USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume I > Part 41
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Davis, a post-hamlet in the northwestern part of Catahoula par- ish, is near the northern boundary on a branch of Little river, about 4 miles southeast of Standard, the nearest railroad station, and 23 miles northwest of Harrisonburg, the parish seat.
Davis, Jefferson, soldier and president of the Southern Confed- eracy, was born in what is now Todd county, Ky., June 3, 1808, the youngest of ten children born to Samuel and Jane (Cook) Davis, the former of Welsh and the latter of Scotch-Irish descent. While still in his infancy the family removed to Bayou Tèche, La., and thence to Wilkinson county, Miss., where Jefferson received his elementary education. At an early age he entered Transylvania university at Lexington, Ky., but on Sept. 1, 1824. he was appointed a cadet in the U. S. military academy at West Point, where he graduated on July 1, 1828, and entered the army as brevet second lieutenant of infantry. After serving at various places on the fron- tier, he was made first lieutenant of dragoons on March 4, 1833, and ordered to Fort Gibson, I. T. He resigned his commission in the army on June 30. 1835, and returned to Mississippi ; was a presi- dential elector from that state in 1844: elected to Congress in 1845; and in the War with Mexico was colonel of the Ist Mississippi in- fantry. He participated in the battle of Monterey, where he- was appointed on the commission to arrange the terms of capitulation, and was severely wounded at Buena Vista. From 1847 to 1851 he was a member of the U. S. senate from Mississippi: was secretary of war from 1853 to 1857; and was then again in the senate until the breaking out of the Civil war in 1861. On Jan. 21, he with- drew from the senate: was inaugurated at Montgomery, Ala., as the provisional president of the Confederacy on Feb. 18, and four days later as president under the permanent organization. From that time until April, 1865, Mr. Davis' career was a part of the history of the Confederacy. During this period he resided at Rich- mond, Va., the Confederate capital, and when the evacuation of that city was seen to be inevitable, he advised his wife to take their children and go to North Carolina, saying: "If I live you can come to me when the struggle is ended, but I do not expect to sur- vive the destruction of constitutional liberty." After the surrender of Gen. Johnston's army in North Carolina Mr. Davis rejoined his family in Georgia and made an effort to reach the Trans-Missis- sippi country. A reward of $100.000 had been offered for his appre- hension on a charge of complicity in the plot to assassinate Presi- dent Lincoln, and early on the morning of May 10, 1865, he was captured near Irwinville, Ga. He was taken to Fortress Monroe, where he was kept in confinement until May 14, 1867, when he was delivered to the civil authorities on a write of habeas corpus and admitted to bail. the bond being furnished by Horace Greeley. Gerrit Smith and Cornelius Vanderbilt. In the meantime he had
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. been indicted for treason in May, 1866, and although he repeatedly asked for a trial his request was not granted. The case was finally dismissed. After his release Mr. Davis spent some time in Canada, and after a trip to Europe located at Memphis, Tenn., where he became president of a life insurance company. This was consoli- dated with another Memphis company in 1874, when he made an- other trip to Europe, and upon his return to this country rented a cottage at Beauvoir, Miss., and began writing "The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government," which was published in 1881. During the years succeeding his discharge by the U. S. supreme court he made numerous addresses throughout the Southern States, two of these being at New Orleans on the occasions of the dedica- tion of the monuments to Albert Sidney Johnston and Stonewall Jackson. Mr. Davis died on Dec. 6, 1889, at the residence of Judge Charles E. Fenner in New Orleans. His body was taken to the city hall, where it lay in state in the council chamber, many people coming to take a last look at the features of the man who had . presided over the Southern Confederacy during its existence. He was finally buried at Richmond, Va.
Davis, Mary Evelyn ("Mollie Moore"), was born at Talladega, Ala., in 1852. She was the daughter of Dr. John and Marion Lucy (Crutchfield) Moore and was reared and educated on a plantation in Texas. In 1874 she married Maj. Thomas E. Davis, and is known as the author of "Minding the Gap, and Other Poems," "In War Times at La Rose Blanche," "An Elephant's Track," "Under Six Flags," "The Price of Silence," and other novels.
Dawson, John B., planter and member of Congress, was born at Nashville, Tenn., in 1800. He removed to Louisiana and became a planter; was elected to the lower house of the state legislature, where he served for several years; was judge of the parish court ; was elected a representative from Louisiana to the 27th Congress as a Democrat, and reelected to the 28th. He died on June 26, 1845, at St. Francisville, La.
Deaf and Dumb Institute .- The state school for educating and training industrially the deaf youth of Louisiana was established as a part of the free school system in the year 1852, and has been in continuous operation ever since. The school started with an enrollment of only 12 pupils, but there are now, according to the last report of Superintendent S. T. Walker, 148 pupils attending the school-87 boys and 61 girls. The total number who have re- ceived instruction since the organization of the school is 608. Practically all of these pupils have now become self-supporting, and many are heads of families. There was held in 1908 at the institute in Baton Rouge a large reunion of the former pupils and their friends, when a permanent organization was effected, and similar reunions will doubtless be held at stated intervals in the years to come.
The curriculum of this school embraces common school studies, and the boys in addition are given a very fair working knowledge of the following trades : cabinet making and carpentry, printing and
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type-setting, shoe-making, harness making, house painting and decorating. The girls are taught plain and fancy sewing and cook- ing. . The course of study requires from 10 to 12 years, as a be- ginner has absolutely no written or spoken language to start with. Classes therefore are necessarily small. Not more than 10 can be well taught by a single teacher. Superintendent Walker states in his last report that 48 new pupils were enrolled during the past two years, and the corps of teachers was increased from 8 to 12 in number. He says, "to put the school where it should be to do good work. especially in the industrial department, the state should appropriate sufficient money to meet the imperative demands. The whole plant, also, for safety and economy and comfort, should have a modern heating and lighting system instead of the danger- ous fireplaces now used. The school has progressed in the last two years, but there is yet much to accomplish to place it on the plane it should occupy, namely, that of the best average schools of its kind in the nation."
To the honor of the state, the school is entirely free, and there is no reason why every deaf child in the state should not avail him- self of its splendid privileges.
De Blanc, Alcibiade, jurist and patriot, was a native of Louisiana and a descendant of St. Denis, who figured so prominently in the early history of the colony. He was born in the parish of St. Mar- tin, Sept. 16, 1821, and there grew to manhood. After a liberal education along general lines, he took up the study of law and rose to eminence in that profession. In 1873 he successfully led the citi- zens of St. Martin parish in opposition to Gov. Kellogg's tax col- lectors and metropolitan brigade, and the following spring was one of the leading spirits in the organization of the White League, which temporarily overthrew the carpet-bag government in Sept., 1874. Judge De Blanc was not merely an agitator, but possessed many of the attributes of the true hero. He loved justice and fair play, and his actions during the period above mentioned were dic- tated by his sincere desire to improve the conditions of the people of the state. From 1877 to 1880 he was one of the justices of the Louisiana supreme court, having been appointed to that position by Gov. Francis T. Nicholls, and while a member of that tribunal his decisions showed him to be well versed in the law. He died at his home in St. Martinvile on Nov. 8. 1883.
Debouchel, Victor, historian and legislator, was the author of a work entitled "Histoire de a Louisiane, depuis les premières décou- vertes jusqu'en 1840," which was pubished in 1841. A review of the history says: "The work is interesting and the style clear and concise. The aim of the author was to write a history for schools, but which might be read with profit, even by men of culture. The dates are very carefully given at the beginning of every paragraph treating of a different subject. and the contents of each chapter are indicated by a well-chosen title." Mr. Debouchel was a member of the Louisiana legislature which met on Feb. 9, 1846,-the first
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under the constitution of 1845-and was otherwise prominent in the public affairs of the state.
De Bow, James Dunwoody Brownson, for many years editor of the "Commercial Review" of New Orleans, and a prominent politi- cal economist, was born in Charleston, S. C., July 10, 1820. in his young manhood he was employed for seven years in a commercial house in his native city, and graduated from Charleston college in 1843. He was admitted to the bar of his state in 1844, but did not engage in the practice of the legal profession to any great extent. In 1845 he went to New Orleans, and very soon after his arrival there he commenced to make preparations for the issue of the above mentioned periodical. Mr. De Bow was active in other fields than the editorial while a resident of New Orleans. In 1848 he was appointed professor of political economy and commercial statistics at the University of Louisiana. At the same time he was active in assisting in the founding of the Louisiana Historical society- which organization was the genesis of the academy of science of the present day. He left his chair at the university in 1850 to as- sume charge of the census bureau in the state, in which capacity he continued to act for three years. He was made superintendent of the census bureau by Pres. Pierce in 1853, and continued in this office for about two years, and at the same time actively editing the "Review." He was also very active on the platform, his main addresses being along the lines of political economy, and were in the main delivered before literary, commercial, and agricultural :associations, throughout the country. He contributed many arti- cles of interest on American topics to the Encyclopedia Britannica. In 1853 he published a two-volume work entitled "Encyclopedia of the Trade and Commerce of the United States." During the same year he edited a three-volume publication entitled "Industrial Resources and Statistics of the Southwest." In the year 1854 he collected and compiled for publication a greater part of the material of a three-volume edition of the "Statistical Review of the United States," which was a compendium of the seventh U. S. census. So highly did Congress esteem this work that it ordered 150,000 copies printed. "The Southern States, their Commerce, Agriculture, etc .. " by De Bow, appeared in 1856, as did his treatise on "Mortality Statistics." His earthly existence was terminated on Feb. 27, 1867, at Elizabeth, N. J.
De Bow's Review .- For many years prior to the Civil war this publication was one of the leading commercial, industrial and liter- ary magazines in the United States. The initial number made its appearance in Jan., 1846, the title page of Volume I, Number 1, announcing that it was "The Commercial Review of the South and West ; a monthly journal of Trade, Commerce, Commercial Polity, . Agriculture. Manufactures, Internal Improvements and General Literature." The main office of publication was at New Orleans, with J. D. B. De Bow as the principal editor, though a branch office under the charge of B. F. De Bow was established at Charles- ton, S. C. The first number contained articles on cotton culture,
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tariff, education, railroads, a number of historical papers on various topics, etc. Among the contributors were Hon. J. R. Poinsett and Col. Gadsden of South Carolina ; Judah P. Benjamin, T. H. Mc- Caleb, E. J. Forestall and Prof. J. L. Riddell of Louisiana, and a number of prominent men of the Northern and Eastern states.
The magazine quickly won its way to popularity, and was the medium through which the leading spirits in the nation's various industries and professions gave their views to the public. In 1853 the scope of the Review was widened and an office was estab- lished in Washington, D. C., in order to be near the sources of official information. The war forced a suspension of the magazine in 1864, but in 1866 it was revived, the main office being at that time changed to Nashville, Tenn., where it was published regularly until sometime in 1870, when its publication was discontinued altogether. There are but very few complete files of De Bow's Review in existence, and he who is fortunate enough to gain access to one of these files will find therein a wealth of historical, com- mercial, and political information such as no other magazine in the country ever attempted to collect or publish.
Decatur, a post-hamlet in the southeastern part of Union parish, 4 miles southwest of Hobson's River Junction, the nearest railroad station, and 12 miles southeast of Farmerville, the parish seat:
Deeds .- Any deed or instrument may be acknowledged before a commissioner of Louisiana, whose certificate under seal will admit it to record. This officer may also certify to the official character and functions of all public officers in the state for which he is ap- pointed. All instruments should be attested by 2 male witnesses beside the Louisiana commissioner or officer taking the acknowl- edgement, who should assign and affix his seal at the same place the witnesses sign. Any acknowledgment made in conformity with the laws of the state where the act is passed is valid here. The official character of the person before whom the acknowledg- ment is made, however, must be properly verified. Every acknowl- edgment or proof of any deed. conveyance, mortgage, sale, trans- fer or assignment. oath, or affirmation, taken or made before a com- mssioner, minister, chargé d'affaires, consul-general, consul, vice- consul or commercial agent, and every attestation or authentication made by them, when duly certified as above provided, shall have the force and effect of an authentic act executed in this state. When they are not executed or acknowledged before a commis- sioner of Louisiana, they must be authenticated, if public records, in the manner prescribed by U. S. Rev. Stat. sec. 906, otherwise in the manner prescribed for affidavits. Acknowledgment of deeds executed within this state, conveying lands situated in or out of the state, may be made before a notary public, or parish recorder, or his deputy. in the presence of 2 witnesses, or it may be drawn up and signed as a privte act, and then acknowledged with the above formalities, or the witnesses may go before the recorder and swear that they saw the party sign. If the grantor be unknown. the officer taking the acknowledgment should in some way be
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satisfied of his identity. Deeds or other papers by corporations are executed by the proper officer in the same form as individuals. No seal or seroll of private individuals is authorized or required by the laws of Louisiana. All instruments concerning real estate must be evidenced by writing, and the act should be duly recorded in the parish where the property is situated. If the act be under private signature it cannot affect creditors or bona fide purchasers, unless previous to its being recorded it was acknowledged by the party, or proved by the oath of one of the subscribing witnesses, and the certificate of the notary be signed to such acknowledg- ment and recorded with the instrument. It is not necessary for a married woman to join with her husband in any act affecting his real estate, unless she has a mortgage or privilege recorded against it.
Deerford, a little village in the northern part of East Baton Rouge parish, is a station on the Zachary & Northeastern R. R., about 7 miles east of Zachary and 16 miles northeast of Baton Rouge. It has a money order postoffice and in 1900 had a population of 25.
De La Chaise .- (See Chaise, de la.)
De Lassus, Carlus Dehault, soldier and lieutenant-governor of Upper Louisiana, was born at Lille, France, in 1764, a descendant of an old family of French nobility. At the age of 18 years he entered the Spanish service as a cadet in the royal regiment of guards, of which the king himself was colonel. Later he was made a captain of grenadiers, and for bravery in the assault on Fort Elmo in 1793 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of his regiment. The next year he was assigned to the command of a battalion of the king's body-guard, but owing to the fact that his father had been driven from France during the Revolution and had found refuge in Louisiana, he asked to be transferred to New Orleans. His request was granted, and he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Louisiana regiment. In 1796 he was appointed commandant at New Madrid ; was commissioned lieutenant of Upper Louisiana on Aug. 29, 1799, to succeed Zenon Trudeau, and remained in that · office until March 9, 1804, when he delivered the province to Maj. Amos Stoddard, a representative of the United States. On that occasion De Lassus issued the following proclamation :
"Inhabitants of Upper Louisiana: By the King's command, I am about to deliver up this post and its dependencies. The flag under which you have been protected for a period of nearly thirty- six years is about to be withdrawn. From this moment you are released from the oath of fidelity you took to support it. The fidelity and courage with which you have guarded and defended it will never be forgotten ; and in. my character of representative I entertain the most sincere wishes for your perfect prosperity."
In the meantime he had been promoted to the coloneley of his regiment in 1802, in which year he had some trouble with the Mashcoux Indians, or Tallapoosa Creeks, 5 of whom were arrested and taken to New Madrid, where De Lassus had the leader exe- cuted by order of the governor-general of Louisiana. After turning
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over the province to Maj. Stoddard, De Lassus remained at St. Lonis until the autumn of 1804, when he was ordered with his regiment to Pensacola, Fla. Subsequently he became governor of West Florida, with headquarters at Baton Rouge, where he was captured by the forces under Col. Philemon Thomas on Sept. 23. 1810. Shortly after this event he resigned his commission and became a resident of New Orleans. He was one of those who signed the agreement of Sept. 17, 1813, to be responsible in solido with Gen. Villere for the sum of $10,000, which the latter would have to borrow for the defense of New Orleans. In 1816 he returned to St. Louis and lived there for about 10 years, at the end of which time he went back to New Orleans and died there on May 1, 1842.
Delcambre, a village in the western part of Iberia parish, is a station on the Southern Pacific R. R., about 10 miles southwest of New Iberia, the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice, telegraph and telephone facilities, and in 1900 had a population of 51.
Delhi, a banking town situated in the eastern part of Richland parish, is at the junction of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern and the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific railroads, just west of Bayou Macon, which forms the eastern parish boundary. It is the trading center for a rich agricultural district ; the principal industries are woodenware factories, cottonseed oil mills and brick yards. It has a bank, a money order postoffice, an express office, telegraph and telephone facilities, and in 1900 had a population of 620.
Delta, one of the oldest of the modern towns of Madison parish, was incorporated Dec. 30, 1869. It is situated on the west bank of the Mississippi just across from Vicksburg, Miss., on the Vicks- burg, Shreveport & Pacific R. R., about 20 miles east of Tallulah, the parish seat. It is in a rice and truck farming district, which supplies the market of Vicksburg and is a large cotton shipping point. It has a money order postoffice, an express office, telegraph and telephone service, and in 1900 had a population of 320.
Delta Bridge, a little post-hamlet in the eastern part of Tensas parish, is about 8 miles west of St. Joseph, the parish seat and most convenient railroad station.
De Muys, who was appointed governor of the province of Louisi- ana by Crozat in 1712 to succeed Gov. Bienville, died while en route to his destination, and consequently never assumed the duties of his office.
Denham Springs, a village in the western part of Livingston parish, is a station on the Baton Rouge, Hammond & Eastern R. R., about 14 miles east of Baton Rouge. It has a money order postoffice, an express office, telegraph and telephone facilities, and its population in 1900 was 110.
Dennis Mills, a post-hamlet of St. Helena parish, is situated on a confluent of the Amite river in the southwestern part of the parish, about 5 miles southeast of Pride, the nearest railroad sta-
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tion, and 16 miles southwest of Greensburg, the parish seat. Its population is about 50.
Denson, a post-hamlet in the southern part of Livingston parish, about 3 miles west of Lake Maurepas, and 11 miles southwest of Springville, the parish seat.
De Quincy, a village in the western part of Calcasieu parish, situated at the junction of the Colorado Southern and the Kansas City Southern railroads, about 20 miles northwest of Lake Charles, the parish seat. It is located in the long leaf pine district, has important lumber industries, a money order postoffice, an express office, telegraph and telephone facilities, and in 1900 reported a population of 66.
Derbigny, Pierre, fifth governor of the State of Louisiana, was born at Laon, France, in 1767. His full name was Pierre Auguste Charles Bourguignon Derbigny, and his family belonged to the French nobility. About 1792, while the revolution in France was in progress, he sought refuge in St. Domingo, but soon afterward came to the United States. At Pittsburg, Pa., he met and married the sister of Chevalier de Luzier, the commandant of the post, and then passed some time in Missouri and Florida, after which he set- tled in New Orleans. He was an accomplished linguist and served as secretary to Mayor Bore until appointed interpreter for the terri- tory by Gov. Claiborne. The first Fourth of July oration ever delivered in Louisiana was delivered by Mr. Derbigny in 1804. He was one of the commissioners who took the memorial to Washing- ton in 1805, protesting against the organization of the Territory of Orleans and asking for the admission of Louisiana into the Union. Subsequently he served as clerk of the court of common pleas; was secretary of legislative council: member of the 1st state legislature ; one of the 1st judges of the supreme court of the state in 1813: served two terms as secretary of state; was regent of the New Orleans schools: assisted Edward Livingston in the revision of the codes; secured a license in 1820 to operate the first steam ferry on the Mississippi at New Orleans; and in 1828 was elected governor. On Oct. 1, 1829, his horses ran away, he was thrown from his carriage and so severely injured that he died five days later, leaving two sons and five daughters.
Derbigny's Administration .- The inauguration of Gov. Derbigny took place on Dec. 15, 1828. In his address on that occasion he paid a glowing tribute to the government of the United States, though he regretted that, in spite of all the advantages offered to the people by a free government, discord had been rife in the coun- try. "Let us," said he, "lay aside all animosities arising from party feeling. all invidious distinctions of. origin and language." He advised economy in the expenditure of the public funds ; declared the question of education to be of vital importance ; and announced the completion of the criminal code by Edward Livingston.
On Jan. 14, 1829, the committee on internal improvements made a report to the legislature on the dangers of inundations from the Mississippi, and recommended an appeal to the general government
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for aid and the services of experienced engineers in the construc- tion of levees. During the session provisions were made for a levee system throughout the state; the New Orleans gas light com- pany was incorporated : and an election was ordered on the ques- tion of removing the capital of the state to St. Francisville. Gov. Derbigny met his death by an accident in Oct., 1829, and Armand Beauvais, president of the senate, became acting-governor, holding the office until Jan. 14, 1830, when Jacques Dupre was elected president of the senate and consequently became acting governor. The legislature of 1830 met at Donaldsonville. Among the acts passed was one ordering an election for governor in July, and directing that one of the candidates voted for at that time should be elected governor by the legislature for a term of four years. The political contest was spirited, four candidates being presented, viz .: Andre B. Roman, W. S. Hamilton, Armand Beauvais and David A. Randall. Roman received 3,638 votes; Hamilton, 2,701 ; Beauvais, 1,478; and Randall, 463.
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