MULATTOs in OPELOUSAS - 1850s
Linda Alexander
Hi:
Just came upon this newsgroup, & hope SOMEONE might can shed a bit of
light on a well-hidden subject. Help, PLEASE, if you can.
I'm searching out my LA roots. My mother was born & raised in New
Orleans. Her mother was born & raised in New Orleans. HER mother,
apparently, was born & raised in the Opelousas area, I think a town
named Washington.
Anyone know of the name Dessessarts in Opelousas/Washington? My
g-g-grandmother, Allecia L. Dessessarts was born circa 1849-1851,
probably in Washington. I've searched every documentation I can
find--the Hebert books, local Opelousas & LA libraries, genealogical
societies, etc, etc--& find no record of Allecia's birth, or her life
prior to her life w/a man named Robert A. Rowe.
There were Dessessarts in Opelousas in the mid 1850s, prominent in
local gov't, from France, to St. Dominique, to New Orleans, to
Opelousas. They were fairly well-off sugar planters. This line was the
Dechanet Dessessarts. There were also Tainturier Dessessarts. I'm not
sure where the line was drawn or how they were different. Allecia was
born of one of the families, but I believe she was either illegitimate,
or "naturalized" by the church but never taken in by her father's
family. I THINK her mother was a Gradenigo, also, apparently, a
well-known name in the Opelousas area. She was also mulatto.
My g-grandmother, Clara Rowe, Allecia's daughter, left her Opelousas
family, her husband, her children, & moved to Houston & re-married. . .a
very white man. No one ever knew of her "mixed" heritage. I uncovered
the information while doing my genealogy.
The questions (long-winded, I know): Would the fact that she was of
mixed blood be why she might have no birth records? Anyone know any
info on the Dessessarts? Or Gradenigos the un-recorded Gradenigos? Can
someone tell me about the ways of family life in mid-1800 S LA when it
seems it was commonplace to have a "respectable" family, & also a
mulatto family, w/children w/little contact w/their paternal sides?
Again, sorry for being so wordy. Any insights will be appreciated.
-- Linda Alexander
Darrel Toepfer
Passed through the town of Washington just an hour ago... ;-)
There are none of that name listed in Louisiana nor the USA for that
matter. ;-(
Very popular names however are: Deshotel, Deshotels, Desormeaux, Deville,
etc.
Sorry... Rowe however is a very popular name in La. and is very widely
distributed throughout the state. Of the last name you mentioned I found
only two in the state:
Gradenigos, Richard A, Carencro, LA Gradenigos, Richard A, Oakdale, LA
As for life during those times, you'll need to take a trip to the
library...
--
Darrel Toepfer
Administrator
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Linda Alexander <twin...@erols.com> wrote in article
<35A18150...@erols.com>...
Bob McBride
look in the books published by Rev. Donald J. Heber, Southwest Louisiana
Records. You have some years in mind and these books contain a wealth of
information from Church and Civil records dating from 1750 forward. Not
every library has them but we do here in Corpus Christi, TX so I suspect
that they are in many other libraries.
Linda Alexander wrote:
--
Bob McBride Corpus Christi, TX
http://www.qsl.net/~kk5jc/
http://members.tripod.com/~txbob/
BATH96
are some excellent books about people of color in early Louisiana. Carl
Brasseux's "Creoles of Color in Southwest Louisiana," Mary Gehman's "Free
People of Color in New Orleans," and
"The Forgotten People, Cane River's Creoles of Color. " I forget the name of
the man who wrote Forgotten People, but these will give you insight into how
these people lived and interacted with their "white" counterparts.
Hope this helps some ! Good luck in you search !
Joseph.
BATH96
the Bayou Country." Sorry for any confusion.
Joseph.
cwa (Choupique)
The Histories of the Old Sugar Plantations Along the Spanish Trail
author: Kitty Courts
la.
976.3 co
indepth work ....
found a few Gradenigo's (oppalousas) but no Dessessarts .... within the data
base
searched here in the New Iberia library ,
(the church of later day saints , family search , ancestral files, 1-2-96, a
cd archive)
knowing how many archive’s are set up you no doubt will have to search
through multiple data base sources i.e this church ... that church ....
this region .... that region .... also keep in mind many index's may have
been
lost after the northern troops came through , pages ripped out of log books
,
complete index's trashed or lost through transport , burnings etc ...... who
knows ....
i will say from what i have been taught relative to the relationships of ppl
here in south la. prior to the civil war there was "not" many racial
tensions ....
many of the teachings for separation came in after the war ....
prior to the conflict "we" worked side by side , played side by side etc
....
many plantations were controlled by ppl of color which is another
topic not shared with the children today ....
such is the way of new teachings , hopefully some day
more books will be acknowledged as to how our relationships were in
reference
to "this topic" prior to the northern influx of government .... i do not
have any source
books relative to the older wayz of life here in south louisiana , perhaps
in time
more titles/authors will be posted , to give back the older teachings of how
we actually lived together .... before the campaign for separation
it may be an idea to research the sugar planters of the Washington area ,
try to locate where
some of those families histories are logged , which church was in existence
at a select time/area
churches may have transferred documents , church records may have been
destroyed etc ....no tellin....
(try to isolate logs for a given area/churches)
best to ya
Choupique
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Linda Alexander wrote in message <35A18150...@erols.com>...
Phillip Tassin
cwa (Choupique) wrote:
> many plantations were controlled by ppl of color which is another
> topic not shared with the children today ....
It is also fact that these "free people of color" who owned plantations were
also slave owners, yet another topic not shared these days.
Phillip
cwa (Choupique)
yes ...
from my understanding these are some of the families from my understanding
that had closer relationship's with one another , children were allowed to
mingle more so than on other plantations. food , clothing , medication was
shared more openly also ....
a slaves "nationality" was not as much a barrier for relationships as on
other
plantations that were not owned/controlled by "free people of color" , not
to say that all plantations that were not controlled by the "free people of
color" were any different , any harsher or better than the other , also i am
told some of these "free people of color" eventually changed names after the
northern
governments came in , thus washing away their heritage due to social
disgrace that was a new teaching , to be part of African or which ever
nation was not accepted , this is where many "original" family names were
discarded , ripped out of books , heck again even complete index's tossed
....
a great pictorial site of the "slave" experience and be viewed at
http://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/images_aa19
this is a child page of
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
which is at http://www.nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html
i would like to mention the day Lincoln freed the slaves with the same
stroke of his pen he granted the annihilation of the Planes People
.......(still searching for link)
Choupique
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cwa (Choupique)
To My Readers,
I hope you will find this book both a learning experience
and a reading experience. I have enjoyed researching and writing
this book, and my aim is to share this information with as many
people as possible through readership.
The history of the Spanish Trail is very interesting as
well as colorful. In researching this books , I became aware
of so many landmarks that were reall right out my back door
that i never knew aobut. It is fascinating tolearn that this
area was not forgotten during the other times of history that
are made so well known to us. My aim is to enrich all of our
lives by amking us aware of the historical times and landmarks
that are so to speak right out of our back door and down the
Old Spanish Trail.
Enjoy your reading and i look forward to being able to
share and teach you all this new knowledge.
-Kitty Courts-
****
Kitty was born and raised on a sugar plantation situated
on the Old Spanish Trail, in the area of Volume One.
****
there will be several more volumes of this series
that will tell the history of plantations of Iberia ,
St. Mary , St. Martin,Lafayette, Vermillion Parishes ,
as well as other parishes in teh State of Louisiana
********
from: Down the old Spanish Trail (Volume1)
by: Kitty Courts (la976.3cou)
pg.185
In the 1800's under the laws of Louisiana
a free person of color was able to leagally
own porperty, both real estate and movable,
and slaves. Many free persons of color were
planters and slave owners. To be considered
a free person of color ,under the laws of
the state of louisiana , a person had to be
born of a white person and a slave or a free
person of color, or two free persons of color.
If a child had a white mother or father and a
colored motheror father, that child was
considered a mulatto under the laws of the
state of louisiana. To be considered a
free person of color , a child or a person
had to be given their freedom through an act
of maumission by their former slave owner and
set free. Many times the former slave owner
gave the free person of color land , slaves,
and money to help them get started in their new
life. At this time , in the state there were
several plantations owned and operated by free
people of color.
a book worth looking into ....
Choupique
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Darwin Fontenot
>
> To My Readers,
> I hope you will find this book both a learning experience
> and a reading experience. I have enjoyed researching and writing
>
> ********
> from: Down the old Spanish Trail (Volume1)
> by: Kitty Courts (la976.3cou)
>
> www.cajunwebads.com/circle
Interesting. Where can one aquire this book. Do you have a isbn #.
Darwin Fontenot
cwa (Choupique)
walked right out the front door ....
seems to be a very giving place that building called the library ....
pickin atcha ,
isbn 09658756-0-1
this book is filled with names ....
Choupique
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Darwin Fontenot <"dfontenot"@pdq.net> wrote in message ...
Darwin Fontenot
doesn't have it.
Thanks, appreciate it
Darwin Fontenot
Darwin Fontenot
squirrel hunting a few miles west of Sulphur. I walked into the woods
north of Hwy 90, about a hundred yards, and stumbled into a clearing that
was depressed into the ground about five feet deep. It was not so much a
clearing as it was a path, about twenty feet wide and ran east and west
as far as I could see. It was pretty overgrown but certainly distinct.
Anyway, so much for old places.
Buy the way, this was very near the cutoff (on Hwy 90) to Choupique. I
know of one other place called Choupique. It's a few mile east and south
of Duralde.
Darwin Fontenot
cwa (Choupique) wrote:
>
>snip......
>
> The history of the Spanish Trail is very interesting as
> well as colorful. In researching this books , I became aware
> of so many landmarks that were reall right out my back door
> that i never knew aobut. It is fascinating tolearn that this
> area was not forgotten during the other times of history that
> are made so well known to us. My aim is to enrich all of our
>snip......
cwa (Choupique)
i know the area you are speaking of , dont ever recall stoping anywhere
around there , will mention to a friend to look into it , who knows , may
very well turn up something , ..... you mention a few miles west of Sulpher
do ya recall any landmarkings close to where you stopped ? in the 60's ....
before or after the cutoff to Choupique think hard maybe scrape a bit of
rust off of ya memory *grin* .... thanks for mentioning it ....
a couple more places called Choupique
connecting the Bayou Teche (Iberia Parish) and Lake Fausse Point is Teche
Lake Canal , from behind Loreauville ,a boat launch on Choupique canal ,
goes into theTeche Lake Canal , its named Choupique landing. up the water
wayz a bit futher into the lakes is a natural feed , it drains from crawfish
ponds , the crawfish larva go out to the lake with this drainage. when the
moon breaks the horizon an the the Sun is at bout 3:00pm we walk the sides
of this feed and fish bass
its spawning season , they spawn futher up into the swamp and come out to
feed in that cut, water about 1 1/2 deep on both sides, cypress knees
everywhere cept in the cut itself , the feed maybe 4' where it dumpes into
the lake, lost many a good lure in those cypress stumps , lost many a good
fish & let many a good sow go ....
we never carry a string of fish while walking in, we hang our catch by the
gills on the cypress knees as we walk inward.... alwayz a funny sight to
look back towards the lake seeing those fish hanging on stumps ,the trail
one has taken while fishing .... , on the way out we gut & string the fish
, i alwayz fish the south side of the feed .... its amazing how these fish
turn on , one can fish there all day , but untill the moon breaks the
horizon you arent gonna catch .... Choupique's stumps are on the south
side of the feed ....
at sunset we alwayz get a kick when we pull up to the boat launch in our 12'
bateaux that leaks from every other rivet and its10hp seahorse, hop out walk
over to the people fishing from the banks and give away some of the catch
some of the bigger bass guyz hang around the launch an chat to see who is
catchin what an where .... and they are still wondering where the heck we
fish ....
Choupique
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p.s. .... we clock the moon .... and we never fish after sunset
Darwin Fontenot <"dfontenot"@pdq.net> wrote in message ...
Darwin Fontenot
Choupique. Going west, it's about 1/8 to 1/4 miles west of the Choupique road.
I crossed into the woods directly across (and to the west, a little) from the
house with all the fighting roosters in the yard. If you pass by it you'll know
which one I'm reffering to. That's my beau-frere's house.
Choupique road is about 5 - 7 miles west of Sulphur on Hwy 90.
A map of all the small and old places in South La. would be interesting.
cwa (Choupique)
thanks bunches
will be certain to have whoever mention a hello to roosters for ya or
anyone else that may be see
if i end up goin i will give the hello's myself ....
thanks again
Choupique
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Darwin Fontenot <"dfontenot"@pdq.net> wrote in message ...