Union Parish Louisiana

Here is a list of some published Union Parish resources. Not all are currently in print.

Family Histories of Union Parish Residents:

1. The Descendants of: William Taylor & Catherine Gray, by Beverly Jean Taylor, 2006. At this time, copies are available; for information, please send Bev an email.
   
   Description: Eight children of William and Catherine Gray Taylor moved from Butler and Lowndes Counties Alabama to what is now Union Parish between 1837 and 1849, all of whom left numerous descendents in the region. Beginning in 1836, William and Catherine's children and grandchildren helped to build the parish from a region formally consisting of thick pine woods and swampy bayous. Their son John was among those men who petitioned the Louisiana Legislature in 1838 to form a new parish. In response, on 13 March 1839 the Legislature created the new Parish of Union and appointed John as its first probate judge. Their other children helped create the parish government, build roads, bridges, and large plantations. In fact, for the period between 1840 and 1860, William and Catherine's children owned the most productive plantations in the parish. Their grandchildren continued this tradition of civic duty, serving in numerous elected capaticies in the parish, region, and state.

Resources Specifically Devoted to Union Parish:

1. Union Parish (Louisiana) Historical Records: Police Jury Minutes, 1839 – 1846, Abstracted and Edited by Dr. Max Harrison Williams, privately published, 1993. Dr. Williams has permitted his work to be placed in its entirety on the Union Parish Louisiana USGenWeb Archives:
   Union Parish Police Jury Minutes 1839 – 1844
   
   Union Parish Police Jury Minutes 1844 – 1846
2. Some Slaveholders and Their Slaves: Union Parish Louisiana, 1839 – 1865, by Harry F. Dill and William Simpson, Heritage Books, Inc., Bowie, Maryland, 1997.
3. Cemetery Inscriptions of Union Parish, Louisiana, Volumes I, II, III, IV, compiled by William C. Nolan, J & W Enterprises, Shreveport, Louisiana, c1990.
4. Union Parish Louisiana Marriage Records, 1839 – 1900, compiled by John C. Head, J & W Enterprises, Shreveport, Louisiana, 1990.
5. The Family of Spearsville, by W. Gene Barron, Second Edition, privately printed, (2007). Mr. Barron has compiled an interesting history of the Spearsville community in northwestern Union Parish. Besides a wealth of first-hand stories, he includes some samples from his incredible collection of Union Parish photographs.

Works on Ouachita Parish that include Union Parish History & People:

1. Encyclopedia of Individuals and Founding Families of the Ouachita Valley of Louisiana From 1785 to 1850: Organized into Family Groups with Miscellaneous Materials on Historical Events, Places, and Other Important Topics, Part One A – K (1996) and Part Two L – O (1997) by Dr. E. Russ Williams, Jr., Williams Genealogical and Historical Publications, Monroe, LA. These incredible works contain much information on several early Union Parish families and general history of the Ouachita Valley region. In particular, Dr. Williams discovered the 1838 Ouachita Parish tax list that lists each person assessed by their neighborhood. As such, it constitutes the earliest known listing of those few people who lived in the region that became Union Parish in 1839.
2. Spanish Poste d’Ouachita: The Ouachita Valley in Colonial Louisiana 1783 – 1804, and early American Statehood, 1804 – 1820, by Dr. E. Russ Williams, Jr., Williams Genealogical Publications, Monroe, LA, 1995. This is the only work I have seen devoted to the history of northeastern Louisiana for the period between 1780 and 1820. Dr. Williams makes several references to events and places in present-day Union Parish.

Confederate Military Resources:

The following published works deal with soldiers or companies of soldiers who served the Confederate cause from Union Parish Louisiana.

1. The Story of Camp Moore and Life at Camp Moore Among the Volunteers, by Powell A. Casey, Bourque Printing, c1984. Approximately five hundred Union Parish soldiers trained and were mustered into the service of the Confederate States of America at Camp Moore. Named after Louisiana Governor Thomas O. Moore, the camp opened in the late spring of 1861. It is located in present-day Tangipahoa Parish north of Lake Pontchartrain. It was on the rail line connecting New Orleans to Jackson, Mississippi, and far away from the poor water and mud of New Orleans. This work describes life at Camp Moore in 1861 and early 1862.
2. "A Collection of Louisiana Confederate Letters," edited by Frank E. Vandiver and published in the Louisiana Historical Quarterly, XXVI (1943), pp. 937 – 974. This collection of letters was written by the sons of Eaton and Dorcas Stokes Lee of Union Parish Louisiana. These letters give a fascinating glimpse into the experiences of ordinary Confederate soldiers during the war.
3. The History of Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, by D. W. Harris and B. M. Hulse, New Orleans, 1886. Reprinted 1976 by the North Louisiana Historical Association. This work includes a history of the 31st Louisiana Regiment written by an officer in the regiment. Around three hundred Union Parish soldiers served in this regiment, so the history describes their experiences as well.
4. Irish Rebels, Confederate Tigers: A History of the 6th Louisiana Volunteers, 1861 – 1865, by James P. Gannon, Savas Publishing Company, Mason City, Iowa, 1998. The first wave of Union Parish men to enlist in the Confederate Army belonged to the 6th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. After training at Camp Moore in south Louisiana in the spring of 1861, this regiment joined the Army of Northern Virginia and served under General Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. This work gives the history of this regiment.
5. Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units 1861 – 1865, by Dr. Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr., Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 1989. This incredible work is a must for research into the histories of Louisiana Confederate military units.
6. The Defense of Vicksburg: A Louisiana Chronicle, by Allan C. Richard, Jr. and Mary Margaret Higginbotham Richard, Texas A&M University Press, College Station, 2004. Over four hundred Union Parish soldiers serving in Company C, 17th Louisiana and Companies G, H, and I, 31st Louisiana Infantry Regiments saw action during the Vicksburg campaign of 1862 – 1863. This work gives an excellent account of the Louisiana soldiers at Vicksburg.
7. Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg, by Dr. Timothy B. Smith, Savas Beatie, New York, 2004. This work describes the events surrounding the Yankee victory at the Battle of Champion's Hill (Baker's Creek to the Confederates) on 16 May 1863 that led Confederate General John C. Pemberton to withdraw his army into the defensives of Vicksburg, thus beginning the siege. As a precursor to Champion Hill, Dr. Smith includes a long discussion on the Battle of Port Gibson on 1 May 1863. Approximately four hundred Union Parish troops in the 17th and 31st Regiments participated in the Battle of Port Gibson, with several soldiers in the 31st captured and sent north to Yankee prisons. The 17th and 31st Regiments performed picket duty on the Big Black River during the Battle of Champion Hill and took no part in the fierce fighting there. However, over two hundred other Union Parish soldiers serving in Companies E and I, 12th Louisiana Infantry Regiments did participate in the action on May 16th, with several Union Parish fatalities.
8. "Battle of Chickasaw Bayou", by Major J. E. Gaskill, published in the Confederate Veteran, Vol. XXXIII (1915), p. 128.

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This page was last updated on 6 March 2010.

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