USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume I > Part 42
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The first session of the 10th legislature opened at Donaldsonville on Jan. 3, 1831. Among the members of the house were W. C. C. Claiborne, a son of the first governor of the state; Trasimond Landry, who afterward became the first lieutenant-governor ; Charles Gayarre, the historian; and Alexandre Mouton, who was subsequently elected governor. In the senate was Charles Derbigny, a son of the late governor. Isaac A. Smith was chosen president of the senate, and when Mr. Roman was elected governor by the general assembly Alexandre Mouton suc- ceeded to the office of speaker. The members of the legislature refused to accept the quarters provided for them by the people of Donaldsonville, and on the 6th adjourned, to meet in New Orleans on the 8th. (See Capital.) Although the term for which Gov. Derbigny was elected did not expire until Dec., 1830, Acting-Gov. Dupré did not insist upon holding the office until that time, but with "a rare example of moderation" says Prof. Forbier, relin- quished it to Mr. Roman almost immediately after his election by the general assembly, and the administration of Gov. Derbigny came to an end.
De Ridder, a town of Calcasieu parish, is situated near the northern border, and is one of the most important and prosperous lumbering towns in western Louisiana. It is located at the june- tion of the Gulf. Colorado & Santa Fe, Kansas City Southern, and the Louisiana & Pacific railroads, in the heart of the western long leaf yellow pine district ; has a complete system of waterworks. ob- taining the water from artesian wells, an ice plant, electric lights, a fine public school building that cost $10,000, a number of fine churches, a bank. an international money order postoffice, express offices, telegraph station, telephone facilities, and a number of fine mercantile establishments. The manufacture of lumber is the prin- cipal industry and there are several large saw mills with capacities of 150,000 feet per day. The country around De Ridder is rapidly developing into a fine agricultural district as the timber is cleared,
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and cattle and sheep are exported in large numbers. The town was laid out in 1897 and has had a steady growth, the population in 1908 being estimated at 2,200. Its cotton shipments amount to about 2,500 bales, and wool about 150,000 pounds annually. It is the second largest wool market in the state.
Derouen, a post-hamlet of Iberia parish, is situated on Bayou Petite Anse, and is a station on the Franklin & Abbeville R. R., about 4 miles west of New Iberia, the parish seat. It has a tele- graph station, and in 1900 had a population of 39.
Derry, a village and station in the southeastern part of Natchi- toches parish, is situated on the west bank of the Red river and the Texas & Pacific R. R., about 20 miles south of Natchitoches. the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice, an express office, telegraph station and telephone facilities, and is the shipping and supply point for a rich agricultural district. The population in 1900 was 52.
Desarc, a post-hamlet and station in the northern part of Red River parish, is situated a mile east of the Red river, on the line of the Louisiana Railway & Navigation company, and about 15 miles northwest of Coushatta, the parish seat.
Descent and Distribution of Property .- Legitimate children in- herit from their ascendants withont distinction of sex or primo- geniture, though they be from different marriages. They receive equal portions, when in the same degree, and inherit by their own right; they receive by roots when they inherit by representation, which is recognized in the descending and collateral lines. If one leaves no descendants, but a father and mother, brothers and sis- ters, or descendants of these last, the estate is divided in 2 equal portions, one of which goes to the parents. the other to the brothers and sisters of the deceased, or their descendants. If the father or mother of the person who has died without issue has died before him, the portion which would have been inherited by such deceased parent goes to the brothers and sisters of the deceased, or their descendants. If the deceased has left neither descendants, brothers nor sisters, nor descendants from them, nor father nor mother, but only other descendants, these descendants inherit to the exclusion of all collaterals, as follows : If there are descendants in the paternal and maternal line in the same degree, the estate is divided in 2 equal shares, one of which goes to the ascendants on the paternal, and the other to those on the maternal side, whether the number of ascend- ants on each side be equal or not. In this case the ascendants in each line inherit by heads. But if there is in the nearest degree but one ascendant in the two lines, such ascendant excludes those of a more remote degree. Ascendants, to the exclusion of all others, inherit the immovables given by them to their descendants who die without posterity, but they must take them subject to the incumbrances which the donee has imposed. If a person dies, leaving no descendants, nor father nor mother, his brothers and sisters, or their descendants inherit, to the exclusion of the ascend- ants and other. collaterals. When the deceased has died without
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issue, leaving neither brothers nor sisters. nor descendants from them, nor ascendants, his succession passes to his collateral relations, and among them the nearest in degree excludes the others. Every marriage superinduces of right partnership or community of acquets . or gains, if there be no stipulation to the contrary. The community consists of the profits of all the effects administered by the hus- band, the produce of the reciprocal industry and labor of both husband and wife, property acquired during marriage by donations made to them jointly or by purchase in the name of either. When either husband or wife dies leaving no ascendants or descendants, and without having disposed by last will of his or her share (one- half) in the community property, such share is held by the sur- vivor in usufruct during his or her natural life, the other half of the community descends to the survivor in his or her own right as owner. Where the predeceased spouse leaves issue of the mar- riage, and does not dispose by last will of his or her share in the community, the survivor takes in usufruct the share of the de- ceased in the community inherited by such issue. This usufruct ceases if the survivor enters into a second marriage. When the deceased has left neither lawful descendants nor lawful ascendants, nor collateral relations. the estate descends to the surviving hus- band or wife, or his or her natural (illegitimate) children, or to the state. A man or woman who contracts a subsequent marriage, . having children by a former one, can give to his wife or she to her husband, either by donation or by last will in full property, or in usufruct, not exceeding one-third of his or her property.
Deshotels, a post-hamlet in the central part of St. Landry parish, is about 6 miles northeast of Villeplatte, the nearest railroad sta- tion, and 12 miles northwest of Opelousas, the parish seat. In 1900 it had a population of 50.
De Soto, Hernando de (sometimes written Ferdinando), who led the first expedition of white men into what is now called the State of Louisiana, was born at Estremadura. Spain, about 1496. His first visit to America was in 1519, with Pedrarias Davila, who was afterward governor of Darien. In 1528 he left the service of Davila and explored the coast of Yucatan and Guatemala, seeking for a passage by water from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He next accompanied Pizarro on the expedition for the conquest of Peru. after which he returned to his native land with an honorable record for bravery and enough gold to distinguish him as one of the rich men of Spain. Charles V, at that time king of Spain, borrowed a part of De Soto's fortune and in turn appointed him governor of Cuba and president of Florida. He married the daughter of Davila, his early patron, and in April, 1538, again sailed for the New World. Hearing reports of the fabulous wealth of Florida, he fitted out an expedition for the conquest of that region, and in the latter part of May, 1539, landed at Tampa bay. His ships were sent back to Havana in July, and the following year he began his march westward with a force estimated at 1,000 infantry and 350 horsemen. After wandering for about a year through the
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territory now comprising the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee, and having numerous encounters with the Indians, he discovered the Mississippi river, not far from the mouth of the Arkansas river, in April, 1541. He crossed the great river on rafts and rude barges, continued on his westward course until he reached the highlands along the White river, where he turned southward, passed the hot springs of Arkansas, and spent the winter on the Ouachita river. In the spring of 1542 he descended the Ouachita and Red rivers to the Mississippi. On this last march De Soto was stricken with fever and died about the middle of May, 1542. To keep the Indians from learning of his death a rude coffin was formed of the trunk of an oak tree, in which the body was placed, and on the night of May 21 it was sunk in the middle of the river. It is said that with his last breath he charged his men not to falter in the enterprise which they had undertaken, but the death of De Soto cast a gloom over the expedition and the remnant of his band-about 300 weary and disheartened men under the leadership of Moscoso-endeavored to make their way back overland to Florida, but were unable to do so on account of the persistent annoyance of the hostile Indian tribes. They therefore returned to the Mississippi, built boats and followed that stream to its mouth. Once again upon the Gulf of Mexico they followed the coast westward to Panuco, whence some of them re- turned to Spain with tidings of the expedition,-the first informa- tion of the country west of the great "Father of Waters." In his effort to make his dream of empire a reality, De Soto gave his life and dissipated his fortune. Dr. Shea says: "He who had hoped to gather the wealth of nations, left as his property 5 Indian slaves, 3 horses and a herd of swine." Some claims have been made in favor of other explorers as being the discoverers of the Mississippi river, but it is generally conceded that this honor belongs to De Soto.
De Soto Parish, was established in 1843, and received its name in memory of Hernando de Soto, the Spanish explorer who dis- covered the Mississippi river in 1541. In 1795 Pedro Dolet of Bayou Pierre made a settlement on Bayou Adayes or Adaise. The state papers give an account of this ceremony, saying that it con- sisted of pulling grass, making holes in the ground and throwing dust in the air. Missionaries are ever the forerunners of settle- ment, and this proved true in De Soto. The pioneers usually set- tled along the water ways, but as this desirable land was taken up settlement pushed back to the highlands. During the decade fol- lowing 1840 a number of people came from Georgia, the Carolinas, and Alabama. Logansport, on the Sabine river, was founded as early as 1830, and for years was one of the most celebrated trading posts on the western border, but much of its prosperity waned when new towns were established in Texas and Louisiana, especially , when the Red river raft was removed and Shreveport became a cen- ter of trade for the north and west. Since the railroad was built. and with the rapid development of the lumber interests in the west,
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it has again regained some of its old prestige. In 1835 a treaty ,was negotiated with the Caddo ludians by Jehiel Brooks, on the part of the United States, and Tehowahimmo, Toockroach, Mattan and other Indian chiefs and warriors of the tribe. By this treaty the Caddoes ceded a large tract of land, including that which now constitutes De Soto parish. In 1801 François Grappe had been granted four leagues of land, which the treaty of 1835 approved. Some of these early settlers were the subjects of two monarchies, French and Spanish ; citizens of two republics, Texas and the United States, and resided in three parishes, Natchitoches. Caddo and De Soto, without moving from their homes, such has been the change of boundaries and governments along the western border. The act to create the parish of De Soto was approved in March. 1843, and the first meeting of the parish officers, commissioned by the governor, was held the following June, at Screamerville. The first record of the jolice jury is dated June 5, 1843. Judge Welsh opened the parish court the same day, but the district court was not opened until a year later-by Judge Campbell, May 2, 1844. On June 5, 1843, at the first meeting of the police jury, $200.48 was paid to Gamble & Edwards for a quarter section of land where Mansfield now stands, and the name of Mansfield was then sug- gested and adopted for the parish seat, though the town was not incorporated until 1847. The first road in the parish was at this time ordered to be built. De Soto is an irregular shaped parish in the northwestern part of the state. It is bounded on the north by Caddo and Bossier parishes; on the east by Red River and Natchitoches parishes ; on the south by Sabine parish, and on the west by the Sabine river, which separates it from Texas. It is watered by Cypress bayou along its northern boundary : by Wal- lace lake and Bayou Pierre on the east, and by the Sabine river and its tributary streams along the western boundary. De Soto is in one of the finest oak upland districts and its formation is chiefly good upland and hills. Running across the parish diago- nally, is the divide between the Sabine and Red rivers. Mansfield is located on this divide. The southwestern corner extends into the western long leaf yellow pine district, while there is a little alluvial land along the Sabine river and Bayou Pierre. On the Red river side the country is hilly, productive in the valleys between the Dolet hills, and the Grand Cane district is also very productive. yielding 1,400 pounds of cotton to the acre. The parish contains considerable valuable timber, chiefly oak, pine, poplar, maple, hick- ory, beech, mulberry, a little walnut, and some soft wood varieties. The Dolet hills are cultivated only in small tracts, as they are too broken, but they contain fine native grasses for stock and have a large amount of fine pine timber. The hills contain coal and iron. Cotton is the chief product, though corn, hay, sweet and Irish potatoes, peas, sorghum, and tobacco are also raised. The garden vegetables and fruits native to this latitude and climate all grow in great abundance. The excellent water supply of the parish has led to the development of the live stock industry on a con-
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siderable scale, cattle, sheep, and some horses being raised. De- posits of potter's and fire clay, kaolin, iron, marl, and green sand are found and beds of lignite have been discovered. Mansfield, the parish seat, Benson, on the Kansas City Southern R. R., and Logansport, on the Sabine river, are the principal towns of the parish. Other towns and villages of importance are Butler, Frierson, Gloster, Grand Cane, Keatchie, Kingston, Longstreet, Ox- ford, Pelican and Stonewall. De Soto has excellent transportation and shipping facilities, which will facilitate the development of the parish, and aid in opening up the coal fields. The Kansas City Southern R. R. enters the northeastern boundary at Wallace lake and runs south through Mansfield and Benson; the Texas Pacific R. R. crosses the northern boundary near Stonewall and runs south to Mansfield Junction, thence southeast ; the Houston & Shreveport R. R. traverses the western part of the parish from Logansport on the Sabine river to the Caddo parish line, a short distance north of Keatchie. The markets of the country are thus brought close to the producers of the parish. The following statis- tics are taken from the U. S. census for 1900: number of farms. 3,865 ; acreage, 344,487 : acres under cultivation, 170,327; value of land and improvements exclusive of buildings, $1,817,830; value of farm buildings. $496,870; value of live stock, $581,036; value of all products not fed to live stock, $1.089.856; number of manu- facturing establishments, 42; capital invested, $405,052 ; wages paid, $82,932 : cost of materials used. $289,506; total value of all products, $498,072. The population of the parish in 1900 was 8,160 whites, 16,903 colored, a total of 25,063. an increase of 5,203 over the year 1890. The estimated population for 1908 was over 30,000.
Destrehan, Jean Noel, statesman, was born about 1780. He was a native of Louisiana and one of her citizens while still a province of Spain, and while a territory before admission to the Union. He was speaker of the house in the territorial legislature and in 1811 he opposed admitting Louisiana to statehood. Notwithstand- ing his vote against this act, he was appointed one of the consti- tutional committee and was one of the 7 men who drew up the constitution for Louisiana. When the new - state was admitted into the Union and organized, he was chosen as one of the first representatives in the U. S. senate, being elected senator Sept. 3, 1812, for the term ending March 3, 1817, but resigned before Con- gress opened. He died in 1824.
Diamond, a village of Plaquemines parish, is situated on the west bank of the Mississippi, just across the river from Pointe a la Hache, the parish seat, and is a station on the New Orleans, Fort Jackson & Grand Isle R. R. It has a money order postoffice. an express office, telegraph and telephone facilities, and in 1900 its population was 73.
Dibble, Henry C., lawyer. came into prominence during the re- construction régime as judge of the Sth district court of New Or- , leans, to which position lie was appointed by Gov. Warmoth when the court was established. For some time Judge Dibble "approved
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and sanctioned all the acts of the administration." and at the request of the governor he granted an injunction restraining the auditor from paying warrants against appropriations made to defray the expenses of the legislature of 1871. He was also a stanch sup- porter of the governor in the factional fight of 1872, but later in the year he rendered a decision, in the case of the appointment of F. J. Herron to the office of secretary of state, that was displeasing to Gov. Warmoth, who removed him and commissioned Judge El- more, who had already been elected to the office. Judge Dibble afterward served on the staff of Gov. Kellogg, and it was he who, on Sept. 14, 1874, received the committee sent by the mass meet- ing on Canal street to demand the "immediate abdication" of Kel- logg. A committee of the legislature, appointed at the special ses- sion of 1875, reported that Judge Dibble, as acting attorney-general, had advised the payment of unlawful warrants against the interest fund, and recommended that he be "addressed out of office." After the state government of Louisiana was restored to the people, he, like many others who had been active in upholding the reconstruc- tion policy, retired from public life.
Dickard, a post-hamlet of Tensas parish, is situated in the south- western part near the Bayou Macon, about 13 miles west of St. . Joseph, the parish seat, and 10 miles northwest of Locust Ridge, the nearest railroad station.
Dime, a post-hamlet in the southeastern part of Plaquemines parish, is situated on the east bank of the Mississippi river, 2 miles east of Happy Jack, the nearest railroad station.
Dimitry, Alexander, educator and diplomat, was born in New Orleans, La., Feb. 7, 1805, the son of Andrea and Celeste (Dragon) Dimitry. His father (the original Greek form of whose name was Demetrios) was a native of the Island of Hydrea, off the south- east coast of Greece. This family was of Macedonian origin, prominent members of it having been among a colony of Mace- donians and Albanians, who left their homes in northern Greece in the 17th century, in order to live among their Greek compatriots of the south. This band colonized the nearly uninhabited island of Hydrea and started a new race, the Hydriotes. Celeste Dragon, Alexander's mother, was a native of New Orleans. Alexander was educated at home, by private tutors, and for several years afterward attended the New Orleans classical academy. He then attended Georgetown university, D. C., where he was graduated, and in 1867 he received the degree of LL. D. After graduation he entered educational work in New Orleans and was appointed professor in Baton Rouge college. In 1834 he left Louisiana to accept an ap- pointment as clerk in the postoffice department in Washington, but 8 years later he returned to Louisiana and established the St. Charles institute in St. Charles parish, which he conducted until 1847, when Gov. Isaac Johnson appointed him state superintendent of education of Louisiana. He served in this office from 1847 to 1851, the first to hold this position in the state. While in office he organized and put in operation the public school system through-
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out the state. In 1854 he returned to Washington, having been appointed head translator of foreign diplomatic correspondence in the state department. While still holding this position President Buchanan appointed him in 1859 U. S. minister to the republics of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the seat of legation being at San Jose de Costa Rica. When the Civil war broke out and Louisiana seceded from the Union, he resigned and returned to the United States. In a short time he was appointed chief of the Confederate bureau of finance of the postoffice department, with rank as as- sistant postmaster-general. When peace was declared he moved to New York and Brooklyn, but in 1867 he returned to New Or- leans, where he resided until his death. In 1870 he accepted the appointment of professor in the Christian Brothers college at Pass Christian, Miss. During his life he was distinguished as a scholar, linguist, orator, lecturer, writer and diplomat. In 1830-35 he wrote seven short stories for the Annals of New York and Philadelphia. He contributed to different magazines; was familiar with eleven languages, ancient and modern ; was a prominent Odd Fellow, and one of the founders of the Seven Wise Men, or Heptasophs, in which he held a high position. He was married in 1835 to Mary Powell, daughter of Robert Powell Mills, U. S. government archi- tect, and died in New Orleans, Jan. 30, 1883, leaving 7 children.
. Dimitry, Charles Patton, author, was born in Washington, D. C., July 31, 1837, the son of Alexander and Mary Powell (Mills) Dimitry. His mother was the daughter of Robert Mills, of Wash- ington, D. C., and a granddaughter on her mother's side of Gen. John Smith, of Hackwood, Frederick county, Va., a colonel of Virginia troops in the Revolutionary war, who later served in the Virginia legislature. was a representative in Congress from the Frederick county district, and also a major-general of the 3rd Virginia state troops in the war of 1812. The first American an- cestor of Charles Dimitry, on the maternal side, was Col. Miles Cary of Warwick county, Va., who belonged to the knightly family of Carys of Clovelly and Cockington of Devonshire, England, and who was born at Bristol in 1620. He emigrated to America about the middle of the 17th century and became a member of the king's council. Charles Dimitry received his early education at the St. Charles institute, established by his father, but continued his edu- cation in different academies and private schools until 1856, when he entered Georgetown university, his father's Alma Mater, where he was graduated in 1867, receiving the degree of M. A. For a few years he was engaged in clerical work in New Orleans, and entered the Confederate army as a private when Louisiana seceded from the Union. At the close of hostilities he engaged in editorial work in New York; did some literary work and wrote several stories ; between 1865 and 1874 lie was connected at different times with the World, Graphic. News and Star of New York and the Union of Brooklyn. He was on the staff of and contributed to various journals throughout the country, such as the Commercial Advertiser of Alexandria, Va., the New Orleans Bee, and the Daily
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Patriot of Washington, D. C. He invented and patented in the United States and some foreign countries a "pen preserving ink," which did not corrode steel pens. At different times he published several works in book form. His first novel, entitled "Guilty or Not Guilty," was published in 1864 in the Magnolia Weekly of Richmond, Va., "The House in Balfour Street" was published in 1868, and "Gold Dust and Diamonds" was published in Frank Leslie's illustrated paper. In addition to this he contributed to several other magazines and wrote a series of historical papers on Old Louisiana under the title of "Louisiana Families" for the Times Democrat of New Orleans: "Louisiana Story in Little Chap- ters," for the Picayune of New Orleans, and "Glimpses of Old Louisiana," for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Some of his articles have appeared under the noms de plume of Tobias Guarnerius, Jr., and Braddock Field. He is a member of the Louisiana society, Sons of the American Revolution, and an ex-member of the Louisi- ana Historical society. In June, 1871, he married Annie Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Reuben Johnston, a lawyer of Alexandria, Va. She died in 1880, leaving no children.
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