From the Deep

About

I’m Lea, a licensed tour guide, Notary Public, and independent journalist in New Orleans.

My family has been in New Orleans for more than 175 years, but my tenure in the city only began in 2008. My ancestors arrived with many Irish immigrants and settled in the Irish Channel where my grandmother’s grandmother had a boarding house on Chippewa Street.

I grew up in the swamp, attending public school through LSU and collecting the Catholic sacraments. I spent a year traveling Asia (teaching English in China) and Europe after college, and moved to the city when I returned. I am proud to represent the Civil Law tradition as a Notary in Louisiana. My outsider perspective, understanding of Louisiana law, and background in journalism drive me to find the truth in the myth.

Lea from the Deep
Lea from the Deep
Credentials

Certificate in New Orleans History, Culture, and Tourism Loyola University ‘24

Master of Business Administration Tulane University ‘13

Bachelor of Arts in International Studies Louisiana State University ‘07

Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication (Print Journalism) Louisiana State University ‘06

Research-based New Orleans experiences

I’ve overhead a lot of tour guides telling wild tales on the tour circuit, but I only became licensed in December 2023. When I started trying to verify many of the stories, I realized they were completely made up for tourism.

I spend my free time in the City Archives, submitting public records requests, scouring the newspaper archives, reading books of others’ research, and searching databases to try to piece together the truth. I publish my research on my blog and sometimes in videos.

My Favorite Research Endeavors So Far

Unraveling the Romeo Spikes Myth
The case of Diddie Cooper
Lalaurie’s Bricked Up Window

I want you to understand the Crescent City (the city you love like I love) more deeply without the varnish created for the tourism industry. Sometimes the truth isn’t pretty, but it is always infinitely more interesting than the myths. I will tell you the stories you know and then give you sources to show what really happened.

“Lea was such an amazing tour guide. For my first trip to New Orleans, Lea made it very interesting and educational. I would love to go back and do a longer tour with Lea. I would highly recommend Lea. She is kind, very friendly and knows her stuff.”

— Happy Customer

Other tours I’ve actually done that I recommend:

You can often find me at museums for a lecture or event. Here are some recent ones that I’ve attended:

  • Bibb, Randy. “The Evolution of Horror Tours in New Orleans,” New Orleans City Archives and Special Collections lecture, October 25, 2025.  
  • Dauzat, Sharon and Frank Perez. “Cultivating Lesbian Community: The Daughters of Bilitis in New Orleans,” Historic New Orleans Collection, October 15, 2025.
  • “Indigenous History: De-Colonizing Bulbancha Tours,” Frank Perez, Jeffrey Darensbourg, PhD, John DePriest, PhD, Joseph Darensbourg. Presented by the Tour Guide Association of Greater New Orleans. Presented at the Williams Research Center of The Historic New Orleans Collection, July 26, 2025.
  • “The Royal Street Corridor: America’s Most Literary Neighborhood?” An In-Person Gallier Gathering with T. R. Johnson, January 8, 2025.
  • “Who were the Economy Society Members?” A Virtual Gallier Gathering with Fatima Shaik, January 10, 2024. Watched September 24, 2024.
  • “The Trail they Blazed,” Dr. Leona Tate, Dodie Smith-Simmons, Hon. Edwin Lombard, and Malik Rahim with moderator Eric Seiferth. Presented by the City Archives and Special Collections, August 17, 2024.
  • “Years without Summer: The Cold Decade in New Orleans and Elsewhere,” A Virtual Gallier Gathering with Dr. Sean Munger, August 14, 2024.
  • “Voodoo: An African American Religion” Book Launch with Jeffrey E. Anderson, LSU Press, March 20, 2024.
  • “St. Joseph’s Night and the Black Masking Indians Panel Discussion,” French Market St. Joseph’s Day Celebration, Dianne “Gumbo Marie” Honore, Darryl Montana, Raymond Lewis, et al, March 9, 2024.
  • “Seeking the Enslaved: Searching the Sacramental and Notarial Records,” An In Person Gallier Gathering with Peter Dandridge and Sarah Waits, Gallier House, May 10, 2023.
Lea from the Deep celebrating Mardi Gras
Contact Me

Let’s make history together