USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume II > Part 77
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
The Western Company was granted even greater privileges than had been enjoyed by Crozat. The contract made with Aubert, Neret and Gayot on May 10, 1706, giving them the exclusive right "to trade in beaver skins, was about to expire, and upon Law's com- pany was conferred "the exclusive right of trading in our province and government of Louisiana, and also the privilege of receiving, to the exclusion of all other persons, in our colony of Canada, from the first day of Jan., 1718, until and including the last day of Dec .. 1742, all the beaver, fat and dry, which the inhabitants of the said colony shall have traded for, whilst we shall regulate, according to the accounts which shall be sent over to us from the said country. the quantities of the different sorts of beaver that the company shall be bound to receive each year from the said inhabitants of Canada, and the prices they shall be bound to pay." All the lands, coasts, ports, havens and islands belonging to the province of Louisiana were granted to the new company in the same way as they had been granted to Crozat, and in addition was given the use of all forts, maagzines, arms, ammunition and vessels pertaining to
-
-
630
LOUISIANA
the province. It was authorized to make treaties with or declare war against the Indian tribes; to grant lands either by lease or in fee, provided that settlers holding under previous grants should not be disturbed in their possession ; to construct forts and strongholds and garrison them with soldiers raised in France under the king's commission ; to build and equip ships of war; to adopt a coat of arms; to open and work, without payment of royalty, all mines which might be discovered ; to dismiss or appoint any and all sub- ordinate officers, who were to be commissioned by the king, and who were to act in conformity to the laws of France, "more . par- ticularly according to the common law of the provosty and vis- cotinty of Paris, which shall be followed in all contracts the inhabi- tants shall pass, and no other law shall be allowed to be introduced to avoid variety."
The inhabitants were exempted from any tax or imposition dur- ing the life of the charter. All subjects of the French king were prohibited from trading within the limits of Louisiana upon pain of forfeiture of goods and vessels, though the inhabitants were permitted to trade with each other or with the Indians. Section 29 provided that "if the company construct vessels in the lands granted to her, we consent to pay her, as a bounty, out of our royal treasury, the first time the said vessels enter the ports of our king- dom, the sum of six livres per tun, for all vessels not below 200 tuns burthen, and of nine livres also per tun, for those not below 250 tuns, which shall be paid on delivery of certificates of the di- rectors of the company in the said lands, showing that the said vessels have been built there." The company was also given the right to draw from the royal magazines annually 400 quintals of powder at actual cost. In return for all these favors and privileges it was required to employ only French vessels and crews ; was pro- hibited from trading with Guinea under penalty of having its ves- sels forfeited, but the company's vessels might take as prizes any French vessels trading in its territory contrary to the terms of the patent. It was further required to bring into Louisiana during the life of its charter 6,000 white persons and 3,000 negroes, but not from any other colony without consent of the governor thereof. All officers and directors were to take an oath of fidelity to the king, who reserved the right to appoint the directors at first. The letters patent stipulated that Louisiana should constitute a part of the diocese of Quebec. the company to build churches and pro- vide clergymen.
Under this liberal charter the capital stock of the company was fixed at 100,000,000 livres, divided into shares of 500 livres cach. to be paid for with certificates of the public debt. Law was a good advertiser. He scattered broadcast pamphlets and other documents setting forth the advantages to be derived by the stockholders ot his company. Louisiana was pictured as a veritable El Dorado: , its mines were inexhaustible; its soil and climate were unsur- passed; its fisheries were all that could be desired ; pearls were to be found in abundance, and the forest teemed with game and
631
LOUISIANA
fur-bearing animals. It is said that ingots of gold and silver, rep- resented as having been taken from Louisiana's mines, were placed on exhibition in Paris-palpable evidence of the great wealth con- stituting the foundation of Law's system of credit. which was fur- ther strengthened in Dec., 1718. when his bank became the national bank of France, with his name at the head as director-general. The shares of the company soon rose to several times their par value and everybody was anxious to subscribe. The board of directors de- clared a dividend of 200 per cent and the stock again went up. Large grants of land in Louisiana were sold to wealthy Frenchmen at almost fabulous prices and everything wore a rosy hue. Con- cerning this stage of the company's career Watt says: "A sort of madness possessed the nations. Men sold their all and hastened to Paris to speculate. The population of the capital was increased by an enormous influx of provincials and foreigners. Trade re- ceived a vast though unnatural impetus. Every one seemed to be getting richer, no one poorer."
The history of Crozat's failure was not forgotten, however, and Law and his coadjutors realized that this flowery condition of af- fairs could not long continue unless some tangible evidence could be produced to show that the resources of Louisiana were able to sustain a great issue of credit. Therefore, to make a show of a prosperous condition of the colonies there, three ships, bearing a number of colonists and three companies of infantry, were sent to Louisiana. Bienville was appointed governor and directed to seek at once for an available site for a town on the Mississippi river. The company was popularly known as the Mississippi Company, and the directors believed that greater advantages would accrue by locating a town on the stream of that name. This led to the founding of New Orleans. In the spring of 1719 over 300 more colonists came, among them 30 persons brought over by M. de Montplaissir, who intended to start a tobacco manufactory. About this time 250 negroes were brought in. From Oct. 25, 1717, to May 25, 1721, over 7,000 white persons were brought into Louisiana by the company. On the latter date 5,240 of these remained. the others having died. deserted to other colonies, or returned to France. In May, 1719, the East India Company and the China Company, in each of which Law was the moving spirit, were consolidated with the Western Company, and the name was changed to the "Com- pany of the Indies." The war with Spain no doubt retarded the operations of the company to some extent, but in 1720 the valne of Law's notes was reduced one-half by a royal decree, and the people began to lose confidence in his system of finance. Law endeavored to check the disaster and confusion that swept over France, and to bolster up his tottering structure. but in vain. Guizot says: "The public wrath and indignation fastened henceforth upon Law, the author and director of a system which had given rise to so many hopes and had been the cause of so many woes." The Mississippi Company now became known as the "Mississippi Bub- ble," and the bubble had burst. Law, ruined in fortune, deprived
632
LOUISIANA
of reputation and broken in spirit, left France. Yet, it is probable that Law was not dishonest at heart, but was himself deceived by false notions of finance and credit. A recent writer says: "The mines of Mississippi were declared by the French ministry to be sufficient to sustain the paper money emitted by the bank estab- lished by Law. If any deception was practiced upon the people of France, it was by the regent and not by Law. * * * The faith of Law in his system is shown by the fact that he kept up an enor- mous expenditure to sustain his Arkansas colony to the very last and was beggared by the collapse." The Arkansas colony here referred to was one founded on a land grant to Law on the Arkan- sas river. (See Land Grants.)
Although the failure of Law's scheme checked the growth and development of Louisiana somewhat, they did not altogether cease. Colonists still continued to come, most of them drawn from the poor and criminal classes and transported at the expense of the company. More attention had been paid to agriculture under the Western Company than had been done under the Crozat regime, and immigrants found ready employment on the plantations. In 1724 Bienville was superseded by Perier, and it was not long be- fore the new governor became involved in wars with the Indians, which added greatly to the expenses of the company. At the close of the year 1730 the colony had cost the company nearly $4,000,000 and the returns had been very meager. On Jan. 23, 1731, the directors begged permission to surrender the charter. The request was granted and two commissioners-Bru and Brusle-were ap- pointed to settle the accounts between the government and the company. In course of time the affairs of the company were wound up and Louisiana became a dependency of the crown.
West Feliciana Parish, the smallest of the "Florida parishes," was established in 1824. near the close of the administration of Gov. Thomas Bolling Robertson. In that year the old parish of Feliciana was divided into two parishes, called respectively East and West Feliciana. West Feliciana is situated in the southeastern part of the state, has an area of 385 square miles, and is bounded as follows: On the north by the State of Mississippi; on the east by East Feliciana parish; the Mississippi river forms its entire southern and western boundaries, separating it from Pointe Coupée and West Baton Rouge parishes. Settlement began in Feliciana during the closing years of the 18th century. Martin writes that when Gen. Wilkinson visited New Orleans in 1789. "Miro informed him he was instructed to permit the migration of settlers from the western country ; but he was without information of his sov- creign's will as to the grant of land for colonization, on the large scale proposed. * Accordingly, the colonial government granted several tracts of land to such settlers from the western part of the United States as presented themselves. They were favored with an exemption from duty, as to the property they brought, invested in the produce of their country. * * * A few only remained, and they were those who availed themselves of the least
633
LOUISIANA
of the immunities offered by the Spanish government. They set- tled chiefly in the districts of Natchez and Feliciana, where they increased the culture of tobacco, which was the only article of ex- portation raised in this part of the province." These carly colonists took up land along the Mississippi river, especially in the vicinity of St. Francisville. Many of the pioneers were Anglo-Americans, and some were of French and Spanish descent, due to the succes- sive occupancy of this region by France, Spain and England. After the Revolutionary war emigrants from West Florida were induced to settle by the offers held out by the Spanish authorities, and after the treaty of 1795, people from all the western states, the Carolinas, Georgia and Virginia, settled in Feliciana district. The census of 1820 showed Feliciana to have a population of 12,732, and by 1830 West Feliciana alone had a population of 8,247. William Barrow, who located near St. Francisville, was one of the first settlers, some of the other families were the Argedines, Boones, Dupres, Dunbars, Beauchamps, McCalebs, Ratliftes, Whittakers, Valleons, Percys, Sterlings, James Howell, Daniel Turnbull and George Johnson. The old parish of Feliciana was divided Feb. 12, 1824, the portion west of Thompson's creek, becoming West Felici- ana. St. Francisville was made the temporary and later the perma- nent seat of justice. Thomas W. Chinn presided over the first parish court; F. A. Browder was sheriff, and Benjamin Collins clerk. Court was held in a two-story building for several years, until the courthouse, a large brick building, was erected. One of the first Protestant churches in Louisiana was built at St. Francisville in 1827.
Some of the other towns in the parish are Angola, Bayou Sara, Laurel Hill, Ratcliff, Riddle, Rogillioville, Row Landing, Star Hill, Wakefield and Weyanoke. Transportation and shipping are af- forded by the Mississippi river and the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., which runs north and south through the middle of the parish from Woodville in Mississippi to St. Francisville and thence south- east to Slaughter in East Feliciana parish, and by the Louisiana Railway & Navigation company's line, which enters the parish near Angola and runs in a southeasterly direction through St. Francisville to Port Hudson in East Baton Rouge parish. The general surface of the country is uneven and rolling, a great part is bluff formation and upland, with some wooded swamp and alluvial land along the Mississippi and other water. courses. This alluvial land has a phenomenally rich soil-black loam, many feet deep- which is fertilized each year by a natural cane growth, where it is not cultivated. The parish is drained by the Mississippi river, which washes the western and southern boundaries, and by Bayous Tunica and Sara and Thompson's creek. The natural timber growth is cypress, oak, beech, gum, willow, pine, cottonwood, elm, mag- nolia, hickory, poplar, sycamore, walnut and persimmon. Cotton is the chief agricultural product, but corn, hay, oats, sorghum, ' sugar-cane and tobacco are all raised. Fruits native to this latitude and climate all do well, and the Tunica hills are most suitable for
634
LOUISIANA
grape culture, as the soil is a rich marl-loam. As all kinds of grasses grow in abundance, the cattle industry is very important, and the parish has long been noted for its superior breed of blooded stock. The following statistics relating to the parish are taken from the U. S. census for 1900: number of farms, 2,325; acreage in farms, 146,761 ; acres improved, 66,574; value of land and im- provements exclusive of buildings, $1,216,080; value of farm build- ings, $516,830; value of live stock, $428,080; value of all products not fed to live stock, $987,183; number of manufacturing establish- ments, 25: capital invested, $108,467; wages paid, $21,160; cost of materials used, $114,600; total value of products, $203,828. The population of the parish in 1900 consisted of 2.231 whites, 13,781 colored, a total of 15,994, an increase of 932 since the year 1890. The estimated population in 1908 was 16,600.
West Florida .- Strictly speaking there was no West Florida. George III of England, in a proclamation of Oct. 7. 1763, first applied that name to the district lying south of the 31st parallel of north latitude, extending from the Chattahoochee on the east to the Mississippi on the west, and bounded on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas and the river Manchac, thus giving the British vessels a navigable route to the Mississippi without having to pass New Orleans. This territory was ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of Paris, and on Aug. 7, 1763, Capt. Wills, with a detachment of the 3d royal artillery, took possession of Pensacola, which place became the seat of government of the province. A little later Capt. George Johnstone, of the royal navy, arrived with a commission as "captain-general and governor- in-chief." Johnstone resigned in 1766, and the affairs of the province were administered by Montford Browne and Elias Durnford as acting governors until the arrival of Peter Chester, who was com- missioned governor March 2. 1770. Chester's commission defined the northern boundary of West Florida as "a line drawn from the mouth of the Yazoo river, where it unites with the Mississippi, due east to the Apalachicola." Immigration was encouraged, a number of small settlements were founded, and by 1778 the population had sufficiently increased to justify the division of the province into four districts, viz. : Pensacola, Mobile, Manchac and Natchez.
English domination in West Florida came to an end with the Spanish invasion under Gov. Galvez, 1779-82. When the commis- sioners of the United States and Great Britain met to arrange a treaty of peace at the close of the Revolutionary war. there was a secret understanding between them that, if England was not com- pelled to recognize the Spanish conquest. she should continue to hold West Florida up to the Yazoo line, but in the treaty as finally concluded she recognized the boundary of the United States from the Mississippi to the Chattahoochee as the 31st parallel. Subse- quently, when negotiating terms of peace with France and Spain, Great Britain found it necessary to acknowledge the Spanish con- quest of both West Florida and Minorca as part of the agreement, in order to regain the Bahama islands. The Spanish continued to
635
LOUISIANA
occupy West Florida until the revolution of 1810, when the province came into the possession of the United States.
West Florida Revolution .- This revolution was the outgrowth of tlie Kemper insurrection of 1804 (q. v.), and wielded a great deal of influence in establishing the claim of the United States to the gulf coast eastward to the Perdido river. For some years after the Kemper affair, the excitement was kept alive by the Burr con- spiracy, the Sabine expedition. the expulsion of Casa Calvo and Morales by Gov. Claiborne, and the action of the Seville junta in imprisoning the viceroy of Mexico. In Dec., 1808, Col. Carlos de Grandpré, governor at Baton Rouge, and some of the military officers there, were ordered to Havana to answer charges of being under French influence. When this became known, a great many of the inhabitants rallied to the support of the Grandpré and asked him to remain as governor at their expense, but to all their en- treaties he replied that he was a soldier and must obey orders. After his departure Charles (or Carlos) Dehault de Lassus was the highest authority in West Florida. Depredations by banditti on both sides of the line about Pinckneyville occupied the attention of Gov. Holmes, of Mississippi, and Col. Cushing, commanding at Fort Adams, the greater part of the year 1809 and the early part of 1810. Patrols were sent out, militia held in readiness to aid the civil officers in enforcing the orders of the courts, but in these pro- ceedings de Lassus either rendered very little assistance or de- clined to act altogether. The situation was summed up in a letter written by Gov. Holmes to Robert Smith, President Madison's secretary of state, under date of June 20, 1810. in which he said : "For some time past the commandants have refused to exercise any authority in important cases, whether they related to the general policy, or existed between individuals. The power of the govern- ment has been so much relaxed in every respect that a sense of common danger has induced some of the inhabitants to establish a kind of neighborhood police, which. having no fixed rule for its guide, is consequently in its operation inefficient and in many instances unjust. This state of things has become alarming to the most respectable part of the community, and they are determined, I believe, to endeavor to bring about a change. Unfortunately, from the mixed nature of the population, they are divided in opinion as to the means best calculated to insure the safety of society. There is distinctly marked an American party, a British party, a Spanish party, and until of late there existed a French party. The wish of the American party is that the province may become a part of the United States: the most prudent of them, however, are not in favor of taking immediate steps to effect this object. lest by failing of success they might hereafter be punished for the attempt, yet it is probable they would incur the risk rather than to be subjected to any foreign power, or to encounter the perils of an- archy, and in the prospect of either event I do not doubt but that they would solicit the protection of the United States. It is the wish of the British party to see the country under the power of
-
636
LOUISIANA
Great Britain, and they would readily aid any project to effect that purpose, which might promise success. They profess, however, to support the right of the Spanish king, and generally act in unison with the Spanish party. The French have been ordered to leave the country, and most of them have actually removed into the Orleans territory. This measure has occasioned some ferment ; the French threaten to return reinforced and to take satisfaction for the injury, but I do not believe they will make the attempt. * There is nothing to be apprehended from the interference of any foreign nation except that of Great Britain. She may be solicited by a party to extend protection to the people thus left almost desti- tute of government."
About the time this letter was written the rumor gained cur- rency that Bonaparte had laid claim to West Florida and was about to take charge of its affairs. This precipitated matters, and on July 1 some 500 of the inhabitants met at Sterling's place, about 15 miles from the Mississippi river and 10 miles from the West Flor- ida line, "to take into consideration the state of the province and to adopt some mode of rendering their situation more secure against both foreign invasion and internal disturbances." John Mills, John Rhea, William Barrow and John H. Johnson were elected to act as representatives of the district of New Feliciana, with instructions to communicate with the people of the other districts of West Flor- ida and urge them to elect one representative from each district to act in conjunction with those from New Feliciana "for the good of the community." On the 17th a much larger convention met at Buhler's plains and organized by the election of John Mills presi- dent and Dr. Steele secretary. It met out of doors and was in ses- sion for two days. A constitution, consisting of a preamble and thirteen articles, was adopted, and John Mills, T. H. Johnston, Philip Hickey, John W. Leonard, Joseph Thomas and Dr. Steele were appointed a committee to prepare an address to the govern- ment. The memorial was promptly prepared and urged reforms in the judiciary system. "for the promotion of peace and the proper administration of justice." A sub-committee of three waited on the governor with the address, reported back to the convention that they had been favorably received by the governor, and the conven- tion then adjourned to Aug. 22, to give the governor time to act upon the recommendations embodied in the memorial. When the adjourned session met the district of New Feliciana was repre- sented by the four representatives chosen on July I; St. Helena was represented by John W. Leonard. Joseph Thomas, William Spiller and Benjamin O. William ; Baton Rouge by Philip Hickey, Thomas Lilley, John Morgan and Edmund Hawes; and St. Ferdi- nand by William Cooper. John Rhea was chosen president. and after being in session for four days a proclamation was issued, an- nouneing that the measures proposed to be adopted for the public safety and better administration of justice are sanctioned and estab- lished as ordinances to have the force of law, etc. The proclama-
637
LOUISIANA
tion was signed by all the members of the convention and by Gov. de Lassus.
In the distribution of offices several of the governor's immediate friends were appointed without objection on the part of the dele- gates to the convention, except in the case of Shepard Brown, to whom there was a marked antagonism. By Sept. 20 it became apparent that treachery was contemplated by the governor and Brown. Col. Philemon Thomas, commanding the militia, inter- cepted letters, from which it was learned that de Lassus was send- ing letters to Gov. Vicente Folch at Pensacola, asking for troops to quell an insurrection. Thomas detained the messenger from whom he had taken the letter, set spies to watch Brown, and called a secret council of Col. Fulton, Fulwar Skipwith, John Rhea, Philip Hickey, Isaac Johnson, Gilbert Leonard and Larry Moore. At this council it was decided to declare West Florida independent. and to sieze Baton Rouge as the first step. Messengers were hur- ried to Robert Percy, near Bayou Sara, and to Daniel Raynor in the district of St. Helena to muster all the available forces and report to Col. Thomas. The different detachments met Col. Thomas at midnight on the 22nd, and at 4 o'clock the next morning reached the fort in three columns. After a short but sharp action the fort surrendered. The report of "Col. Philemon Thomas, commander of Fort Baton Rouge and its dependencies." which was made on Sept. 24, says: "Of the governor's troops, Lieut Louis de Grand- pré was mortally wounded, Lieut. J. B. Metzinger, commandant of artillery, was also wounded, 1 private killed and 4 badly wounded. We took 20 prisoners, among whom was Col. de Lassus."
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.