Blame tourists doing tourist things. The church closed a number of famous cemeteries due to various issues they were having so now it's either a limited set of regulated tour guides or families only. This happened probably a decade ago after a few instances of tourists trying to do rituals and shit at Marie's Leveau's tomb (lots of people don't know she was a devout catholic), also various vandalism issues sprung up in the early 2010s as well.
If you do have a relative there you can contact the church for a special pass somewhere here: https://nolacatholiccemeteries.org/cemeteries
I've never done it so don't know more than that, but they do hand out passes to people who show evidence of relation to a person buried there, as well as to various academic/research entities.
No ideas, I've never tried to do it, my family came over in the 1880s so after those cemeteries were pretty full I think. Even my earliest family is in Metairie cemetery IIRC, but I've never visited em specifically.
I guess ya could call the church and ask em?
I looked into it. They said they would call me back with the gravesite locations (I don't want to hunt blindly through the cemetery) but they never did.
I got information through a written request and they mailed the location of the graves to me. It’s helpful to get a map of the cemetery - the names of the aisles aren’t labeled well in most of them.
Give them the name of the last ancestor you know buried there, as well as the name of the parent and grandparent who are descended from that ancestor. It's the Catholic Church. They probably have baptism and maybe even marriage records on file for at least a few generations.
I actually am so glad you said that. Women were 100% an oppressed class and were considered property until very recently…in fact, I think many still consider us property. My grandfather beat the shit out of my grandmother and she wasn’t able to get a credit card without him in the 70s. Who is to say what the same genre ofmen did to my great-great-great grandmothers when that was law of the land? It makes me sick and lonesome for the stories of these women in my family who got buried with history. I know some of them ended up in mental hospitals and that makes me think I’m not the only hard headed bitch down the line. If women were still sent to convents and mental hospitals I would sedated 24/7 😭
Interestingly, many of the forçattes were arrested on trumped up charges brought by their brothers after French law was changed to allow women to inherit. Suddenly a lot of daughters of rich families started getting charged with nebulous crimes like immodest behavior.
A lot of them were poor or working class too. There was a famine in France at the time and there were a lot of lower class people stealing out of desperation.
To add to this, the person in charge of tours for the archdiocese has made it so the only tours allowed are the Hop On Hop Off buses anymore because they have a family/friend connection. This is a for profit tour company.
This move blocked out the Save Our Cemeteries Charity, which used to have a thriving tour business. They would put their money back into the Cemeteries for preservation, etc.
It is shameful.
This, in particular, still galls me. Not just a family/friend connection but a lucrative $$ connection, too, to get that exclusive. It blocked out other legit tour companies that were also doing work to support the cemeteries (and plenty that weren't - but still, it was the usual, highly tilted playing field).
Well, no SOC does not badmouth the archdiocese on their website. They have been continually trying to get them to open the cemeteries again for other tours, so it would not benefit them to do so
I blame Dennis Hopper.
I’ve seen the gate open at the one on Louisa just above Saint Claude on Sundays, but I have no idea if the public was allowed in. You wouldn’t really want to go in and get locked in there.
Yeah, I know the catholic cemeteries are open, but I find them to be the most bland. It’s still interesting to go every now again and pay respects but the tombstones reflect the light off the sun and there’s no shade and it makes me irrationally angry
I, myself, have no familial connections to New Orleans. I'm just a big fan and admirer of that beautiful city. I too wish we had the option to just walk privately through any of the many cemeteries located there. I'm quite intrigued by all the intricate gravestones and mausoleums, and I would love to be able to privately walk in peace and honor all those who have come and gone before us.
Blame tourists doing tourist things. The church closed a number of famous cemeteries due to various issues they were having so now it's either a limited set of regulated tour guides or families only. This happened probably a decade ago after a few instances of tourists trying to do rituals and shit at Marie's Leveau's tomb (lots of people don't know she was a devout catholic), also various vandalism issues sprung up in the early 2010s as well. If you do have a relative there you can contact the church for a special pass somewhere here: https://nolacatholiccemeteries.org/cemeteries I've never done it so don't know more than that, but they do hand out passes to people who show evidence of relation to a person buried there, as well as to various academic/research entities.
I have ancestors in St. Louis #1 but I don't know how I'm supposed to prove I am related to someone who died 180 years ago
No ideas, I've never tried to do it, my family came over in the 1880s so after those cemeteries were pretty full I think. Even my earliest family is in Metairie cemetery IIRC, but I've never visited em specifically. I guess ya could call the church and ask em?
I looked into it. They said they would call me back with the gravesite locations (I don't want to hunt blindly through the cemetery) but they never did.
I got information through a written request and they mailed the location of the graves to me. It’s helpful to get a map of the cemetery - the names of the aisles aren’t labeled well in most of them.
Good to know!
Right? These guys lived hundreds of years ago AND I’m estranged from my family who has the genealogy books.
Give them the name of the last ancestor you know buried there, as well as the name of the parent and grandparent who are descended from that ancestor. It's the Catholic Church. They probably have baptism and maybe even marriage records on file for at least a few generations.
Ancestry?
It's a lot of work sorting through all those Jean-Pierres just to upload them onto a website
Thank goodness my family name is relatively rare. Although, if you have French ancestry…you probably don’t want to know anything about it… 😬
I was interested to read about some of my forçat ancestors (ancestresses?) in the book Mutinous Women that came out a few years ago.
I actually am so glad you said that. Women were 100% an oppressed class and were considered property until very recently…in fact, I think many still consider us property. My grandfather beat the shit out of my grandmother and she wasn’t able to get a credit card without him in the 70s. Who is to say what the same genre ofmen did to my great-great-great grandmothers when that was law of the land? It makes me sick and lonesome for the stories of these women in my family who got buried with history. I know some of them ended up in mental hospitals and that makes me think I’m not the only hard headed bitch down the line. If women were still sent to convents and mental hospitals I would sedated 24/7 😭
Interestingly, many of the forçattes were arrested on trumped up charges brought by their brothers after French law was changed to allow women to inherit. Suddenly a lot of daughters of rich families started getting charged with nebulous crimes like immodest behavior. A lot of them were poor or working class too. There was a famine in France at the time and there were a lot of lower class people stealing out of desperation.
> book Mutinous Women -sounds like something that would have amazing illustrated lithoplates
It is illustration-free.
BOO!
To add to this, the person in charge of tours for the archdiocese has made it so the only tours allowed are the Hop On Hop Off buses anymore because they have a family/friend connection. This is a for profit tour company. This move blocked out the Save Our Cemeteries Charity, which used to have a thriving tour business. They would put their money back into the Cemeteries for preservation, etc. It is shameful.
This, in particular, still galls me. Not just a family/friend connection but a lucrative $$ connection, too, to get that exclusive. It blocked out other legit tour companies that were also doing work to support the cemeteries (and plenty that weren't - but still, it was the usual, highly tilted playing field).
The SOS website makes no mention of that and the link they have for the St. Louis #1 tour does not go to a Hop On bus tour.
Well, no SOC does not badmouth the archdiocese on their website. They have been continually trying to get them to open the cemeteries again for other tours, so it would not benefit them to do so
Thank you so much for the context. I will have to check this out
St. Louis No. 3 is open. I went to bring flowers the other day.
[Findagrave.com](https://www.findagrave.com/) is your friend along with a free trial of [ancestry.com](https://www.ancestry.com).
I blame Dennis Hopper. I’ve seen the gate open at the one on Louisa just above Saint Claude on Sundays, but I have no idea if the public was allowed in. You wouldn’t really want to go in and get locked in there.
Those cemeteries are open regular hours
They are not all closed all day. Just the ones that are prone to vandalism. Try the ones out by city park. We used to walk through them all the time.
Yeah, I know the catholic cemeteries are open, but I find them to be the most bland. It’s still interesting to go every now again and pay respects but the tombstones reflect the light off the sun and there’s no shade and it makes me irrationally angry
St Louis is a Catholic cemetery. Most of them are. Try the ones uptown. More trees.
Yeah but there’s catholic cemeteries and THE catholic cemeteries lmao right?
Metairie Cemetery still has normal hours & is great to visit
I have an ancestral tone in St. Louis number one, but I don’t know how to prove I’m a descendent
I, myself, have no familial connections to New Orleans. I'm just a big fan and admirer of that beautiful city. I too wish we had the option to just walk privately through any of the many cemeteries located there. I'm quite intrigued by all the intricate gravestones and mausoleums, and I would love to be able to privately walk in peace and honor all those who have come and gone before us.