USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume II > Part 2
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 | Part 80 | Part 81
Lafitte, Jean, frequently referred to as "Lafitte the Pirate," was the younger of two brothers who came to New Orleans from Bor- deaux, France, about the beginning of the nineteenth century, and established himself as a blacksmith at the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip streets. He is said to have been "a well-formed, hand- some man, over 6 fect in height, strongly built, with large hazel eyes and black hair ; a man of polite, easy manners, of retiring habits, generous disposition. and such a winning address that his influence over his followers was absolute." About the time the U. S. Congress passed the embargo act in 1808. Lafitte gave up his forge and turned merchant, opening a store on Royal street. By running the embargo with merchandise he rapidly amassed wealth, and while the relations between France and Spain were unsettled during the Napoleonic wars, he and his brother became the agents of the French privateers. Jean did not go to sea himself, but he equipped vessels for privateering and disposed of the prizes. In time he became the chief of a band of smugglers and privateersmen, with headquarters on the islands of Barataria bay. He was finally in-
25
LOUISIANA
dicted for piracy, but he retained Edward Livingston and John R. Grymes to defend him, paying each a fee of $20,000, and they suc- ceeded in securing his acquittal. Early in the autumn of 1814 he was visited by a British officer, who offered him a captain's commis- sion and a large sum of money to enter the British service, but he rejected the offer and aided Gen. Jackson all he could in the de- fense of New Orleans. For his patriotic conduet on that occasion he was pardoned by President Madison. Lafitte then formed a settlement at Galveston, and under letters of marque from some South American state preyed for awhile on the Spanish commerce in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean sea. In 1819 he was visited by a Col. Hall, who tried to enlist his cooperation in Long's expe- dition to Mexico, but without success. About the same time the U. S. government, which had become displeased with Lafitte's es- tablishment, owing to certain depredations on American vessels, demanded to know by what right he occupied the island and harbor of Galveston. He replied that he had found it abandoned and in- tended to maintain his settlement there at his own expense, but a naval force. under command of Lieut. Kearny was despatched to Galveston, with orders to see that Lafitte and his followers left there with a solemn promise not to return. Accordingly, on May 12, 1820, he embarked on his favorite vessel, the "Pride," and ac- companied by his faithful adherents set sail for South America. His subsequent history is uncertain. Stevens says he died in 1826 on an island off the coast of Yucatan, where he had established a set- tlement similar to the one at Galveston, and others say he ended his career in South America. (See also Smugglers.)
Lafitte, Pierre, an elder brother of Jean Lafitte, came to New Or- leans at the same time as the latter. In early life he became a sea- faring man, and served in the French navy before coming to America. He was associated with his brother in the blacksmith shop at the corner of Bourbon and St. Philip streets, and later be- came a leader in the band of smugglers of which his brother was the chief. Pierre was not so well-favored as Jean, being cross-eyed and of a more morose disposition. But his coolness, intrepidity and early experience as a sailor gave him all the essential qualifications of a successful privateer, and what the fertile mind of his brother planned, he fearlessly and faithfully executed. In Sept., 1814, he : was arrested and confined in the parish prison at New Orleans, but managed to make his escape, and a reward of $1,000 for his appre- hension was never claimed by any one. When the British attempted to capture the city of New Orleans a few months later, he offered his services for the defense "if the past was wiped out," and in Feb., 1815, he, with the other members of the band. was pardoned by the president of the United States. He followed his brother to Galveston, though but little is known of his career after the battle of New Orleans. (See Smugglers.)
Lafourche Crossing, a village in the western part of Lafourche parish, is situated on a bayon of the same name, about 6 miles east of Thibodaux, the parish seat. It is also on the Southern Pacific
26
LOUISIANA
R. R., and is the shipping and supply town for a large agricultural distriet. It has sugar industries, rice mills, a money order post- office, telegraph and express offices, and in 1900 had a population of 530.
Lafourche Parish, one of the southern coast parishes, is his- torically one of the oldest divisions of Louisiana, as the settlement of this region dates back to the middle of the 18th century, when a number of Spanish and French colonists settled along the bayou from which the parish derives its name. The French settled from Donaldsonville as far down as the town of Thibodaux. the Spanish more to the west, near Napoleonville. Following the early Spanish and French settlement Lafourche received a large addition to its population from Acadian refugees, who had colonized the "Acadian Coast," and settled in different parts of Louisiana. The descendants of these immigrants form a large portion of the population today. Among the early settlers were such men as Henry C. Thibodaux, who served in the state legislature, and for a time as acting gov- ernor, the Leblancs, Goudets, La Gardes, Boudreaux, Babins, Broussards and Landrys. E. D. White, who served as member of Congress from Louisiana, was one of the first American settlers. The whole territory along Bayon Lafourche, from Asscension parish and the gulf, embracing the present parishes of Assump- tion, Lafourche and Terrebonne, was known as "Lafourche set- tlement." It was one of the 12 counties into which Orleans terri- tory was divided by the legislative council of 1804, and in 1807, when the territorial legislature abolished the counties, erecting 19 parishes in their place, Lafourche settlement was divided, that part nearest the Atehafalaya river, containing about half the popula- tion, was named Assumption, and the settlements on the lower part of the bayou were called the Interior parish. In 1853 "La- fourche Interior" was changed to Lafourche. Soon after the cre- ation of the parish in 1807, Thibodauxville was made the seat of justice. William Henry was the first parish judge and sheriff, and James McAllister the first mayor of the town. Other towns in the parish are Ariel, Bowie, Cut Off. Lafourche Crossing, Kraemer, Lockport, Raceland and Toups. Good private and public schools are maintained, for both white and black.
The parish is very irregular in geographical outline and is bounded on the north by St. James parish; on the east by St. Charles and Jefferson parishes ; on the south by the Gulf of Mexico. and on the west by Terrebonne and Assumption parishes. The important water courses are Bayon Lafourche, Des Allemands and Grand bayous, all of which are utilized in carrying on the lumber industry. Lafourche has an area of 981 square miles, composed of coast marsh, alluvial land and wooded swamp. The soil is rich, the arable lands front on the bayous and streams, and extend back to the swamp lands. Originally these lands were covered with oak, ash, gum, cottonwood and magnolia, and the swamp land with cypress. Lumbering is an extensive industry, the cypress timber being a source of great wealth to the parish, in the manufacture of
1
27
LOUISIANA
shingles, barrels, pickets, etc., while thousands of railroad ties are annually supplied from the Lafourche swamps. Sugar is the chief product, though rice. corn, hay, peas, oats and jute are all grown. The soil along Bayou Lafourche has the greatest depth and is de- voted almost entirely to sugar-cane. The plantations are in tracts of from 100 to 1.000 acres, fronting on the bayou. The crop sea- son is long and heavy frosts are rare, so that two crops a year are commonly grown on the cultivated areas. The products of the large vegetable gardens are shipped to northern and eastern mar- kets. Oranges, lemons, peaches, mandarins, olives, figs, pears, grapes, pecans. Japanese plums and strawberries all thrive in this genial climate. and quite a thriving industry is conducted in fish and oysters, which are obtained in abundance along the coast. Like most of the gulf parishes, transportation is poor in the southern portion of Lafourche. The Southern Pacific R. R., runs east and west through the northern part, with a short branch from Raceland to Loekport, and the Bayou Lafourche provides cheap transporta- tion by steamboat. The following statistics concerning farms, manufactures and population are taken from the U. S. census for 1900: number of farms in the parish. 1.035; acreage, 220,779; acres improved, 67,238; value of land and improvements exclusive of buildings, $4.234,960; value of farm buildings, $1.589,140; value of live stock, $678.229; total value of all products not fed to live stock, $2.275,043; number of manufactories, 51; capital invested. $3.810 .- 452; wages paid. $356.983 ; cost of materials used. $2.126,087 ; total value of products, $3.094,329. The population for 1900 was 20,626 whites, 8,184 colored. a total of 28,882. an increase of 6,787 over the year 1890. The estimated population for 1908 was over 34,000.
Lafreniere, Nicholas Chauvin de, the French attorney-general of Louisiana at the time the province was ceded to Spain, was born in 1736, the same year as Patrick Henry, whom he greatly re- sembled in his love of liberty and his eloquent advocacy of human rights. Baudry des Lozières describes him as "one of the hand- somest men whom nature has been pleased to form. Tall, well made, with a noble air. imposing and brave, there was no one to be compared with him. His eye had a fire that penetrated every- thing ; he knew how to deliver agreeably convincing addresses. His appearance was so remarkable that, not knowing to whom to com- pare him, he was commonly called Louis XIV, because he really had the majesty one attributes to sovereigns. * * He had been * educated in France. and he had brought back the charms and good taste that he spread over all that he said and all that he wrote. He was the object of the attentions of society, and of astonishment in public assemblies. Gentle. moderate in ordinary situations of life. he was of electrical vivacity on serious occasions; nothing, so to say, could resist the torrent of his eloquence." Such was the man who was the principal leader of the revolution of 1768. In his speech before the superior council at the beginning of the revolution, he characterized despotism as being the breeder of pusillanimity and of deepening the abyss of vices, and boldly declared that "Without
28
LOUISIANA
liberty there are but few virtues." Rather daring expressions from an attorney-general of the king, especially when he knew the words would reach the ear of Louis XV. the absolute and despotic king of France. Of all the revolutionists his conduct was the most consistent. While he never flinched from the course he conceived to be right. he was willing to listen to reason, and was one of those who visited Gov. O'Reilly at the Balize in the effort to bring about a peaceable adjustment of affairs. lle met his death on Oct. 25, 1769, when he fell before a file of Spanish grenadiers as a rebel and an insurgent, but his memory is revered in Louisiana as a patriot and a martyr to the cause of liberty.
Lagan, a village in the southern part of St. James parish, is on the west bank of the Mississippi river, about 2 miles north of Pikes Peak, the nearest railroad station, and + miles southeast of Convent, the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice and a population of about 100.
Lagan, Mathew D., financier and politician, was born in County Derry, Ireland. June 20, 1829. He received a common school edu- cation in his native country and came to the United States in 1843. He arrived in New Orleans on Dec. 28 of that year, and at first en- gaged in manufacturing and mercantile pursuits. Later he entered politics ; was elected to the common council of the city of New Or- leans in 1867 ; was sent as a delegate to the convention which framed the constitution of the state in 1879; was again elected to the city council in 1882; was selected president and acting mayor during the term; was elected to the 50th congress in 1886 as a Democrat, and reelected to the 52d Congress.
Lakanal, Joseph, educator, was born at Sèvres, France, in 1762. He was educated and grew to manhood in his native land. and when a national convention was called at the close of the Revolu- tion-to assemble on Sept. 22. 1792-for the purpose of revising the constitution, Mr. Lakanal was chosen as one of the delegates. Although one of the young men of the convention, he was made chairman of the committee on education, and it was largely due to his influence that the measures embodied in the revised constitu- tion relating to the bureau of longitudes and the primary, central and normal schools were adopted. The new constitution organized the French government under a legislature consisting of a council of 500 and a council of ancients, with an executive directory of five members. Two-thirds of the council of 500 were to be selected from among the members of the convention, and in making up the list Mr. Lakanal was chosen as one of the councilors. Subsequently he was made commissioner-general of the Department of the Rhine. During the consulate and empire (1799 to 1815) he taught in the schools of Paris and served as an inspector of weights and measures. Having voted for the execution of Louis XVI. while a member of the convention. he was proscribed as a regicide upon the restora- tion of the Bourbon monarchy in 1815, and fled to America. He was welcomed by President Madison, and Congress gave him 500 acres of land. But he preferred teaching to agriculture and was
.
29
LOUISIANA
elected president of the College of Orleans, resigning the position in 1825. The college closed the next year and it was charged by some that the institution had been injured by the election of Mr. Lakanal to the presidency, because of his vote to execute the king of France. Upon retiring from the presidency of the college he took up his residence on a farm near Mobile, Ala. The Bourbons were overthrown by the revolution of 1830, and in 1837 Mr. Lakanal re- turned to Paris, where he bacame a distinguished member of the academy of moral and political sciences. He died in Paris in 1845 and some years later a monument was erected to his memory, sev- eral Louisianians contributing toward its construction as a token of their regard for the man who had been at the head of their first college.
Lake Arthur, a village of Calcasieu parish, is situated in the south- eastern part near the lake of the same name, and is a station on the Southern Pacific R. R .. 35 miles southeast of Lake Charles, the parish seat. It is located in the rice district, has rice mills, a money order postoffice, a bank, telegraph and express offices, good schools, several mercantile establishments, and is the center of trade for a large agricultural district. The population in 1900 was 200.
Lake Borgne, situated in the southeastern part of the state, is more properly speaking a bay, extending inland from the Gulf of Mexico. It lies between the parishes of Orleans and St. Bernard, its western end being about 12 miles from the city of New Orleans. Near its eastern extremity it is connected with Lake Pontchartrain by means of the pass known as The Rigolets. It is about 25 miles long and its greatest width is about 15 miles. The lake was discov- ered in 1699 by d'Iberville, who gave it the name of Borgne (one- eyed), because it was not entirely surrounded by land, its eastern end having a wide opening into the gulf.
When the British attempted to invade Louisiana in the War of 1812, the first battle between them and the Americans was fought on Lake Borgne. Dec. 14. 1814. The English fleet commanded by Adm. Cochrane came to anchor on the 10th in the channel between Cat and Ship islands. Lieut. Thomas Ap Catesby Jones, who had been stationed with 5 small gunboats in Bay St. Louis to observe the movements of the enemy, discovered the fleet on the 13th and decided to fall back to Fort Petit Coquilles on the Rigolets. The tender Sea-horse and the stores at Bay St. Louis were destroyed, after which the little fleet set sail for the fort, but a calm came on and the vessels were compelled to anchor in the passage by Mal- heureux island. The purpose of the British admiral was to pass through Lake Borgne to Pontchartrain, thence to the Mississippi. The water was too shallow to permit the successful maneuvering of the large men-of-war, and Cochrane sent a force of 1.200 men. with 43 pieces of artillery, all under command of Capt. Lockyer, in 45 barges and launches to attack the American fleet. Jones' whole force numbered 182 men, with 23 pieces of artillery. The first of the gunboats. No. 156, was commanded by him in person ; the 2nd
30
LOUISIANA
by Lient. Spedden : the 3d by Lieut. Mckeever ; and the 4th and 5th by sailing-masters Ferris and Ulrick. The British advanced to the assault early on the morning of the 14th and made their first decisive gain by the capture of the tender Alligator and 8 men. By 10:30 a. m. the action became general, and after a sharp engagement the American fleet was compelled to surrender to the superior strength of the enemy. The American loss was about 60 in killed and wounded, Lients. Jones and Spedden both being among the latter. On the English side the loss in killed and wounded was about 300. Capt. Lockver was severely wounded and among the killed was Lieut. Pratt, who had applied the torch to the capitol at Washington the summer before.
This victory gave the British possession of Lake Borgne, from which Cochrane expected to proceed through Chef Menteur pass, but he found it guarded by a battery, and learned that a force of infantry was within easy supporting distance on the Gentilly road. He then turned his attention to seeking for some other available route, and, by bribing some Spanish fishermen to show him the way, passed up the Bayou Bienvenu, thus reaching the rear of the city without having to pass Fort St. Philip with his fleet. Gen. Jackson had issued orders for the obstruction of the bayou, but for some reason they were not carried into effect. In the summer of 1901 a canal was opened connecting Lake Borgne with the Missis- sippi river.
Lake Charles, the capital of Calcasieu parish, is located on the Calcasieu river where it broadens into Lake Charles, 30 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, 218 miles west of New Orleans and 30 miles east of the Texas state line. Sixty years ago a little cluster of houses were huddled together on the east bank of the lake in an almost unbroken wilderness. About 1851, Jacob Ryan, an early settler and the first merchant, secured the removal of the seat of justice to Lake Charles. Having secured the courthouse, he and his associates laid out a town with Ryan street as a basis. The town grew rapidly and though its growth was checked for several years by the Civil war, it was not materially hindered, as it was too far west of actual hostilities. It was incorporated as Charleston in 1857, and was re- incorporated in 1868 under its present name. 'Lumbering was the principal industry of the town in the early days, and has kept an important place to the present time. In the decade between 1870 and 1880 the line of the Louisiana Western R. R. was built through the parish to Lake Charles and lumbermen from Minnesota, Wis- consin and Michigan began to buy up timberland and establish large saw mills. In 1883. J. B. Watkins purchased 3,000,000 acres of land running almost up to the town site and built a railroad (now the St. Louis, Watkins & Gulf) to Alexandria. He advertised the resources of the country in such a way as to attract a great influx of settlers from the north and west. At that time there was a population of about 1,000, as the census gave the town a popula- tion of 800 in 1880. Lake Charles has one of the finest natural locations in the wealth producing parish of Calcasieu. To the cast
31
LOUISIANA
stretch the great prairies with hundreds of rice plantations; to the north the 200 miles of great pine forests, one of nature's greatest storehouses of wealth; to the west miles of mineral, oil and gas lands, with rice plantations above and unknown and untold wealth beneath, and to the south spread the ever increasing rice, sugar, cotton and reclaimed marsh lands, the latter pasturing thousands of cattle. From every direction into the markets of Lake Charles are poured the wealth of forest and farm, from her factories flow prod- ucts by the car load, and in return she receives supplies needed by the surrounding country. Today it is a city with a population of some 14,000 inhabitants, with 10 miles of electric street railway lines, electric lighting, waterworks and sewerage systems, local and long distance telephone service, 4 banks which care for the large financial business of the city, an ice plant, a rice mill with a ca- pacity of 3,500 barrels a day, and the largest rice warehouse on the Gulf coast. A number of the largest lumbering companies in the country are located here and the river above the town is lined for miles by their great saw mills. Within the last few years the pro- ductive capacity of the different companies has been increased and with this increase the status of Lake Charles as a lumber city is fixed for years to come. The business of exporting lumber to Europe and other foreign countries has grown to considerable proportions at Lake Charles within the last few years, and is now one of the most important features of the great industry which characterizes this part of the great commonwealth. Since 1894 the city has developed a large wholesale trade and today there are grocery houses, hardware stores, grain, fruit and produce exchanges, which supply retail dealers in all the tributary country to the north and west. Lake Charles is the railroad center of southwestern Louisiana, with terminal facilities equal to those of most of the larger cities in the eastern part of the state. It is on the main line of the Southern Pacific, which has bought many of the logging roads within the last few years; is the terminus of the St. Louis, Watkins & Gulf, a part of the far reaching Gould system, with fine terminal passenger and freight stations in the city; the Kansas City Southern, which taps the northwestern pine districts of the parish, has built a spur to the Union Sulphur Works, 8 miles west, and has completed its yard at Lake Charles, having now over 8 miles of track within the city limits. The educational development of the city has kept pace with its growth as a business center. It has 4 graded schools, a high school with a curriculum equal to any high school in the state, and a Carnegie library. Churches were or- ganized and established at an early day and at the present time the following denominations are represented : Catholics. Baptists, Meth- odists, Episcopal Church of the South, Simpson Methodists, Epis- copalians, German Lutherans and Christians, all of which have modern church buildings, and the Hebrews have a temple. The principal social and fraternal organizations are well represented, with a large roll of members. The Lake Charles board of trade lias been instrumental in forwarding the improvement of streets; took
-
32
LOUISIANA
the initial steps toward the establishment of a sewerage system ; has been influential in the movement for a Chautauqua association ; has improved the lake side drive: has acted as arbitrator in many of the important questions of improvement, labor and business con- ditions, and has otherwise exerted its influence for the upbuilding of the city.
Lake End, a village of Red River parish, is situated in the south- western part on the Red river and the Texas & Pacific R. R., 6 miles south of Coushatta, the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice, express office, telegraph station and telephone facilities, and in 1900 reported a population of 40.
Lakeland, a village of Pointe Coupée parish, is located in the southwestern part on False river. 4 miles west of Abramson, the nearest railroad station, and 6 miles south of New Roads, the parish seat. It has a money order postoffice, and is the center of trade for a large district. Its population in 1900 was 200.
Lake Providence, the capital of East Carroll parish, is located in the eastern part of the parish at the foot of the lake from which it derives its name. It was settled early in the 19th century, the lake then being known as Stock Island lake, and was made the parish seat when old Carroll parish was divided into East and West Car- roll by the legislature of 1877. Transportation facilities are afforded by the Mississippi river and a line of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern R. R. Its advantages in this respect make it a good shipping and distributing point, hence the town does a profitable wholesale business, especially in groceries. The population in 1900 was reported as being 1,256. Few towns of its size enjoy better school and church accommodations or greater commercial activity. It has two banks, a number of good stores, hotels, lodges of various secret and benevolent orders, etc. Lake Providence is incorporated and has always enjoyed a good municipal government.
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.