-1954; 1959-1985; 1987-2003 (Note:  No newspapers published 1944-1946)

• Crowley Library

       Crowley Signal.   The Signal was first established as the Rayne Signal, March 13, 1886.  In January, 1888, the first edition was printed in Crowley.   On 1 September 1898, the newspaper was made a daily, with six issues per week.1870-1900; and, 1901-1905

        Crowley Daily Signal.  1906-1910; 1911-1919; 1920; 1921-1926; 1927-1929; 1930-1932 (missing Jul-Dec 1930); 1933-1934 (missing Jan-Jun 1933 and Jan 1-11, 1934); 1935; 1936; 1937-1939 (missing  Jan-Jun 1937); 1940-1943 (missing Jan-Jun 1940); 1944-1946; 1947-1948; 1949; 1950-1951; 1952-1953; 1954-1955; 1956-1957; 1958-1959; and, annual volumes for the years 1960-1966.  

        Crowley Post Herald  annual volumes for the years 1966-1969.

        Crowley Post Signal annual volumes for the years 1974-2003

• Rayne Library

Rayne Independent 1970

Rayne Acadian-Tribune 1971-2002

On-Line Obituary Index and Lookup Service. 

If you see a name or names in the index that are of interest to you, and you are unable to visit the library holding  a copy of the obituary, we offer a couple of options:   

• Send an email to Thelma Richard and ask for an assist, if you are willing to make a small contribution to the Society for the assist.  As a fund raising project for the Society, Thelma has agreed to help with lookups and provide copies of obituaries in support of individual researchers outside the commuting area of Acadia Parish.   Thelma donates her time to the Society and all funds received from these efforts go back into the Society.  We are optimistic that you will find this service to be convenient, affordable and worthwhile.

• Use the bulletin board and submit a query asking for help from fellow researchers who may have common interests and are willing to obtain and share information. 

Links to Local Newspapers

I have included links to area newspapers, primarily for the purpose of providing access to obituaries found on their web sites.  The Kindon  Media Link includes news sources from Louisiana, most of which publish the obituaries on-line.  

The online edition of the Crowley Post-Signal now carries obituaries, but updates to the site appear to be lagging.   Please email them and offer your constructive comments.  

I have also included a link to The Obituary Daily Times, where you may conduct interactive searches against obituaries that have been posted.  

Individual Posting of Obituaries

If, during your family research, you come across obituaries having connections in Acadia Parish that you wish to share with others, please consider posting them.  As you should guess, all obituaries offer information of value to researchers.  It doesn't matter how old or new the obituary may be, or how lacking in detail, we'd like to see it/them posted.  You need not copy the information word-for-word, but you should always identify the source and date of the newspaper and insure the extracted information you provide accurately represents the newspaper account.  

Newspaper accounts may not be accurate on the facts presented, such as age or date of birth.  Also, obituaries of the less influential or well-to-do often contain little more than the name of the deceased and the date of the funeral.  If you have additional information that will clarify the reported discrepancy or expand upon the deceased individual's family relationships, please include this additional information as a footnote to your submission. The additional information will prove to be worthwhile, no doubt.

Go to Bulletin Board and, if you have an obit you wish to share, please add it in a separate message and select the Category for "Obituary."  Please identify the surname of the deceased in the "Surname" block of the message and type-in or "cut-and-paste" the pertinent obituary information and footnotes, as applicable.