From the inception of the Southwestern Christian Advocate in 1877 until well into the first decade of the twentieth century, the newspaper ran the "Lost Friends" column, which featured messages from individuals searching for loved ones lost in slavery.

This searchable database provides access to 2,450 advertisements that appeared in the Southwestern Christian Advocate between November 1879 and November 1896. Digital reproductions of the "Lost Friends" ads are courtesy of Hill Memorial Library, Louisiana State University Libraries.