USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume I > Part 13
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Boatner, a post-hamlet and station in the southern part of Jack- son parish, is situated at the junction of the Tremont & Gulf and
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Wyatt & Donovan R. Rs., and about 12 miles south of Vernon, the parish seat.
Boatner, Charles J., lawyer and politielan, was born at Columbia. Caldwell parish, La .. Jan. 23, 1849: studied law and was admitted to the bar in Jan., 1870; was elected a member of the state senate in 1876, but resigned in May, 1878: was a candidate for Congress in 1884, but was defeated by Gen. J. Floyd King, who was the in- cumbent at the time. He was elected to the 51st, 52nd, and 53d Congresses, and received the certificate of election to the 54th, but his seat was declared vacant March 20, 1896. At a special election held June 10, 1896, he was elected to the short term of the 54th Congress as a Democrat. He died March 21. 1903. at New Orleans.
Bob, a post-hamlet in the southeastern corner of Grant parish. is about two miles west of Little River and 6 miles southeast of Pollock. the nearest railroad station.
Bodcau, a village in the southern part of Bossier parish, is a sta- tion on the main line of the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific R. R., about 12 miles east of Shreveport. It has a money order postoffice, an express office, and is a trading center for the neigh- borhood.
Boeuf River, a post-hamlet in the northeastern part of Caldwell parish, is situated on the river of the same name, about 5 miles northeast of Riverton, the nearest railroad station, and 9 miles northeast of Columbia, the parish seat.
Bogalusa, one of the newest and most important settlements in the state is located in the eastern part of Washington parish about a mile west of the Pearl river, on the New Orleans Great Northern R. R., and about 20 miles southeast of Franklinton, the parish seat. in the very heart of the heavily wooded yellow pine belt. It was named from the "Bogue Lusa." a small stream, on both banks of which the town is built, and the name contracted to Bogalusa. About 1904 the Goodyears of Buffalo, and other eastern capitalists. began to acquire immense tracts of timberland in Tangipahoa. Washington and St. Tammany parishes, and up into Pike and Marion counties. Miss. After securing several thousand acres, the Great Southern Lumber company was organized. and cooperated with others, holding control of a few miles of railroad known as the Eastern Louisiana R. R., in operation between the Pearl river and Covington. This led to the organization of the New Orleans Great Northern R. R., and in 1906 the main line was built through Bogalusa from Slidell. The transportation problem having been solved, as well as the water facilities provided by the Pearl river, the mill and town site was selected midway in the company's hold- ings, giving them access on all sides to their timber. At that time the ground upon which Bogalusa stands was unbroken forest, today it is a growing town with over 4.000 inhabitants. Lumbering is the principal industry. The company has built the largest saw-mill under one roof in the world, and the product of the mill is a fortune in itself. At present Bogalusa is simply a saw-mill settlement, though far ahead of many old Louisiana towns in population and
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modern improvements. The First National bank of Bogalusa has a paid up capital of $25,000, and has the honor of being the first national bank instituted in Washington parish. Bogalusa has a newspaper, two hotels-the Workingman's hotel for the employes and a hotel intended for a resort, as Bogalusa is in the famous "Ozone belt." an ice factory, a modern 80-room hospital built at a cost of $35,000, for the uses of the company's employes, as well as the general community, a model schoolhouse, costing $25.000 and employing 5 teachers, a colored school, as well as up-to-date water, sewerage and lighting plant systems. One of the most important industries is the pulp and paper mill. which can use the immense quantities of material on every hand.
Boisblanc, Pierre Hardy de, a successful planter and influential citizen of Louisiana about the close of the French domination, was a member of the superior council that issued the order for the expulsion of Gov. Ulloa from the colony, and was otherwise active in the Revolution of 1768. For his participation in this event he was arrested by order of Gov. O'Reilly on Aug. 21. 1769: was tried and convicted, and sentenced to six years' imprisonment. He was taken to Havana and confined in Morro Castle, where he remained until 1771, when all the prisoners sentenced as conspirators in the revolution were liberated through the intercession of the French government.
Boisbriant, Sieur de, who administered the affairs of the colony for something less than a year, between the departure of Bienville for France in 1725, and the arrival of Gov. Périer in 1726, was one of the prominent men connected with the early years of Louisiana. He first arrived in the colony on Dec. 7, 1699, with a commission as major at Fort Maurepas, and was left in command of a small gar- rison at the fort when Bienville removed his headquarters to Mobile in 1702. He was a cousin of Bienville, who employed him in many important and dangerous services, was a brave and valiant officer and served the colony altogether for some 25 years. He was later sent by Bienville to take command in the Illinois district, where he established the strong post on the Mississippi, later known as Fort Chartres. His services were rewarded with the cross of St. Louis, brought him by Director-General Duvergier, July 15, 1721, and he also held the office of king's lieutenant and was a . member of the superior council of the colony. He came down from the Illinois and served as governor ad interim, when Bienville was recalled to France in 1724, owing to the machinations of his enemies in the province. Boisbriant, a little later, suffered the same fate, the chief instrument in his downfall being the commissary, De la Chaise, who had been sent to the colony in 1723 by the India com- pany, "to exercise inquisitorial powers over the affairs of Louisiana, and to report on the conduet of the administrators of the colony to the government" (Gayarre).
Boleyn, a post-hamlet near the western boundary of Natchi- toches parish. is a station on the Texas & Pacific R. R., abont 20 miles west of Natchitoches, the parish seat.
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Bolinger, a village in the northern portion of Bossier parish, is a station on the main line of the St. Louis Southwestern R. R., about 4 miles south of the Arkansas line. It has a money order postoffice, an express office, and is the trading center for a considerable dis- trict. The population in 1900 was 200.
Bolivar, a post-hamlet in the northern part of Tangipahoa parish, - is a station on the Kentwood & Eastern R. R., and is about 12 miles northeast of Amite, the parish seat.
Bolton, a post-hamlet in the northern part of Vernon parish, is situated on the Quelqueshoe, abont 10 miles south of Jerguson, the nearest railroad station.
Bonami, a village in the northwestern part of Calcasieu parish, is a station on the Kansas City Southern R. R., about 5 miles south of De Ridder. It has a money order postoffice, express and tele- graph offices, and is a shipping point of some consequence.
Bonaparte, Lucien, Prince de Canino, a brother of Napoleon, was born at Ajaccio, Corsica, in March, 1775. He was educated at the college of Autun and the military school of Brienne; was elected to the council of 500 in April, 1798; and after the return of Napoleon from Egypt became president of that body. In Dec., 1799, he was appointed minister of the interior, and in Nov., 1800, was sent as ambassador to Spain. At Madrid he negotiated the treaty of March 21, 1801, modifying the treaty of the previous October, which receded the province of Louisiana to France and gave the duchy of Tuscany to the Duke of Parma, who was to receive the title of King of Etruria. On Oct. 15, 1802, Charles IV. of Spain signed Bonaparte's treaty on condition that "France must pledge herself not to alienate Louisiana, and to restore it to Spain in case the King of Etruria should lose his power." It was under this arrangement that Spain opposed the transfer of Louisiana to the United States a year later. In 1804 Lucien Bonaparte became an exile at Rome, and some years later was ordered to quit the con- tinent of Europe. In 1810 he embarked for the United States, but on the voyage was captured by an English cruiser and held a pris- oner in that country until 1814. After the abdication of his brother he advocated the claims of Napoleon II, after which he retired to Italy and there devoted the remainder of his life to literary pursuits. He died at Rome in 1840.
Bonaparte, Napoleon, one of the greatest generals in history, was born at Ajaccio, Corsica, Ang. 15, 1769. Before he was ten years old he entered the military school at Brienne, France, where he remained for over five years, when he went to Paris, completed his education in the military school of that city, and in Sept., 1785, entered the army as a lientenant of artillery. Napoleon first came into notice on Oct. 5, 1794, when, at the head of 5,000 troops, he crushed 30,000 of the national guards in an hour's time. Larned says: "That was the opening hour of his career." He then led an expedition to Egypt, but in Oct., 1799, he returned to Paris, formed an alliance with Sieves, a veteran revolutionist, and accomplished the overthrow of the directory. On Nov. 9, 1799, he was chosen
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first consul under a new constitution, with power that was almost absolute. The next two years he devoted to the recovery of Italy and the humiliation of Austria, the most noted battle of the cam- paign being that of Marengo, which was fought on June 14, 1800, and resulted in the complete defeat of the Austrian army. Simul- tancously with the establishment of his power in Europe he under- took the work of regaining some of the French possessions in Amer- ica. He persuaded Charles IV. of Spain that if Louisiana belonged to France it would stand as a bulwark between Mexico and the United States, and would also serve as a protection to Spanish commerce on the Gulf of Mexico. The consequence was that the province was receded to France by the treaty of St. Ildefonso, which was concluded on Oct. 1, 1800. (See Treaties.) Napoleon's next step was to provide a thorough system of government for the colony. The principal officials under this system of government, with their salaries, were a captain-general, 70,000 francs ; a colonial prefect, 50,000 francs ; a grand judge, 36,000 francs; and a sub-pre- fect for Upper Louisiana, 6,075 francs. He also had struck 270 silver medals for the chiefs of the Indian tribes at a cost of 8,792 francs. His power over Louisiana was of short duration. Spain delayed in making the transfer: Napoleon failed to reestablish French authority in the island of St. Domingo; he also became in- volved in other colonial troubles; a war with England was im- minent, and he foresaw that in the contest his American colony would probably be wrested from him by Great Britain. At this crisis in his career the United States made overtures for the pur- chase of that part of Louisiana lying east of the Mississippi river, and the negotiations ended by the transfer of the entire province to the latter country. (See Louisiana Purchase.) In relinquishing Louisiana to the United States Napoleon dictated the third article of the treaty, which provided for the admission of the inhabitants into the Union "with all the rights, advantages and immunities of citizens of the United States," etc. When the cession was com- pleted he said: "Let Louisianians know that we part from them with regret; that we stipulate in their favor everything that they can desire, and let them hereafter, happy in their independence, recollect that they have been Frenchmen, and that France, in ced- ing them, has secured for them advantages which they could not have obtained from a European power, however paternal it might have been. Let them retain for us sentiments of affection; and may their common origin, descent, language and customs perpetu- ate the friendship."
On Aug. 2, 1802, Napoleon was made consul for life by a decree. of the senate. On May 18, 1804, hie assumed the title of emperor, and on Dec. 2, following, he compelled the pope to crown him as Napoleon I, in the ancient cathedral of Notre Dame. On May 26, 1805, he was crowned king of Italy in the cathedral of Milan. To. follow in detail his movements during the next ten years would require a large volume. The fatal expedition to Russia in 1812 marked the beginning of his downfall. In March, 1814, he signed
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an act of abdication and retired to the island of Elba, of which he was to have the sovereignty, with the title of emperor and an annual allowance of 6,000,000 francs. But he soon grew tired of the life of inaction. On March 1, 1815, he landed in France, near Frejus ; his old troops deserted the Bourbons in a body and flocked to his standard; in Paris he was again received as emperor of France, and with an army of 125,000 men he marched against the allied armies of England and Prussia. The battle of Waterloo, June 18, 1815, completed his overthrow. Upon his return to Paris the house of representatives demanded his unconditional abdica- tion. On the 22nd he did abdicate in favor of his son. Napoleon II, but the representatives further demanded that he leave France forever, and he began making his preparations to embark for America. On July 7 the allies took possession of Paris, and Napo- leon, finding escape impossible, surrendered to Capt. Maitland of the British vessel Bellerophon. He was sentenced by the English government to confinement for life on the lonely island of St. Helena, where he died on May 5, 1821.
Bond, a post-hamlet in the northeastern part of Calcasieu parish, is about 5 miles southeast of Hewitt. the nearest railroad station.
Bonded Debt .- (See Finances, State.)
Bonfouca, a post-hamlet in the southeastern part of St. Tam- many parish, is about 4 miles west of Salmens, the nearest railroad station, and about the same distance north of Lake Pontchartrain.
Bonita, a village and station in the northern portion of More- house parish, is a station on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & South- ern R. R., about 6 miles south of the Arkansas state line, and 15 miles northeast of Bastrop, the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice, 1 free rural mail route, an express office, telephone and telegraph facilities, and a population of about 150.
Bonzano, Maximilian F., physician, politician and planter, was born in the city of Ehningen, Germany, March 21, 1821. In 1835 he came with his father and brother to New Orleans, where he was employed in a printing office until the yellow fever epidemic of 1837, when the father took his two sons to Houston, Tex. Subse- quently they returned to New Orleans and "Max" resumed work in the printing office until he had learned the English language sufficiently well to become a clerk in a drug store, and while em- ployed in this capacity he took up the study of medicine. In 1843 he entered the Charity hospital as a student, graduated, and was a visiting physician to that institution until 1848, when he was ap- pointed by President Polk to the position of melter and refiner of the mint. Here he remained until the breaking out of the war in 1861, when, being opposed to secession, he went north and remained until after the occupation of New Orleans by the Federal forces in the spring of 1862. He then returned to that city and in the fall of 1864 was elected to represent the 1st district in Congress. His seat was contested, and, although a majority of the committee re- ported in his favor, the opposition was strong enough to prevent a vote on the report. On the last day of the session he was voted
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$2,000 to cover his expenses of the contest. After the war he held several official positions, but in 1883 retired to private life and took np his residence on a plantation, which he had purchased in 1878, on the Mississippi river. near Chalmette, the old mansion on the plantation having been Gen. Jackson's headquarters at the time of the battle of New Orleans.
Bordelonville, a village in the eastern part of Avoyelles parish, is a station on the line of the Louisiana Railway & Navigation com- pany, about 12 miles southeast of Marksville, the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice and a population of about 150.
Boré, Jean. Etienne de, the pioneer sugar manufacturer of Louisi- ana, was born at Kaskaskia, Dec. 27. 1741. a descendant of an old Norman family, one of his ancestors, Robert de Boré, having been one of the councilors of Louis XIV. In his boyhood he was sent to France to be educated, and upon leaving school became one of the king's mousquetaires. In 1768 he returned to Louisiana to see about some property there, but went back to France and was com- missioned a captain of cavalry. In 1771 he married a daughter of Destrehan, who had been at one time treasurer of Louisiana under the French domination, and settled on a plantation in St. Charles parish, about 6 miles above the city of New Orleans, where he devoted his attention to indigo culture. This business proved to be unremunerative and in 1794 he turned his attention to sugar. Notwithstanding the advice of his friends he planted a crop of cane, and while it was growing built a mill for converting the crop into sugar. Others had failed in this effort, but in 1795 he succeeded, selling that year $12,000 worth of sugar, an event that revolution- ized the agriculture of the delta. He was subsequently mayor of New Orleans under the Lanssat regime: was a member of the first territorial legislature : and was one of those who agreed to be responsible for $10,000 to reimburse Gen. Villeré to that amount for the defense of New Orleans if the legislature failed to do so. He died in 1819.
Borgne, Lake .- (See Lake Borgne.)
Bosco, a village in the extreme southeastern part of Ouachita parish, is a station on the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern R. R., about 15 miles south of Monroe, the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice and a population of about 50.
Bossier, a village in the western part of the parish of the same name, is a station on the line of the Louisiana Railway & Naviga- tion company, the St. Louis Southwestern and the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific R. Rs., just across the Red river from Shreve- port. It has a money order postoffice, express offices, some good mercantile establishments, and reported a population of 230 in 1900.
Bossier Parish was established Feb. 24, 1843. It was settled subsequent to 1828 by immigration from the South Atlantic states and Mississippi. Prior to 1828, when Claiborne parish was created, all this territory belonged to Natchitoches, one of the original 19 parishes created by the territorial legislature in 1807. From 1828 to 1843 Bossier was a part of Claiborne. The first session of the
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parish jury was held June 19, 1843. The parish seat was established at Fredonia the same year, but the name of the town was changed to Society Hill and finally to Bellevue before the end of the year. In Sept., 1888, an election was held to determine the removal of the parish seat to Benton, but it was not removed for some time afterward. Judge William K. Beck opened the first term of the parish court on Sept. 25. 1843, N. C. Copes was temporary clerk, and J. B. Lowry the first sheriff. All the business of the district appears to have been transacted by the parish court, until Nov. 16, 1846, when Edward R. Olcott, judge of the 17th district, opened court. Bossier is situated in the northwestern part of the state; is bounded on the north by the State of Arkansas; on the east by Webster and Bienville parishes ; on the south by Red River parish, and on the west by Caddo parish, from which it is separated by the Red river. The parish has an undulating surface of 832 square miles, and belongs to the "good upland" parishes. It may be divided into three parts. oak uplands, redlands and bottom lands. The soil is varied but good. a part being of alluvial formation. The uplands between the Red river bottoms and Lake Bistineau are known as "the Points." This tract produces in great abundance, while the Red river bottoms are the richest cotton lands in the state. The "post-oak flats," which extend north from "the points" to the Arkansas line, are cultivated and in the southern portion there is a large tract of rolling prairie. The hills are rich, produc- tive and well timbered. The forests are largely oak, pine. cypress, walnut, gum, beech. holly, hickory, sycamore, poplar and cotton- wood. The parish is drained by Bodcau lake in the central part. and by the Red river and its many tributaries. Bossier is one of the finest cotton divisions of the south and is conspicuously a cotton parish. Besides this great staple it produces corn, hay, alfalfa. oats, sugar-cane, both varieties of potatoes and all the fruits and vegetables common to this latitude and region. From Rocky point northward there is a heavy deposit of iron ore, considerable ore is also found near Bellevue, near which there is a brown coal belt about 30 miles long. and as early as 1861 salt works were in opera- tion at Lake Bistineau. The Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific R. R. traverses the southern part of the parish, running east from Shreve- port ; the St. Louis Southwestern enters the northern boundary near Arkana, and runs south through Benton to Shreveport; the Louisi- ana Railway & Navigation company's line runs southeast from Shreveport along the Red river, and the Minden, East & West R. R. is building a line northeast from Shreveport. Cheap transpor- tation is afforded by steamboats on the Red river. Besides Benton, the parish seat, the most important towns are: Alden Bridge, Allentown, Antrim, Atkins, Vanceville. Bolinger, Haughton, Belle- vue, Plain Dealing and Rocky Mount.
The following statistics concerning farms, manufactures and population are taken from the U. S. census for 1900: Number of farms, 3,212; acreage, 278.524; acres under cultivation, 128,423; value of land and improvements exclusive of buildings, $2,671,490;
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value of farm buildings, $579,210: value of live stock, $553,824; total value of all products not fed, $1,534,390. Number of manufac- turing establishments, 57; capital invested, $1,377,829; wages paid, $231,805; cost of materials used, $711,052; total value of products, $1,191,264. The population for 1900 was 5,262 whites, 18,890 colored, a total of 24,153, an increase of 3,823 over the year 1890. The estimated population for 1908 was over 27,000. The recent discovery of oil and natural gas in this section of the state has added to the importance of Bossier parish, and the census of 1910 will doubtless show a much larger percentage of increase, both in population and wealth.
Bossier, Pierre Evariste, member of Congress, was a native of Louisiana, of a Creole family which was among the first to settle in the French colony. He received a classical education and became a politician. After serving for 10 years in the state legislature, he was elected a representative from Louisiana to the 28th Congress as a Calhoun Democrat by a large majority, and served from Dec. 4, 1843, until his death, which occurred at Washington, D. C., April 24, 1844.
Boudreaux, a post-hamlet in the central part of Terrebonne parish, is situated on the western shore of Lake Quitman, about 12 miles south of Houma, the parish seat and most convenient railroad station.
Bougere, a village in the southeastern part of Concordia parish, is on the Mississippi river and a station on the Texas & Pacific R. R. It has a money order postoffice and is a shipping point of some importance.
Boughton, a post-hamlet in the southeastern part of Richland parish, is on Little creek, about 10 miles southwest of Mangham, the nearest railroad station.
Bouligny, Dominique, United States senator from Louisiana, was born in Louisiana and was the son of Francisco Bouligny, who came to Louisiana with O'Reilly. He was educated in the public schools ; studied law and practiced in New Orleans ; was elected U. S. sena- tor from Louisiana (in place of Henry Johnson, resigned). He served from Dec. 21, 1824 to March 3, 1829; died at New Orleans, La., March 5, 1833.
Bouligny, Francisco, soldier, was born at Alicant, Spain, March 5. 1735. The family originally came from Milan, where the name was spelled "Bolognini," but one of the ancestors of Francisco was captured by the French, which led to a change in the orthography. At the age of 18 years, Francisco entered the Spanish service as a cadet, and in 1762 he was ordered with his regiment to Havana. His first appearance in Louisiana was in the summer of 1769, when he came with Gov. O'Reilly. He carried the letter of O'Reilly from the Balize to New Orleans, notifying Aubry of the arrival of the Spanish fleet. When O'Reilly left the province Bouligny, remained at New Orleans at the head of his regiment, having mar- ried earlier in the year, 1770, Louise d'Auberville, daughter of the marine commissioner of Louisiana. He served with Galvez in the
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