New Orleans wards & parishes -- please explain

[bubbaray]

My DH was asking me what the parishes and wards were in NO last night. I told him I had no clue, maybe they were electoral districts? Counties? Cities within a city? Are they church-based? Anyone have a link to an explanation, possibly a map??

[egoldber]

In Louisiana, their parishes are equivalent to counties in other states. Wards are areas within a city, typically with their own elected official to represent them on the city wide council.

Parish is unique to Lousiana (as a governmental designation), but ward is a common term in cities across the U.S.

[bubbaray]

Some places here have wards for electoral purposes, but they aren't used for any other purpose. I think that's what he was confused by, as in NO they seem to be using wards for more general purposes.

[MontrealMum]

The parish thing in Louisiana is a holdover from the French regime. We had them here as well for years, but now everything has been more standardized to *somewhat* come in line with the rest of the country. Our parishes are more in line with "neighborhoods" at this point, though that has faded quite a bit too after the Church lost its position with the Quiet Revolution.

In a nutshell, you have parishes and you have seigneuries. Parishes are boundaries that describe, in effect, which parish (church) you were supposed to belong to, and tithe to. Everyone, in effect, belonged to a parish, because only Catholics were allowed to settle in New France. Rules about religion *may* have been more lax in Louisiana. Seigneuries are fiefdoms held in trust from the King of France. Sometimes parish and seigneurial boundaries coincided, sometimes they did not. In Canada, parishes tended to be quite small (neighborhood sized) For example, the island of Montreal was one seigneury, however, it encompassed numerous parishes.

The colony of Louisiana was adminstered separately from Acadia (NB, NS, PEI) and from New France (QC, ON, and what are now the midwestern states). All of the French posessions in North America were under one diocese - Quebec (City). The seigneurial system was not imposed on Louisiana in the same manner as it was in Quebec, therefore the parishes there are much larger than we're used to here in Canada.

Louisiana passed through both French and Spanish hands, preserving its Catholic heritage and the parish system, as well as its unique legal system (civil, not common law) - which were all preserved when it became part of the US. Keeping this system that differed from that of New England and the Chesapeake was probably also helped by large Acadian (after the expulsion) and Quebecois (after the fall of Quebec) immigration.

As a scholar of Canadian history, I have to say I'm surprised at the large size of the parishes, and that they're large enough to correspond to counties, but in history circles the settlement of Lousiana and the lower midwest is seen as "different", so I guess that's part of the difference.

[bubbaray]

Thanks Molly! Makes sense!! :)

[mom2binsd]

Molly..I knew you'd have a little history lesson for us...you are always such a great teacher!!!!!!!! I see University Professor/High School teacher as your calling!!!

[MontrealMum]

Thanks ladies :) All those years of university have to be good for something!!! You make me feel good - especially since I'm sick today.