My favorite resources are the Southwest Louisiana Records series by Fr. Donald Hebert, 40+ volumes and counting. They contain abstracts of the Catholic Church and civil records from the beginning of the colony to the early 1900s. From these you can contact the church and court house for official or unofficial copies of the actual records. Check for them at a library in your area or a Family History Center run by the Church of Latter Day Saints. Even non-Catholics are often entered in these books.