Shelly,
I'm relatively new (6 months) at this family history thing. You sound like you've been doing this for a long time. Any tips for a novice?
My mother's family tree has been fairly easy. The apples fell from the tree, but they didn't roll very far. Many of them born/lived/died in Bay St. Louis Mississippi and the local historical society has wonderful records on-line. I've gotten to the point where I can work backwards from the records. I pull up the records, then figure out where each one fits into the family tree.
My father's side is from Chicago and surprisingly, I'm having a difficult time finding records. I figured it being a large city and all...... but then again, it did burn down once.
You had mentioned the Arch Diocese of New Orleans, so I went and took a look at some of the records they have on-line. It's mostly just a bunch of smeared ink to my eye, but in one of the margins, clear as day, is the name Livaudais. I'm going to have to go back and take a second look, and perhaps learn some French. :)
Regards,
Scott