Don Sharp recently recorded a video interview that helps wrap up the inter-connections between key figures in southeast Louisiana history. He specifically unveils the significant contributions made by Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent, Gilberto Guillemard, James Rumsey, Jacques-Michel Hertel de Rouville and Pierre Rigaud Cavagnial de Vaudreuil.
These five gentlemen are important to early Louisiana progress for a variety of reasons. Guillemard was architect and builder of the Cabildo, St. Louis Cathedral, and the Presbytere; Rumsey invented the steam-engine propelled boat, and Rouville helped spotlight the early stirrings of the American Revolution both in Canada and the British Colonies on the east coast.
Sharp cites published works, news articles from the time, and maps of the area to weave his three part talk to show the connections between the men and expand on their importance.
Here is the video. Click on the "Play Triangle" below to view the video.
Don Sharp, local historian, is excited about the upcoming celebration of America's 250th anniversary, because he feels it will help once again show the close connections of the Lacombe area to the Canadian events and widespread disatisfaction that eventually resulted in the American Revolution.
That 250th year celebration will be held two years from now in 2026. Commissions are now being set up state-by-state to help plan local participation in the event.
Sharp believes that the story of how early Lacombe pioneers took part in the resistance to British Crown mandates placed on their friends and relatives back in Canada is an important part of American history.
His research into the Lacombe area history has convinced him that early settler Jacques-Michel Hertel de Rouville, whose wife had a large land grant plantation on Bayou Lacombe, was a major player in the key series of events when he returned to Canada to help fight the injustices being placed upon his former home.
A map of Lacombe showing Bayou Rouville
According to Sharp's research, Jacques-Michel Hertel de Rouville probably received the earliest land grant on the North Shore that we know of, and it appears to be the largest given in what is now the Lacombe area. The exact date and the description of the grant recorded by the French government are not known. It was described, in a sales document after his death, as "A tract of land lying and being on the Bayou Lacombe, alias Bayou Rouville, on the right hand, or easternmost side going up from Lake Pontchartrain, commencing by estimation about half a league from the said lake, containing fourteen square leagues fronting on the said bayou by a straight line of the distances of seven leagues with two leagues in depth, making in all the above named quantity fourteen square leagues.
However, when Britian began cracking down on the rights of citizens in the Canadian provinces, Rouville went back to Canada and helped organize resistance committees, according to Sharp's research and that of his writing partner Canadian historian Anita R. Campeau.
Rouville's actions 250 years ago prompt Sharp to conclude that those who say that Louisiana had nothing to do with the American Revolution are wrong. The settlers of the Lacombe area and across south Louisiana, those who originally came from Canada (and there were many) were undoubtedly active in Canadian resistance to British mandates and that helped bring about the American Revolution.
The present day Rouville Road in Lacombe commemorates the important role played by Jacques de Rouville in the early history of southern St. Tammany Parish, but it only hints at his key participation in the efforts to gain freedom for his friends and relatives in Canada and the northeast United States.
To hear Don Sharp provide details of Rouville's activities in Lacombe and Canada, click on the "PLAY TRIANGLE" in the above video.
Gilberto Guillemard is one of the most historic Louisiana personalities, having served as architect on three outstanding structures at Jackson Square in New Orleans: the Cabildo, St. Louis Cathedral, and the Presbytere.
According to historian Don Sharp, he was not truly appreciated by the politicians of the day. His life story is complicated, and much controversy revolved around him not getting paid in full for his years of work designing and building those three buildings, possibly the most famous buildings in Louisiana. He left disheartened for Pensacola, FL, where he died a few years later.
"It is an important story," Sharp said. "for New Orleans, for Louisiana and the nation. Guillemard was a Frenchman by birth, but a loyal soldier in the Spanish Army. His work as a surveyor and architect was essential to early New Orleans, especially his work on designing and building the Cabildo, St. Louis Cathedral and the Presbytere."
A postcard of Jackson Square
He even conducted an important survey of the young community of Mandeville on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. That survey was done to settle a dispute about land grant boundaries between Morgan Edwards and Jacob Miller.
His Crescent City Contributions
Thousands of people come to the French Quarter every year and visit those three historic buildings, Sharp said. They enjoy the history of them and their beauty. Guillemard was also active in doing projects for the city regarding street work and drainage.
While there is no clear history of Lt. Col. Guillemard and the last few years of his life, Sharp has pieced together a convincing narrative: that he left the city in 1805 after not being paid in full for his work on the three historic structures. He went to Pensacola where he died a few years later, as recorded in the Sacramental Records of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
Sharp believes that Guillemard died in Pensacola in 1808, most probably of yellow fever, and is buried in St. Michael's Cemetery there. He has contacted cemetery officials and reports that they are in the midst of a thorough examination of the gravesites using new technology so that an accurate map can be generated of the graves.
Here is a short interview with Don Sharp recorded on September 13, 2023, in which he explains his research and his conclusions about the last few years of Guillemard's life, his final resting place, and his impact on Louisiana history, especially regarding his highly accurate and detailed survey of Mandeville in its infancy.
Don Sharp Talks About Architect Gilberto Guillemard
Click on the "Play" Triangle above to view the video
In this 47-minute interview historian Don Sharp tells about several key characters instrumental in the early development of Mandeville, even before Bernard deMarigny got involved with his large residential subdivision project. In fact, DeMarigny bought several pieces of land from these early settlers.
Link to the Video Interview is located several paragraphs below.
Those several individuals included the Goodbees, Thomas Spell, and Morgan Edwards. Also involved was the famous Gilberto Guillemard, the architect of the Cabildo, St. Louis Cathedral and the Presbytère at Jackson Square. Guillemard was active in surveying land in early Mandeville, and by using his surveying skills, he helped early Mandeville landowners stake their claim, settle court cases, and begin the long process of selling off pieces of inherited land.
A portion of the 1798 Guillemard map
Click on the image to make it larger
For a larger more detailed look at the map, CLICK HERE.
There's no doubt that Guillemard is one of the most historic Louisiana figures, having three outstanding examples of his work at Jackson Square in New Orleans, but he was not truly appreciated by the politicians of the day. His life story is complicated, and much controversy revolved around him not getting paid in full for his years of work designing and building those three buildings, possibly the most famous buildings in Louisiana. He left disheartened for Pensacola, FL, where he died a few years later.
St. Louis Cathedral
Don Sharp also tells of his research into the real name of Mandeville pioneer Morgan Edwards. According to Don Sharp's research, he was the adopted son of Morgan Edwards, a Baptist preacher. His story is quite interesting as well. The well-educated Morgan Edwards surveyed his own land, but his handwriting on the survey seems to match the penmanship on the famous "Oath of Allegiance" signed by northshore settlers, the first oath that anyone made to the new colonial government in the American Revolution. Edwards sailed with Captain William Pickles of the famed "Battle of Lake Pontchartrain" skirmish.
Sharp covers a lot of territory in this presentation, but he ties it all together, spotlighting the early history of Mandeville and those who helped make it what it is today.
To view the video, click on the Play Triangle below.
For more details on the subjects covered, here are two PDF text documents.
Historian Don Sharp talks about the history of the lighthouse system, on the East Coast, along the Gulf Coast, and on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
Historian Donald J. Sharp recently completed an extensive interview about the history of the Lake Pontchartrain northshore with a focus on James Rumsey and his time spent in St. Tammany Parish working on his secret experiments.
Donald J. Sharp and his Rumsey Research Materials
Rumsey lived in New Orleans for five years, Lacombe for a few years, then moved to Pearl Island at the mouth of the Pearl River for three years. But while Don's earlier talks dealt with Rumsey's success in developing a steam-propelled watercraft, this expanded version shows his other accomplishments, among them 20 patents for his improvements to the grist mill and the waterwheel, as well as his friendships with key early American historic figures.
Rumsey's work on steamboat propulsion in Lacombe helped bring about the arrival of steamboats coming down the Mississippi River just a few decades later, thus changing the history of New Orleans.
According to multiple sources, Rumsey seemed to be a key player in the early American history. He worked as a superintendent of engineering for George Washington, was honored by Benjamin Franklin who started a society promoting Rumsey's inventions, and was friends with Thomas Jefferson while he was in Europe. Jefferson said that Rumsey was one of the most impressive geniuses he had ever met.
Rumsey came to the American colonies from England as a member of the British army, was sent to Illinois Territory to help deal with the Native Americans, but then left the military to become a frontier merchant. As a merchant, he brought supplies to the settlers and traded with the Native Americans in the fur trade. As Britain frowned upon American colonists heading further and further westward, Rumsey found himself on the forefront of the westward movement.
After the fur trade business collapsed, Rumsey went to Natchez, MS, and on to New Orleans, where he made friends with the heads of the city. An opportunity arose for him to buy land in Lacombe, and it was a perfect place to conduct his research.
When the American Revolution broke out, he re-located to Baltimore, where he finished work on his steam-powered watercraft and presented a successful demonstration of the boat on the Potomac River at Shepherdstown, West Virginia, a few years later.
There's a park and memorial dedicated to Rumsey in Shepherdstown, WV Click on the above image to make it larger.
Here is a link to Don Sharp's latest historical presentation about James Rumsey and the history of the northshore area.
Click on the "Play Triangle" above to see the interview
Sharp worked for decades to unveil Rumsey's true background, since many American historians had been led to believe that he was born in Maryland. Through extensive research in both history and genealogy, Sharp was able to track down Rumsey's actual birthplace as Bristol, England. His main incentive for developing the steamboat was an effort to make money to send to his bankrupt father back in England, who was a sugar broker who lost five ships and was financially strapped as a result.
Rumsey was chief engineer on an interstate waterway project being pursued by George Washington, and when the Articles of Confederation posed some obstacles in the way of completing that project, Washington and others sought a new founding document that would allow two states to cooperate with each other on projects of mutual interest. That document wound up being the U.S. Constitution.
A large exhibit detailing the life and accomplishments of inventor James Rumsey is now on display at the Maritime Museum of Louisiana in Madisonville.
The exhibit includes several panels and scale models representing the development of the steamboat, from its earliest incarnations to its large sternwheeler watercraft that plied the waters of the Mississippi River and made New Orleans what it is today.
Donald J. Sharp provided the historical research that went into the creation of the James Rumsey exhibit, particularly the information on how Rumsey once lived on Bayou Rouville off Bayou Lacombe, and also on Pearl River Island southeast of Slidell. There is evidence that he worked in secret on his steamboat invention at those two locations, before being forced to re-locate to Baltimore, Maryland, by the American Revolution.
The maritime museum exhibit celebrates the local contributions to the early steamboat design, an invention that changed the course of history.
A video featuring a detailed interview with Sharp explains the sequence of events that brought Rumsey to St. Tammany Parish, and how his contributions led to boats being able to overcome the current of a river and move upstream carrying people and goods to points all along the Mississippi River.
One part of the exhibit tells about Don Sharp and his research
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