Brian J. Costello

Brian J. Costello
Brian James Costello is an internationally published American historian, author, archivist and humanitarian. Born December 28, 1966, he is an 11th generation resident of New Roads, Louisiana, seat of Pointe Coupee Parish (county), the center of one of the oldest Creole French and African settlements in the Mississippi Valley. He graduated from False River Academy in New Roads and from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with a major in History and minor in English. He is one of the most recognized, and last, speakers of Louisiana Creole, having been immersed in childhood in the dialect spoken in Pointe Coupee Parish.
An authority in Louisiana and European history, genealogy, flood control, linguistics, culture and religious studies, as well as European dynastic and military history, Costello is one of Louisiana's most published figures. He is the sole author of 18 books, co-author of five books and numerous newspaper columns and features since 1987. Among his co-authored works are Furnishing Louisiana: Creole and Acadian Furniture, 1735-1835, published by The Historic New Orleans Collection, and New Roads and Old Rivers: Louisiana's Historic Pointe Coupee Parish, published by LSU Press. He was editor of the Pointe Coupee Banner newspaper in New Roads, Louisiana during 1988-1996. Costello has appeared in several televised documentaries, including Genealogy Roadshow and Antiques Roadshow, addressing Louisiana history and material and social culture.
Costello is also a Louisiana Carnival historian and advocate, having been active in the preservation and growth of New Roads and New Orleans Carnival krewes, historical documentation and Mardi Gras parade orchestration since 1993. He was chairman of the New Roads Lions Carnival parade from 1993 though 2010, and reigned as King of the Carnival in 2009.
He holds active membership in the American Catholic Historical Association and Catholic Writers Guild and has been recognized as a outstanding advocate of the Lions International charitable works since 1993. He has served as president of Le Cercle Historique, a historical preservation, archival and promotional organization, since its founding in 1992.
In 2009, Costello was named founding historian and archivist of the Historic Materials Collection of the Pointe Coupee Parish Library in New Roads, Louisiana. As such, he is regularly called upon in matters concerning genealogy, history, culture, linguistics from parties around the globe.
In the areas of apostolate and humanitarian works, Costello is active in the Universal Living Rosary Association, Universal Archconfraternity of St. Philomena 9Italy), Associazione Beati Coniugi Maria e Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi (Italy), the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, Association of Marian Helpers, Pious Union of St. Joseph for the Suffering and Dying and the Militia Immaculata Knights at the Foot of the Cross. He was involved in relief efforts and accommodation of sufferers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Gustav in 2008, which rank as two of the most severe and deadliesthurricanes to affect the Gulf Coast region.
Costello has been recognized by a number of institutions for his contributions to historical and cultural documentation and preservation, including the United States Army Corps of Engineers and Mississippi River Commission, the State of Louisiana Office of Culture, Recreation and Tourism and the Confederate Historical Association of Belgium, the latter of which named Costello its Liaison for Louisiana in 2014.
He is married to the former Mary Julie Langlois, who, like Costello, is descended from several of the oldest French families in the Mississippi Valley.

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