USA > Louisiana > Orleans Parish > New Orleans > Standard history of New Orleans, Louisiana, giving a description of the natural advantages, natural history settlement, Indians, Creoles, municipal and military history, mercantile and commercial interests, banking, transportation, etc. > Part 19
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Helecien Marquespack
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ancestors who had settled there, exception is to be taken on the score of its being incorrectly restrictive. One of the earliest writers upon matters pertain- ing to Louisiana, M. Bossu, a French captain of marines, who vis- ited Louisiana during the time of the governor, the Marquis de Vau- dreuil (1743-53), a scientist trained to definiteness and accuracy of statement-botanist and ornithologist-has said: "The Creoles are those that are born of a French man and a French woman or of Euro- pean parents." Even in those early days we have the testimony of a scholar to the indefinity of the word. Again, the second statement of the Century definition is incorreet, for the same reason applicable to the first; it is too re- strietive. There are, and have always been in Louisiana, sinee a period so nearly contemporary with the beginning of the use of the word "Creole" in the territory as to admit of no argument on the accuracy of the assertion, Creoles of German descent, and of Irish descent, and there are progeny of these whose names would inevitably be mentioned by the informed in an enumeration of representative Creole families of the state, such are the Waguespacks of St. Jaines (German), the MeCarthys of New Orleans (Irishi), Pollocks (Scotch- Irish).
The last sentence of the Century definition is, in respect of the significa- tion of the word in Louisiana (and I take it to be axiomatie that the meaning of a word must be sought among the people, the exigeneies of whose social life gave rise to its employment), an injustice to the Creoles, to whom the title prop- erly belongs, and an injury as pronounced as it is difficult to explain. In plain truth, no white Louisianian ever ealls a negro a Creole. Therein lies the key to the whole misunderstanding. It is the negroes themselves who delight in the title, who seek by every means to gather to themselves something of the dignity of their masters, who adroitly turn to the account of that ambition for identifieation with the whites, which is at onee one of the most marked and sinister characteristies of the race, every turn in the confusion which this unfor- tunate word creates. And there are circumstances in league with this tendeney which it may be well to examine: First, the misinformation (I hesitate to ascribe it to anything so petty as prejudiee) of writers; second, the fact that the dominant lexieographieal meaning imputed to the word embodies the idea of its referring to negroes.
That most sincere, prudent and painstaking examinator, Lafcadio Hearn, has left, among other monuments to his genius in these parts, a quaint little
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volume bearing the title "Gombo Zhèbes," in which are preserved proverbs from "six Creole dialeets," enumerated as those of French Guayana, Hayti, New Orleans, La., Martinique, Mauritius and Trinidad. Hearn uses the word in its Islands sense, in its general application throughout the volume, but in the introduction he is careful to prefix the adjective colored when he refers to ne- groes. If the word of itself implied the possession of negro blood even in the Islands, this most careful and selective etymologist would not have used the superfluous prefix colored. Yet the faet remains-despite Hearn's curious ob- servation, that even in the Islands and Colonies the word does not necessarily involve the idea of negro blood-that in those places and as of these places, the word means, in its quickest use, negro.
Gayarre, in his scholarly and indignant pamphlet, "The Creoles of History and the Creoles of Romance," wherein he inveighs against the fictionist trifling with matters too close to fireside honor for any but the calm and honorable por- trayal of the faithful pen, has made the same point as that made by Hearn. He says : "The word Creole in the course of time was so extended as to apply not merely to children born of European parents, but also to animals, vegetables and fruits, and to everything produced or manufactured in Louisiana. There were creole horses, creole cattle, creole eggs, creole corn, creole cottonade, etc. The negroes born within her limits were creoles to distinguish them from the imported Africans and from those who, long after, were brought from the United States."
Here, then, is the sharp point : that the negro, ever in Louisiana a chattel, was but given the distinguishing name of his master, and his master's effeets. As the eggs of his master's hens were creole eggs and the kine of his master's field were creole cattle, so he was a creole negro. There were creole Negroes, not negro Creoles ; and upon the bald faet represented by this ultimate analysis, corruption and all the vices and vagaries of the languages of a polyglot country have labored to rear the bewildering fabric of confusion into which this most un- fortunate of words has resolved itself to-day.
Gayarre himself, the passionate champion of the Creoles of Louisiana, gives us a plain, rational definition : "Creole means the issue of European par- ents in Spanish or French colonies." P. F. de Gournay, in a scholarly article published in the Magazine of American History, and obviously deriving its in- spiration from Gayarre's pamphlet, sharply defines Creole, "The descendant of a Colonist." An old lexicon published at Philadelphia in 1835, The Encyclo-
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pedia Americana, edited by Franeis Lieber, based upon the seventh edition of the German Conversations-Lexicon, gives a definition, which, carrying with it the warranty of German earefulness, as well as that of having been written at a time nearer the birth of the word, is of interest as verifying what has already been said. The definition is as follows: "Creole (from the Spanish criollo) is the name which was originally given to all the descendants of Spaniards born in America and the West Indies. It is also used for the descendants of other Europeans, as French, Danes, in which we say Freneh-Creole, Danish-Creole * *
* " It is signifieant that no referenee is had to negro Creoles, though there were thousands of human beings in the West Indies, contemporary with this writing, who might have been so ealled had not the unyielding distinetive- ness of the word prevented its being so employed. Further along in the same writing, is found the following: "In the West Indies the Creoles have always enjoyed equal rights with native Europeans. Before the declaration of inde- pendenee by the colonies of Spanish Ameriea, there existed marked lines of distinction between the different classes, founded on differenees of birth. The Chapetones were European by birth and first in rank and power; the Creoles were the second ; the Mulattoes and Mestizoes (descendants of white and blaek or white and Indian parents) formed the third class; negroes and Indians the fourth."
The word in Louisiana has suffered from abuses difficult and dangerous to analyze. Those entitled to the name have, with a generosity and hospitality characteristie of their elass, admitted to the honorable privileges of the title, families in no sense entitled to its distinction. Such have been persons coming here sinee the colonial period, speaking Freneh, taking up their residence in the Creole section, adopting the manners and customs of colonial descendants, yet no more entitled by any valid argument to be called Creoles than a Louisianan taking up his residenee in Staten Island after the colonial period, might lay claim to the distinetion of Kniekerbocker. So it is that, with negroes, bastard children and ill-informed writers and lexicographers on the one hand seeking to Afrieanize the honorable word, and greedy tradesman, or ambitious or obseure vulgarians, planning to elevate themselves commercially and socially under the magical mantle, it would be strange, indeed, did not a confusion exist, which the splenetie and the designing have not been slow in turning to account. Yet the fact remains that, at this late day there is no stemming the tide of misuse to which the word is a victim, and the old and genuine Creoles, admitting to
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their rauks the newcomers-with a proper moderate reserve to themselves-are themselves contributory towards the destruction of a term which, in its Louisiana sense, has been accepted throughout the civilized world as among the proudest warranties of a gentle, eultured, patrician people to be found on the Western Hemisphere.
The home life of the Creoles has ever been one of repose, affection and re- finement. They are an intensely domestie people, loving their homes and their families, cherishing the tenderest and most considerate affection for their kins- men to the remotest degree, and recognizing them with no diminution of respect and esteem, even when adversity may have widely separated their ways of life. It is not surprising that a people so affectionate, eoming of Latin blood, heated by the warm suns of a semi-tropical country, should be endowed with violent prejudices and passions. So it was that the duello flourished among them as a favorite institution, and many is the proud seion of the race has fallen upon the field of honor. The favorite duelling place of the Creoles was at "The Oaks," now the Lower City Park, and the more immediate scene of some of the most famous encounters was at a collection of oaks known as "Les Trois Soeurs," situated near where is now a Jewish burying ground at the intersection of Gentilly Road and the track of the old Ponchartrain railroad.
Partly as a consequence of the eustom of duelling and partly as a cause of that eustom, the Creole's inherent respect for women became a reverence. Wives, sisters and sweethearts shared with the church the holiest respect of the Creole gentleman's daily life. Courage, activity and endurance have ever been characteristie of the Creole men, as distinguishing as the beauty and virtue of the women. In every war in which they have been engaged they have won the name of being the most patient and enduring under hardship and fatigue, and the most gallant, daring and unconquerable in action. They possess a fine faculty of adaptability, their cheerful, buoyant, merry nature, making the most of re- pose and perpetually fortifying itself for the surprising expenditure of energy they are able to put forth when occasion arises.
Leaving care to slaves, the Creoles of the prosperous days before the Civil War, at once kept an eye to the material wants of life, and cultivated the most prineely and refined society of the day, educating their sons in Paris, their daughters in the refining and spiritualizing atmosphere of Catholie convents, and so produeing a raee of fiery, spirited, chivalrous, cultured men and delicately beautiful, modest and charmingly feminine women.
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A significant and instructive event in connection with the Creoles of New Orleans occurred on the twenty-fourth day of June, in the year 1886, when by act before Charles T. Soniat, notary public, was chartered the Creole Asso- ciation of Louisiana. The objects and purposes of the association are set forth in the charter, by-laws and rules of the association, as follows: "Literary, so- cial, charitable, and mutual benevolence; to give one another mutual aid, as- sistance and protection within the powers of this organization; to disseminate knowledge concerning the true origin and real character, and to promote the advancement of the Creole race in Louisiana." Article third of the charter au- thorized the association to organize branches in each of the parishes of the state, and as an earnest of the determination of purpose of the organization, Article Nine provided that no dissolution of this association shall take place so long as ten members in good standing shall remain willing to continue. This charter was originally signed by the following gentlemen : A. Schreiber, F. P. Poché, Charles J. Villeré, And. L. Romain, G. A. Lanaux, A. C. Landry, John Augus- tin, Paul E. Theard, L. And. Burthe, Octave Morel, Frank D. Chrétien, Geo. H. Theard, J. B. Levert, Chas. Letellier, Ete. Camille Mire, James M. Augus- tin, Louis Burthe, L. V. Porché, Chas. de Lassus, Chas. T. Théard, D. Burthe, Alcée Fortier, Chas. F. Claiborne, Jno. L. Peytavin, Ete. Blanc, P. L. Bouny, Just. Comes, Charles Parlange, Anthony Sambola, Hugues J. Lavergne, L. E. Lemarié, B. Sarrat, Placide J. Spear, C. E. Schmidt, Albert Paul, Horatio Lange, Geo. W. Hopkins, F. Leonce Fazende, A. Mendes, Thomas Layton, J. O. Landry, Wm. Sanchez, Dr. A. B. de Villeneuve, C. A. Phillippi, Leon Fa- zende, A. J. de l'Isle, F. Formento, M. D., C. M. Isley, Henry Chiapella, Jno. C. Delavigne, Th. Soniat du Fossat, Cyrille C. Theard, Adolphe Calonge, E. J. Meral, E. Surgi, Jas. Thibaut, Paul Fortier, R. La Branche, J. E. De Wint, U. D. Terrebonne, Thos. J. Cooley, Jr., P. Alb. Roquet, Raoul Dupré, Alex. Laroque Turjeau, B. M. Nebrano, Chas. Laudumiey, Chas. Fuselier, Geo. Staigg, Lamar C. Quintero, James Legendre, J. N. Augustin, Dr. A. H. Parra, James L. Lemarié, E. Bermudez, G. T. Beauregard, R. T. Beauregard, George W. Dupré, Geo. Guinalt. Ernest Miltenberger, Jules J. d'Aquin, H. J. Ma- lochée, Wm. J. Grahan, Jas. Freret, John A. Betat, J. T. Morel, Oct. Robert, Charles de Gruy, Charles Fourton, F. C. Fazende, C. T. Soniat.
A piece of private history, not heretofore divulged, explains why so dis- tinguished and typical a Creole name as that of the historian, Charles Gayarre, should not have been signed to the charter. The letter is now given, not only
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because it is typical of the sensitiveness of the race of which Louisiana's illus- trious historian was so distinguished an exponent, but because it casts a quiet side-light upon the prond and self-sacrificing character of Gayarre himself. The letter is addressed to Charles T. Soniat, notary public, under date of June, 1886, and reads as follows :
Dear Sir :- I lately received a postal card requesting me to call at my ear- liest convenience at your office, No. 13 Carondelct Street and sign the charter of the Creole Association of Louisiana. The postal card is not signed, but pre- suming that it comes from your office, I address my reply thereto.
I regret to say that, being uncertain of my daily bread, I cannot join any association that would entail any expense on me, and without being in that re- spect on a footing of equality with all its members.
Very respectfully, CHARLES GAYARRE.
The meeting at which permanent organization of the Creole Association of Louisiana was accomplished, was held at the old Grunewald Opera House, June 20, 1886. At the meeting the following officers were elected: President, F. P. Poché ; vice-president, Charles A. Villeré; recording secretary, A. L. Ro- main ; financial secretary, Major John Augustin ; treasurer, A. C. Landry.
The president of the association, a late Justice of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, being absent from the city at the time, the address of the occasion was delivered by Col. Villeré, a lineal descendant of the Villeré of the Lafrenière in- surrection, and vice-president of the association. This speech was widely re- produced in journals throughout the country at the time, being accepted as an authoritative enunciation by the Creoles, through their own selected mouth-piece. The speech which was very long is here reproduced in its more important parts :
Ladies, Gentlemen and Brothers :- The object of this meeting is to lay be. fore the Association the by-laws and rules adopted by the Board of Control. It has also a greater object-to spread fuller information with regard to our inten- tions. To those who have not stopped to study our organization, let me give the assurance that they and their children are to receive benefits from its suc- cess. We are working for all, "and it shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brought forth his fruit in his season ; his leaf also shall not wither."
As your presiding officer, allow inc a few remarks on the spirit, the scope and purpose of the Association you are requested and urged to join.
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They (the press) realize that we, as Creoles, are combining, not for the advance- ment of the few to the detriment of the many, but having seriously at heart the prosperity and aggrandizement of the whole State controlling a might, which, strong in favor of good government, could and should, at the proper time, be utilized.
If such an organization is indispensable, the very attacks it has received evidence. It is also clear that Creoles have a dormant power which, if vivified, would be a factor of no mean significance. We shall strive to emulate others. We hope to do, in our sphere, as much good as the New England, the Hibernian, the German, the French, the Swiss, the Italian and other organizations long in existence, and of which numbers of us are members in the best standing.
We have adopted the appellation of Creoles in no exclusive sense. To have rejected it would have been a confession of weakness; it would have been a retreat, and we are mutually pledged to forward march. As Creoles we are known; our manhood revolts against an unfavorable discrimination. As Cre- oles we entered the race, and we see plainly great results for all, for ourselves, for our posterity.
Let no craven heart enter our ranks. Let no man, repudiating the tongue in which his first prayers were lisped, join us. Let no one so lost to shame, so miserably mean, so abject as to curse his fathers, come to us. But come the brave, patient, the industrious-come, come, crowd our phalanx, and engage in the great work so splendidily mauguarated.
We, Creoles of Louisiana, claim our share of pluck, energy, intelligence and patriotism. Our ancestors colonized the thin, vast limits of Louisiana ; they were the first on this continent to sow the seeds of independence and to water it with their life's blood, and from sire to son a most chivalrous spirit was trans- mitted. We wish to write the history of our people, to hold them up to the light of day, to draw them ont of their blameable retirement, to keep fresh in the memory of all, not only the names of the early settlers, but to hold up as exemplary of great citizenship, the careers of Claiborne, Livingston; Johnson, Walker, Porter, Boyd, Ogden, Guion, Nicholls, Morse, Thurmann, Fenner, Minor, Nott, Palfcy, Baker, Gordon, White, Martin, Urquhart, Rost, Enstis and hosts of others who have made of this State a garden spot and controlled her destinies in their day and generation.
Where now stands an incomplete and neglected monument, Creoles, un- armed, faced the veterans of England, defending all that is most sacred to man.
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From Texas to the halls of the Montezumas they acted a glorious part. In the late war, how sublime their record ! every battle field is an historic tale of their unsurpassed valor. They were not merc soldiers-stipendiaries of power-they were educated men, who knowing their rights, dared maintain them.
On the 14th of September, a date which should ever be memorable and dear to freedom, and especially so to this great and hospitable city, Creole boys rushed to the front and vied in heroism with veterans of many a hard fought battle. Who dares assert that Crcoles have been unworthy of public trust-who dares assert that they have not been jealous of their country's honor as of their own ? Have they not given proofs of common sense, practical knowl- edge, and of the highest order of talent ! I refer to the records-they speak in au- thoritative tones * * The Creoles of Louisiana have, for this state at least, an interest ; they have adopted principles of such liberality ; they are prompted by desires so laudable, that they feel confident of the support of all classes, having within the State material or sentimental interests. We have launched an argosy freighted with influence on the true position to be occupied by all those, either of Creole origin or connected with the valiant race by sympathies, ties of blood or affinity. The necessity of this Association, organized under auspices so favorable to its full and proper development, has long been felt, and the minds of our best and truest men were occupied how to combine the shat- tered forces. "There is a tide in the affairs of men-" To-day we are a cor- porate body, and we point with exultant pride to the names of our members- soldiers with untarnished fame, jurists and lawyers honored by crudition, unrelenting labors, and integrity of a noble profession; physicians whose ac- quirements, researches and abnegations should thrill the heart of any commu- nity with admiration and gratitude. * We are battling for our rights, and under a name, scoffed at, ridiculed, blackened, tortured, deformed, carica- tured ; our vindication is of importance far and wide. This is our soil; we are in the house of our fathers. It would take the eloquence of Gratton or of Emmet, the persuasive power of Parnell, to convey a feeling as deep as it is natural to the human heart. We have an abiding confidence in the discernment of the generous community in which we live, and I feel assured of the influence and kind services of the pure, self-sacrificing, intelligent women of our State, and in the name of the Creole Association, I express the respect and gratitude of strong and proud men to the fair and accomplished daughters of our beloved Louisiana.
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The following letter from the Secretary of the Association was published at the time (June, 1886), in the Picayune, and is interesting as explaining some- what more in detail than the speech of Col. Villere, the aims and ambitions of the Creole Association :
" Editor Picayune: The very kind notice given of the birth of the 'Crcole Association' by the Picayune, the Times-Democrat, the State and the Bec is thankfully acknowledged by the founders of that society. It has encouraged the members of the Provisional Board of Control to crave a space in your col- umns, so as to further elucidate whatever may seem to be still obscure or mys- terious, and in order to develop more fully the exact scope and purpose of the organization.
" As clearly indicated in its declaration of principles, its paramount ob- ject, in fact, the very cornerstone of the whole structure, is to disseminate knowledge-not sporadically, but continuously-concerning the true origin and real character of the Creoles of Louisiana, hoping thereby to destroy the many prejudices still existing against them-begotten, no doubt, by ignorance, but fostered by hate-one of the most painful and revolting of which is, that they are of an inferior race and not the equals, as a class, of their fellow-American citizens of another ancestry.
" It is truly amazing that the descendants of the earliest settlers of the Southwest, who are to Louisiana what the descendants of the Dutch and the Huguenots are to New York and South Carolina, should be so persistently mis- represented as the Creoles, whose ancestors, be it remembered, bore that name and received it with becoming pride, as letters patent of nobility issued to them in commemoration of numerous deeds of endurance, valor and industry ; while on the other hand, the Knickerbockers of New York and the French Protestants of South Carolina are considered to-day as the very best in the land and eagerly cling to the traditions of the past.
" Yet such is the stern, palpable fact, which is to be met squarely and not evaded, and which cannot be denied, for the evidence is overwhelming; and that, in spite of the occasional efforts of the press of this city to throw light upon the subject, and even while that great congress of American nations, the late Exposition, had thrown open to view the earlier records of Louisiana's his- tory, and could and did point with particular pride to the 'Creole Exhibit' as one of the most complete, as it was assuredly the most replete with gems of ar- tistic and historic value, that could be found therein.
" To correct erroneous impressions, to refute falsehood and to prove by well authenticated history that the origin of the Creoles is as pure and honorable as that of any other race in the land, is a purpose which challenges the approval of all Creoles, who venerate the memory of their ancestors; and which must, as it
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already does, meet with the encouragement and the assistance of all patriotic Louisianians, of any ancestry, who should scorn to live on terms of social equal- ity with a race of men which would tamely submit to abuse and slander.
" Our brethren of a different ancestry have the assurance that we do not propose to be exclusive, and that their co-operation is not only acceptable, but earnestly desired and respectfully solicited.
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