I recently visited Oak Grove Cemetary in Slidell,LA where I found the grave
of an ancestor, ANTOINE PROVOST, and his wife, LOUISIANA MATILDA CRAWFORD.
On Antoine PROVOST's tombstone was inscribed the following:
ANTOINE PROVOST
A NATIVE OF LOUISIANA
BORN AT APPLE PIE RIDGE APRIL 18, 1837
DIED AT SLIDELL MAY 2, 1910
A MEMBER OF RATHBONE
LODGE 103 KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS
ALSO A MEMBER OF
BONFUCA TRIBE LODGE NO. 51 I.O.R.M
Note: "Bonfuca" is now usually spelled Bonfouca. "I." is the letter "I"
not the number 1.
Above the inscription was what appeared to be a coat of arms depicted within
an oval frame. At the top was a dove in flight. Centered below the dove was
the bust of a knight in armor, his head facing to the viewer's left. A pair
of axes was crossed beneath the knight so that the heads of the axes came up
on either side of the knight's head. Between the bottom ends of the axe
handles was a square. Inside the square was a dagger with its point in the
top left corner of the square and its handle in the bottom right corner of
the square.The letter "F" was on the left, just outside the crossed axes and
the letter "C" was on the right, just outside the crossed axes. A triangle,
with it's point turned downward enclosed everything from the bust of the
knight downward. The bust seemed to be resting on the base or long edge of
the triangle.
1) Does anyone know anything about the membership of the Bonfouca Tribe? I
believe they were part of the Choctaw nation and were centered around
Lacombe, LA. I could be wrong. (Probably am!)
2) Does anyone know anything of the PROVOST family as part of the tribe.
Antoine Provost's father was PETER PROVOST born in Lariant, France on June
23, 1807. His mother was NANCY ANN, aka MARY ANN, "PEACHES" ATKINSON, born
in 1812 in Ms. Her parents were JESSIE and MARY ATKINSON, both of whom were
born in SC.
3) Does anyone know the meaning of the coat of arms or any of its
components?
4) Does anyone know the meaning of I. O. R. M. or the letters "F" and "C"
on the coat of arms? I have been told that there was probably a "B" below
the point of the triangle, but it didn't come through on the rubbing I did.
I have also been told that the "F" "C" and (the missing) "B" are related to
the Knights of Pythias. When asked what they meant, I was told, "I can't
tell you. It's a secret."
5) Which leads to my next question: Does anyone know anything about the
"Rathbone Lodge 103" or the "Knights of Pythias"?
Well, there you have it! Lot's of questions, but one big happy answer. I've
been searching hard for this guy and he was right under my nose all the time.
My grandparents are buried in the same cemetary and I have walked all around
him for years!
By the way, I plotted and indexed the entire cemetary while I was there. I
also did the same for Porter's Cemetary, in Pearl River. If anyone would
like information on them I would be glad to share.
Edie McKinney Talley
MCKINNEY, STRODE (STROAD), CRAWFORD, PROVOST, PORTER, LOPER, MAYFIELD, EVANS,
BOSTWICK, KENNEDY, HARTFIELD, LEWIS, WATTS, JOHNSON, RUDD, ATKINSON
ETalley...@aol.com
