St. Landry Parish clerk in home stretch of digitizing documents

A parish that once encompassed almost 6,000 square miles is bound to accumulate some records, and St. Landry Parish is working to get more than 250 years worth of documents available to the public on line via a program called DocuNet.
St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court Charlie Jagneaux said, “St. Landry Parish was once seven parishes, and we’ve got records back to 1764. Some of records are written in French and Spanish, and we’ve had to translate them. It’s been a lot of fun to get it all done, and we are training our staff to use it and keep the records current and correct.”
The Clerk of Court’s Office has been scanning in and uploading documents since 1997, and Jagneaux said converting all the records from a parish that was once so large Calcasieu, Acadia, Evangeline, Jeff Davis, Beauregard and Allen parishes were carved out of it will likely take another five years to complete.
Right now, scanned images of marriage licenses from 1805 to present, probates from 1805 to present and land records from June 1861 to 1929 are available on line through the office’s DocuNet program. The cost of DocuNet is $50 per month for those who live in a 0 to 20 mile radius; $100 per month for those in a 20 to 50 mile radius; and $300 per month of those who live over a 50 mile radius. Jagneaux said he hopes to have a credit card system set up soon so that users can access the system by the day and at a lower rate. Those wishing to search DocuNet can also enlist archival experts at the office at the rate of $20 per hour.
The Clerk of Court Office has criminal records, slave sales, bonds, 1847 to present; livestock brands, 1855 - 1970; civil district suits, 1813 to present; coroner inquests, 1876 to 1965; donations, 1826 to present; immigration papers, 1820 to 1920; miscellaneous records, 1854 to 1964; notary nooks, 1818 to 1850; partnerships, 1848 to present; probate court suits, 1822 to 1846; sheriff deeds, 1810 to 1924; voter registration books, 1895 to 1898; and Opelousas Post Colonial Documents from 1764 to 1805. These records may be available through in the future, but right now, digitizing the parish’s land conveyances is the priority due to the importance of such documents in determining issues like mineral rights.
The earliest scanned document in DocuNet under “Town of Eunice” is the town charter from 1894. The earliest document under the name of Eunice founder C.C. Duson is a land sale to him in 1875.
“St. Landry Parish has some of the best archives in the state, next to New Orleans,” Jagneaux said. “Some of the successions from the 1800s are very interesting. They list shirts, broken pots, wagons and even worn shoes.”
To contact Claudette Olivier, email claudette.olivier@eunicetoday.com.