USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume I > Part 58
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79
Freeland, a post-hamlet in the eastern part of West Feliciana parish, is 2 miles southwest of Jackson, the nearest railroad sta- tion.
Free Masons .- Masonry in Louisiana dates back to Nov. 21, 1793, when Parfaite Union Lodge at New Orleans was granted a charter by the grand lodge of South Carolina, and on March 30, 1794, the following officers were installed: Laurent Sigur, W. M .; Laurent Chouriac, S. W .: Andres Wackernie, J. W. Before the close of the year 1794 another lodge-Etoile Polaire, or Polar Star
-
474
LOUISIANA
Lodge-was organized in New Orleans, and in 1796 it received a provisional charter from the provincial lodge "la Parfaite Sincerite" of Marseilles, France, the first officers being Duprelong Petavin, W. M .; Chev. Desilets, S. W .; F. Marc, J. W., who were installed according to the French Rite. On March 1, 1802, Charite Lodge received a charter from the grand lodge of Pennsylvania, and the same authority granted charters to Concorde and Perseverance Lodges on Oct. 27, 1810. These five lodges united in forming the Louisiana grand lodge, which was organized on June 12, 1812, and on Aug. 15, 1812, all surrendered their charters and accepted a new charter from the grand lodge of Louisiana, Parfaite Union becoming No. 1 under the new arrangement; Charite, No. 2; Concorde, No. 3; Perseverance, No. 4, and Etoile Polaire, No. 5. Under these re- spective names and numbers these five lodges are still in existence. The first officers of the grand lodge were: P. F. Dubourg, Grand Master; L. C. Moreau Lislet, Deputy Grand Master; J. Blanque, Grand Senior Warden; Francis Pernot, Grand Junior Warden ; Jean B. Pinta, Grand Treasurer ; J. B. Gregoire Veron, Grand Sec- retary.
In 1848 a second grand lodge was organized and for two years there were two rival branches of the fraternity in the state. In that year Felix Garcia was master of the old grand lodge and M. R. Dudley of the new. The following year Luc. Hermann was elected master of the old lodge and John Gedge of the new, and the following year the two grand lodges were consolidated under the original charter of 1812.
For more than a decade after the panic of 1873, the Masonic fraternity all over the country felt the effects of the depression, and Louisiana was no exception to the rule. In 1886 the order num- bered but slightly over 4,000, the increase during the year having been but 59. By 1890 the membership had increased to 4,246, and in September of that year the fraternity received a fresh impetus through the following preamble and resolution which were reported to the grand lodge by a committee consisting of G. W. Bolton, WV. C. Warren, George Soule and John C. Wickliffe:
"Whereas, the provisions of the resolution of the grand lodge of Feb. 11, 1890, have been carried into effect as regards the sale of the temple property. the preparation of plans and specifications and the reception of bids for the demolition of the grand lodge hall at the corner of St. Charles and Perdido streets, and the erection thereon of a Masonic temple; and whereas the amount specified in said resolution is inadequate for said purposes ; therefore, be it
"Resolved, that the sum of $100,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated for the erection of the said Masonic temple, and that the grand master, by and with the ad- vice of the board of directors of the grand lodge hall. be and is hereby authorized to contract for the erection of the said Masonic temple on the site of the present grand lodge hall, at the corner of St. Charles and Perdido streets, for a sum not exceeding $100,000,
.
475
LOUISIANA
and to sign and execute all contracts and other instruments of writ- ing requisite in the premises."
Work on the new temple was commeneed on Oct. 20, 1890, and in Jan., 1892, the building was completed. With the erection of a new Masonie home the interest in the affairs of the organization increased, both among the members and the uninitiated, and the result was a rapid and substantial growth of the fraternity in the state. The report of the grand secretary for 1909 shows 202 lodges, with a membership of 12.414.
The Louisiana grand chapter, Royal Arch Masons, was organ- ized in March, 1813, and in May, 1848, was reorganized under the jurisdiction of the national grand chapter. In 1908 there were 27 chapters in the state, located in the following towns and cities in numerical order: two in New Orleans, Farmerville, Shreveport. St. Francisville, Franklin, Bastrop, Monroe, Opelousas, New Iberia, Zachary, Coushatta, Ruston, Evergreen, Amite, Alexandria, Natch- itoches, Arcadia, Lake Charles, Hammond, Donaldsonville. Welsh, Leesville, Rodessa, Crowley, De Ridder and Baton Rouge. The membership in these chapters was about 2,500. At the same time there were nine councils of Royal and Select Masters, located at New Orleans, Monroe. Opelousas, New Iberia, Coushatta, Alex- andria, Natchitoches, Lake Charles and De Ridder.
The Louisiana grand commandery, Knights Templars, received its charter on Feb. 12, 1864. In 1908 there were 10 commanderies, located as follows: two in New Orleans. Shreveport, Monroe, Alex- andria, Hammond. Welsh, Zachary and Lake Charles, the total membership being in round numbers 700.
In addition to these regularly organized Masonie bodies of the . York Rite there is the Louisiana Consistory of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, with headquarters in New Orleans : Jerusa- lem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ; the Masonie Veterans' Association, and about 40 chapters of the Order of the Eastern Star-the "Ladies' Degree."
French Domination .- Though the actual period of French rule in Louisiana only extended from 1699 to 1766, when the Spanish Antonio de U'lloa arrived to take possession in the name of Spain, that comparatively brief period of rule has left a profound impress on the manners, institutions and life of the people of the region. This influence, even today, manifests itself in many different ways, and the later Anglo-Saxon infusion has never been powerful enough to displace but only to modify the basic Latin strain. Religious be- lief and observances, social customs and habits, educational and political development, language, names and nomenclature, and the physical characteristics of many of the people, alike attest the in- fluence of the French on the development of Louisiana.
As the 17th century approached its last quarter the French, long before domiciled in Canada, were becoming more and more the adventuring and exploring race for the great central portion of the American continent. If the Spaniards, through De Soto and other early explorers, had gained some knowledge and title to the
-
476
LOUISIANA
Mississippi valley, they had long ago abandoned it. About this period the French in Canada began to hear many stories concern- ing a mighty river which lay to their west. These tales were brought in by Indian, trader and missionary and aroused much in- terest, particularly as it might lead to the discovery of a shorter trade route to the South sea and the orient. Definite information concerning the Mississippi was first acquired in 1673 through the daring voyage of Marquette and Joliet (q.v.), who descended the river to a point below the 33d degree of latitude, and learned that it emptied into the Gulf of Mexico instead of flowing west. Strange as it now seems, the French government was very dilatory in act- ing on the valuable knowledge thus gained, though it finally reaped the fruits of this earlier voyage through the indomitable courage and perseverance of the brave Robert Cavalier de La Salle, who reached the mouth of the Mississippi on April 9, 1682, and in ac- cordance with the then custom, took possession in the name of France, by right of discovery, of the whole of the vast valley through which the river flowed, and named it in honor of his king, Louisiana. Failing in his subsequent attempt at colonization in 1784, and meeting a wretched and undeserved death in a lone Texas wilderness, it was not until 14 years later, in 1698, that Iberville set out from France to make the second attempt at colonizing the country. France then proceeded to play her part in the great game of strategy with Spain and England for the control of the Missis- sippi basin. Forts and settlements on the lower Mississippi and gulf would provide Canada with a double outlet to the sea, and secure to France the free navigation of these waters, while the English colonies on the Atlantic would be hemmed in by the great French possessions of Canada and Louisiana. Spain, after two centuries of opportunity, had failed to seize the control of the lower Mississippi and had fastened her grasp on the islands and mainland farther to the south. Iberville's little squadron with its burden of 200 colonists and a company of marines came to anchor on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 1699, in the harbor north of Ship island. Iberville was not long in learning from the coast Indians of the near proximity of a large river to the west, called by the natives "Malabonchia," and, as it was his intention to found his settlement on the Mississippi, he and his brother Bienville searched out the mouth and ascended the river a distance of 100 leagues, but failed to find a suitable location on the Mississippi at this time, hence he established the first French colony on the northeast shore of the bay of Biloxi.
·
The growth of the colony was very slow, notwithstanding fresh colonists and considerable quantities of supplies were sent over periodically. The establishment of plantations and the pursuit of agriculture were neglected by the settlers, who wasted their efforts in a vain search for precious metals. Most of the young French soldiers and settlers sent over as colonists were ill fitted to cope with the privations and trials incident to their strange environ- ment, and many of them died from exposure. By far the best ele-
.
477
LOUISIANA
ment in this early population was the Canadian. In 1702 after England had declared war against France and Spain, the French government ordered the removal of the headquarters of the colony from Biloxi to the Mobile river, where it remained until 1719, when headquarters were again established on the Bay of Biloxi. Priva- tion and sickness, political intrigue and dissension marked the earlier years of the colony. The colonists were repeatedly on the verge of starvation, and were either succored by the neighboring Indians or by the timely arrival of supplies from France. The tire- less Bienville prevailed over his enemies by sheer force of charac- ter, and during the major portion of the period until 1841 ruled the destinies of the colony. Contrary to the expectations of the Crown, the colony had not proved self-sustaining, but continued year after year to be a heavy charge on the exchequer. This was the chief reason that the rich merchant Crozat, in 1712, was given a practical monopoly over the commerce, navigation and settlement of the whole province of Louisiana for 15 years, the government retaining little more than the prerogative of sovereignty. (See Crozat Grant.)
The extraordinary powers granted to the Western Company, which succeeded Crozat, were to run for a term of 25 years, and its general plan and organization were not unlike that of the British East India Company. The company owed its inspiration to the celebrated financier John Law, who had established his bank in 1716, and now prevailed on the regency of France to adopt his credit plan to free France from her enormous burden of debt. The vast potential resources of the Mississippi valley were to be exploited, and were to be an important prop to Law's credit and monetary system. Law's system collapsed in 1720, but the Mississippi val- ley had received a tremendous advertisement, and Louisiana had profited greatly in many ways through the activities of the com- pany. Between Oct., 1717, and May, 1721, over 7,000 persons had been sent to the colony in 43 vessels. When the company assumed control of the province in 1717, there were only 700 persons all told in the colony. Large grants of land were made to wealthy men in France, and plantations were opened by them at widely separated points, even as far north as the Arkansas river. At it was obligated to do by its charter, the company had annually sent to the colony from 300 to 500 blacks, who were distributed among the various plantations, and soon formed an important element in the popula- tion. They had become numerous enough in 1724 to call for special laws, and Gov. Bienville promulgated his famous "Black Code" in that year. which, with few alterations, remained in force for nearly 80 years. The company had wisely reinstated Bienville as governor and commandant in 1717, and his influence was sufficient to bring about the establishment of the capital of the province on the banks of the Mississippi at New Orleans in 1722. Bienville ever urged the cultivation of the soil as the only true basis of pros- perity for the colony, and the fertile banks of the Mississippi -had long been favored by him and his adherents as the proper place for the chief establishment. Though Law's failure had checked col-
478
LOUISIANA
onization and greatly retarded improvements on the concessions, still the company persisted in its plans, and colonists continued to arrive, the bulk of whom settled on the Mississippi after the found- ing of New Orleans.
The Royal Indian Company, which succeeded to the rights of the Western Company in Louisiana in 1723, sent over most of these new colonists at its own expense. They were largely drawn from the very poor and even the criminal elements of Paris and other cities of France. Ignorant as most of them were of all that per- tained to farming, nevertheless they were brought to labor on the new concessions. Some succumbed to the climate, some returned to France to spread evil reports of conditions on the Mississippi, but enough remained to bring about a slow growth in population. The company also made several shipments of girls designed as -wives for the settlers, and many of these, as the so-called "casket girls," had been carefully reared and came over in charge of nuns, who gave them proper care until such time as husbands were chosen for them. Indigo and tobacco were important staples of the region, the tobacco monopoly enjoyed by the company being . alone sufficient to indemnify it for all its expenses, had it properly attended to its cultivation and curtailed its expenditures for sal- aries, troops, fortifications, and fruitless expeditions in search of precious metals. Trade and commerce never attained to large proportions under the French, and imports were always largely in excess of exports. The colony never became self-sustaining even, but remained dependent for at least part of its supplies on the mother country and the surplus agricultural products of the upper river country. The fur trade down the Mississippi early attained to considerable proportions, one large shipment being made in 1705, when the French voyageurs in the Indian country around the Wabash collected from the several hunting posts in that region some 10,000 deer and 5,000 bear skins, and sent them down the Ohio and Mississippi, mostly in open boats. When these early merchants arrived at the mouth of the Bayou Manchac, they pro- ceeded by the inland passage to Biloxi and Mobile. At the latter point, the cargo was transshipped to France, where it arrived in safety and proved to be profitable to all concerned in the venture. The voyageurs who made the 1.400 mile trip by river and lake, never returned home, but settled in Louisiana. A decade or two later, the pioneer settlers of the Illinois country were sending down the river agricultural and other supplies, as well as products of the chase. In 1731, when Louisiana again became a crown colony, the total exports of the valley only amounted to $62,000, of which 65 per cent were skins shipped from the upper river country. There was little improvement under the French crown, as the estimated export trade of the colony in 1763 was as follows: Indigo, $100,000; deer skins, $80.000; lumber, $50,000; naval stores, turpentine, etc., $12,000; rice, peas and beans, $4,000; smuggled trade, $54,000; total, $304,000.
When, in 1719, in consequence of the war between France and
.
479
LOUISIANA
Spain the province also became involved in hostilities. Gov. Bien- ville acted with great energy. He twice captured the town of Pensacola, and also sent detachments to hold back the Spaniards from upper Louisiana and along the Rio Grande. Despite his great services, Bienville was charged with extravagance, nepotism, self- seeking, etc., and was superseded by Gov. Perier in 1726. Bienville retired to France to meet his detractors, and did not return to Louisiana again until 1734.
When Jolin Law's German settlers on the Arkansas found them- selves deserted by their patron, they came down the river to New Orleans, hoping to obtain a passage back to France. The govern- ment. was unable to provide this passage and prevailed upon most of them to remain in the colony. They were granted small tracts on land on both sides of the river, about 30 miles above New Or- leans, at what is known as the German coast, where they settled and engaged in agricultural pursuits, and became the market gar- deners for the capital. This was the origin of the German popula- tion of New Orleans. Most of these Germans became thoroughly Gallicized in course of time, and their descendants today speak the French language, while some of their Teutonic names have been translated into French. Prof. Deiler has written very inter- estingly about them.
The six years of Perier's administration of the colony were marked by several important happenings. There were a number of improvements wrought in both the architectural and social fea- tures of New Orleans. The importation of vagabonds and crim- inals to the colony had already ceased, stringent penalties were placed upon all forms of gambling, and steps were taken for the promotion of education and religion. The city of New Orleans presented a most disorderly and squalid appearance in the begin- ning. The engineer de la Tour, who had been commissioned by Gov. Bienville to lay off the town, had performed his work as well as could be expected. Stakes were driven, lines drawn, streets marked off and named, town lots granted. ditched and palisaded. a rude levee thrown up along the river front, and the scattered settlers of the neighborhood gathered into the form of a town. The plan of the capital comprised a parallelogram of 4,000 feet on the river by a depth of 1.800, and was divided into regular squares of 300 feet, front and depth. Most of the houses, however, were merely board cabins of split cypress, thatched with cypress bark, and scattered confusedly over the swampy ground. (See New Orleans.)
The well known map of New Orleans, made in Périer's day, shows the town protected by a levee and laid off in rectangular form, having 11 squares front on the river by a depth of 6 squares.
Near the close of 1729 the French sustained their greatest dis- aster. Their prosperous posts at the Natchez and the Yazoo were completely destroyed and over 250 of the French settlers were massacred. As a result, the colonial authorities inaugurated a number of long and expensive campaigns against the hostile Nat-
480
LOUISIANA
chez, and their allies the Chickasaws. The Natchez tribe was practically exterminated and lost their tribal identity, their sur- vivors taking refuge among the Chickasaws. There is little doubt that the Indians at this time hoped to exterminate the entire French population of Louisiana, but that disaster was averted by the energy with which Perier acted, and by the failure of the great tribe of Choctaws to take sides against the French. When Gov. Bienville returned to the colony in 1734, he signalized the closing years of his administration by two futile campaigns against the Chickasaws. (See Indian Wars.) As a further result of the Natchez outbreak the city of New Orleans was provided with a number of defensive works, including a ditch around the entire city, and some forts were also erected on the river below Natchez. The French having incurred the lasting enmity of the warlike tribe of the Chickasaws suffered much in their commerce on the Mississippi by reason of the predatory attacks of that tribe. The Indian troubles involved large expenditures for the defense of the colony, and the India Company in 1731 decided to surrender its charter. Its petition to this effect was granted by the Crown, though the charter still had a life of 11 years, and Louisiana once more became a crown colony. The change was marked by some important administrative changes. The superior council was reor- ganized, Louisiana was detached from the jurisdiction of New France, and the Illinois country though settled by Canadians was made a part of Louisiana. Perier remained in the colony as gov- ernor for a year under the new regime, and was then superseded by the veteran Bienville. The latter again came under the censure of his government in 1741, and on May 10, 1743, was succeeded by the Marquis de Vaudreuil as governor. The new governor was a gentleman and courtier and his administration was filled with grandeur and elegance, fashion, ceremony, and the culture and polish of continental etiquette. The 10 years of his rule, however, brought little real advancement to the colony. The population re- mained practically stationary, while the current expenses continued to increase. The budget for Louisiana which amounted to $59,686 in 1742, had increased to $172,191 in 1752, tlie last year of his ad- ministration. Commerce received a considerable stimulus through the exemption from duties on exports and imports between Lou- isiana and the mother country and between the former and the French West Indies. Agriculture, too, was in a more thriving state; the culture of the sugar-cane was introduced by the Jesuits in 1751, and considerable quantities of such staples as tobacco, indigo, rice, cotton, corn and vegetables were produced. Still the colonists in 1746 were forced to appeal to France for relief from threatened starvation. The English had captured some French vessels loaded with provisions, and a hurricane had destroyed the rice crop, on which the colonists were mainly dependent for bread. Relief came only with the arrival of several convoys of provisions from the Illinois country. France continued her vicious policy of forbidding those crops to be raised in the new settlements which
481
LOUISIANA
were raised at home. The chief settlements were on the river above New Orleans, and after the great massacre the Natchez dis- trict remained almost depopulated. Many Indian uprisings oc- curred during these years, and Vaudreuil even had trouble with the Choctaw nation, the traditional friends of the French. The Chick- asaws continued their marauding operations on the Mississippi, and were also known to have stirred up much of the trouble among the friendly Choctaws. Vaudreuil led an expedition against them in 1751, but did not succeed in bringing the tribe into subjection.
Gov. Vaudreuil was transferred to the government of New France and was succeeded as governor of Louisiana by the veteran sea captain. Kerlérec, who arrived at New Orleans on Feb. 3, 1753. The English were now in the Ohio valley, and were claiming and exercising the right to come to the left bank of the Mississippi. Their agents were active in stirring up trouble among the Indians, and he had hardly settled down to his work of administration when active hostilities broke out between the French and English in the Ohio valley and in Canada. His administration covers the whole period of the Seven Years' war, which cost France the whole of her possessions in America. The dissolute and incapable Louis XV neglected the colony most shamefully, and the brave Kerlerec with the feeble resources at his command could do little to stem the tide of disaster. He was unable always to obtain from home even the necessary supplies with which to bribe the Indians to a con- tinued allegiance. Instead of increasing the military establishment in the colony, the troops were actually reduced in number, and with such forces as he had he was expected to guard the line of the Mississippi, and to maintain the province in a state of defense. In 1758 when the British captured Fort Duquesne, the French gar- rison came down the river to New Orleans, where the governor pro- vided barracks for them in the lower part of the town. When Canada finally fell into the hands of the British after the capture of Quebec and Montreal, many Canadians drifted down the river to Louisiana rather than continue under the rule of their con- querors. The records of Louisiana show that about the same time small bands of homeless and heart-broken Acadians, ruth- lessly expelled from their northern home in 1755, began to arrive. All these destitute settlers were tenderly cared for by their breth- ren in Louisiana, and the government gave them lands on which they soon founded new and prosperous homes. While the Seven Years' war was fought without the confines of Louisiana and no hostile forces ever invaded her territory, she was nevertheless made to suffer keenly from the effects of the long struggle. The few French soldiers at Kerlerec's command were poorly fed and clothed, and the means to pay them were almost entirely wanting. Many deserted in consequence and the governor placed his main reliance on his Swiss mercenaries, who were held to their duty by the sternest of discipline. The circulating medium of the colony was never in a more wretched state, and the latter years of Ker- lerec's administration were much disturbed by the old enmity be-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.