tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76330234650853088612024-03-13T17:03:45.617-07:00Donald J. Sharp History BlogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-25512976340566048172023-09-20T09:53:00.003-07:002023-09-21T04:22:02.203-07:00The Last Few Years of Gilberto Guillemard<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> 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. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />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. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />"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."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlMifGGXnU9aoddd-2w8yuPejS5NUYpiV9MkbXalbCZc9VPrfg4_p3WCV1r_kPMVizyPSw0iBtyC6S7TjwftneU2QaiQ_srJpXihG-Y6U9metmrSmzJB9rmTl0QdjjQCOmasXBPUoGrHMdzXrZCGgbjHb4D6tGzHc1C94_CeMcZoHEfPLP5rCIEu9krFU/s1625/JacksonSquareNewOrleans.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1625" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjlMifGGXnU9aoddd-2w8yuPejS5NUYpiV9MkbXalbCZc9VPrfg4_p3WCV1r_kPMVizyPSw0iBtyC6S7TjwftneU2QaiQ_srJpXihG-Y6U9metmrSmzJB9rmTl0QdjjQCOmasXBPUoGrHMdzXrZCGgbjHb4D6tGzHc1C94_CeMcZoHEfPLP5rCIEu9krFU/w400-h246/JacksonSquareNewOrleans.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A postcard of Jackson Square</div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">He even conducted an <a href="https://donaldsharphistory.blogspot.com/2023/04/gilberto-guillemard-and-early.html" target="_blank">important survey</a> 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. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>His Crescent City Contributions</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">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. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> 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.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmOgOqidb3pId5QHf6-bCPb_kbiM5nfOV0V7C4DjwtDknkiGxePb1Xzt-YwCOUhfsA607u8zJiltwriyyB1BDsB2D250n5t0OqA00ajlcKzi-4fmu4QzBTAN6hW7YHy0CEzILxd1ciY5uCk_oHwYQmAV-P17NQONgbfmaJe18x31DTu1AQ5smp9jxQ-BB/s1750/GuillemardDeathrecord.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="1750" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmOgOqidb3pId5QHf6-bCPb_kbiM5nfOV0V7C4DjwtDknkiGxePb1Xzt-YwCOUhfsA607u8zJiltwriyyB1BDsB2D250n5t0OqA00ajlcKzi-4fmu4QzBTAN6hW7YHy0CEzILxd1ciY5uCk_oHwYQmAV-P17NQONgbfmaJe18x31DTu1AQ5smp9jxQ-BB/w400-h166/GuillemardDeathrecord.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />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.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />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. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ouF1OiCJfew" width="320" youtube-src-id="ouF1OiCJfew"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Don Sharp Talks About Architect Gilberto Guillemard</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Click on the "Play" Triangle above to view the video</div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-24869796622536444312023-04-27T15:29:00.013-07:002023-06-15T09:18:08.021-07:00Gilberto Guillemard and Early Mandeville Settlers<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span><span>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.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b>Link to the Video Interview is located several paragraphs below. </b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A portion of the 1798 Guillemard map </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbERfS-akrwV4hNk9uC6ZhjJ7a642iRtsaTvaJhZvwX7is_LlvitN1is2SqTiQsE7JDy9nCPDAzSWSux-SGx4K4ayuxq3G-wc4sVqfg1YhaM7rsLkiT3ZvMYBazPs_1c3OMqq9aidIPlmvQdKSHuxGdQuVaPcdgsDU6H_mzC_M1gvkqWISjqQwMbL5Jg/s4773/MorganEdwardsMapofMandevilleCropped.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2715" data-original-width="4773" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbERfS-akrwV4hNk9uC6ZhjJ7a642iRtsaTvaJhZvwX7is_LlvitN1is2SqTiQsE7JDy9nCPDAzSWSux-SGx4K4ayuxq3G-wc4sVqfg1YhaM7rsLkiT3ZvMYBazPs_1c3OMqq9aidIPlmvQdKSHuxGdQuVaPcdgsDU6H_mzC_M1gvkqWISjqQwMbL5Jg/w400-h228/MorganEdwardsMapofMandevilleCropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Click on the image to make it larger</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEF3NjtDjhyPSHJOCZYkWxL7M1rumRAOE2LcMisZ2HUl9aRRqUPGbN6J14lh5Qdb97eQz6xqZjEB5txSKgC5Eu78MGU7R_DKjUlQ3I4kTLt4fZVP1tuIKAEuXbl2chCNFEMv_9QhRnwTY5vyAc7atPs94EFfFUqlEfVsysW883HgFs3bRGM9Siu7E2Q/s1184/MapLabelMandeville.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="1184" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEF3NjtDjhyPSHJOCZYkWxL7M1rumRAOE2LcMisZ2HUl9aRRqUPGbN6J14lh5Qdb97eQz6xqZjEB5txSKgC5Eu78MGU7R_DKjUlQ3I4kTLt4fZVP1tuIKAEuXbl2chCNFEMv_9QhRnwTY5vyAc7atPs94EFfFUqlEfVsysW883HgFs3bRGM9Siu7E2Q/w400-h208/MapLabelMandeville.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For a larger more detailed look at the map, <b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbERfS-akrwV4hNk9uC6ZhjJ7a642iRtsaTvaJhZvwX7is_LlvitN1is2SqTiQsE7JDy9nCPDAzSWSux-SGx4K4ayuxq3G-wc4sVqfg1YhaM7rsLkiT3ZvMYBazPs_1c3OMqq9aidIPlmvQdKSHuxGdQuVaPcdgsDU6H_mzC_M1gvkqWISjqQwMbL5Jg/s4773/MorganEdwardsMapofMandevilleCropped.jpg" target="_blank">CLICK HERE.</a></b></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyXn61V-Y3KDNZ7OlVoAH6EvTF5eUjdbo3PaOMJG_aGiyvwGEtuUg4srj1Wt6nbPu7acxXALZ5z5afI_9TmG5GsMdsgYOIFkeN3IFrgO-F2iBe_Wu7H_1Y8FxsP0RUgAv52GgH791ABQSMoeCJJB7mwKG-HrXidEeWu2NKWwlLHdc8AzpIOkWAOusT3Q/s611/stlouis-home-gallery-122.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="611" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyXn61V-Y3KDNZ7OlVoAH6EvTF5eUjdbo3PaOMJG_aGiyvwGEtuUg4srj1Wt6nbPu7acxXALZ5z5afI_9TmG5GsMdsgYOIFkeN3IFrgO-F2iBe_Wu7H_1Y8FxsP0RUgAv52GgH791ABQSMoeCJJB7mwKG-HrXidEeWu2NKWwlLHdc8AzpIOkWAOusT3Q/w400-h272/stlouis-home-gallery-122.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">St. Louis Cathedral</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2SxnQ-vfEPE5eTU84fJB_P2Bo7VZ4O9BXljuK-uoW5SM1IFuNKzbWBIFsKG9Iipl0tcAeulRJxRR_YUjSTHaq1P6mVPkmiMYaSXMn3rdESRRQ9S6ZRvJiFuTwwMZ_OXOMGRALoasiZy4AzUeliiKkQgScu99sXA31zw1ewf3u_DmRv7i4dR41lwpLA/s653/the%20Presbyt%C3%A8re.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="653" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje2SxnQ-vfEPE5eTU84fJB_P2Bo7VZ4O9BXljuK-uoW5SM1IFuNKzbWBIFsKG9Iipl0tcAeulRJxRR_YUjSTHaq1P6mVPkmiMYaSXMn3rdESRRQ9S6ZRvJiFuTwwMZ_OXOMGRALoasiZy4AzUeliiKkQgScu99sXA31zw1ewf3u_DmRv7i4dR41lwpLA/w400-h265/the%20Presbyt%C3%A8re.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgss4zZoIrb9VmRHAV2EVir882EvDsK_XH1hEfrkw2pHLdkrbKA-7CDHgkSL1novQ5wgXheDpC0tIs7M6ZFWqa39b1A1HQJadgEdzF-l2Fsluf0BWW6VZ6xVQiDYH_4vKX0gGJrZAxtjea9rrMwMuKw7Z82bDMtGb-jamgdtQ6PHZJbT2pSco7Jrxy1tA/s1750/presbytere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="1750" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgss4zZoIrb9VmRHAV2EVir882EvDsK_XH1hEfrkw2pHLdkrbKA-7CDHgkSL1novQ5wgXheDpC0tIs7M6ZFWqa39b1A1HQJadgEdzF-l2Fsluf0BWW6VZ6xVQiDYH_4vKX0gGJrZAxtjea9rrMwMuKw7Z82bDMtGb-jamgdtQ6PHZJbT2pSco7Jrxy1tA/w400-h258/presbytere.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Don Sharp also tells of his research into the real name of Mandeville pioneer </span><span>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 <b><a href="https://tammanyfamily.blogspot.com/2016/06/st-tammanys-part-in-revolutionary-war.html" target="_blank">"Oath of Allegiance" signed by northshore settlers</a></b>, the first oath that anyone made to the new colonial government in the American Revolution. Edwards sailed with </span><span>Captain William Pickles </span><span>of the famed "Battle of Lake Pontchartrain" skirmish. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">To view the video, click on the Play Triangle below.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KTbnPASimZQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="KTbnPASimZQ"></iframe></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">For more details on the subjects covered, here are two PDF text documents. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Click this link for <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OI38zxuGpAmL70_R7uJBAuU4verKM3Jx/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">The Pontchartrain Posts</a></span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Also discussed in the video is the Thomas Spell Cemetery</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Click this link for info about</b> <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FkhTgZTUIeR7J3IRnmZFdXpcy4i5ntHo/view?usp=sharing" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">The Thomas Spell Cemetery</a><br /><b>With Edgar Sharp </b>The Old Pelican</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Thomas Spell Cemetery, also known as the Chinchuba Cemetery, is one of the oldest and most historic burial grounds in southeast Louisiana. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxwxxNrop-sB7OIpqeaok1DPOzupH0nAeT_i2LJMSO1O803KOsO4Y-eORi1P0ViGsi7SUTkd6C_wvtEkQr9FFaaqLJhaouUqBv_a4EVzrTUvt_VI9-IarNgetIHm0J8Eq_jECKKvQtPRqJYi3YGp4p338gnGsrSjysz2ECApJG4cuw5oMXHOzr5APpw/s2148/EdgarSharpOldPelican001aa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1264" data-original-width="2148" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxwxxNrop-sB7OIpqeaok1DPOzupH0nAeT_i2LJMSO1O803KOsO4Y-eORi1P0ViGsi7SUTkd6C_wvtEkQr9FFaaqLJhaouUqBv_a4EVzrTUvt_VI9-IarNgetIHm0J8Eq_jECKKvQtPRqJYi3YGp4p338gnGsrSjysz2ECApJG4cuw5oMXHOzr5APpw/w400-h235/EdgarSharpOldPelican001aa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Edgar Sharp, caretaker, at the cemetery</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsvDrb74rIDUHBgg6wUa_swfKyhe11YbP30hNzxvCZQVNLc-jVbJ6D7tAHPNKukgnW6wm4sLCJpNMHvgB9vLbm-rEl-V6CK7uFn3lCMwK7hXGJ-k0E1fzPiBVyxGMd5R1k5ISASi39o_gshDbzisDQSYaGzNvG0MmWpsogS4liVRP6fPHj-r4-qpjGQ/s1332/EdgarSharpOldPelican005aa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="1332" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsvDrb74rIDUHBgg6wUa_swfKyhe11YbP30hNzxvCZQVNLc-jVbJ6D7tAHPNKukgnW6wm4sLCJpNMHvgB9vLbm-rEl-V6CK7uFn3lCMwK7hXGJ-k0E1fzPiBVyxGMd5R1k5ISASi39o_gshDbzisDQSYaGzNvG0MmWpsogS4liVRP6fPHj-r4-qpjGQ/w400-h226/EdgarSharpOldPelican005aa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Much of the information in the video program is covered in more detail in Don's book on the history of Mandeville. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2NkClVjJCaRZQr6Uoc2vxT1HCnEOS2HCKJKy6dXLbbnRKlbW5GrjpnS6Vi7apfDC0UG_ttoL-sOsLhPheL90UXn6z2uq3qaOlRX4BqgryNG4DsOg7dR1a7RsPBJmj66yYMq0h-n-Ni7BpB-gwDSGxYEZq1LzaKCZAye1NKq1lse4QI-NY69L7EiTeAw/s900/DonSharpHistoryofMandevilleBook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2NkClVjJCaRZQr6Uoc2vxT1HCnEOS2HCKJKy6dXLbbnRKlbW5GrjpnS6Vi7apfDC0UG_ttoL-sOsLhPheL90UXn6z2uq3qaOlRX4BqgryNG4DsOg7dR1a7RsPBJmj66yYMq0h-n-Ni7BpB-gwDSGxYEZq1LzaKCZAye1NKq1lse4QI-NY69L7EiTeAw/w266-h400/DonSharpHistoryofMandevilleBook.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><br /></p>Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-31687170374698469052023-04-25T20:39:00.003-07:002023-04-25T20:39:27.085-07:00The History of Lighthouses<p><span style="font-size: large;"> 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. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/deqLaGKXg4Q" width="320" youtube-src-id="deqLaGKXg4Q"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Click on the "Play" Triangle to view the video</div><br /><p><br /></p>Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-37222287599306659072022-10-20T11:24:00.000-07:002022-10-20T11:24:19.301-07:00The Complete James Rumsey Story<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> 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. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfEV_dthFFuhSxM255REbFwKnXjFXf-YtZMFj76o89B9w4TMnibnUoxsfwTRaHoA_sE_S6L0fRwHvjWGoVLCmyt60yTG4lbCQ0InBVln1oJSQqwCnNgAEpqbZaEhNpUAJ5Cf4ACd8ZkD9kvn3JIPlfhDcIOJqwfrhFGchmsll1pl2R3TBQNBXojgQQw/s3384/Donwithposterandbooks.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2011" data-original-width="3384" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfEV_dthFFuhSxM255REbFwKnXjFXf-YtZMFj76o89B9w4TMnibnUoxsfwTRaHoA_sE_S6L0fRwHvjWGoVLCmyt60yTG4lbCQ0InBVln1oJSQqwCnNgAEpqbZaEhNpUAJ5Cf4ACd8ZkD9kvn3JIPlfhDcIOJqwfrhFGchmsll1pl2R3TBQNBXojgQQw/w400-h238/Donwithposterandbooks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Donald J. Sharp and his Rumsey Research Materials</div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">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.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">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.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGazkjZfk58yoNXASrrBhm72EmRVxHrpXWG1okB9Ox58mjjhuNOXme_Z7yZ7Si8ffXJByWbaT1M2v5PnhRPZM4gxbg3aslwczLVj0Pquqp3uqVE_cZhTSMPmjv26vbDIXvvHGAoHMwT5vK-pM_5_b3KPSH32PZQRnS7O3RcmhHjlej2Is2X982L5pdmA/s1750/RumseyMonumentLocation.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="1750" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGazkjZfk58yoNXASrrBhm72EmRVxHrpXWG1okB9Ox58mjjhuNOXme_Z7yZ7Si8ffXJByWbaT1M2v5PnhRPZM4gxbg3aslwczLVj0Pquqp3uqVE_cZhTSMPmjv26vbDIXvvHGAoHMwT5vK-pM_5_b3KPSH32PZQRnS7O3RcmhHjlej2Is2X982L5pdmA/w400-h170/RumseyMonumentLocation.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">There's a park and memorial dedicated to Rumsey in Shepherdstown, WV<br />Click on the above image to make it larger.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Here is a link to Don Sharp's latest historical presentation about James Rumsey and the history of the northshore area. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tQNwpKNRARk" width="320" youtube-src-id="tQNwpKNRARk"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Click on the "Play Triangle" above to see the interview</div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">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. </span></p>Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-55260962502625858152022-06-04T14:32:00.001-07:002022-06-04T14:33:41.795-07:00James Rumsey Exhibit Debuts at Maritime Museum<p> <span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> A large exhibit detailing the life and accomplishments of inventor James Rumsey is now on display at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum in Madisonville. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The maritime museum exhibit celebrates the local contributions to the early steamboat design, an invention that changed the course of history.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEharuDlN4R12dcebBojWWePFhLK51SgVGHIOVDInnukiHk0LL6LPgdas1ZUXNFiIowNJ7RI3ONCoa-CZW7hYRtroC4jc3E6s3cBqYICpnPrO-rtJEZ8DSbG_e8Ttp86nGc8HkrLMfQ8-E_K5fBbmz41waHBOwmRmrfSAr8rhTg4jZB1AI2I7jknn4XayQ/s1750/MaritimeMuseumRumseyExhibit2022-06-03125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1148" data-original-width="1750" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEharuDlN4R12dcebBojWWePFhLK51SgVGHIOVDInnukiHk0LL6LPgdas1ZUXNFiIowNJ7RI3ONCoa-CZW7hYRtroC4jc3E6s3cBqYICpnPrO-rtJEZ8DSbG_e8Ttp86nGc8HkrLMfQ8-E_K5fBbmz41waHBOwmRmrfSAr8rhTg4jZB1AI2I7jknn4XayQ/w400-h263/MaritimeMuseumRumseyExhibit2022-06-03125.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-5L0etJ99L5VxidO9SiQTv7Q_fmrAhTs_2TYTp1TwSi5P0phAA5gTrUTNz6Mlsm2liXkfPwtHpYyDhslLSDpnJ16BsSwAk8gKKmnIKPmNGy9mPrwql0zQBHq6wR5RteB7TzIaExWMdlxTsTcV18f_5dBpQw0JwWg2Ljq93D_yvz74FYQlfKfMbBH1A/s875/SharpPanel2022-06-03_3125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="875" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-5L0etJ99L5VxidO9SiQTv7Q_fmrAhTs_2TYTp1TwSi5P0phAA5gTrUTNz6Mlsm2liXkfPwtHpYyDhslLSDpnJ16BsSwAk8gKKmnIKPmNGy9mPrwql0zQBHq6wR5RteB7TzIaExWMdlxTsTcV18f_5dBpQw0JwWg2Ljq93D_yvz74FYQlfKfMbBH1A/w400-h313/SharpPanel2022-06-03_3125.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">One part of the exhibit tells about Don Sharp and his research</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTT-MB5gsMf4adZY1-DVT38BymSRixKDB3KA5Hncx7-VQpjHuveD-VsH7vaXicH5TLovsvpz8MjJ_Q6840BOs5ug9IOb2BBmimUWGTBbpkXaOwy49uQ07acXHjz8i_r1mNSSU52VPUCZLGFjqmSr12RtfmfEoQ3SPMi9DJEF99CNHs1vFYlJMHanJIVg/s1344/MaritimeMuseumRumseyExhibit2022-06-03_3125TriPanel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="1344" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTT-MB5gsMf4adZY1-DVT38BymSRixKDB3KA5Hncx7-VQpjHuveD-VsH7vaXicH5TLovsvpz8MjJ_Q6840BOs5ug9IOb2BBmimUWGTBbpkXaOwy49uQ07acXHjz8i_r1mNSSU52VPUCZLGFjqmSr12RtfmfEoQ3SPMi9DJEF99CNHs1vFYlJMHanJIVg/w400-h166/MaritimeMuseumRumseyExhibit2022-06-03_3125TriPanel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">See also:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;"><a href="https://donaldsharphistory.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-secret-of-pearl-river-island.html" style="color: #bd290f; text-decoration-line: none;">James Rumsey Invents Steam Propulsion For Boats</a></h3></div></div><p></p>Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-65638692712783640532022-05-13T17:51:00.011-07:002023-04-27T15:16:05.716-07:00The Sharp Family Comes To St. Tammany<p> Over the past six decades Donald J. Sharp has researched the history of how the Sharp family came to St. Tammany. Here are the results of his work. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1hIHprNFk5s" width="320" youtube-src-id="1hIHprNFk5s"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Sharp Family History Part 1</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Click on the Play Triangle in the Above Window to view</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Sharp Family History Part 2</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EA8H2aSXapo" width="320" youtube-src-id="EA8H2aSXapo"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vgB68j80_x9b06-JVdTZKG0ysJwRnNblhgP5P0zySbxWYhlmXhgiRThxKQKuN4E1RlTkPhQIL6zkzJB6-Kp7Tg7KmxAwNE0-L14TV0gkm2ETfFtyedV4Mfcb8_F0oaaWkSUUAiA6wKGyOh6viwie1e-BMd0SukR87IcQpoZWvGrAGOe_KA7R1-OF2g/s3396/DonSharpMaterials2022-05-12%20(20).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1871" data-original-width="3396" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vgB68j80_x9b06-JVdTZKG0ysJwRnNblhgP5P0zySbxWYhlmXhgiRThxKQKuN4E1RlTkPhQIL6zkzJB6-Kp7Tg7KmxAwNE0-L14TV0gkm2ETfFtyedV4Mfcb8_F0oaaWkSUUAiA6wKGyOh6viwie1e-BMd0SukR87IcQpoZWvGrAGOe_KA7R1-OF2g/w400-h220/DonSharpMaterials2022-05-12%20(20).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Qpk7ilSJFnSG4CssaAx6BXGN05m8DOskCCqFRjBHza3pbNPk6SB3uHaR6u1qXFXdNw58KA8BkRNrUxr86g0unqod-3_xFrcMm-on6oBYrky89_gXBoV8hR9Cj3KH68_OKQmhCz5b_eB5KVu7dUsx_VXFc3VTFVAPso82CzwCobd4n_m2A7X6TxKQVg/s1750/SharpFamilyPedigreeChart125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1075" data-original-width="1750" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Qpk7ilSJFnSG4CssaAx6BXGN05m8DOskCCqFRjBHza3pbNPk6SB3uHaR6u1qXFXdNw58KA8BkRNrUxr86g0unqod-3_xFrcMm-on6oBYrky89_gXBoV8hR9Cj3KH68_OKQmhCz5b_eB5KVu7dUsx_VXFc3VTFVAPso82CzwCobd4n_m2A7X6TxKQVg/w400-h246/SharpFamilyPedigreeChart125.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Sharp Family Genealogy Pedigree Chart</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">PDF Files</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Click on the links below to see the documents</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/16YnkvgEhbLgkkJfcWKfRvMq6KdD_s4qF/view?usp=sharing">The Sharp Family: Early Settlers on the North Shore</a></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1br3RFF9h7sgRaRBMvUz_h5_jLh5IinUJ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">The Sharp, Bryan and Boone Family Connection</a></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cmTsxY2YrCE8LLqbCu42cTviwjpzbjJr/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">George Sharp of Bayou Castin</a></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f9DfD8fwcsYeKWgcP5buZhHaJKNsCa0a/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Map Guide To American Migration Routes</a></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZfNb4ck8fkSfGGbE4351kU4r0FAQlQZf/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Thomas Spell, Appraiser</a></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QtKg-M2MlZYte0Y8j73hWLojDLqCJagy/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Spanish Land Laws of Louisiana</a></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_vl6rTzdBpQiaXzfLzew6tqpVE14-P-baTFmAlrs90YeOgT5s3dGbw69eOTk9Se4xbN7Wo7gaFPk3wJiRkE3QTetHqBbRxknZtq2B7mcpH-6G1nyAlh39z0yQrgprDQeMWo-T9yc-t459jjaOGFbKDy1YMPUn-YRFXn4VMyTicobvCIC1RKsBGshrGQ/s1475/Calvin%20Theodore%20Sharp%20and%20Florence%20Taylor%20SharpMod.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1475" data-original-width="1400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_vl6rTzdBpQiaXzfLzew6tqpVE14-P-baTFmAlrs90YeOgT5s3dGbw69eOTk9Se4xbN7Wo7gaFPk3wJiRkE3QTetHqBbRxknZtq2B7mcpH-6G1nyAlh39z0yQrgprDQeMWo-T9yc-t459jjaOGFbKDy1YMPUn-YRFXn4VMyTicobvCIC1RKsBGshrGQ/w380-h400/Calvin%20Theodore%20Sharp%20and%20Florence%20Taylor%20SharpMod.jpg" width="380" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYm6-7nYP0kYXxfnZbTNxwk1nh_pw1PktgSuec_gCvcAh8cYoZRZdOpFkHoQRnTwsGGEANUbjs2EynFTiRGT6PzxnxePRGhE_2J4-TXHvyv7XagqszBDMgDgtGvgRrlI4l_FTy92xbAWwLs2SBvxIWRQoSOTBjPIPmlOX6tLBgXrsELdz9ViaCkYXyuw/s2148/EdgarSharpOldPelican001aa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1264" data-original-width="2148" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYm6-7nYP0kYXxfnZbTNxwk1nh_pw1PktgSuec_gCvcAh8cYoZRZdOpFkHoQRnTwsGGEANUbjs2EynFTiRGT6PzxnxePRGhE_2J4-TXHvyv7XagqszBDMgDgtGvgRrlI4l_FTy92xbAWwLs2SBvxIWRQoSOTBjPIPmlOX6tLBgXrsELdz9ViaCkYXyuw/w400-h235/EdgarSharpOldPelican001aa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Edgar Sharp, the Old Pelican, at the Thomas Spell Cemetery in Chinchuba</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKFYdxLk1z-mFD7drlfWeuKO2YIzUQEe5OaPOSDaEpOTW9zzNkXX0Ig_uqSgpKAO2lyAUxdHesBR1xcbHA2rNIKL9JxftH0SlcKtF9OtqhTqnMFw7F1uC-m8km2mjQGu4ggoVZnKRuUhSQ8lTPgXpS47xR-MRlmLjcOIXrQZG4IPbEXG4Xv30po5WiA/s2548/EdgarSharpOldPelican008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1378" data-original-width="2548" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKFYdxLk1z-mFD7drlfWeuKO2YIzUQEe5OaPOSDaEpOTW9zzNkXX0Ig_uqSgpKAO2lyAUxdHesBR1xcbHA2rNIKL9JxftH0SlcKtF9OtqhTqnMFw7F1uC-m8km2mjQGu4ggoVZnKRuUhSQ8lTPgXpS47xR-MRlmLjcOIXrQZG4IPbEXG4Xv30po5WiA/w400-h216/EdgarSharpOldPelican008.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9V6OlWhn7iPl7f658YtvltNwQ1OD955xft5npRzgCdvbjwhiChVxVchFJzp9O1fmVu5axBy0cuAgV5_2ir2taz8d8fhMZhWm0NkMQW-vJLTeP9yeCDrMddazncz5Eh-4mDJvOvc84lC0USFmSso0u-9OsDsmMlF65N1z3aQUorll3PHlEjpnCp99TQ/s1660/EdgarSharpOldPelican009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1480" data-original-width="1660" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9V6OlWhn7iPl7f658YtvltNwQ1OD955xft5npRzgCdvbjwhiChVxVchFJzp9O1fmVu5axBy0cuAgV5_2ir2taz8d8fhMZhWm0NkMQW-vJLTeP9yeCDrMddazncz5Eh-4mDJvOvc84lC0USFmSso0u-9OsDsmMlF65N1z3aQUorll3PHlEjpnCp99TQ/w400-h356/EdgarSharpOldPelican009.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-23822150569644476312022-04-13T09:13:00.017-07:002022-05-25T15:02:33.794-07:00Lighthouse History<p><span style="font-size: medium;">In this interview taped on April 12, 2022, historian Don Sharp tells about the history of lighthouses on the Gulf Coast, with a focus on the Tchefuncte River lighthouse south of Madisonville, La. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gOzfSHzIzNI" width="320" youtube-src-id="gOzfSHzIzNI"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Click on the "play" triangle above to view the video. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">YouTube Link: <a href="https://youtu.be/gOzfSHzIzNI">https://youtu.be/gOzfSHzIzNI</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Lighthouse History Recap</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u_KGyAEI0G4" width="320" youtube-src-id="u_KGyAEI0G4"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Video With Recap of Lighthouse Information</div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBx5uPggP1BkyGWVDDSHiBYzfefO4R6UfSBc9tSBYByMzJ83ZgPLt6WkMnxCBmT9_QbLCuuGk-zXpkR6k1yaj5wCwIeoHMBEs-73tI3tQzM_9aW9cMyqsLkywULEjRRIhsAT243ji6Yp4vVQ3pQfzy_jP82R3YYA3SWtMnE7mmDQAWjZzT00XJHHUURQ/s1070/SharpDonPortraitOval_FotoSketcherMod.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1070" data-original-width="940" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBx5uPggP1BkyGWVDDSHiBYzfefO4R6UfSBc9tSBYByMzJ83ZgPLt6WkMnxCBmT9_QbLCuuGk-zXpkR6k1yaj5wCwIeoHMBEs-73tI3tQzM_9aW9cMyqsLkywULEjRRIhsAT243ji6Yp4vVQ3pQfzy_jP82R3YYA3SWtMnE7mmDQAWjZzT00XJHHUURQ/w351-h400/SharpDonPortraitOval_FotoSketcherMod.jpg" width="351" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Don Sharp</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZtqJYdROQLcEnkB5a-sugE01-IVZ_g-z83ETiQ7WKYw1FYXKKWnasErcY6-MI2XtBYzVu2r2gtonjEILwjXhVX7Uw0S-vcZO2gbbGK1-NIZEJk3oxiUKujKG9Rr3e5XVkJPSHTyyZ60nUKo7CtjDekvLBjXiL7zhbL39Z1e2nIJ2Eb4DdEZYvOWuJbQ/s1500/TchefuncteRiverLighthouse1967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1119" data-original-width="1500" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZtqJYdROQLcEnkB5a-sugE01-IVZ_g-z83ETiQ7WKYw1FYXKKWnasErcY6-MI2XtBYzVu2r2gtonjEILwjXhVX7Uw0S-vcZO2gbbGK1-NIZEJk3oxiUKujKG9Rr3e5XVkJPSHTyyZ60nUKo7CtjDekvLBjXiL7zhbL39Z1e2nIJ2Eb4DdEZYvOWuJbQ/w400-h299/TchefuncteRiverLighthouse1967.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-10989122220665510562022-03-25T16:43:00.002-07:002022-03-25T16:43:30.709-07:00Aerial Photos from 1965<p> Here are a couple of aerial photos from 1965 showing the Tchefuncte River from Madisonville to the lighthouse. </p><p>Click on the images to make them larger. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYYPhUDFyGOCsDvt6TtW1b9x3pY8cTahcA1APlMDJspaiWscGTl1E2WtxpOxAv_Xenke8FMoWWdK5ROHGAY9N0qXq6XblKKOmcGB3_-0iHN-TOe6d2yDrOpfFEU4uhJvUGLNr-kC76NopELMisJhvCt5Wfbyg_5iaTh-pQ571dlnnC8GdC7b2yxV44A/s2125/TchefuncteRiverLighthouse1965-125Labelled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1175" data-original-width="2125" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYYPhUDFyGOCsDvt6TtW1b9x3pY8cTahcA1APlMDJspaiWscGTl1E2WtxpOxAv_Xenke8FMoWWdK5ROHGAY9N0qXq6XblKKOmcGB3_-0iHN-TOe6d2yDrOpfFEU4uhJvUGLNr-kC76NopELMisJhvCt5Wfbyg_5iaTh-pQ571dlnnC8GdC7b2yxV44A/w400-h221/TchefuncteRiverLighthouse1965-125Labelled.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61cwn7PfVB-oZ_wVRhsauM1N5GpSs6chM_CK_FOPhE2EOMWeYHRlQ7dCG92OelUnXgoZgWAR25reYtZ3xU5nIuC2HoMni2m4oqI-DKv7RxQdVu9NvL7vJrP7InJB5wfD7zMGJy81CfciblUqn9kkW5tcR9jciT8D62vkrWcdcR6kNr2F9bHvOlk_fHQ/s2125/TchefuncteRiverAndMadisonville1965-125Labelled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="2125" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61cwn7PfVB-oZ_wVRhsauM1N5GpSs6chM_CK_FOPhE2EOMWeYHRlQ7dCG92OelUnXgoZgWAR25reYtZ3xU5nIuC2HoMni2m4oqI-DKv7RxQdVu9NvL7vJrP7InJB5wfD7zMGJy81CfciblUqn9kkW5tcR9jciT8D62vkrWcdcR6kNr2F9bHvOlk_fHQ/w400-h210/TchefuncteRiverAndMadisonville1965-125Labelled.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> </div><br /><p><br /></p>Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-2196184748511676392022-01-27T06:58:00.003-08:002022-01-27T06:58:43.828-08:00Don Sharp Talks About History & The Historical Society<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Don Sharp recently did an interview telling about how he got started in historical research.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V-z2f1mhmUM" width="320" youtube-src-id="V-z2f1mhmUM"></iframe> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Click on the above "play triangle" to view the video. <br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-82165008728527407652021-08-18T11:33:00.005-07:002021-08-18T11:33:41.011-07:00Martime Museum Meeting<p> <span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">Don
Sharp, who celebrated his 92nd birthday recently, met with Jim
MacPherson, executive director, and Jeanne Brooks, educator, both with
the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum, on Wednesday, August 18th, to
share with them his extensive historical research into the "Tchefuncte
River Corridor." The museum is located in Madisonville, just a few yards
from the river itself, and Don's findings are of considerable interest
to museum officials.</span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDYcSOJRfljYr37nhvrsoIeGWREhs8DY9oc670P8usZR7Q2Z1-rHWPw2Ihi_PTte72rc7bQeCC7A81y2Q6ojzhdZ5MGGr89QY2ErFHQCQLRHrhK4OycRPHkbb07FsKcfdaHsU1o-gWewJOCEz5BTkCx0F8CtjnxzMNLq8bN9GLDvy1AvUgQBLc_GHfww=s1750" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1750" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDYcSOJRfljYr37nhvrsoIeGWREhs8DY9oc670P8usZR7Q2Z1-rHWPw2Ihi_PTte72rc7bQeCC7A81y2Q6ojzhdZ5MGGr89QY2ErFHQCQLRHrhK4OycRPHkbb07FsKcfdaHsU1o-gWewJOCEz5BTkCx0F8CtjnxzMNLq8bN9GLDvy1AvUgQBLc_GHfww=w400-h231" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizy-36iQcuvjuxMZ3G9e8xYRo-XwrgesGahniELN3_24Ji_XTtgJ3uN8d3DSkoLEjDufGaplj84_ro9cUyOAty3JJ51VMY3jXCKq4AYrC8YEJiYfKZoJQPtalvjqhheKj5i2vKkdCmIWXcoKQe40h43uLMsbtoDvC4Ujwxj7KaPCc8JKrNO29lm5rDzQ=s1500" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1500" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizy-36iQcuvjuxMZ3G9e8xYRo-XwrgesGahniELN3_24Ji_XTtgJ3uN8d3DSkoLEjDufGaplj84_ro9cUyOAty3JJ51VMY3jXCKq4AYrC8YEJiYfKZoJQPtalvjqhheKj5i2vKkdCmIWXcoKQe40h43uLMsbtoDvC4Ujwxj7KaPCc8JKrNO29lm5rDzQ=w400-h236" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5cuDb5rz9nnZ_bPg-ct3-6oq5fi4x6VTtLKo10XIXRCnhpnIrJ3TcHpTyDjizXmvVLVeSpyYqanN_8i-FF6s9OWFZKgGOioTHsgtqRg4Sx0Z1V7wUOi2nQjOjthvmbNL0hbq8K4A66XhZi0XgVwr2PRdTaJMrx15HR9Apps6oEFQKWHhlC2Bon9o8BA=s1500" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5cuDb5rz9nnZ_bPg-ct3-6oq5fi4x6VTtLKo10XIXRCnhpnIrJ3TcHpTyDjizXmvVLVeSpyYqanN_8i-FF6s9OWFZKgGOioTHsgtqRg4Sx0Z1V7wUOi2nQjOjthvmbNL0hbq8K4A66XhZi0XgVwr2PRdTaJMrx15HR9Apps6oEFQKWHhlC2Bon9o8BA=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-25005703686892675832021-07-31T16:34:00.002-07:002021-07-31T16:34:24.314-07:00Don Sharp's 2003 Presentation<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAzZR4oPumKSPlnq9M8LHsu9ZS3_QkCD_rbdkDw1k_VTDxvG6U3m0cDFsYfL0eadalhMvjqXVbaI-L7szaxx_ZtLxaoFTrVz8530TyF89yFDzW1BGYq6NHSaDB66nUIAalL3mvZ2KOlZ5/s1750/DonSharpNewsArticle2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1584" data-original-width="1750" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAzZR4oPumKSPlnq9M8LHsu9ZS3_QkCD_rbdkDw1k_VTDxvG6U3m0cDFsYfL0eadalhMvjqXVbaI-L7szaxx_ZtLxaoFTrVz8530TyF89yFDzW1BGYq6NHSaDB66nUIAalL3mvZ2KOlZ5/w400-h363/DonSharpNewsArticle2003.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-66416605743644625632021-07-28T14:38:00.001-07:002021-07-28T14:38:17.324-07:00The Covington Cantonment<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For a brief time, the Covington area had a military cantonment on the Little Bogue Falaya River, just a few miles upriver from Claiborne Hill. It was located where the "Old Military Road" branches off and heads up to the Bogue Chitto River. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Don Sharp in his research says the following:</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1805 a crossing over the Bogue Falaya River at Covington was located on land owned by Massey West Baker, and a wooden bridge was built at the site. Things began happening quickly in that area as new settlers came in. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The military cantonment was established in 1811 with the
cooperation of Governor Claiborne of Louisiana and Governor David Holmes
of Mississippi Territory. Lt. Colonel Leonard Covington of the U. S
Army assigned the 3rd Regiment stationed in the Mississippi Territory for
the job. Barracks for the troops and housing for Officers were built five
miles from the Bogue Falaya Fork on the road to the settlements
northeast on the Bogue Chitto River.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4dosqibbAvvA0xSwL7rSxl-JUhwDuOOKWBTrA65bdz93m13d90iek8UXj5bCm26ZHLqnbAAjVjUdgcwOX37tsQbx8hhBhf8MqJ0ZRsqAmfjDnVoFoANT6oC8Xp7AMexnMNGkGqDcGBji/s2048/TobinMapCantonment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1479" data-original-width="2048" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4dosqibbAvvA0xSwL7rSxl-JUhwDuOOKWBTrA65bdz93m13d90iek8UXj5bCm26ZHLqnbAAjVjUdgcwOX37tsQbx8hhBhf8MqJ0ZRsqAmfjDnVoFoANT6oC8Xp7AMexnMNGkGqDcGBji/w400-h289/TobinMapCantonment.jpg" width="400" /> </a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Click on the image to make it larger. <br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <br /><i>Covington is at the blue dot in the lower left corner, the location of the abandoned cantonment is the red mark at the top of the map, and Abita Springs is located at the green dot, lower right. The New Orleans railway line is located across the bottom (although it was not there at the time of the cantonment.) Of interest are the dotted lines, showing the roads to Pearlington (Ms.) at bottom, and the road to Bogue Chitto (Military Road La. Hwy. 21)</i><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A declaration of War with Great Britain was received in July, 1812, and
the Military Cantonment on the road between the Bogue Falaya and Bogue
Chitto Rivers was closed.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> The Detachment of the 3rd Regiment stationed at the
Cantonment was recalled back to
Mississippi Territory.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jessie R. Jones purchased land from Jacques Drieux around 1813 and had a house there when John Wharton Collins laid out the Town of Wharton.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1813</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b> </b>Governor <i>Claiborne</i> wrote to Governor <i>Holmes</i> of the Mississippi Territory and tells <i>Holmes </i>that
since the Cantonment was closed on the Little Bogue Falaya roving bands
of Choctaws have become increasing hostile along the area of the Bogue
Chitto River.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On November 29, 1814, <i>General Jackson</i> and five aides, including <i>Major Howell Tatum,</i>
who kept a dairy, came down the Military Road from the Bogue Chitto
River settlements. They passed the abandoned Cantonment at the crossing
of the Little Bogue Falaya and entered the newly dedicated town of
Wharton. <br /><br />It was Samuel Ott who had the saw mill next to the "old cantonement" that was mentioned in Howell Tatum's diary, and Ott's property is clearly marked on the Tobin map shown above. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> See also:</span></span></p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name"><a href="https://donaldsharphistory.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-early-settlement-of-tchefuncte.html">The Early Settlement of the Tchefuncte River Corridor</a> <br /></h3><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name"><a href="https://donaldsharphistory.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-timeline-along-tchefuncte-river.html">The Timeline Along the Tchefuncte River Corridor</a> <br /></h3>Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-25537103469675057812021-05-22T08:28:00.008-07:002021-05-24T03:03:13.531-07:00Marianne Chauvin Krebs<p> Additional information about the Krebs family which owned land at the mouth of the Tchefuncte River has been found by Don Sharp, based on research by Anita R. Campeau, M.A., his co-author of the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/History-Mandeville-American-Revolution-Bernard/dp/1613421761/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535664008&sr=8-1&keywords=%22The+History+of+Mandeville%22+Donald+J.+Sharp">history of Mandeville.</a></p><p>Marianne Chauvin was the second wife of Hugo Krebs of Pascagoula, MS. He died in New Orleans in 1776 and Marianne obtained a Spanish land grant on the east bank of the mouth of the Tchefuncte River. Her son Basil obtained the land at the mouth of the west side in 1795 and was surveyed by David Bannister Morgan in the year 1804.<br /><br />According to Sharp's research, Basil may have established some sort of a lighthouse at the location in 1811. He died in 1815.<br /><br />Basil married Felicite Marchand in 1799 and she plays an important part in the entrance to the Tchefuncte River corridor, especially the cemetery at Madisonville. She purchased from her brother in 1829 the 13 acres that the cemetery is located on. <br /><br />Here is the story of the Chauvin Family of Illinois and Louisiana. It explains how Marianne Chauvin, widow of Hugo Krebs, born in Illinois, got down to Louisiana and had two land grants on the Tchefuncte River. It was amazing that she built a house on the sandy bend at the mouth of the river. <br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />The Chauvin Families of Louisiana and the Illinois Country</b></span><br /><br />Researched by Anita R. Campeau, M.A.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6bytoQ1hAWgKphzoMQ1q63rc4fc0D59Ooed3LezuB7dHcRXLy14dKrRVVCmjQszcGrWdYtJOwGnpV4CYL2gvsWjXlcqiIwqx44QfnmsYY1dEqynk5soTBnxzDFG83LwgBwNbvml8tRU6/s1426/CampeauAnita125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1426" data-original-width="875" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6bytoQ1hAWgKphzoMQ1q63rc4fc0D59Ooed3LezuB7dHcRXLy14dKrRVVCmjQszcGrWdYtJOwGnpV4CYL2gvsWjXlcqiIwqx44QfnmsYY1dEqynk5soTBnxzDFG83LwgBwNbvml8tRU6/w245-h400/CampeauAnita125.jpg" width="245" /> </a></p><p style="text-align: center;">Anita Campeau, M.A. <br /></p><p><br />Objective: To find out how Marie Anne Chauvin dit Joyeuse, daughter of Philippe Chauvin dit Joyeuse and Marie-Anne Danis, born in Kaskaskia circa 1735, ties in with the Chauvin families of Canada, Mobile and Louisiana. She was present in New Orleans at the time of her mother's death on June 10, 1747. She married Hugo Ernest Krebs, widower of Marie Simon Lapointe about 1753. Her first child named Daniel Hugo Krebs was born on December 23, 1754, Mobile, Alabama, and died November 7, 1800, Pascagoula, MS.<br /><br />The common ancestor for the CHAUVIN families who settled at Mobile, the Illinois country, and Louisiana is Pierre dit "Le Grand Pierre" who arrived in Montreal with La Grande Recrue in 1653 <span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span> Pierre, the son of René and Catherine AVARD, originated from St. Vion, diocese of Angers, Anjou, France a department of La Flèche where he was hired on April 4, 1653 (Notary: Lafousse) as a miller and settler at the annual salary of 75 livres. <br /><br />After completing his five-year contract, Pierre decided to remain in this country. Shortly afterwards, he signed a marriage contract with Marthe AUTREUIL/Hautreux, daughter of René and Francoise LA CHAUNERLIN, at Ville-Marie, (Basset: not. 15 September 1658), and was married the next day. The family settled at Varennes where they raised their large family. <br /><br />One by one with the children leaving the paternal home, in order to relocate to Mobile, Louisiana, or the Illinois country, the couple removed to Montreal. Pierre CHAUVIN was buried in Montreal on August 4, 1699 and his widow, in compliance with the other children became the ward of her son Gilles CHAUVIN (Adhémar: not. September 30, 1700). Marthe AUTREUIL was buried February 25, 1714, at St. Francois, Ile-Jésus.<br /><br />Gilles CHAUVIN, of the first generation born in Canada, was the son of Pierre and Marthe Autreuil. He was born in Montreal on June 1, 1668. In a contract dated July 30, 1688, Gilles was hired by Ignace Hébert; and on August 19, 1692, he was hired by Joseph Guillet de Bellefeuille. <br /><br />Gilles was an engageur with Laurent Renaud in a contract dated July 27, 1703, when an engagement was signed by Pierre Richard, Louis Chauvin, Louis Vaudry, Charles Cabazié and Louis Renaud to make a voyage to the Illinois country. Gilles also came to Detroit in a contract dated June 7, 1706, in partnership with Louis Normand. (Adhémar : not.).<br /><br />Gilles CHAUVIN married first Marie-Madeleine CABASSIER or Cabazier, daughter of Pierre and Jeanne GUIBERGE, January 21, 1697, Montreal (Adhémar: ct. 19). Two children were issued from this marriage: Pierre born in Montreal in 1698, hired west on July 1, 1698; died 28 November 1718, Montreal; and Louise-Danielle born in 1699, Montreal, married Nicolas PERTHUIS in 1721. Marie Cabazier died on August 8, 1699, and was buried the next day in Montreal.<br /><br />Gilles has a second marriage to Angelique Guyon du Rouvray which took place on November 24, 1700, Montreal (Adhémar: ct. 24). The daughter of Michel and Genevieve Marsolet, she was baptized at Quebec on August 26, 1685. Twelve children were issued from this marriage but my interest is mainly on Louis-Marie, the eldest son, the fourth child named Philippe, born and baptized July 4, 1707, Montreal, and Joseph the seventh child. <br /><br />Gilles Chauvin and his wife Angélique remained in Montreal, but the three sons mentioned above settled in Kaskaskia where they married and had children.<br /><br /><b>Chauvin brothers who settled at Mobile and Louisiana</b><br /><br />Of the first generation born in Canada, several of Gilles' brothers settled in Louisiana. The three brothers Jacques, Joseph and Louis CHAUVIN were in Mobile mid 1709. Nicolas CHAUVIN dit La Fresnière, one of the eight sons of Pierre and Marthe Auteuil had actually been present in the colony before. He had served in Mobile as a Canadian during the years 1702-1706 along with the Canadian Joseph Simon dit Lapointe who later settled in Pascagoula, Louisiana. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">2<br /></span><br />Nicolas Chauvin dit La Fresniere was born January 19, 1676, Montreal; married Marguerite LeSueur the daughter of Pierre and Marguerite Messier in Louisiana. Her father was an interpreter of Indian languages and a fur merchant. Nicolas worked as an agent for Gabriel Baudreau dit Graveline and while in La Rochelle, France, he sought to have more merchandise sent to Louisiana to be sold at Mobile and Pensacola.<br /><br />Joseph TURPIN, born in Montreal, June 21, 1696, the son of Pierre Alexandre and Marie Charlotte Beauvais married in New Orleans on November 7, 1731, Hypolite Chauvin, the illegitimate daughter of Nicolas de la Fresnière and an Indian slave named Catherine, a servant that he owned. <br /><br />Being illegitimate, under Louisiana law, she was not eligible to inherit from her father's estate when he died in New Orleans about 1749. Joseph Turpin was in Kaskaskia Post, Illinois by 1742, as he received a grant of land that year, and another in 1743 from the French government. He died in the year of 1750, and his widow, who was expecting their second child, remarried in March, 1750, Kaskaskia, to Sieur Joseph de La Mirande, born 1728, Three Rivers, Quebec, son of Jacques and Marguerite Gertasse.<br /><br />Hypolite CHAUVIN was born circa L715, probably at Mobile Post, and died about 1758, probably at the Opelousas Post, where Joseph La Mirande married his second wife that year.<br /><br /><b>1.</b> Jacques CHAUVIN dit Mondon, born May 17, 1672, Montreal, was known also as sieur de Charleville. He and his brother Jacques accompanied sieur Lemoyne d'Iberville in the battle for the Hudson Bay. The capture of Fort Nelson in 1697 and their action on the Hayes River earned unending applause for it was a great feat perhaps unparalleled in the long history of Anglo-French naval warfare.. Jacques was associated with Fort Louis of La Mobile since 1698 as a merchant and private settler. <br /><br />He married Marie-Anne de la Vigne circa 1714 at Mobile. He died and was buried about 1729 at Biloxi. He was a good friend of sieur Lemoyne de Bienville, founder of New Orleans in 1718, and though illiterate when he testified before d'Artaguiette he denied having any knowledge that could be detrimental to Bienville's reputation.<br /><br /><b>2. </b>Joseph CHAU'VIN known as sieur de Léry, was born April 14, 1674, Montreal, and also settled in Mobile. He had a natural child with Francoise, a slave of Pierre Payan. He married Marie Hypolite MERCIER who came to Louisiana perhaps on the Pelican in 1704. She was the widow of Valentin Barreau, surgeon. <br /><br />From her marriage to Joseph Chauvin, we know of Joseph and Nicolas. Hypolite was godmother to an Indian slave at Fort Louis on November 24, 1721, where her name appears for the last time. She returned to France where she died before spring 1726. No documents were found to explain her departure from Louisiana. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">3<br /></span><br />Lieutenant Joseph de Léry, son, was killed in an ambush by a group of Arkansas Indians, prior to February 21, 1738. He was replaced by Francois de Montbrun, a Canadian officer, who was wounded during Bienville's campaign against the Chickasaws, April-May 1736.<br /><br /><b>3. </b> Louis CHAUVIN, sieur de Beaulieu, was born February 17, 1678, Montreal. He was hired on May 27, 1701, to make the voyage in the first convoy that came to Detroit under Cadillac (Adhémar: not.). He was hired in July 1703 to make a voyage to the Illinois country in the company of Pierre Richard, Louis Vaudry, Charles Cabazié and Louis Renaud for Laurent RENAUD and Gilles CHAUVIN. <br /><br />He was in Detroit with his brother Jean-Baptiste in 1706 and at Fort Louis de La Mobile in October 1709 when he was godfather to his nephew Joseph, son of Joseph Chauvin de Léry. With his brothers Nicolas and Joseph, he took part in the expedition of Louis Juchereau de Saint Denis to the Rio Grande. <br /><br />The expedition left from Fort Louis on or about October 2, 1716, proceeded to Natchitoches on the Red River, and arrived at Rio Grande <span style="font-size: xx-small;">4</span> in April 1717. Their merchandise was confiscated and St. Denis was taken prisoner to Mexico. The Canadians took refuge in the church of the San Bernardo Mission, and eventually were able to escape during the night, and arrived at Ile Dauphine on October 26, 1717. Jacques and Nicolas wrote a report of the expedition on June 30, 1718.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">5</span><br /><br />He married Charlotte Aubanne (Orbanne) DUVAL, daughter of Francois Aubanne Duval and Elizabeth ALEXANDRE. He was given a concession of land in the region of Chapitoulas where he cultivated tobacco and was involved in the lumber industry with his two brothers. His plantation was one of the most prosperous in the colony. He died of pleurisy prior to 1729. <br /><br />Périer and Chaise, Directors of the Indian Company, announced his death on January 30, 1729, stating that he was the best of the three brothers and that they were bereaved because it was he who was always aiming to please the company.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">6<br /></span><br />Gayarré in his History of Louisiana, Volume 1, page 111, wrote that Louis Chauvin was killed on January 3, 1731 by Indians on the Mississippi while he served in the military for Governor Périer. This is a false assertion, since his widow Charlotte Duval married about 1729 the officer Jean-Charles Demouy, an aide-de-camp of Governor Bienville.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijV13ws04apOZw2m_jRWaw621LJWvfZIjHad3NgzZEiX1L0lTBryjoHIYhORlGHt_MOJtzBj3MgXaZO8EXE_9eKt2pu31bjTPmyb1t2FlnU4RLQ0ZPtrxBr7CqW0D3PUx16zTGkC9LeFH5/s1750/ChauvinEndnotes125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="1750" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijV13ws04apOZw2m_jRWaw621LJWvfZIjHad3NgzZEiX1L0lTBryjoHIYhORlGHt_MOJtzBj3MgXaZO8EXE_9eKt2pu31bjTPmyb1t2FlnU4RLQ0ZPtrxBr7CqW0D3PUx16zTGkC9LeFH5/w400-h131/ChauvinEndnotes125.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To view the entire article in a PDF format, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yCfkCj8ed6m6Wok9p2Tjit42HuwcZWHp/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><b>CLICK HERE.</b></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b> </b><br /></div>For more information about the Pascagoula, MS, Krebs heritage, <a href="https://mdah.ms.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/AR-35-LaPointe-Krebs.pdf" target="_blank"><b>CLICK HERE.</b></a><br />Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-35962730237085016592020-05-02T15:46:00.004-07:002020-05-02T15:46:55.359-07:00Iberville's Route Through Southeast Louisiana<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is a map of Iberville's route in his exploration of southeastern Louisiana in 1699. </span><br />
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<br />Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-63484511098267644702020-03-19T13:36:00.003-07:002021-01-04T13:23:21.151-08:00The Naval Shipyard and Its Personnel<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The Naval Shipyard on the Tchefuncte River, just upstream from Madisonville, was a major facility, and a focal point of much activity. Among those who were instrumental in its operation were George Merrill, David Porter, Edward Preble and Captain John Shaw. Here is some information on the situations, people, and places which made it all come to pass. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Gunboats on the Tchefuncte River in 1806</b></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">In the fall of 1806 an incident occurred on the Tchefuncte River that would change the "status quo" and have repercussions for years to come. The north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and Maurepas had become an important part of the foreign policy of both Spain and the United States since the Louisiana Purchase on December 20, 1803. Each nation felt that their claim to West Florida was correct and tensions ran high.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Some time between late October and December 1, 1806, two United State's ship-of-war called "Jefferson Gun Boats" entered the mouth of the Tchefuncte River and sailed up the three miles and anchored on the west bank opposite a little settlement which consisted of a few log cabins and huts built by Juan Baham and his sons. Baham had obtained his Spanish land grant in 1785 and had relocated from Mobile.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Gun Vessels Nos. 11 and 12, had recently arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi River from the East Coast, had been ordered from Boston in September by the Secretary of the Navy to New Orleans Station with the brigs <i>Aetna </i>and Vesuvius. On arriving at the Belize (mouth of the Mississippi) Captain Shaw, concerned about the report of two Spanish cruisers on the "lakes" sent them to Lake Pontchartrain. While cruising on Lake Maurepas, the ships stopped at the mouth of the Amite River and found the conditions favorable for obtaining water and for beaching their ships for repairs. They found the Tchefuncte River another good place where they could obtain water, provisions and repair their ships when needed.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Gunboat No. 12 with Lt. Joseph Bainbridge in command, ordered his ship up the Tchefuncte. Lt. Bainbridge had distinguished himself with honors during the Barbary Wars. He was in the company of Lt. Stephen Decatur when he burned the stranded Philadelphia in Tripoli harbor. No. 12 followed with Sailing Master John Rush in </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">command. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">He was the eldest son of the well-known Dr. Benjamin </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Rush </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">of Philadelphia, a signer of the Declaration of Independence as was his father-in-law. After five weeks of exploring Lake Maurepas and Pontchartrain the Gun Vessels returned to the Mississippi and ascended the river and anchored at New Orleans. The <i>Aetna </i>and <i>Vesuvius </i>had already ascended and were waiting in the river.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Need for a naval presence in New Orleans</b></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Soon after the Louisiana Purchase in December 1803, the Jefferson Administration realized that a United States presence was necessary in New Orleans. The Secretary of the Navy alerted a detachment of Marines under the command of Captain Daniel Carmick to prepare for the Gulf Coast. They were the first element of the United States to arrive at New Orleans in March of 1804. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Two years later, in 1806, a United States Naval facility was to be established when the newly Commandant Captain Shaw was appointed to the mission. He arrived in New Orleans on the brig Franklin on March 16, 1806, with Purser Keith Spence and some senior lieutenants.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">John Shaw, the son of John and Elizabeth (Barton) SHAW, was born at Mount Mellick, Queen's County, Ireland. He </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">was ordered to New Orleans in 1806 to construct gunboats for coastal defense. Leaving Boston Harbor late in September 1806, the four ships arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi River on October 10. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">He established a Navy Yard on the river next to the Plaza de Armas, later known as Jackson Square. Captain John Shaw ordered the two Gun Vessels nos. 11 and 12 to enter lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain. Their orders were to show the American flag to the Spanish and explore the "lakes" and find suitable watering and repair places for the future gunboats to arrive. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Note that the gunboats were given numbers instead of names like larger vessels of the Navy. These were under the command of Lt. Joseph Bainbridge and Sailing Master John Rush. Gun vessels were the current choice of the Jefferson administration because they were more economical and the opposition of a large navy. These vessels or gunboats were to play an important part in the military diplomacy and defense on the lakes during the next nine years.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The two brigs Aetna and Vesuvius docked at New Orleans on November 6, 1806. George Merrill arrived at the New Orleans Station in 1806 where he would spend the next seventeen years. After spending more than six weeks cruising Lake Maurepas and Pontchartrain, Gun vessels Nos. 11 and 12 returned to New Orleans in December. No sooner had they returned, Shaw ordered the four ships upriver to Natchez because of the threat of the Aaron BURR conspiracy. He frustrated Burr's intrigues in the southwest by mobilizing a naval force in the lower Mississippi. Shaw was promoted to the rank of captain on August 27, 1807.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">From 1811 to spring of 1814, Captain Shaw was busily engaged in fortifying New Orleans and in helping to capture Mobile; then he took command of the naval squadron in the vicinity of New London, CT. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Captain SHAW was shown a bend of the river located on the property of Jacques Lorreins, the owner of the twenty acres located on that prominent bend of the River. Today it is a Beau Chene Subdivision. Shaw agreed to terms with Jacques Lorreins for twenty acres and a ten year lease. In a letter to Paul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy, Shaw pointed out that it was the ideal location for building the ship and others, if necessary. It had a good view of the river, plenty of excellent oak, pine and cedar, and a slight incline for launching. On the Gulf it would be vulnerable to a British invasion, but on the Tchefuncte it would be better protected. By January 14, 1813, Captain SHAW was back in New Orleans after a one month absence.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Once an agreement was reached, Lt. Michael Carroll and Sailing master Jonathan Ferris were put in charge of navy crews that started clearing the land in order to build the flat bottom boat frigate a few miles away. (Inquests March 8, 1813, Probate 12214, Advertisement. Twelve copies distributed to Judge Tate Covington Court House). Permission had been granted to SHAW by Paul Hamilton, the Secretary of the Navy, and he could proceed with the construction.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Captain SHAW hired Master carpenter Francois PICHON of New Orleans to be in charge of building the ship. Captain Shaw and Pichon hired what carpenters that could be had in New Orleans and the rest of the civilian labour force were hired from residents of the North Shore. Thomas SPELL and Joseph SHARP were among the labourers who were hired. Capt. Shaw reported his activities in the preparation for building the ship to the Paul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy, and received his approval. It was an economic boon for the north shore. Workers were paid as much as $28.00 a month, plus rations. On the payroll list, secured from the Navy archives, there were about 150 names of civilians that worked on the ship during the peak months; many from the surrounding parishes.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>David Porter appointed Commandant of the New Orleans Station, 1808-1810</b></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Master Commandant Porter arrived in New Orleans, in June 1808, only to find his father David Porter Sr., an old Sailing Master from the Revolutionary War, who had recently been assigned to the N.O. Station, lay dying. He had been fishing on Lake Pontchartrain with his friend George Farragut, also a Sailing Master, when he suffered a stroke. Farragut had taken in the ailing Porter and he and his wife were caring for him when the young </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Porter </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">arrived. In appreciation, Commandant </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Porter </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">took into his home one of Farragut's sons.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">After the BURR scare had died down in March of 1807, we have gunboats consistently stationed on the lakes. A Lake Squadron, flying the blue Pennant, was established by Captain David </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Porter </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">. On April 30, 1808, Acting Lt. Merrill was promoted to full lieutenant. Later in the year he was given command of Gun Vessel No. 15, which had been built on the Ohio River and sent down to New Orleans where it joined the Lake Division.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">With relations between the United States and Great Britain deteriorating, Congress passed the Embargo Act on December 22, 1807. Captain David </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Porter </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">had to stop the shipments of contraband material that was occurring on lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain. The Act stopped or slowed down the importation of slaves, which caused hardship on some planters. The Spanish and English ships would hug the north shore of the lakes and slip into Carthage at night located at the mouth of the Amite River as a port to pick up American grain, cotton, and flour and deliver illegal slaves.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Once Porter received word that several ships, either belonging to the Spanish or British, were at Carthage loading up with cotton and would attempt to slip out of the lakes the next night. He dispatched five gunboats to block these ships at the Rigolets, but the gunboats arrived too late. These ships, with the contraband cargos, had passed through a few hours earlier. Master Commandant Porter heard that the Spanish Governor Vincente Folche was at the Tchefuncte River and went over to meet with him. Nothing is known of the outcome of the meeting.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">A small international intrigue unfolded about this time when General James Wilkinson asked for transportation on a gunboat to the Tchefuncte River to meet with Governor Folche. Years later, it was learned that General </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Wilkinson </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">was a secret agent working for the Spanish, (his I.D. number was 13) and he was playing both sides of the fence. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Commandant Porter suspected that something was wrong, and through correspondence with the Secretary of the Navy, asked if the General was conducting secret negotiations </span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">for the U.S. Government? The Secretary stated that the General was not. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Commandant </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Porter </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">had rented a house in Faubourg Marigny and could view his gunboats anchored on the opposite shore at Algiers Point. He would communicate from his house to the gunboat Commanders with signals from a flagpole. He attempted to establish a telegraph system to reach his gunboats at the mouth of the Mississippi River. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">If the system had been completed, he could have received or sent a message to Belize in five minutes. He started to build telegraphic stations, (like he had seen in Europe), about four miles apart, thus he could communicate with a system of flags and poles. The Secretary of the Navy stopped the construction seen as being too expensive and wasteful.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Commandant </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Porter </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">assigned his lake division of gunboats to fly the blue pennant. Other divisions had red, white, or mixed colored pennants. A Lieutenant, Midshipman, or Sailing Master was assigned as commander of each gunboat. From 1808 until 1814, the Tchefuncte River, along with the base at New Orleans, was used as major repair facility. Porter also established a Navy Hospital at Bay St. Louis. Commandant Porter left </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">his mark on New Orleans and West Florida.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Master Commandant Daniel Patterson the new Commander at New Orleans, 1814</b></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">From 1811 to the spring of 1814, Captain John Shaw had been actively engaged in fortifying New Orleans and in helping to capture Mobile. In 1814 he took command of the naval squadron which was being blocked by the British in the vicinity of New London, CT., and there he remained until the end of the war. Soon after he joined Commander William Bainbridge's squadron, and was ordered to the Mediterranean to settle accounts with Algiers. When peace was made, he remained to protect American interests. By 1817, he returned to America, but did not go back to sea. He spent his last years in charge of the Boston Navy Yard and later of the naval station at Charleston, South Carolina.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Captain Shaw died at Philadelphia on September 17, 1823. He is interred in the Christ Church Burial Ground on Arch Street, along with Benjamin Franklin and other signers of the Declaration of Independence. His epitaph reads:</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">In Memory of John Shaw</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Late a captain in the Navy of the U.S.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">For courage and humanity</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Discipline without rigor</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Skill with good conduct</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Integrity above suspicion</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">And honour without a blemish,</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">He gave to the world a noble spectacle</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Of a man who without patronage raised</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Himself among men of the highest merit</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">To be the first rank in the service of</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">His adopted country</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Enjoying the confidence of the Government</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Beloved in a rare degree by those</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Under his parental command and</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Blest with friends of kindred worth and feeling.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">He died as he lived</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Without fear and without reproach</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">On the 17th day of September 1823 aged 50 years</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>British invasion, the battle of Lake Borgne</b></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The new Secretary of the Navy that replaced Paul Hamilton put little value on the gunboats at New Orleans or the building of flat bottom stationary frigates. He thought they were useless and a waste of money. The new Commander, Daniel Patterson, at New Orleans tried to defend the "block ship". He wrote to the new secretary that the block ship "Tchfuncte" was more than 80% complete and would be useful for the defense of</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This fleet of which Midshipman George MERRILL was a member contained among the junior officers on its roster some of the great names of American naval history. Lt. David Porter was the future commandant at New Orleans.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Midshipman George Merrill had two tours of duty in the Mediterranean and survived personnel cuts in Navy personnel of officers in the "Peace Enactment Bill" of Congress. While he did survive the cut, in order to stay on active duty he would have to take the assignment at New Orleans. He was assigned to the newly constructed and launched Brig Aetna which was being sent to New Orleans in September of 1806. Along would be the brig Vesuvius, Gun Boats Nos. 11 and 12, under the command of Captain John Shaw.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Lt. Merrill hoists the American flag over West Florida</b></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">On January 7, 1809, while patrolling Lake Maurepas Lt. Merrill spotted three Spanish vessels coming out of the Iberville River. Upon hailing, he found out that it was Governor Charles de Grand Pre and his family on their way to Havana. The Governor had been recalled by the Governor General of Cuba to answer questions about his administrative procedures. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Lt. Merrill and the Spanish Governor decided to land and have lunch as it was already past noon. They landed on the shore at the mouth of the Amite River and set up tents. While having lunch, Governor Grand Pre asked Lt. Merrill why he didn't fly his country's flag. It was protocol that naval ships or any other vessel be identified as to the country it represented.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Lt. Merrill answered that since the land was in dispute by the two countries, he thought it proper not to fly the American flag. Grand Pre replied: "You represent a great nation, a nation that I dearly love, and I think it proper that you now fly your country's flag. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Merrill responded to the Governor's request and a pole was placed in front of his tent. Thus, on Saturday, January 7, 1809, at about 2:00 P.M., the American flag was hoisted over West Florida at the mouth of the Amite River for the first time.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">After the Spanish Governor left, Lt. Merrill had his vessel repaired on the banks of the Amite River. It was turned over on its side and the bottom was scraped and painted. During the repair procedure, which took over a month, several of his sailors deserted taking U.S. Navy property with them as they went to Springfield.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">In late February of 1809, Lt. Merrill resumed cruising on Lake Maurepas and Pass Manchac where he spotted a Spanish schooner the <i>Precious Ridicule</i> with Captain Joseph Aguilar of Baton Rouge on board. The schooners <i>Mary </i>and <i>Precious Ridicule</i> were built</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">in the Tchefuncte River in 1804 and 1806, respectively. In a letter to Captain Porter, Lt. Merrill explained that the ship was about 10 yards on the American side in Pass Manchac when it was taken. The schooner was loaded with American flour, wine, cheese, and clothes for troops. Lt. Merrill brought the ship into Bayou St. John.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Court martial were held on gunboats anchored in the Tchefuncte River in 1809. These courts were convened for Marines and sailors who had deserted and had sought refuge in West Florida. When convicted, the sentence was extremely harsh, especially for those who deserted more than once. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">With army deserters from Fort Adams, desertion had become a serious problem for both American and Spanish officials. On April 13, 1809, Captain Porter sent Lt. Merrill to Baton Rouge in Gun Vessel No. 15 with a letter addressed to Spanish Governor Vicente FOLCHE, Grand Pre's replacement. The letter stated:</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Sir,</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Comdt. George Merrill is charged to give you further information that deserters from the U.S. Navy are taking refuge in West Florida. The last few months the men who left the Navy Station at New Orleans and fled to West Florida are John Dickens, gunner, William Cole, Quartermaster, and Peter Jealous, Marine."</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Porter got little satisfaction from sending Lt. Merrill with his letter. Governor Folche stated that there were many Spanish deserters in New Orleans and he neither had the means nor the manpower to round up American deserters.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Yellow Fever Outbreak</b></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">There was a yellow fever outbreak at the Tchefuncte River in 1809. Midshipman Thomas ap Catesby Jones while patrolling off the Gulf Coast in September spotted a slave ship. He boarded and took it into custody and sent it on to New Orleans. Some of the crew was infected with yellow fever, and the disease had spread aboard the vessel. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Jones had no choice but to put into the Tchefuncte River and ride out the fever. The situation worsened...soon the entire crew of thirty men, including the surgeon, were seriously ill. Midshipman Jones was the only one that was not affected with the fever. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">For almost two months, under the circumstances, he did his best to take care of his men. Thirteen died and were buried in the swamps opposite side of the river from Baham Village. The surgeon, insane with fever, tried to reach the village with a small skiff, but it turned over and he drowned. It was not until January of 1810 that the fever had subsided and another gunboat assisted Jones to Bayou St. John.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Many of the U.S. Naval and Marine Officers lived on the North Shore in St. Tammany Parish. One by the name of Captain Henderson was the Corp Commandant for forty years. Lt. Michael Carroll established a mail route between Baton Rouge and Madisonville. Jonathan Ferris, the Sailing Master from New York, invested in real estate.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">In the summer of 1810, Master Commandant David Porter was reassigned to Boston Harbor to be Captain of the frigate Essex. When he left he took along his foster son David Glasgow Farragut.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Events leading to the raising of the American flag on the Tchefuncte</b></span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">With the land filling up with Americans from the east, many of them still instilled with the spirit and dreams from the Revolutionary days, with their land still under the domination of the Spanish king, resented the European manner of conducting government. This natural indignation ran deep, and culminated with the capture of the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge. On September 22, 1810, Colonel Philemon THOMAS, with a small force of settlers from the vicinity of Baton Rouge, other areas of West Florida, and Mississippi Territory captured Baton Rouge and made the Spanish Governor Don Carlos de Lassus a prisoner. Four days later, on September 26, 1810, the independence of the State of West Florida was declared.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The West Florida Government was formally inaugurated by November 26, 1810. A month earlier on October 27, 1810, President James MADISON issued a proclamation declaring that the lands lying south of the Mississippi River to the Perdido belonged to the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Paris dated April 30, 1803. The President directed Governor William C. C. Claiborne, of the Orleans Territory, to take possession of the new nation.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Governor Claiborne left for Natchez on December 1, 1810, to work out arrangements for the occupation of West Florida. Captain John SHAW who was returning down the Mississippi river by way of Pittsburg for his second tour of duty at the New Orleans Station joined Governor Claiborne at St. Francisville on December 8th. Governor Claiborne had received the Proclamation from President Madison who had declared West Florida United States Territory. The President had ordered the Governor to take control of the disputed territory and raise the American flag, by force if necessary.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">When Captain SHAW met Governor Claiborne at St. Francisville, he found out that the Governor had raised the flag the previous day. The Governor continued down the river to Baton Rouge accompanied by SHAW and five gunboats of the River Division, stationed at Natchez, under the command of Lt. Commander Daniel Patterson, to transport the troops downriver. The gunboats first transported the 400 American troops to about two miles above the Fort. There they met Governor Claiborne supported by a force under the command of Colonel Leonard COVINGTON coming down the river road with the Mississippi mounted Dragoons.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">After the soldiers were landed, the gunboats dropped down the river and anchored in a line opposite the fort. Their heavy 32 pound cannons pointed on the fort were primed and ready to fire. It was an overwhelming force to contend with! Fulwar Skipwith who had been elected Governor of the newly declared Lone Star Republic by the legislature on November 22, 1810, realized that it was useless to resist and ordered the gate to the fort to be opened. With the gunboats covering the landing of the troops, the American flag</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">was quickly raised, and the short life of that nation came to an end. On December 10, 1810, the 15-starred flag of the United States became the sixth flag to fly over the Florida Parishes and St. Tammany. General COVINGTON, the distinguished soldier who stood next to Governor Claiborne, in Baton Rouge, at the demise of the West Florida Republic died a hero's death during the War of 1812.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Captain SHAW then proceeded down the River to New Orleans. A letter dated December 24, 1810, written by Lt. Merrill from the Tchefuncte River, awaited Shaw's answer. The Tchefuncte River had been a main port and repair facility, next to Bayou St. John, for the gun vessels on the Lakes and Gulf Coast since 1807. In his letter Lt. Merrill related to the Captain of the "lawlessness" and "depredations" going on at the Tchefuncte and asks: "What are my responsibilities?" And, "What shall I do?"</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The reply came in a letter dated December 30, 1810:</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Sir,</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I have received your letter from Tchfoncte (sic) and the Articles forwarded. It is with extreme regret indeed I observe the existing depredations which daily occurs on the North side of the lake but it is also to be hoped ere long, that our laws will be put in force and supported in that quarter with equal energy. I enclose you the President's Proclamation. You will then see then see the course our Government intends to pursue. The American Flag was hoisted on the 7th inst. at St. Francisville and at Baton Rouge on the 10th. It is your duty as an Officer to give protection for all those who claim it as Americans and I have to desire that in all cases where in lawless outrages are committed on the good and peaceful citizen of that District, which you are now in, will be protected by every means in your power but do not use force unless attacked or driven to it through necessity. His Excellency, Governor Wm. C.C. Claiborne has appointed several Civil Commandants to preside in the districts bordering on the Lake. Should you apply to these affairs of Justice, you are required to give them every aid and assistance in your power to enforce the laws. There will be shortly in the Lake a division of eight Gun Boats for its protection. I am repairing those Gun Boats now here for that service.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">So as soon as you can possibly get out from where you are now (Tchefuncte River) proceed to Fort St. John and report yourself to me. I have some enquiries to make of you on official duty. The Gun Boat under your command (No. 15) I understand is very defective and worthy of a general repair under the circumstances. You had best give your bends and side a good coat of half boiled tar, lampblack, and fish oil. I intend to employ 2 old boats in procuring timber in the Lakes, for general repair in the spring.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Wishing you every health and happiness, Sir</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">I am Your Obedt. Serv.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Captain John Shaw</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">As an officer in the navy it was the duty of Lt. Merrill to give protection to any citizen that asked for it, and he was to assist any officer of the law appointed by the Governor to restore and keep order. Needless to say, that each gunboat had a crew of armed sailors ready to fight and to carry out orders when required. A reason why the people were in </span>
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">such a hostile mood was that on July 25, 1810, a convention of men from the various districts of West Florida was held. William COOPER, the representative for the "District of Tanchipaho and Chifiincte" was a North Carolina Tory who had been serving as one of the alcades for the Spanish. He had remained a staunch Spanish loyalist.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">William COOPER refused to go along with some of the extravagant demands of the convention. In a letter to Folch, the Spanish governor in Pensacola warned him that the Spanish government might be overthrown.24 In retaliation, Cooper's property was destroyed by loyalists who disapproved of his actions at the convention, and he was branded a traitor.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Captain Shaw helps suppress the 1811 German Coast Uprising</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The 1811 German Coast uprising was a slave revolt that took place in parts of the Territory of Orleans on January 8-10. The violence took place on the east coast of the Mississippi River in what is now St. John the Baptist and St. Charles parishes, Louisiana.25 The German Coast was an area of sugar plantations with a dense population of enslaved people, outnumbering whites by nearly five to one. American Governor Clairborne was not used to a society with the number of free people of color which Louisiana had, but he had worked to continue their role in the militia established under Spanish rule. With the spread of ideas from the French and Haitian revolutions, Americans worried about slave uprisings in the Louisiana area.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">A group of conspirators met on January 6, 1811, shortly after the sugar harvest and processing had been completed. The revolt began on January 8 at Manuel Andre's plantation. After striking and badly wounding Andre, the slaves killed his son Gilbert. The rebellion quickly gained momentum. Some accounts claim a total of 200-500 slaves participated. During their two-day, twenty-mile march, the slaves burned five plantation houses (three totally destroyed), several sugarhouses, and crops. There were few firearms, although they carried mostly pikes, hoes and axes, and marched to drums while some carried flags while a few of the leaders rode on horseback.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">From the Andre plantation, another eight slaves from the next door plantation of the widows of Jacques and George Deslondes joined the band. At the plantation of James Brown, KOOK one of the most active participants and key figures in the story of the uprising joined the insurrection. At the next plantation down, Kook attacked and killed Francis Trepagnier with an axe. The next stop was at the home of the local doctor. Finding the doctor gone, Kook, the radical slave owned by James Brown, set his house on fire. As they moved downriver, the insurgents passed larger plantations from which many slaves joined them, mainly from the Meuillion plantation, the largest and wealthiest plantation on the German Coast. The rebels tried to set his house on fire, but a slave named Bazile fought the fire and saved the house.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">After nightfall, the slaves reached Cannes-Brulees, about 15 miles northwest of New Orleans. Typical of revolts of most classes, free or slave, the insurgent slaves were</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">mostly young men between the ages of 20 and 30. They held the lower-skilled occupations on the sugar plantations, where they laboured in very difficult conditions.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The suppression of the revolt</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">After being injured, Colonel Andre went to the other side of the river to round up a militia in order to pursue the rebels. By noon on January 9, the residents of New Orleans had heard of the insurrection on the German Coast. Over the next six hours, General Wade Hampton 1, Commodore John Shaw, and Governor William C.C. Claiborne sent two companies of volunteer militia, 30 regular troops, and a detachment of 40 seamen to fight the slaves. The troops reached the Jacques FORTIER plantation about 4 a.m., but the slaves had left and started back upriver. The troops traveled about 15 miles back up the coast and neared the plantation of Bernard Bemoudy. There, planter Charles Perret, under the command of the badly injured Andre and in cooperation with Judge St. Martin, had assembled a militia of about 80 men from the opposite side of the river.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">At about 9 o'clock, this second militia discovered the slaves moving toward high ground on the Bemoudy plantation. Perret ordered the militia to attack the slaves. The battle was brief! Within a half hour of the attack, 40 to 45 slaves had been killed and the remainder slipped into the woods. Perret and Andre's militia tried to pursue slaves into the woods and swamps, but the territory was too difficult to continue the efforts.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Outcome of the revolt</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Having suppressed the insurrection, the planters and government officials continued to search for slaves who had escaped. There were two sets of trials: one on the Jean N. Destrehan plantation and one in New Orleans. The Destrehan trial resulted in the execution of 18 slaves, whose heads were put on pikes. The New Orleans trial resulted in the executions of 11 more slaves, publicly hanged in Jackson Square, and their heads put up to decorate the city's gates. About 95 slaves were killed outright, or tried and executed</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">If* as a result of this revolt.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The uprising had been short-lived and quickly crushed by local forces. The legislature of the Orleans Territory approved compensation of $300 to planters for each slave killed or executed. The Orleans territory accepted the continued presence of US military troops after the revolt, as they were grateful for their presence. The national press covered the insurrection, with Northerners seeing it arising out of the wrongs suffered under slavery.27 January 8-10, 2011, will mark the 200th year of the event. There is no state or federal historical marker to commemorate the insurrection.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Activities of Lt. Merrill, 1811</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">After Lt. Merrill returned from the Tchefuncte River to Bayou St. John as Captain SHAW had ordered, we are informed in his letter written on February 1, 1811, to Paul Hamilton, the Secretary of the Navy, that "the Flag of the United States had been hoisted at all inhabit points along the Coast and margin of the lake. Lt. Merrill had it hoisted at</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">the Tchefuncte River on January 6, 1811." Having dispatched the Alligator with Mr. George FARRAGUT on board, the American flag was hoisted at Pass Christian on the 9th and on the 13' at Pascagoula.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Governor Claiborne pressed Captain SHAW to ready his gun boats to protect New Orleans against a Spanish attack. Only Gun Boats Nos. 25 and 64 were in active service. Nos. 58 and 66 were being readied and No. 65 was about to be examined. On January 28, 1811, Lt. Merrill was dispatched with leaky No. 15 to deliver a load of provisions to the Gun Boat Squadron lying at Mobile, and then to return to one of the Islands (Horn, Deer, or Cat) to cut cargoes of oak timber for knees for repairing Bomb Ketch Aetna. "Take as much as you can stow and return to Bayou St. John" were his orders. 29</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">On March 15, 1811, Lt. Merrill with No. 15 captured a pirate vessel along the Gulf Coast. They were caught plundering vessels and had been taken by a boat of men from No. 15. Gun Boat vessel No. 64 had to bring them to Bayou St. John. Three members of the pirate crew lived in New Orleans. Lt. Merrill had difficulty getting to Mobile with the supplies and the cutting of timber due to the conditions of his gun vessel. He was obliged to have a passing boat deliver the supplies to Mobile for $100. Needless to say, Captain SHAW was upset.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Lt. Merrill had previously written to Captain Shaw about the poor conditions of his ship. On April 3, 1811, Gun Boat No. 15 was at the Tchefuncte for repairs. On that same day, Captain Shaw wrote to Lt. Merrill that Lt. Cunningham was up the river at Tchefuncte cutting spars and yards. Shaw mentioned that he had heard complaints about the crew as "having been noisy and troublesome. That he hopes no commander of a Gun Vessel will allow this to happen." On May 14, 1811, Captain Shaw ordered Midshipman Francis H. Gregory to give command of Gun Vessel No. 24 to Lt. Merrill, and that he was to stay</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">•5 A</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">across the lake for a couple of weeks.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Captain Shaw's daughter married Francis Hoyt Gregory (1780-1866), an officer in the U.S. Navy during the War of 1812 through the Civil War, then as a Rear Admiral.31</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The War of 1812</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">On April 30, 1812, Louisiana was formally admitted to the Union as the 18th state. The annexed territory of West Florida was joined to the state by an act of Congress under the name of the territory of Feliciana. This territory had been created on December 22, 1810, and had been divided into four parts: St. Helena, St. Tammany, Feliciana, and East Baton Rouge upon its creation.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">On July 9, 1812, Captain John SHAW received word by express that war had been declared with Great Britain. Even though the New Orleans Station was a long way from the Atlantic Coast, the farthest from the nation's capital, it began preparation for war. He had at his command some four hundred officers and men, distributed among two brigs of war and eleven gun boats.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Captain SHAW conferred with General WILKINSON about defending New Orleans from a British attack. General WILKINSON, an authority on defending harbors with floating batteries, thought a floating barge or stationary ship with heavy cannons would be the best option to defend the mouth of the river and the Rigolets. SHAW thought that a flat bottom frigate that could maneuver in shallow waters around New Orleans and carry heavy cannons would be the best means of defense on Lake Borgne and the Rigolets. He had plans for a flat bottom frigate drawn, and he hung the plans in his office. A site to build the stationary frigate and permission from the Secretary of the Navy was needed. In his opinion, the Gulf Coast around Bay St. Louis would be a good location to build a ship.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Hurricane of August 19,1812, hits the Gulf Coast and New Orleans</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Shaw's letter to Merrill who was cruising off the Bay St. Louis was to pull back No. 24 to the Rigolets while keeping a sharp eye for any foreign ship with troops on the way. He forwards Merrill a copy of the Act of Congress passed on June 18, and orders him to "attend strictly to former orders respecting the exclusion of vessels with foreign troops on board from our waters." Secondly, he is to start a recruiting drive to increase Gun Vessel No. 24 and No. 64 to full strength. Thirdly, he was ordered to inform Captain SHAW of "all circumstances which may transpire" on his cruising grounds.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">On August 1, 1812, Captain SHAW wrote to Lt. Daniel DEXTER and ordered that he move all gun vessels under his command (some at the Balize) to Bay St. Louis. Captain SHAW hadn't realized that he had started a movement of several vessels over open water and a hurricane was approaching. On August 19 and 20th, it ferociously hit the Gulf Coast areas and New Orleans. It set back military preparations many months with great material damage and some loss of lives. It also demonstrated the weakness of the naval forces on the New Orleans station and their vulnerability to natural catastrophes.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Captain SHAW reported to the Secretary of the Navy Hamilton on the calamitous condition of the small naval force attached to his station: the Brig Enterprize (sic) on the eve of dropping down to the Balize was driven ashore, without loss of lives, and with little or no damage to her hull. The bottom being in soft mud will be attended with considerable difficulty and consumption of time.32</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The Brig Viper, "also in Port, undergoing some slight repairs, was completely unrigged, and, with the loss of her bowsprit, mainmast, and guns, completely cut-down, fore and aft, to her waterways: This was occasioned in part by the extreme violence of the gale, and partly by the accidental circumstance of three or four large Merchant vessels running foul of her." 33</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Gun Vessel No. 64, commanded by Mr. William Johnson, was stranded in Lake Pontchartrain, within half a mile of Fort St. John. The lives of none of her crew was lost, nor had she received much injury, but forced by the violence of the tempest, over an extensive level shallow mud bottom, Captain Shaw anticipated much trouble in getting her off again.34</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The Ship Remittance recently purchased for service received but little or no injury while the Ketch Eatna, which had for some time previously been employed as a sheer-hulk, was driven from her position by several large Merchant vessels, sunk, and had two men drowned. 35 Captain Shaw was anxiously awaiting news of the fate of the Brig Siren at anchor off Ship Island and the other gun vessels at, and in the vicinity of Bay St. Louis.36</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">From New Orleans, Captain SHAW reported that the Navy-hospital had half of its roof carried away, and the kitchen and other "appendant buildings" were blown away. The hospital contained upwards of one-hundred patients, and had to be repaired immediately. The estimated expense to repair the damage sustained to the Naval Service, by the hurricane, was from twenty to thirty thousand dollars. The Military also sustained much injury. The French Market-house, in point of spaciousness and elegance (perhaps equaled by scarcely any in the United States) across the street from the Navy Yard was completely leveled, and under the ruins many people who had sought shelter from the storm were buried.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Several Gun Vessels Nos. 27, 66, and 163 under the command of Lt. Daniel S. DEXTER were caught in open water from the Balize, and had a very difficult time as the gale raged with unabated fury. Some tried to anchor near shore but several had their lines broken and were driven up on shore. Some threw their cannons overboard to stay afloat! Lt. DEXTER feared the loss of No. 66.37</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">In January of 1813, the bodies of five sailors were washed ashore at Bayou Castin. They were badly decomposed having been in the water for such a long time. The local inhabitants reported the bodies to Parish authorities of St. Tammany and the bodies were buried along the lake shore. The presence of the Navy which was close by on the Tchefuncte River never acknowledged the death of these sailors. No records were found in which the US Navy claimed them.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Lt. MERRILL and Gun Vessel No. 24 rode out the storm with minor damage somewhere close to Bay St. Louis. Captain Shaw needed the use of No. 24 and Lt. Merrill's expertise immediately after the storm. He wrote to Lt. Comdt. Louis ALEXIS, Eastern Division, Bay St. Louis:</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Sir,</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">It has been considered necessary by General James Wilkinson that a correct survey be made of the Coast and Islands to the Eastward, commencing from the East side of the Rigolets round Lake Borgne, Malhauveaux Island, Cat, Horn, Ship Island, and Delphine Island from there along the Coast and ending at Pearl Island. In compliance with the General's requisition on me I have ordered the Alligator to be in readiness to receive on board Lt. BUSH of the Artillery accompanied by an Engineer who have direction to execute this mission. In order to excel this object and vacillate as much as possible its execution and having a knowledge and skill and abilities of Lt. George Merrill, one of the best pilots, I</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">have directed that he be ordered to receive on board Gun Vessel No. 24, under his command, the gentlemen as above named and to proceed with them agreeably to their instructions. Lt. Merrill in this instance must be directed to use exertion as possible in his power to afford assistance in the execution of this survey.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">On September 25, 1812, in reply to letters received from New Orleans, P. HAMILTON, the Secretary of the Navy, authorized Captain SHAW to make every necessary provision to supply the place of any boats, that may have been lost, & to defend the Water passes to New Orleans.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"A competent force must be provided, without delay. If the gun-boats can be repaired, let it be done without delay; If they canot be repaired, You are authorized to purchase suitable vessels, if in Your power, & fit them up: for carrying guns — & in fitting them You will use all the good materials of the gunboats to save expense. If the gunboats cannot be repaired, & You cannot purchase vessels to answer the purpose, Your next, & only alternative will be I presume, to build—But this I apprehend You will not be able to do in time: under these circumstances, & considering your great distance from the seat of Government, You will consult with general Wilkinson & the Navy Agent, & either repair the Boats, or purchase or build others, as may be in Your power, & as the good of the Service may suggest the object being to provide an adequate defense with every possible expedition & on the best possible terms. You may, should it be judged necessary, fit up, or procure twenty boats, calculated to carry, one to two guns each. If such boats could be hired, at a reasonable rate, & valued by disinterested competent judges, & the United states to pay for them, at such valuation, in the event of their being destroyed, or captured by the Enemy, it would be, a more desirable arrangement than any other exception that of repairing the boats should they be worthy of repair: but it is hoped, that a less number than 20 Boats will be sufficient with the two Blockships, which You were authorised to procure by my letter dated a few days since!''</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">For P Hamilton</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Chas: W. Goldsborough39</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">On October 24, 1812, Captain SHAW listed the vessels under his command. The brigs Siren, Viper, and Enterprise were about ready for service but were short of seamen. Gun vessels No. 24 and No. 5 were on the Tchefuncte being repaired with No. 66 on its way. The army survey that Lt. MERRILL had participated had been completed.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">In a letter to General Wilkinson dated December 12, 1812, Captain SHAW mentioned that he was returning to the Tchefuncte to inspect a gunboat that was being repaired and that he had some contracts for timber to be made, and that it would occasion his absence from six to eight days.40 It was on this trip that he took the decision to build the Block Shop across the Lake instead of Bay St. Louis.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Captain SHAW was shown a bend of the river located on the property of Jacques Lorreins, the owner of the twenty acres located on that prominent bend of the River. Today it is a Beau Chene Subdivision. Shaw agreed to terms with Jacques Lorreins for twenty acres and a ten year lease. In a letter to Paul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy, Shaw pointed out that it was the ideal location for building the ship and others, if necessary. It had a good view of the river, plenty of excellent oak, pine and cedar, and a slight incline for launching. On the Gulf it would be vulnerable to a British invasion, but on the Tchefuncte it would be better protected. By January 14, 1813, Captain SHAW was back in New Orleans after a one month absence.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Once an agreement was reached, Lt. Michael Carroll and Sailing master Jonathan Ferris were put in charge of navy crews that started clearing the land in order to build the flat bottom boat frigate a few miles away. (Inquests March 8, 1813, Probate 12254, Advertisement. Twelve copies distributed to Judge Tate Covington Court House). Permission had been granted to SHAW by Paul Hamilton, the Secretary of the Navy, and he could proceed with the construction.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Captain SHAW hired Master carpenter Francis PICHON of New Orleans to be in charge of building the ship. Captain Shaw and Pichon hired what carpenters that could be had in New Orleans and the rest of the civilian labour force were hired from residents of the North Shore. Thomas SPELL and Joseph SHARP were among the labourers who were hired. Capt. Shaw reported his activities in the preparation for building the ship to the Paul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy, and received his approval. It was an economic boon for the north shore. Workers were paid as much as $28.00 a month, plus rations. On the payroll list, secured from the Navy archives, there were about 150 names of civilians that worked on the ship during the peak months; many from the surrounding parishes.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Creeks attack Fort Mims</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">At the end of August, 1813, the Creeks attacked Fort Mims, north of Mobile, and killed over 300 settlers. The inhabitants of the North Shore and the Gulf Coast were in a state of panic and wanted protection from the Indians. Governor Claiborne came up with a plan. He and Captain Shaw crossed the lake to Madisonville in early September to meet with the Parish leaders. Governor Clairborne took along a large number of rifles and powder from the arsenal at New Orleans. His plan was to use the string of forts already in place and build another fort, this one a stockade, with the help of the workers at the yard. It would be located across the Tchefuncte River from Madisonville and adjacent the main trail leading to the navy yard. Captain Shaw told the Parish leaders that he would have the fort manned with an Officer and a Detachment of Marines, along with a few heavy cannons. This would give protection for the workers of the Navy Yard and the residents of Madisonville. The other forts in Clairborne's plan would be Ford's Fort on the Pearl River, the fort at Springfield, and the fort at Baton Rouge.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">If the Creeks were to unite with the Choctaws, there could be an attack, but it was presumed highly unlikely. Captain Shaw wrote to the Secretary of the Navy that he thought the Creeks were too far away, and even if they attacked, he was sure that he </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">could defeat them. (Several old fortifications of logs were found in the northern part of some of the West Florida Parishes, possibly the result of the Creek threat).</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Master Commandant Daniel Patterson the new Commander at New Orleans, 1814</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">From 1811 to the spring of 1814, Captain SHAW had been actively engaged in fortifying New Orleans and in helping to capture Mobile. In 1814 he took command of the naval squadron which was being blocked by the British in the vicinity of New London, CT., and there he remained until the end of the war. Soon after he joined Commander William Bainbridge's squadron, and was ordered to the Mediterranean to settle accounts with Algiers. When peace was made, he remained to protect American interests. By 1817, he returned to America, but did not go back to sea. He spent his last years in charge of the Boston Navy Yard and later of the naval station at Charleston, South Carolina.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Captain Shaw died at Philadelphia on September 17, 1823. He is interred in the Christ Church Burial Ground on Arch Street, along with Benjamin Franklin and other signers of the Declaration of Independence. His epitaph reads:</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">In Memory of John Shaw</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Late a captain in the Navy of the U.S.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">For courage and humanity</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Discipline without rigor</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Skill with good conduct</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Integrity above suspicion</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">And honour without a blemish,</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">He gave to the world a noble spectacle</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Of a man who without patronage raised</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Himself among men of the highest merit</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">To be the first rank in the service of</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">His adopted country</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Enjoying the confidence of the Government</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Beloved in a rare degree by those</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Under his parental command and</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Blest with friends of kindred worth and feeling.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">He died as he lived</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Without fear and without reproach</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">On the 17th day of September 1823 aged 50 years</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">British invasion, the battle of Lake Borgne</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The new Secretary of the Navy that replaced Paul Hamilton put little value on the gunboats at New Orleans or the building of flat bottom stationary frigates. He thought they were useless and a waste of money. The new Commander, Daniel Patterson, at New Orleans tried to defend the "block ship". He wrote to the new secretary that the block ship "Tchfuncte" was more than 80% complete and would be useful for the defense of</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">New Orleans, but it fell on deaf ears. In April of 1814, the Secretary wrote to Commander Patterson to stop construction, lay off the workers, and close in the block ship on its stocks.</span><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The British Armada showed up on the Gulf Coast and anchored off Ship Island in early December. Led by Vice Admiral Cochran in his 74 gun flagship Tonnant, the over fifty ships was the largest foreign armada ever to approach American shores. Lt. Commander Michael B. Carroll, before the battle, sailed a schooner up the Tchefuncte and blocked any traffic going up or down the River in an effort to protect the yard and block ship.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The battle of Lake Borgne occurred when British Admiral Cochran gave the order "to clear the Lakes." Forty barges loaded with soldiers and sailors attacked the five gunboats which were led by Lt. Thomas ap Catesby JONES in Gunboat No. 5. The gunboats were overwhelmed after a desperate fight.41 Lt. Jones, an important player in the formative period in U.S. Naval history, was wounded in the shoulder and all of the gunboat crews were captured. The Battle of Lake Borgne had given General Jackson three precious days to establish his defense.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Born in Philadelphia in 1772, Marine Major Daniel CARMICK was appointed lieutenant of Marines in Ganges 5 in May 1798, and entered the new Marine Corps as captain July 11, 1798. During the Quasi-War with France he commanded the marine detachment in Constitution, and served with distinction in the Mediterranean. A night battle occurred on December 28, 1814, at Villere's Plantation on the river below New Orleans. Major Carmick commanded the Marines in the Battle of New Orleans. He was wounded in this engagement. He died of his injury in St. Tammany Parish on November 6, 1816, and was buried in the New Orleans St. Louis Cemetery.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">John D. Henley, a Barbary War veteran, commanded schooner Carolina during the Battle of New Orleans. After the delaying action by Lt. Thomas ap Catesby Jones at Lake Borgne, Carolina and other ships harassed the British with naval gunfire while protecting General Andrew Jackson's flank on the Mississippi River. Henley's ship was destroyed, but he made a major contribution in the last great victory of the war. 42</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">John D. Henley rose to the rank of Captain on March 5, 1817, and continued to serve with distinction until May 23,1835, when he died on board Vandalia at Havana, Cuba.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Final years of Lt. George Merrill, 1815-1822</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Lieutenant Merrill's movements during the Battle of New Orleans are obscure. It is likely that he was at the facility on the Tchefuncte River protecting the Block Ship with Lt. B. Carroll. Th£N&yWard on the Tchefuncte was used during the War of 1812 to induct men on the north shore into the Louisiana Militia. A month after the Battle of New Orleans, the order was given to discharge the 12th and 13 th Regiments at the Navy Yard immediately.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">A. U.S. Navy census of ships at New Orleans, in 1816, shows that the "Tchefuncte" was still on its stocks and still on the Navy rolls. Lt. Michael B. Carroll had resigned his commission and returned to Maryland, where he married and became a "gentleman farmer." From this marriage he had two children and died in 1832.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">In 1816, Lt. MERRILL was appointed to command the Navy Yard in St. Tammany. He was in charge at the Tchefuncte when, in 1818, a fire broke out one night at the yard. A few Marines, on guard, had lit a fire to keep warm and it got out of control catching a shed on fire which burned down. An ex-Marine Lieutenant by the name of Lawrence de Cruise who was cashiered by Captain David Porter for behavior unbecoming an officer was living near the Tchefuncte facility. De Cruise was a trouble maker and several run-ins with other officers stationed in St. Tammany. After the fire, he wrote a letter to Commandant Daniel Patterson of the New Orleans Station blaming Merrill for the fire. Patterson, who held a grudge against Merrill since December 14, 1814, saying that Merrill had leaked information about his planned surprise attack against the Pirates at Barateria, saw his chance to get even. He called for a Board of Inquiry against Merrill for action unbecoming an Officer of the United States Navy.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Merrill's fellow officers on the Inquiry Board did not see it that way and dismissed the charges as "unfounded". This did not satisfy Captain Patterson! He told Lt. Merrill that he did not have a place for him in his command. Lt. Merrill, instead of transferring to another station on the East Coast took a half-pay leave of absence and settled down in Madisonville. Note his letter on previous page where he reports his address to the Secretary of the Navy as Madisonville, March 1817 and signed G. Merrill.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">In 1821, a new Navy Secretary ordered Captain Patterson to recall Lt. Merrill to full time duty at the New Orleans Station. His re-entering the service did not last long. Lt. Merrill, after 17 years of service with the Navy at New Orleans, died on July 17, 1822, at Madisonville, less than a year after returning to full time duty. There was no indication in the records that he was sick. He was 39 years of age. The hard life for officers and seamen of the New Orleans Station had taken its toll. His brother, Stephen Merrill, from Hartford, Connecticut, came down to take care of his brother's affairs.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Where Lt. Merrill was laid to rest is not known. If he were buried in the Madisonville Cemetery, his marker disappeared years ago. It is possible that his remains were taken to the Protestant Cemetery in New Orleans where several other Navy Officers were buried. The handwriting for closing the New Orleans and Tchefuncte facilities was on the wall. It is ironic that Lt. Merrill died just as the Navy was about to shut down in St. Tammany.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Closing the gates of the Navy Yard in New Orleans</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Fort Oak was still standing at Madisonville as was indicated on a map of Louisiana of 1819. (Tanner's Map of Philadelphia). It disappeared from the map shortly after 1820. There was one gunboat on the roster of Navy Ships at New Orleans in 1821. Congress passed a law giving the President the power to sell military facilities that were no longer needed. The decision was made to break up the Block ship Tchefuncte on its stocks and</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-28360893328941978372020-03-19T13:35:00.002-07:002020-03-19T13:35:51.471-07:001808 Map of New Orleans<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a map of New Orleans in 1808, which was mainly the French Quarter at that time. Click on the image to enlarge. </span><br />
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<br />Ron Barthethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06701124278139360287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-83093623996650017572020-01-22T12:17:00.003-08:002020-03-19T13:38:46.718-07:00The Establishment of the United States Navy at New Orleans, after the Louisiana Purchase, and its Influence on West Florida<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By Donald J. Sharp</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">April 8, 2009 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1804</b></span><br />The Louisiana Purchase in December, 1803, made officials in Washington realize that they would have to have the United States Navy's presence in New Orleans for its security. Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith ordered Marine Captain Daniel Carmick to sail, as soon as possible, with a detachment of 300 Marines. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They reached New Orleans in March, 1804, and because Spanish troops still occupied the Barracks in the city, were billeted across the river in barracks near the Powder magazine. In June of 1804 Captain Carmick was sent by Governor Claiborne to Mobile to ask Spanish permission to run a mail route from Fort Stoddard overland to the Tchefuncte River. This was granted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Post Oak</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Captain Carmick was on the Tchefuncte River in early July making arrangements for the mail route. The mail stop on the Tchefuncte River was called " Post Oak". The mail was then transferred to a mail boat to complete its journey to Bayou St. John.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1805</b></span><br />In October of 1805, Captain John Shaw was appointed the Commandant of the New Orleans Station. He had been in the Mediterranean and just arrived back in Washington, when he learned of his new assignment. He arrived in New Orleans in March of 1806 on the Brig Franklin and immediately met with Governor Claiborne, who assigned him a place on the river in front of the Plaza de Armas. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Captain John Shaw</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Gunboats </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">President Jefferson and his Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, had a naval policy to use gunboats to protect the harbors on the East and Gulf Coasts. It was supposed to be more economical and appeased members of his party, who wanted a small navy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1806</b></span><br />The first two gunboats built for the New Orleans Station were named Nos. 11 and 12. They were built in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Boston Harbor under the direction of Commodore Edward <b>Preble</b>, hero of the Barbary Wars. They were assigned to the New Orleans Station in the summer of 1806, sailed from Boston harbor in late September and arrived at the Mouth of the Mississippi River at the end of October. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Captain Shaw ordered them to cruise Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas due to the high tension between Spain and the United States. Nos. 11 and 12, with Lt. Joseph Bainbridge and Sailing Master John Rush in command, cruised the two lakes looking for prospective landing sights for repairing and watering their vessels. They found the Amite and Tchefuncte Rivers quite adequate to fit their needs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Baham Family in Madisonville</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Can you imagine the look on the faces of the Baham Brothers and their families when these two United States warships sailed up and anchored next to their village on the Tchefuncte River in 1806? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Commanders were from important families on the east coast. Lt. Joseph Bainbridge, younger brother of Captain William Bainbridge, who was the Captain of the Philadelphia when it ran aground off Tripoli Harbor in 1803. He was also the Captain of the Constitution when it fought the British warship Java and won an impressive victory for the United States in the War of 1812. Sailing Master John Rush was the eldest son of the famous American Doctor, Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia, and one of this Nation's founding fathers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1807</b></span><br />The gunboats were recalled from the lakes to New Orleans in early December of 1806 and sent up to Natchez because of the threat of the Aaron Burr conspiracy. After the Burr scare had died down in March of 1807, newly built gunboats from Ohio, began to arrive down the Mississippi river. They were being constructed along the Ohio River instead of the east coast, and then sent to New Orleans. As they would arrive, some were sent to patrol the lakes, some assigned to the river and some sent down to the Belize.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Tension Mounts Between U.S. and Britain</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />In late 1807, with the relations between the United States and Great Britain deteriorating, Congress passed the Embargo Act Of 1807,which had a profound effect on West Florida. The Act stopped or slowed down the importation of slaves, which caused a hardship on some planters. Captain Shaw was ordered to Washington for the Aaron Burr Trial and a new Commandant for the New Orleans Station was appointed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He was Master Commandant David Porter, who would soon leave his mark on New Orleans and West Florida. (There is a movie that came out called "Master Commandant and Commander: The voyage to the end of the World" with actor Russell Crowe playing the part of David Porter. There is also a book on my list that would make excellent reading for those who want to know more about Porter. It is "Nothing Too Daring: A Biography of Commodore Porter 1780-1843. by David F. Long)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1808</b></span><br />Master Commandant Porter arrived in New Orleans in June of 1808 to find his father David Porter Sr., an old Sailing Master from the Revolutionary War, who had recently been assigned to the New Orleans Station, lay dying. He had been fishing out on Lake Pontchartrain with his friend George Farragut, also a Sailing Master, when he had a stroke. Farragut took in the stricken Porter and he and his wife were caring for him when young David Porter arrived. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Porter Gives Farragut A Home</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In appreciation, Commandant Porter took into his home one of Farragut's sons. In 1808 the U.S Navy's activities increased dramatically on the north shore. The gunboats were using the Amite and Tchefuncte Rivers as regular stops for repairing their vessels, cutting timber, or to take on water and provisions. Some of the sailors and Marines on the gunboats deserted to West Florida when the opportunity arose.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />In 1808 Porter tried to enforce the Embargo Act, passed by Congress, on Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas, which were frequently used to smuggle contraband merchandise. Spanish and British ships were using a small port near the mouth of the Amite River, named Carthage, to smuggle in slaves and take out contraband goods, such as cotton and grain. Porter used his gunboats to try and stop these ships, which would hug the north shore of the lakes and slip into Carthage at night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Porter Meets With Spanish Governor</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once, he had word that several ships, both belonging to the Spanish and British, were at Carthage loading up with cotton and would try to slip out of the lakes the next night. He dispatched five gunboats to block these ships at the Rigolets but the gunboats arrived too late. These ships, with their contraband cargos, had passed through a few hours earlier. Master Commandant Porter heard that Spanish Governor Vincente Folche was at the Tchefuncte River and went over to meet with him Nothing is known of the outcome of the meeting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />A little international intrigue was unfolding at this time as General James Wilkinson asked for transportation on a gunboat to the Tchefuncte River to meet with Governor Folche. Many years later it was learned that General Wilkinson was a secret agent working for the Spanish, (his I.D. number was 13) and was playing both sides of the fence. Porter suspected something wrong and through correspondence with the Secretary to the Navy, asked if the General was conducting secret negations for the U.S. Government? The Secretary stated that he was not. Commander Porter called Wilkinson "General Puff', indicating what he thought of him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Naval Station Innovations</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Porter was an innovator and immediately organized the New Orleans Station on arriving. He made the decision to divide the gunboats into divisions with each one flying a different colored pennant. He had rented a house in Faubourg Marigny and could view his gunboats anchored on the opposite shore at Algiers Point. He would communicate from his house to the gunboat commanders with signals from a flagpole. He tried to establish a telegraph system with his gunboats at the mouth of the Mississippi River, If the system had been completed, he could receive or send a message to the Belize in five minutes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Signal Flag Stations</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He started to build each telegraphic station, about four miles apart and could communicate with a system of flags and poles, like he saw in Europe. However, the Secretary of the Navy stopped construction as being too expensive and wasteful.. Porter assigned his lake division of gunboats to fly the blue pennant Other divisions had red, white, or mixed colored pennants. A Lieutenant, Midshipman, or Sailing Master was assigned as a commander of each gunboat. From 1808 until 1814, the Tchefuncte River, along with the base at New Orleans were used as the major repair facilities. Commander Porter also established a Navy Hospital at Bay St. Louis.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1809</b></span><br />The beginning of January, 1809 found Lt. George Merrill patrolling Lake Maurepas looking for any kind of smuggling activity. He spotted three Spanish vessels coming out of the Iberville River. Upon hailing, he found out that it was Governor Charles de Grand Pre and his family on their way to Havana. The Governor had been recalled by the Governor General of Cuba to answer questions about his administrative procedures. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Raising The First American Flag</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lt. Merrill and the Spanish Governor decided to land and have lunch, as it was already past noon. They landed on the shore at the mouth of the Amite River and set up tents. While having lunch, Governor Grand Pre asked Lt. Merrill why he didn't fly his country's flag? Merrill answered, that since the land was in dispute by the two countries, he thought it proper not to fly the flag. Grand Pre replied, you represent a great nation, a nation that I dearly love, and I think it proper that you now fly your country's flag. Merrill responded to the Governor's request and a pole was place in front of Merrill's tent. Thus, on Saturday, January 7, at about 2:00 P.M. the American flag was hoisted over West Florida for the first time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Another incident that occurred at the Tchefuncte River in 1809 was a yellow fever outbreak. Midshipman Thomas ap Catesby Jones while patrolling off the Gulf Coast in September, had spotted a slave ship. He boarded and took it into custody and sent it on to New Orleans. The problem was that there was yellow fever on board the slaver and several of his crew got infected. It spread to other crew members and Jones had no choice but to put into the Tchefuncte River and ride out the fever. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Yellow Fever Strikes Crew</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It only got worse; soon the entire crew of 30 men, including the surgeon, was seriously ill. Midshipman Jones was the only one that was not affected with the fever. For almost two months, he had to do the best he could to take care of his men. Thirteen died and were buried in the swamps on the opposite side of the river from Baham Village. The surgeon, insane with fever, tried to reach the village with a small skiff, but it turned over and he drowned. It was not until January of 1810 that the fever had subsided and another gunboat assisted Jones to Bayou St. John.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Also, in 1809 court martial were now being held on gunboats anchored in the Tchefuncte River. Mainly the Court martial were convened for Marines and sailors who had deserted and had sought refuge in West Florida. When convicted, the sentence was extremely harsh, especially for those who deserted more than once. With Army deserters from Fort Adams, desertion became a serious a problem for both American and Spanish officials. Porter sent Lt. Merrill to see the Spanish Governor at Baton Rouge to solve this problem, but to no avail.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Many Officers Lived in St. Tammany</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Many of the U.S Naval and Marine Officers lived on the North Shore in St. Tammany Parish. Two Marine Officers who had their Headquarters in St. Tammany went on to become the Marine Corp Commandant. One, by the name of Captain Henderson was the Corp Commandant for forty years. He established many traditions that are still used today. Other Officers, like Lt. Michael Carroll even started a business. Carroll established a mail route between Baton Rouge and Madisonville. </span><br />
<a href="https://donaldsharphistory.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-early-history-of-lewisburg.html"><b><br /></b></a>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://donaldsharphistory.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-early-history-of-lewisburg.html"><b>Jonathan Ferris</b></a>, the Sailing Master from New York, invested in real estate In the summer of 1810; Master Commandant David Porter was reassigned to Boston Harbor to be Captain of the Frigate Essex. When he left, he took along his foster son David Glasgow Farragut.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1810</b></span><br />Captain John Shaw returned for his second tour of duty on the New Orleans Station in the fall of 1810. He came down the Mississippi River and caught up with Governor W. C. C. Claiborne at St. Francisville on December 6, just after the governor raised the American flag there. Claiborne had orders from Washington to annex West Florida without delay. He was to later raise another American flag over the Fort at Baton Rouge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Forced Annexation Of West Florida</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Captain Shaw joined him at St. Francisville to complete this mission. Captain Shaw called in the five gunboats of the River Division, stationed at Natchez, under the command of Lt Commander Daniel Patterson to transport the troops downriver. The gunboats first transported the 400 American troops to about 2 miles above the Fort. There they met Governor Claiborne and Colonel Covington coming down the river road with the Mississippi mounted Dragoons.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After the soldiers were landed, the gunboats dropped down the river and anchored in a line opposite the fort. Their big 32 pound cannons were then trained on the Fort, primed and ready to fire. When Claiborne and his forces arrived at the fort, they combined into an overwhelming force. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fulwar Skipwith, the President of the newly declared Lone Star Republic, realized that it was useless to resist and ordered the gate to the fort opened and the American flag was then raised.Thus, with the help of the United States Navy, West Florida was annexed to the United States on December, 10, 1810.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Gunboat Sought To Ensure Peace</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Captain Shaw continued on down river to New Orleans. When he got there he found a letter from Lt. George Merrill from the Tchefuncte River. Merrill wrote that there was much lawlessness on the north shore of the lake and even violence by some of the settlers. What should he do? Captain Shaw told Merrill West Florida was now part of the United States and it was his duty as an officer in the Navy to give protection to any citizen that asked for it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That he was to assist any officer of the law appointed by Governor to restore and keep order. Needless to say that each gunboat had a crew of 30 heavily armed sailors, ready to fight, and to carry out Merrill's orders. Lt. Merrill quickly restored the peace on the Tchefuncte River.. The reason that the people were in such a hostile mood was that their representative to the West Florida convention, William Cooper, was murdered and his property destroyed by the same revolutionary forces that were part of this same convention.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>First American Flag Over St. Tammany</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thus Lt. George Merrill from Hartford, Connecticut, who raised the first American flag over West Florida at the mouth of the Amite River on January7, 1809 now raised the American flag over St Tammany Parish on January 6, 1811.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />1812</b></span><br />The War of 1812 broke out that spring and even though the New Orleans Station was a long ways from the Atlantic coast, the station prepared for War. Word of the War was sent to all ships to be ready for action against the British. Captain Shaw conferred with General Wilkinson about defending New Orleans from a British attack. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">General Wilkinson, who was an authority on defending harbors with floating batteries, thought a floating barge or stationary ship with heavy cannons would be the best option to defend the mouth of the river and the Rigolets. Shaw thought that a flat bottom frigate that could maneuver in shallow waters around New Orleans and carry heavy cannons would be the best means of defense on Lake Borgne and the Rigolets. He had plans for a flat bottom frigate drawned up and hung in his office. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All that was needed now was the site to build the stationary frigate and the Secretary of the Navy's permission. He was thinking of the Gulf Coast around Bay St. Louis as a good location to build the ship. On August 19 and 20th, a ferocious hurricane hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast areas. Ships were sunk or driven aground and many sailors and marines lost their lives on the lakes, river and Gulf Coast. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hurricane Victims Wash Ashore</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Three sailor's bodies were washed ashore at Bayou Castin in early January, 1813. They were badly decomposed and seemly had been in the water a long time. And inquest was held by local authorities of St. Tammany and the bodies were buried along the lake shore. Sadly to say, the presence of the Navy, which was close by on the Tchefuncte River, never acknowledged the sailors deaths.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1813</b></span><br />In December of 1812, Captain Shaw had to make a trip to the Tchefuncte River to inspect a gunboat that was being repaired. It was on this trip that Captain Shaw made the decision to have the stationary frigate built on the Tchefuncte River instead of Bay St. Louis. On the Gulf it would be vulnerable to a British invasion where, on the Tchefuncte it could be better protected. Permission had been granted to Shaw by the Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamiliton to proceed with construction. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Naval Yard Location</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While at the Tchefuncte, Shaw came to an agreement with north shore resident Jacques Lorreins, who was the owner of the twenty acres located in a prominent bend of the Tchefuncte River that Shaw wanted to lease. As soon as Shaw and Lorreins came to an agreement, Lt. Michael Carroll and Sailing Master Jonathan Ferris were put in charge of navy crews that started clearing the land. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shaw had hired Master carpenter Francois Pichon of New Orleans, who had come to Louisiana from Boudreaux about ten years earlier, to be in charge of building the ship. Captain Shaw and Pichon hired what carpenters that could be had in New Orleans and the rest of the civilian labor force, were hired from residents on the North Shore. Thomas Spell and Joseph Sharp were among the laborers that were hired. Shaw reported all that he had done in the preparation for building the ship to Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamiliton and received his approval. It was an economic boon for the north shore, to say the least! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Workers Hired, Paid $28 A Month</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Workers were paid as much as $28 dollars a month, plus rations. On the payroll list, secured from the Navy archives, there are about 150 names of civilians that worked on the ship during the peak months; many were from the surrounding Parishes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the end of August, 1813, the Creeks attacked Fort Mims, north of Mobile, and killed over 300 settlers. The inhabitants on the North Shore and the Gulf Coast were in a state of panic and wanted protection from the Indians. Governor Claiborne came up with a plan. He and Captain Shaw crossed the lake to Madisonville in early September to meet with the Parish leaders. Governor Claiborne took along a large number of rifles and powder from the arsenal at New Orleans. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Fort Built to Protect Madisonville Area</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Claiborne's plan was to use the string of forts already in place and build another fort, this one a stockade, with the help of the workers at the yard. It would be located across the Tchefuncte River from Madisonville and adjacent the main trail leading to the navy yard. Captain Shaw told the Parish leaders he would have it manned with an Officer and a detachment of Marines, along with a few heavy cannons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This would give protection for the workers at the Navy Yard and the residents of Madisonville. The other forts in Claiborne's plan would be Ford's Fort on the Pearl River, the fort at Springfield, and the fort at Baton Rouge. If the Creeks would unite with the Choctaws, there could be an attack, but this was highly unlikely. Captain Shaw wrote to the Secretary of the Navy that he thought the Creeks were too far away and even if they did attack, he was sure that he could defeat them. (Several old fortifications of logs were found in the northern part of some of the West Florida parishes. It could be the results of the Creek threat.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />1814</b></span><br />Captain John Shaw was reassigned to Boston Harbor and Master Commandant Daniel Patterson took over as the new Commandant. The new Secretary of the Navy, that took Paul Hamiliton's place, put little value on the gunboats at New Orleans or the building of a flat bottom stationary frigate. He thought they were useless and a waste of money. Master Commandant Patterson, the new Commander at New Orleans, tried to defend the "block ship: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ship Under Construction Cancelled</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He wrote to the new Secretary that the Blockship "Tchfuncte" was more than 80% complete and would be useful for the defense of New Orleans, but it fell on "deaf ears". In April of 1814 the Secretary wrote to Patterson to stop construction, lay off the workers, and close in the blockship on its stocks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />The British invasion armada showed up on the Gulf Coast and anchored off Ship Island in early December. There were over fifty ships in the armada led by Vice Admiral Cochran in his 74 gun flagship ship Tonnant. It was the largest foreign armada ever to approach American shores. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Battle of Lake Borgne</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The battle of Lake Borgne occurred when British Admiral Cochran gave the order "to clear the Lakes" Forty barges loaded with soldiers and sailors then attacked the five gunboats which were led by Lt. Thomas Catesby Jones in gunboat no 5. Sailing Master Jonathan Ferris was in command of another gunboat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The gunboats were overwhelmed after a desperate fight. Lt. Jones was wounded in the shoulder and all of the five gunboat crews captured. The Battle of Lake Borgne gave General Jackson three precious days to establish his defense. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Tchefuncte Naval Yard Defended</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A night Battle occurred on December 28 at Villere's Plantation on the river below New Orleans, and Marine Major Daniel Carmick was hit in the head by a British rocket. He died of his injury later in St. Tammany Parish. He is buried in the New Orleans St. Louis Cemetery. Lt. Commander Michael B. Carroll, before the Battle, sailed a schooner up the Tchefuncte River and blocked any traffic going up or down the River in an effort protect the yard and block ship.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1815</b></span><br />The Navy Yard on the Tchefuncte was used during the War of 1812 to induct men on the north shore into the Louisiana Militia. A month and a half later, after the battle, the order was given to discharge the 12th and 13th Regiments at the Navy Yard immediately. Thomas Spell of Bayou Castin, had a stroke three days after being discharged at the yard and died. He was buried, at his request, on the banks of Chinchuba Creek (now called the Tom Spell memorial Cemetery) at Mandeville.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1816</b></span><br />A U.S. Navy census of ships at New Orleans in 1816 shows that the "Tchefuncte" was still on its stocks and still on the Navy rolls. Lt. Commander Michael B Carroll had resigned his commission and returned to Maryland, where he married and became a "gentleman farmer". From this marriage, he had two children and died in 1832. Lt. George Merrill was appointed commander of the navy yard on the Tchefuncte in 1816.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1818</b></span><br />Merrill had a run in with Captain Daniel Patterson in 1818 over a fire at the Tchefuncte Navy Yard and went on half pay retirement and lived at Madisonville. In 1821 a new Navy Secretary ordered Lt. Merrill back to duty. His re-entering the service did not last long, as he died in the summer of 1822 at his home in Madisonville. He was only 38 years old. His brother, Stephen, from Hartford, Connecticut came down to take care of his brother's affairs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Navy Yard To Close</b> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The handwriting for closing the New Orleans and Tchefuncte facilities was then on the wall. Congress passed a law given the President the power to sell military facilities that were no longer needed. "Fort Oak" was still standing at Madsionville as was indicated on a map of Louisiana of 1819. (Tanner's Map of Philadelphia) The "Tchefuncte" was still on its "stocks" in 1820. The pirates, for the most part, had been chased out of the Gulf of Mexico into the Caribbean.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />1821</b></span><br />There was one gunboat still on the roster of Navy Ships at New Orleans in 1821. The stockade fort on the Tchefuncte was now gone, and the Secretary of the Navy gave the order to the three Navy Commissioners to break up the blockship Tchefuncte, save what you can from the remains, and leave only one Navy personnel at the Tchefuncte facility.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was Sailing Master Jonathan Ferris. Pieces of the block ship that could be used, were taken from the broken ship and transported to the six Navy stations on the east coast.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Main Mast Repaired</b></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />1823</b></span><br />The Schooner Grumpus, in the spring of 1823, which had been fighting pirates in the Caribbean, came into New Orleans with a split main mast. Orders went out across the lake to Sailing Master Ferris to find two masts in the St. Tammany forest, one for use as a replacement.. This was done and it was the last official act carried out at the Tchfuncte facility. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What equipment that was left in the yard was shipped to the new Navy facility at Pensacola. Jonathan Ferris who had arrived at the New Orleans station in 1810 from New York and was the last of the Navy personnel to leave the Tchefuncte, was assigned to the new Pensacola Navy Yard. Ten years later his, old friend in arms Andrew Jackson, then President of the United States, promoted Ferris to the rank of Lieutenant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ferris had been overlooked on the promotion ladder for many years because of being a Sailing Master of a gunboat at the New Orleans Station. He was in his fifties when promoted to Lieutenant and died a few years later in Virginia. Captain John Shaw, who was Commandant of the New Orleans Yard twice, and assigned to the Boston Navy Yard, died in 1823 at Boston. His first wife died earlier of the fever in New Orleans and he married for the second time. She was a member of the prominent Breed family of Boston, in which the battle of Breeds Hill derives it name.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1824</b></span><br />Captain Daniel Patterson who came with Captain John Shaw in 1806 and replaced Shaw as Commandant in 1813 was given a promotion in 1824 and assigned to the Constitution as its Captain. The Constitution was preparing to sail with several other ships to the Mediterranean to show the American flag.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Joseph Hawkins Named Naval Agent</b> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He could now be called a Commodore, the highest title in the Navy. Joseph Hawkins, a New Orleans lawyer, living in St. Tammany Parish was promoted to Naval Agent at New Orleans by the President. He died in 1823. after becoming agent just two years earlier. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hawkins was involved with Stephen Austin in the Texas colony adventure. Austin was hired by Hawkins as a law clerk in 1820. In 1821, Austin left New Orleans to take up his father's quest for a Spanish land grant in Texas and to establish a colony; Hawkins had backed Austin financially to the tune of $6,000. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Hawkins/Austin Texas Colony Venture</b> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A contract was drawn up between the two men stipulating that Hawkins was to receive half of any money made from the venture. Needless to say, Austin did not honor the agreement for several reasons. In defense of Austin, a Mexican law prevented him from having a foreign partner in ownership of the Texas colony. Austin, himself died in poverty and made no money from the venture. He never could pay off Hawkins or his family. The Hawkins widow sued, using a St. Tammany lawyer named Nathaniel Coxe, which brought little results. Coxe took Hawkins' place as Naval Agent at New Orleans, after his death in 1823.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>1826</b></span><br />The order came from Washington to close the New Orleans Navy Yard in 1826. Lieutenant George Rousseau, a native of New Orleans and the last officer attached to the Yard, closed the gates in September of that year and handed the keys over to naval agent Nathaniel Coxe. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Naval Yard Closed</b> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From the establishment of the United States Navy at New Orleans in 1806, until it closed in September of 1826, it exerted a strong influence, not only in New Orleans but on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and Maurepas. This influence extend into the political, social, and economical areas of West Florida. Politically, it was their presence, in the form of gunboats and repair facilities that reinforced the policy of Thomas Jefferson's administration that West Florida was part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and consequently belong<br />to the United States. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Naval Personnel Lived in St. Tammany</b> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Socially, many of the Officers attached to the Lake Division gunboats and the personnel at the Tchefuncte Navy Yard participated in many parish activities. Economically, the Navy and its personnel were a major economic stimulus on the north shore, especially in St. Tammany Parish. It was the navy's presence that helped to maintain law and order during difficult times and played an important role in the annexation of West Florida to the United States in 1810.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Epilogue</b></span><br />Many of the Officers that were assigned to the New Orleans Station went on to have successful naval careers. Captain David Porter became a national hero with his famous voyage to the Pacifie Ocean, and was later promoted to the Board of The Navy Commissioners, this Post he resigned after several years and became the chief Admiral in the Mexican Navy, and finally after leaving the Mexican Navy, he was appointed to a diplomatic post in Turkey, where he later died. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was in the Pacific, with the frigate Essex that he destroyed the whaling fleet of Great Britain and established a base in the Marquese Islands, which he called Madisonville. He claimed the islands for the United States, but Congress wasn't interested in its ownership. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Farragut Becomes An Admiral</b> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He took his foster son David Glasgow Farragut on this long voyage, which transformed the boy into a man. He then fought two British frigates off the Chilean Coast but was defeated, Porter than returned home to a hero's welcome in the United States. His foster son, David Glasgow Farragut, who later fought in the Civil War for the Union, was in command of the forces that captured New Orleans and went on to become the first Admiral in the United States Navy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Admiral David Farragut</span> </div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then there was Lt. John Henley, the nephew of George Washington, and commander of a gunboat on Lake Pontchartrain in 1808 and 1809, who was the first to sail an American warship to Canton, China and fight Malaysians pirates. His trip helped to opened China and the Pacific Ocean up for the United States. He later died aboard his ship in Havana Harbor of yellow fever. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another Officer was Thomas Catesby Jones, who also played a part in Pacific foreign policy for the United States, both in the Hawaiian Islands in 1825 and the coast of California in the Mexican War. He retired to his home in Virginia where he later died.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>John Rush and The 1st Book On Mental Health</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Finally, there was Sailing Master John Rush, who went insane after fighting a duel and killing his friend and fellow officer, Benjamin Turner, on the New Orleans Station. He was sent back to the Navy Hospital at Philadelphia, where his father, the famous American Doctor, Benjamin Rush, treated his mental condition, all the while studying his son's disease. From his experience in taking care of his son, Dr. Rush wrote the first book on Psychiatry in America. Dr. Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence as was his father-in-law.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-48818896826780009132019-09-25T16:00:00.002-07:002019-09-25T16:00:08.136-07:001921 News Item Tells of Mandeville Lakefront Work<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On
June 12, 1921, the New Orleans Item newspaper ran an extensive article
on plans to improve the Mandeville harbor and lakefront. A copy of the
article was found in the history research files of Don Sharp. Here is
the text from that article:</span><br />
<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mandeville Takes Vigorous Forward Step in Improvement Bond Issues For $57,000</span></span></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>City by Lake Plans Great Civic, Industrial Revival</b></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mandeville Citizens Vote Bonds To Repair Streets and Sea-wall and Build New Docks - Free Sites Offered to Factories</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By George Daws (Item, June 12, 1921)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />A
sleepy, dreamy, little, typically-Southern town on the shores of Lake
Pontchartrain, some 22 miles from New Orleans; a town where the "folks"
thought more of the traditions of their Spanish and French forefathers
who first settled there than of progress and improvements; a town where
great moss covered oaks sheltered wide, dusty streets, and where
wonderful natural advantages were never brought to commercial use.<br /><br />That was the Mandeville of yesterday. But now --<br /><br />It's
a lively, bustling town where the people are digging deep into their
pockets to pay for improvements; where within a few short months the
great work of dredging out the Bayou Castaign and basin for big
passenger ships, repairing the streets, mending the gap in the long
sea-wall, will begin; where all the talk is of the future and of the
three factories that are soon to be built.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Plans
furnished by Mr. Reine, who will donate property for three factories,
and a street. Bond issue money will be spent to build docks and dredge
the channel. Click on the map to make it larger. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />A
great change has come over the little town of Mandeville in St. Tammany
Parish. There are new city officials, headed by Mayor Dr. W. E. Van
Zant. Bond issues, one a municipal issue of $32,000 to repair the
streets and the sea-wall, and the other, a ward issue of $25,000 to
dredge the Bayou and the basin and building the new docks, have been
voted.<br /><br /><b>People Are In Earnest</b><br /><br />The people in
Mandeville are in earnest, there's no doubt about that. There's a great
deal of joking and laughter and banter about the new improvements, but
beneath the surface there is strength of the new belief that money must
be spent to bring to the city the prosperity and growth it deserves. An
indication of the popular feeling may be obtained when it is noted that
there was but one dissenting vote in the issuing of the bonds. Every
other person in the city and ward who voted was in favor of it. <br /><br />It
means a whole lot that dredging of the Bayou Castaign. It means there
will be a large and safe shelter for ships and barges, that the
passenger boats from New Orleans will have the right kind of docking
facilities, that new factories will spring up, new workmen will come and
new homes will be built. <br /><br />It means progress, nothing else. And
the people of the little city, now fully awake to all they've been
letting slip by them during the past, are putting "shoulders to the
wheel" in their whole-hearted fight to make it all a great big success.<br /><br /><b>First Settled in 1739</b><br /><br />Way
back in 1739, the first settlers crossed Lake Pontchartrain moored
their boats up Bayou Castaign and settled on the site of what is now
Mandeville. The Edwards, Morgans, Spells, and Tournieres were the first
to come and they made friends with the Choctaw Indians. There never was
much Indian trouble about that country.<br /><br />The descendants of those
first pioneers are residents of Mandeville. The names that are famous in
the history of the little city are heard on every side. In 1797 came
two other families, and in 1834 Marquis Bernard DeMarigny and his band
came. The Marquis, owner of vast tracts of land mapped out the little
city and began calling it Mandeville."<br /><br />The newspaper article
explained that with the bond issue money, the bayou would be deepened to
ten feet. "A basin for ships to turn in will be dredged. A small sea
wall will be built. A new dock with sheds for the protection of both
passengers and freight will be built. <br /><br />The bonds according to the
law, cannot be offered for sale until 60 days after the election, which
was held on May 25, 1921. At that time, as many as possible will be
sold to the citizens of Mandeville and an attempt will be made to have
merchants in New Orleans invest in the remainder. <br /><b><br />Guard Health Reputation</b><br /><br />There
is one thing the people of Mandeville are jealous of and that is the
reputation their city has as a health resort. Stories are told, and in
many instances by interested persons themselves, of almost miraculous
recoveries from sickness.<br /><br />But about the best argument of all is
the statement of Dr. Van Zant, the mayor: "Mandeville is too doggone
healthy for a doctor."<br /><br />Great forests of pine stretch for miles
back of the city. The visitors who flock there during both the summer
and winter seasons are the ones who "hike" up through the trees.<br /><br />The
cooling breezes from the lake keep them comfortable through the hot
summer days. Then there is the fishing. Red snappers, red fish, trout,
croakers, shrimp and soft shell crab abound in the waters of the lake.
In the winter there is hunting, principally for wild ducks and geese,
quail and partridge. <br /><br /><b>Attacts Weekenders</b><br /><br />Every
weekend hundreds of New Orleanians visit Mandeville. The Pleasure Bay,
one of the largest passenger boats on Lake Pontchartrain, will shortly
begin to make the trips from West End to Mandeville. Railroads run
excursion trains every Sunday. The coaches that left New Orleans last
Sunday were filled with typical picnic throngs - there were old folks
and the young couples, and the swimming set and lunch baskets and all of
the other things considered necessary.<br /><br />It's really a mystery
where all of the people go when they leave the train in Mandeville. They
just seems to disappear. Some go right down to the lake and follow its
winding shoreline out for a mile or so, probably to their own favorite
fishing ground. Others head into the forests to spend the day beneath
the great sheltering trees. Many have their own picnic grounds, hidden
away in the trees.<br /><br />And then "Lover's Lane." It's a long, long
trail through the woods winding along over the little creeks and
diminutive ravines, past the immense trees and back from the lake into
the very heart of the forest. It's popular... but not too popular,
Y'understand?<br /><br />Mandeville heartily welcomes the visitors. Right
now plans are being made to offer the excursionists better
accommodations. There is talk of clearing out more spaces beneath the
trees and building little benches and tables; of improving the beach for
swimming and erecting more bath houses and probably opening a large
dancing pavilion. <br /><br /><b>Population Swells In Summer</b><br /><br />In
the summer the population of Mandeville is some 600 to 800 greater.
There are scores of houses for rent every year and visitors from all
over the country go there to spend the season.<br /><br />The main industry
of the little city is the Poitevent and Favre sawmill where over 250 men
are employed. There the yellow pine, brought down from the forests
about 9 to 10 miles back of the city, is cut into timber.<br /><br />The Chinchuba Deaf Mute Institute, operated by the Sisters of Notre Dame, is on the outskirts of the town. <br /><br />On
the lake shore is the great house called "Rest-A-While," a summer home
for Orleans people operated by the King's Daughters. All during the
summer months different groups come there to stay for the two-week
vacation. <br /><br />This year the high school will be opened in the new
school building. This building, recently inspected by state officials,
was declared to be one of the best in the state, especially as regards
athletic equipment. H. H. Levy, of the parish school board, was one of
the strongest workers for the erection of the new building. <br /><br /><b>New Depot Erected</b><br /><br />The New Orleans and Great Northern Railroad recently built a new depot in Mandeville, costing $10,000. <br /><br />The Public School League, an organization of mothers, is the leading club of Mandeville and is active in all school matters.<br /><br />Then there is also the Mandeville Progressive Association, the chief civic organization. Dr. Van Zant is president. <br /><br />Two
of the strongest workers for the street improvements are Jules Bagur,
retired, former proprietor of a New Orleans store, and Paul Esquinance. <br /><br />Many
of the more important plans for the dredging of the bayou were made by
George E. Reine, the owner of much of the land on the west side of the
bayou. Some time ago, Mr. Reine succeeded in having sent to Mandeville
government engineers, who were to report on the government opening the
mouth of the bayou.<br /><br />This work was not done, it is said, because
the government officials refused to O.K. the expenditure unless
factories were built before the bayou was opened. This could not be
accomplished, so the work was stopped.<br /><br /><b>Sites Donated Facilities</b><br /><br />Mr.
Reine declared he has already entered into negotiations with the men
who will erect the woodle handle and the canning factory and the saw
mill. He has promised to donate sites for these factories and also to
give to the city the property for a new street to border the bayou. <br /><br />Reports
have been current that the Southern Yacht Club will build a "stop
station" at Mandeville after the bayou is opened. The ground for this
house will also be donated, it is reported.<br /><br />Some distance up the
Bayou there is a natural basin, where the yachts could easily turn
around. It is reported to have the "stop station" there.<br /><br /><b>Mandeville Yacht Club</b><br /><br />The
Mandeville Yacht Club, which has disbanded some years ago, will be
re-organized, said Mr. Reine, when the bayou is re-opened. In years gone
by there were great yacht races there and the people of the city are
anxious to have them again. <br /><br /><b>New City Officials</b><br /><br />Here are the names of the new city officials:<br /><br />Dr. W. E. Van Zant, mayor; Councilman W. A. Griffin, Stephen Jozsn, W. R. Smith, E. H. Baudot, and James Band. <br /><br />The
committee named by the city to have charge of the work of arranging for
the $32,000 bond issue includes the following: H. H. Levy, A. Dupre,
Charles A. David, D. J. Mulligan and George Glockner.<br /><br />There's but
one conclusion to be drawn after a trip to Mandeville and a visit with
the "live" citizens of that city and that is --<br /><br />The city is
progressing. There is a forward spirit, there is cooperation between all
classes, with a noticeable lack of "bickering" between the various
elements. That the city is bound to grow and that the "neighbors" across
the lake - the Orleanians - are going to be mighty proud of Mandeville
in time to come. </span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-42079192984916787732019-05-26T12:36:00.004-07:002020-04-23T07:04:34.418-07:00The Early History of Lewisburg<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After extensive research in the
history of the Lewisburg area, combining genealogy records with historical
accounts of who did what where and who owned what when, the following
information has been compiled by Don Sharp. <br /><br />In 1777, Paul
Labyteaux and Samuel Ferguson first settled in the Lewisburg area. The
two men were living in New York in 1776 when job opportunities opened up
for skilled workers needed to work on military fortifications in
Pensacola, FL. They went there under contract, and by the time the work
was finished, the American Revolution had started, and they were unable
to return to New York. <br /><br />They and about two dozen other workers
were told that if they decided to stay they would be given land grants
along the Gulf Coast, until conditions were less dangerous to return to
the Eastern seaboard.<br /><br />"Grants were rapidly filling in the area
with fleeing Loyalists," according to Donald Sharp, historian, "and
Labyteaux and Ferguson decided to take their land grants on the
Pontchartrain lakefront near Bayou Chinchuba." The land grant Paul
Labyteaux acquired was the Ferris property (a British Land Grant) .<br /><br />Over
40 grants were given from the Tchefuncte River over to Bayou Castin by
1777, with an estimated population of about 350 people in the area at
the time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
settlers thought they were far enough from the war and would be safe.
This proved to be wrong, as British and American forces soon fought on
Lake Pontchartrain, and in October of 1779 British colonists at
Mandeville were forced to sign an oath of allegiance to the United
States.<br /><br />Paul Labyteaux, Samuel Ferguson and Rebecca Ambrose were
at Bayou Chinchuba when the Peace Treaty of Paris was signed in
September of 1783. They were among the half dozen or so other residents
who chose to stay on the lakefront in the area of Bayou Castin.<br /><br />In
1798, Peter Labyteaux, the son of Paul, petitioned for a Spanish land
grant next to that belonging to his father. A grant of 114 arpents was
given him by Spanish Governor Baron Carondelet. <br /><br />Paul Labyteaux
died before 1819 and his four surviving children (Peter, Elizabeth,
Jemmia and Mary) sold his approximately 254 acres to Jacob R. Hardenberg
and Joseph W. Scott (Esquires) from New Bruswick, New Jersey. <br /><br />Samuel
Ferguson died about the same time as Labyteaux, and his land passed
into the possession of his son Thomas Ferguson. He sold his father's
property to William Dewees, a Justice of the Peace for the City of New
Orleans.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpQD2VK_zN9zkqY7W4gFjI4SxbLTInrkpBmdkEhUy1tQvWaG2HdnzMQ1IYtS4cRPDp-fTaJYqtHLmy2NmH15AlYQcVZt0GxjhQhnRYcRJL7mMmSRcpZz19jMM9ygj9EUqUN1VCajssJ-F/s1600/LewisburgPainting1899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="1600" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpQD2VK_zN9zkqY7W4gFjI4SxbLTInrkpBmdkEhUy1tQvWaG2HdnzMQ1IYtS4cRPDp-fTaJYqtHLmy2NmH15AlYQcVZt0GxjhQhnRYcRJL7mMmSRcpZz19jMM9ygj9EUqUN1VCajssJ-F/s400/LewisburgPainting1899.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Painting of Lewisburg lakefront, 1899</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dewees
received 428 acres in that transaction, and since he was not planning
to live across the lake, he hired William McDermott, an American settler
living in the area for some years, to be the "caretaker" for the
newly-acquired property. <br /><br />In 1813, shortly after joining the
United States, Louisiana residents were told they had to petition
Congress-appointed Land Commissioners if they had any "land claims" left
over from the British or Spanish eras. <br /><br />McDermott, although he
had never filed for a land grant himself for some reason, did claim the
land belonging to Deweesas as his own. Dewees, as Justice of the Peace,
had seen this sort of thing before, so he filed a law suit and won,
having McDermott removed from his land.<br /><br />In 1815, Dewees moved to Washington, D.C.<br /><br />McDermott
was not deterred, so he moved eastward and tried to claim the land on
the adjacent Labyteaux/Ferguson tract as well as the Ambrose tract which
had been abandoned. <br /><br />In 1814 McDermott made a will before Judge
James Tate, the St. Tammany parish judge, saying he wanted to leave his
400 acre plantation to his wife Mary and his children Wiliam Jr. and
Clara Eliza. "His land, which he claimed, was bordered on the east by
Jacob Bartle and on the west by land of William Dewees, known as the
land of Paul Labyteaux and on the north by Samuel Loyd and Thomas
Spell," Donald Sharp wrote in his research notes.<br /><br />After the legal
issues were resolved, in 1818 William Dewees sold to Sailing Master
Jonathan Harris the Labyteaux/Ferguson tract for $3000.<br /><br />A year
later, in 1819, Haden Edwards bought the old Paul Labyteaux land grant
at Bayou Chinchuba for $9,000 from Ferris, the price of which was
"highly overinflated" but Haden was anxious to get his family of of
disease-ridden New Orleans. <br /><br />Unfortunately, Haden stopped making
payments on the property a few years later after he left for Mexico
City. His family had to move to Madisonville as a result. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoGJbkwnm_X8114nGhP-yTxlGXcCrknSNPbintlwmLpr9SGvM-YpM2DEqkWmS2NTSdOVUc7VmoAFVlgfNcI1pymxRKi0NAjLBwxr50q0jkdyQnDALCcNy2rQTDW4y1kP-In_eperBJwJC/s1600/LewisburgMap2125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoGJbkwnm_X8114nGhP-yTxlGXcCrknSNPbintlwmLpr9SGvM-YpM2DEqkWmS2NTSdOVUc7VmoAFVlgfNcI1pymxRKi0NAjLBwxr50q0jkdyQnDALCcNy2rQTDW4y1kP-In_eperBJwJC/s400/LewisburgMap2125.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />The
Bayou Chinchuba property was returned to Jonathan Ferris. It was then
acquired by William Weeks, and after changing hands a few more times, it
wound up owned by James Amour and Christian A. Dorbett, who sold it to
Hugh Gordon on February 20, 1827. At that time the 980 acre tract was
known as "Paradise," according to documents found by Don Sharp. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZYDX7PvF5w5dC0W3jj2SI8rbLrAHUzkAhXYjE8VUKC614p2jxHg7C4Cpx80AzRw0Thx5UwUn0f9JBqU1fZjh8xfONUfxCz8AV4w2JL3q5GX0cLceNP48RtquUdb4N2JWT8rXeIlxcPlHS/s1600/LewisburgYellowFarrisProperty125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZYDX7PvF5w5dC0W3jj2SI8rbLrAHUzkAhXYjE8VUKC614p2jxHg7C4Cpx80AzRw0Thx5UwUn0f9JBqU1fZjh8xfONUfxCz8AV4w2JL3q5GX0cLceNP48RtquUdb4N2JWT8rXeIlxcPlHS/s400/LewisburgYellowFarrisProperty125.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />It
was sold in 1829 by Hugh Gordon to Judge Joshua Lewis. Gordon was a
notary in New Orleans and may have been a clerk in the Superior Court
system who may have known Judge Lewis through that connection.<br /><br /><b>Judge Lewis Came From Kentucky</b><br /><br />Judge
Joshua Lewis (1772 - 1833) was a descendant of John Lewis who came from
Ireland to America in 1720. Judge Lewis was the nephew of Meriwether
Lewis, the famous American explorer who led the Lewis and Clark
expedition across the continent between 1804 and 1805. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6B5AjrWBhf3HCUwDvchGbJWT1jxdyHEFezcPgyVCyhk3l0TESsO8S9HeZ3u1HWN6rL2pPF0FZVtUkoFBXw9HDgv0nbob38SLbwJUgxZhIP3BF0U5WlEcD2K3RJgeAX4rNHeYXy7_WVr1s/s1600/JudgeJoshuaLewis125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1419" data-original-width="875" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6B5AjrWBhf3HCUwDvchGbJWT1jxdyHEFezcPgyVCyhk3l0TESsO8S9HeZ3u1HWN6rL2pPF0FZVtUkoFBXw9HDgv0nbob38SLbwJUgxZhIP3BF0U5WlEcD2K3RJgeAX4rNHeYXy7_WVr1s/s400/JudgeJoshuaLewis125.jpg" width="246" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Judge Joshua Lewis</span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Judge Lewis served under Andrew Jackson in the War 1812, as did several others in the area.<br /><br />Judge
Lewis married America Lawson, who was the daughter of General Robert
and Sarah Merriwether Lewis. They first settled with their children
near Lexington, KY, in 1798. <br /><br />Joshua Lewis was elected to the
Kentucky House of Representatives in 1799, 1803, and 1804. A year
later, in 1805, Lewis was sent to New Orleans by President Thomas
Jefferson to help clear land title issues following the Louisiana
purchase, according to Wikipedia.<br /><br />He and his family traveled from Kentucky to New Orleans via a keelboat on the Mississippi River. <br /><br />After
his first year in New Orleans, in 1806, he was appointed a judge of
the Superior Court of the Territory of Orleans and, following
Louisiana's becoming a state in 1812, he served with the 1st Judicial
District Court. <br /><br />In 1815 he ran for Governor, but lost the election to Jacques Villere. <br /><br />What
first attracted Judge Joshua Lewis to buy land on the north shore of
Lake Pontchartrain for his retirement home in 1829? Sharp feels the main
reason was to get away from the pestilence and disease of New Orleans.
When he retired around 1829, he sought out the healthier conditions on
the north shore for he and his wife. <br /><br />He had first made his home
in New Orleans in 1806, but over the years other acquaintances of his
from Kentucky also came to the Crescent City for opportunities for
financial gain. Among them were Haden Edwards who came in 1815 and who
was the first to make the move to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain
in 1818.<br /><br />Among the ways in which Judge Joshua Lewis may have
gained knowledge of the desireability of living on the north shore was
the fact that he had tried several cases in his court that involved land
on the north shore.<br /><br /> "Also, there were several lawyers who
either lived there or who had connections to the Tchefuncte River or
Bayou Castine," said Donald Sharp. <br /><br />One of those lawyers, a
gentleman who had also come from Kentucky, was Joseph H. Hawkins. A
resident of Madisonville, Hawkins would enter into a business
partnership in 1821 with Stephen F. Austin, who would later become known
as "the father of Texas." <br /><br />Hawkins and Austin worked together to
drum up interest, and actually make arrangements for the first colony
of American settlers to set up homes in Texas. Hawkins died in 1823 from
contracting yellow fever.<br /><br />Judge Joshua Lewis' wife, America
Lewis, died on October 1, 1830, and is probably buried in the
Madisonville cemetery, Don Sharp believes. was buried in the
Madisonville cemetery.<br /><br /><b>Lewisburg Named </b><br /><br /> Three
years later, Judge Joshua Lewis died on June 20, 1833. Following his
death, the tract that he owned was named "Lewisburg" by his heirs in his
honor. They then had the land surveyed, divided into lots, and sold.
(See map.) </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQOJPwBxXQQUYLa5t_KA18Lq7qiiIZeU4kY0OJ8rR5_GptO81Vgn-bVbFMg9BS7YYRUAKnCg4o5z4b4hMwVNpfbB3OA13xbgp-9x8o8wWk90EqIlueDInHCuI5BzsYQsEmn1wQFjCiXTk/s1600/LewisburgMap_01834-125a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQOJPwBxXQQUYLa5t_KA18Lq7qiiIZeU4kY0OJ8rR5_GptO81Vgn-bVbFMg9BS7YYRUAKnCg4o5z4b4hMwVNpfbB3OA13xbgp-9x8o8wWk90EqIlueDInHCuI5BzsYQsEmn1wQFjCiXTk/s400/LewisburgMap_01834-125a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />One
of Judge Lewis' daughters married celebrated journalist Peter Knight
Wagner, and one of his sons was a New Orleans sheriff, State Senator,
and Mayor of the Crescent City. <br /><br />The sons of Judge Lewis also invested in St. Tammany real estate.<br /><br />Dr.
John Hapden Lewis and his brother John Lawson Lewis purchased 350 acres
making up a two part rice plantation in St. Tammany Parish in 1841.
Hampden had completed medical school in France in 1839.<br /><br />Born in
Lexington, KY, on March 26, 1800, John Lawson Lewis, a son of Judge
Joshua Lewis, was elected sheriff of the Parish of Orleans in 1845 and
later served as a member of the State Senate before he won election as
mayor of the City of New Orleans April 10, 1854. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLdCYYuH0CZ-HEIdd2a8rFRvpFahGgp1E_nUrgeEHb-lVJNeZXgPLW5lnrUOou29aP93OmZtSVfWVJIUE2nC15LqipyBctsm4PtwRuNJ4Ws8IeamD9UGOjgKl_PU8rqfKxXq0fnnIqoGs/s1600/JohnLawsonLewisOval125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1587" data-original-width="1025" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLdCYYuH0CZ-HEIdd2a8rFRvpFahGgp1E_nUrgeEHb-lVJNeZXgPLW5lnrUOou29aP93OmZtSVfWVJIUE2nC15LqipyBctsm4PtwRuNJ4Ws8IeamD9UGOjgKl_PU8rqfKxXq0fnnIqoGs/s400/JohnLawsonLewisOval125.jpg" width="257" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">John Lawson Lewis</span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />He
married Henriette Baham, daughter of Melanie Foucheer and Renez Baham
on March 22, 1842, in New Orleans. Henriette was the first cousin of
Henriette DeLillie, foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family. <br /><br />John
was instrumental in having the statue of Andrew Jackson placed in the
Place d'Armes (Jackson Square), and he also figured prominently in the
placement of the statue of Henry Clay on Canal Street in April of 1856.
John died on May 15, 1886.</span><br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-4381831270268318232019-05-16T17:19:00.002-07:002019-05-16T17:24:14.775-07:00London Research<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In July of 1979, Don Sharp traveled to London, England, to spend two weeks doing research on St. Tammany's English settlers. Most of the land records were housed at "Kew Gardens."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is a newspaper article about the trip as published in the St. Tammany Farmer newspaper on Thursday, August 2, 1979.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCucg1z-Gkhv4-jO8ij-IbrtWZ6Rfjnwee50i-b0hBVx1k_v0IchDSZMZ-Yj5rtJkz1ovvhjwieLAhXmQGNXh1h9gUKJEhjrvtAxbPfLnK5U_Klnj9GN4ymGnlrh4fCBbtGCtU0nIo6A8/s1600/DonGoesToLondon125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="1084" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwCucg1z-Gkhv4-jO8ij-IbrtWZ6Rfjnwee50i-b0hBVx1k_v0IchDSZMZ-Yj5rtJkz1ovvhjwieLAhXmQGNXh1h9gUKJEhjrvtAxbPfLnK5U_Klnj9GN4ymGnlrh4fCBbtGCtU0nIo6A8/s400/DonGoesToLondon125.jpg" width="351" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the forty plus British land grants he found in London that were located in the area from the Tchefuncte River to Bayou Castin, he drew the following "crude" land map.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvFiD3zyOEjPa-N-HR3XFOAVYxMXkhxu9ZKYvOEhaxJ7q8J8bv6XDw-tJXg1ldQeK2FpQTd0pa73VhzHMwX0W4o1vgTJrxwIYYfK2ygU57vDncF-oRcO7YOYWXtdRYIoxn9Nj7LDZtYoA/s1600/DonGoesToLondondrawsMap_0003125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1055" data-original-width="854" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCvFiD3zyOEjPa-N-HR3XFOAVYxMXkhxu9ZKYvOEhaxJ7q8J8bv6XDw-tJXg1ldQeK2FpQTd0pa73VhzHMwX0W4o1vgTJrxwIYYfK2ygU57vDncF-oRcO7YOYWXtdRYIoxn9Nj7LDZtYoA/s400/DonGoesToLondondrawsMap_0003125.jpg" width="323" /></a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-13227226717692383912019-05-16T12:08:00.001-07:002019-05-16T12:12:02.234-07:00Early Lewisburgh Map<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From the files of Donald J. Sharp, an 1834 map of Lewisburg, an early settlement between Mandeville and Madisonville on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. To see an enlarged version, <b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQOJPwBxXQQUYLa5t_KA18Lq7qiiIZeU4kY0OJ8rR5_GptO81Vgn-bVbFMg9BS7YYRUAKnCg4o5z4b4hMwVNpfbB3OA13xbgp-9x8o8wWk90EqIlueDInHCuI5BzsYQsEmn1wQFjCiXTk/s1600/LewisburgMap_01834-125a.jpg">CLICK HERE.</a></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQOJPwBxXQQUYLa5t_KA18Lq7qiiIZeU4kY0OJ8rR5_GptO81Vgn-bVbFMg9BS7YYRUAKnCg4o5z4b4hMwVNpfbB3OA13xbgp-9x8o8wWk90EqIlueDInHCuI5BzsYQsEmn1wQFjCiXTk/s1600/LewisburgMap_01834-125a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQOJPwBxXQQUYLa5t_KA18Lq7qiiIZeU4kY0OJ8rR5_GptO81Vgn-bVbFMg9BS7YYRUAKnCg4o5z4b4hMwVNpfbB3OA13xbgp-9x8o8wWk90EqIlueDInHCuI5BzsYQsEmn1wQFjCiXTk/s400/LewisburgMap_01834-125a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSejaWM_An9woOkF6L4GJvVL4n8BDNqvDJcaHn4_ZU41iI9moWkmvV78vy1BxaonSYUOynP4kcymdTuDxaXOOTiP9Dyp46a4qWxDw-cFyduGiP-XcAdV81E7XEEPll0thgELyvV5BHAChL/s1600/LewisburgMap1834-125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1256" data-original-width="875" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSejaWM_An9woOkF6L4GJvVL4n8BDNqvDJcaHn4_ZU41iI9moWkmvV78vy1BxaonSYUOynP4kcymdTuDxaXOOTiP9Dyp46a4qWxDw-cFyduGiP-XcAdV81E7XEEPll0thgELyvV5BHAChL/s400/LewisburgMap1834-125.jpg" width="277" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-75089052541894109452019-05-02T15:38:00.003-07:002019-05-15T07:25:24.168-07:00Fort Oak 1813-1822<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">St. Tammany Parish had a fort of its own, located just northeast of Madisonville. It was built in the fall of 1813 by order of Governor W.C. Claiborne and Navy Capt. John Shaw.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After hearing about the Native American uprising leading to the massacre of Fort Mims in Alabama, the residents of Madisonville convinced the Governor and local Navy officials that a fort was needed. The local inhabitants and the</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> workmen on the "blockship" at the nearby Naval yard would build the structure. We do not know its size or configuration, but there were 150 workers and at least 50 area inhabitants. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was a "stockade" fort, meaning it was built with posts in the ground, with parapets on each corner to fire the cannons. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lt. Michael Carroll was in charge of the construction. It was </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">under the command of Captain John Shaw, who</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> placed a Marine guard with heavy cannon in the fort. It was located near where the Otis House in Fairview Riverside State Park is today, and stood from 1813 to about 1822 when the Marine guard was taken out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Click on the images to make them larger. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>How It Came To Be</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The residents of Madisonville petitioned Governor Claiborne for protection from the Indians, and he and Captain John Shaw of the U.S. Navy made a special trip to Madisonville to meet with the community leader David Bannister Morgan and Rene Baham, who was part of the meeting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gov. Claiborne's plan for protection was to build a fort on the east side of the Tchefuncte River opposite the village and have a supply of rifles and gunpowder on hand in the fort for the inhabitants.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In addition, Capt. Shaw would place several cannons with a detachment of Marines. Shaw stated he had no doubts that he could defeat any band of Indians that would attack the area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Where to place the fort? This is where David Morgan came in. With his knowledge of the area by his surveying in 1804 and 1812, he drew a map as to the selection of what he thought would be the best location. (See map).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDwkDD7QLuCPMmSF1qR2RB1yPJmU1l0jWkZhlekXKwlKTWYLXD5chGPRCPHd-Ix0RLc1LvROdhXM-a8qJ8QTl1J3m48X40qSmEgDx6fF931b8g0OEaTE-i73fhknVIPBTnE9nCRiHOZap/s1600/StockadeFortSample125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1600" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDwkDD7QLuCPMmSF1qR2RB1yPJmU1l0jWkZhlekXKwlKTWYLXD5chGPRCPHd-Ix0RLc1LvROdhXM-a8qJ8QTl1J3m48X40qSmEgDx6fF931b8g0OEaTE-i73fhknVIPBTnE9nCRiHOZap/s400/StockadeFortSample125.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A representative sample of what Fort Oak might have looked like.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Where was "Fort Oak" located? It had to be in a clearing due to the cannons placed by Capt. John Shaw. The clearing would give the cannons a clear field of fire. The only clearing between the Naval facility and Madisonville was near Jacques Lorreins house, (near where today's Otis House is) on the east bank of the river, opposite Madisonville.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Christopher McKee wrote the book "A Gentlemanly and Honorable Profession: The Creation of the U.S. Naval Officer Corps., 1794-1815." The 600 page book was published by the US Naval Institute Press in 1991. He joined Don Sharp and his son on their visit to Fairview State Park to get a better idea of the location of Fort Oak. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don Sharp at Fairview State Park, searching for the site of Fort Oak</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-42385577117010523842019-05-02T13:27:00.004-07:002019-05-03T03:04:11.095-07:00Admiral Farragut Helps The Choctaws<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Admiral David Glascow Farragut of the United States Navy aided the Choctaws of St. Tammany Parish during the period of military occupation of New Orleans. Adrien Rouquette had met Farragut on a trip up north years before* the War. His nephew, James Rouquette (Dominique's eldest son) had sailed with Farragut on a mission which took him around the world by sea. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://donaldsharphistory.blogspot.com/2018/10/lacombe-history-highlights.html">Pere Rouquette</a>, after the burning of Buchuwa Village, sent an urgent appeal to Admiral Farragut for permission to cross Lake Pontchartrain to bring much needed medicine, food and clothing to The Nook for his suffering Indians. Farragut responded by sending a Federal gunboat up Bayou Lacombe to escort the Choctaw missionary to New Orleans and back to Lacombe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Photo courtesy National Archives)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">According to Wikipedia, Farragut was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. "He is remembered for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay usually paraphrased as "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" in U.S. Navy tradition."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Born near Knoxville, Tennessee, Farragut was fostered by naval officer David Porter after the death of his mother. Despite his young age, Farragut served in the War of 1812 under the command of his adoptive father. He received his first command in 1824 and participated in anti-piracy operations in the Caribbean Sea. He served in the Mexican–American War under the command of Matthew C. Perry, participating in the blockade of Tuxpan. After the war, he oversaw the construction of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, the first U.S. Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean."</span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-47256920253710783102019-04-25T17:55:00.004-07:002019-05-01T05:43:21.843-07:00The Madisonville Cemetery<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In 2012 Donald J. Sharp wrote an extensive history of the Madisonville Cemeteries. Here is a portion of that account.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Madisonville originally had two cemeteries in the early part of the nineteen century. One, which today is called the Madisonville Municipal Cemetery, is still in existence and the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">other, the Baham family cemetery was removed in 1917 when the Jahncke Shipyard was built.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> The first, which started as the Parent family cemetery in the late 1700s was located in the northern part of Madisonville near Bayou Desire. It is still in operation to this day. The </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Baham family cemetery, which originated with the death of Juan Baptiste Baham in 1807, was located in the southern boundary of Madisonville about a half mile away </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">downriver. It was located on the bank of the Tchefuncte River on Pierre Baham's, a son of old Juan Baptiste, Spanish land grant. It was these two families, the Bahams and the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Parent families that were the first to settle on the Tchefuncte River after the British settlers left in 1779.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The two families were previously living in the Mobile area when hostilities broke out between the Spanish and British during the American Revolution in August of 1779. Charles </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Parent had his plantation on the west bank of Mobile Bay, high on a hill, burned down when the British attacked the Village. The Village was a Spanish Outpost located next to </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the Parent and Rochon Plantations. After the attack, Charles Parent took his family and moved across the bay to Spanish controlled Mobile. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Later, he moved with his family to New Orleans. The Biaham's were living north of Mobile on their plantation on the Tensaw River, a few miles above Mobile. In 1782, the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Baham's were in Mobile when Francoise Guillory, wife of Juan Baptiste dit Gentil died. Shortly after Francoise demise, Juan Baptiste and his five sons moved to New Orleans.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Bahams and Parents did not stay in New Orleans very long. Charles Parent did try to buy a house in Bayou St. John in 1782 but at the auction, his bid was low. The </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bahams had a shorter stay in New Orleans than Parents. It appears that it wasn't long after the Bahams arrived in New Orleans that the father, dit Gentil, petitioned the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Spanish Governor, Estevan Miro, for a grant across the lake on the Tchefuncte River. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The land had been vacant since September of 1779 with the start of hostilities between the Spanish and British. Word had arrived on the north shore that Galvez and his army </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">were attacking the fort at Baton Rouge and the few remaining settlers on the river scattered in all directions. They took what they could and left. It was a hasty departure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When old Juan Baptiste Baham requested a land grant for his family on the north shore, the War between the British and Spanish was still on. Even so, some New Orleans </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">residents were already getting Spanish approval to settle on the contested land. It appears that Juan Baptiste Baham and his sons had the Governor's approval for a grant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Morgan Edwards had settled on a British grant at Bayou Castein as early as 1782 and Louis Reggio even earlier, in 1781 at Bayou Lacombe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It wasn't until the Treaty of Paris on September 4, 1783 and word was reached in New Orleans, some month and a half later, that the Spanish officially took control. The </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Spanish Governor approved a grant of 1000 arpents, (800 acres), to Juan Baptiste Baham two miles up on the West bank of the Tchefuncte River. This land had previously </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">belonged to British settlers Thomas Berwick and James Oliphant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some of the land had been cleared and was well developed by the British settlers. We know from records that the Bahams were living on their grant as early as April 24, 1783, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">some six months before the treaty of Peace was signed in Paris. The Baham grant was some of the best high land on the west bank of the lower Tchefuncte River.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After word was received in New Orleans that the War was over and peace had been declared between the Spanish and British, the Spanish Governor realized that there was a </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">need for some authority of control on the north shore of the lake. He then appointed Charles Parent as Commandant of the Tchefuncte River area. The date of the appointment </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">is not known but it was likely in late December, 1783 or early 1784. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Commandant's duties would be in the role of Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, and Judge in small matters, all rolled into one. When the newly appointed Commandant moved </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">across the lake and started looking for suitable land to build his house and conduct the official duties of his office, he found that the best high ground on both sides of the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">lower river were already taken. The Bahams had the choice spot on the west side and the Lorrein's family had what high ground was on the east bank. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Charles Parent did the next best thing to secure a spot on the lower Tchefuncte River. He purchased the Sarpy grant that was adjacent to the northeast boundary line of the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Baham grant and on the river. Sarpy had purchased the land from Louis Allard, son-in-law of Jacques Lorreins II. Louis Allard had obtained the land as a Spanish grant in early </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1784. It wasn't the best spot, but at least it was on the river and as close to the mouth that could be obtained.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At first, Commandant Parent's location on the river did not create a problem as traffic across Lake Pontchartrain from Bayou St. John to the Tchefuncte River was minimal. It </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">was after 1787 when General James Wilkinson came down from Kentucky and reached an agreement with the Spanish authorities to allow flatboat traffic from Kentucky to </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">deposit its farm produce at New Orleans. After that, the Tchefuncte River landing became increasingly important. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As more and more flat boatmen arrived in New Orleans from upriver and deposited their cargos at New Orleans, the traffic from Bayou St. John to the Tchefuncte River </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">increased dramatically! It was part of Parent's job to check the passports of travelers passing through and not to allow anyone to settle without official permission. Also, another </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">aspect of his job was to welcome various Indian Chiefs and their delegations and to assist them in getting across the lake. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It became increasingly difficult to carry out these duties from his location on the river. Just to the south of his southern boundary line was a strategic bend in the river, but it was </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">on Baham's land. He asked the Spanish Intendant Juan Morales in New Orleans to adjust his southern boundary lines southward, along the river and adjacent to the Baham </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">grant, to include a portion of this strategic bend. This was granted and Morales ordered Surveyor General Carlos Trudeau to make the adjustment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Needless to say, Trudeau got the two parties together and it was done, but it was not agreeable to old Juan Baptiste Baham and his sons. It would create a controversy </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">between the two families that would last a long time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When was each cemetery started? It is not known for sure when the first death occurred in the Parent family but when it did happen, a burial site was needed. It also could </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">even have been a traveler from New Orleans that died on the north shore and needed to be buried quickly in Louisiana's climate. We do know from the records that </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Commandant Charles Parent and wife Jeanne Rochon had a young son named Joseph that died in 1790. Where to bury him? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Much of their land was partially surrounded by low marshy ground. No, that would not be a suitable place. Should they pick out a spot far out in the woods? No, that seems to </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">be rejected also. A few hundred steps from their home on the bend in the river was this beautiful ancient live oak on high ground. It was right below the drainage canal later </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">called Bayou Desire, and also a short distance to the river. The large live oak is still standing today. In the mid-19th century it was given the name of "bathing oak" by the local </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">inhabitants.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We do not know for sure if young Joseph Parent was the first to be buried and his burial was the start of the cemetery. We do know its location as Charles Parent Jr. stated in </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">his will, written in 1858, that both his parents are buried in the cemetery and he describes the boundary lines of his property quite clearly. This description is very precise and it </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">can be traced on a Tobin Map. When did his father, Charles Parent Sr. die? He died in 1804 and we can state with certainty that he is indeed buried in the cemetery. So we do </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">know that the cemetery was in existence soon after the Louisiana Purchase occurred. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How do we know that the original cemetery was the same one that was on the Parent property? There are several documents and maps that are undeniable evidence to this </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">conclusion. The first and most convincing is the Will of Charles Parent Jr. of 1858. He states in his Will that it is indeed the Parent Family cemetery, that his father and mother </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">are buried there, and that he plans to be buried there also. He then gives a description of the boundary lines of his property of 1854 which includes 406 acres and the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">cemetery. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Charles also stated that he had Paris Childress, a surveyor from Covington survey his west bank land and it should be attached to his will. A copy of this survey, after an </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">extensive search both in Covington and New Orleans, could not be located at this time. The key marker to Charles's boundary description in his will is the large live oak that he </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">states that is call the "bathing oak" by local residents. It is still standing today in close proximity to the cemetery. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It should be noted that Charles Jr., his sisters Josephine and Francoise Amiee were born on the Tchefuncte River. In September of 1804 Commandant Charles Parent Sr. died. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While on his sick bed, his neighbor to the north, Robert Badon, came down and stayed with the Commandant. The Spanish Governor, with his armed armada, passing through </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the lakes on their way to Baton Rouge, stopped at the Tchefuncte River home and visited the sick Commandant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Priest with the expedition gave the Commandant the last rites of the Catholic Church. The Commandant was buried the next day in this cemetery after he died. The next </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">important resident to die on the lower Tchefuncte River was old Juan Baptiste Baham <i>dit </i>Gentil himself. He died three years later in 1807. He was not buried in the cemetery </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">with Parent. His sons buried him on the bank of the Tchefuncte River about a half mile further south down river. It was on the land of son Pierre Baham.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Getting back to the Parent family, after Charles Parent Sr., the Commandant, died in 1804, his widow Jeanne Rochon continued to live on the Tchefuncte plantation. She died </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">sometime before 1816 and was also buried in the cemetery. This was clearly stated in Charles Jr.'s Will of 1858. In 1816 there was a double wedding in the Parent family. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Charles Jr. would marry Helwig Roman of St. James Parish and his sister Francoise Amiee would marry Helwig's brother, A.B. Roman, who would be elected twice as Governor </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">of Louisiana.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was the custom in the late eighteen and early nineteenth century to bury a family member on one's property, usually several hundred feet from the house. In Louisiana, with </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the hot and humid climate most of the year, it was imperative to bury the deceased as soon as possible, usually the next day. The only places that had a municipal cemetery </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">were the large towns or cities. New Orleans had a large cemetery but it was a long journey across the lake by boat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When Juan Baptiste Baham died in 1807 his sons decided to bury their father on their own property and certainly not close to the cemetery started by the Parents. They </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">decided to bury their father about one half mile downstream, the same west bank, on Pierre Baham's Spanish grant. They selected a site of high ground on the river bank for </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the cemetery's site. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the years unfolded and Juan Baptiste Baham's sons died, it appears a pact was made to be buried together. The cemetery appears to be only for the five sons and their </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">father. This is appears to be in the glass negatives taken of the cemetery when the Jahncke Shipyard was constructed in 1917. The bodies of the Bahams were disinterred and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">moved to a cemetery in Tangipahoa Parish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When Commandant Charles Parent died in 1804, West Florida was still under the control of the Spanish and the adjusted boundaries between the Bahams and Parents was </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">still in force. The West Florida Rebellion in the fall of 1810 started a chain of events that would return the boundary lines of qualified settlers to their original boundary lines. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After West Florida became under the control of the United States Congress was concerned about the confirmation of land titles and began passing a series of laws. They </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">appointed Land commissioners to carry out these laws. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From the Pearl River to the Mississippi River it was first James 0. Crosby in 1813, as the United States Land Commissioner in West Florida, and then Charles C. Crosby in </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1819. Charles C. Crosby is the one who adjusted the boundary lines of the Baham's claim to its original 1783 Spanish land grant. This was done under the Congressional laws </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">of 1819 and 1822. He was given the authority by Congress to adjust the boundary lines in certain claims, when proof of original ownership was presented. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The petition of the Bahams, taken by the Land Commissioner in 1819, appeared to be sufficient proof to have their boundary lines adjusted for the full 640 acres allowed by the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">law. If one is wondering what motivated the Bahams, especially Renez and John Baptiste, to petition the Land Comissioners in Greensburg to adjust the boundary lines </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">between the Parents and their fathers original grant of 1783? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The answer appears to be obvious! It was David Bannister Morgan who certainly was advising them of their rights under the new land laws as he was now part of their family. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He had married Mary Constance Baham, daughter of Renez, in 1819 and now was living next to his-father-in law. He was a surveyor with knowledge and experience in surveying both Spanish and American land grants and he most likely kept up with the newly passed Congressional land laws. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In my opinion it was Davis Bannister Morgan, giving advice to the Bahams that encouraged them to have their boundary lines adjusted in 1819. It could be a coincidence, but starting in 1819, there were burials in the cemetery that were relatives of the new purchasers of lots in the Town of Madisonville and not directly related to the Parent family. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Bahams were selling lots in Madisonville and the availability of a cemetery could have influenced their sales. The oldest recorded burial site in the cemetery today is Elizabeth Aydelotte, infant daughter of Joshua Aydelotte and Elizabeth Tabitha Beale Edwards. Joshua was a business man and had purchased quite a few lots in the new town. He opened a store, was a money lender, and built a hotel near the main crossing at the river. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After 1819, there were burials of Lt. George Merrill and Joshua Aydelotte himself. Many more burials were to take place in the cemetery for the next twenty-five years of various residents of Madisonville, until Charles Parent Jr. would re-gain ownership in 1848.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It appears that after John Baptiste Baham Jr. obtained ownership of the land that the cemetery was located on, by the adjustment of the boundary lines through the Congressional act of 1819, that burials not related to the Parent family soon began. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The land was now owned by the Bahams, John Baptiste Jr., the son of old Juan Baham dit Gentil himself, to be exact. He or other members of the Baham family </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">would have given permission for burials. How do we know this? John Baptiste Jr., after gaining ownership of the land that the cemetery was on, in a roundabout way, to circumvent Louisiana laws, sold the land to a friend, a Captain Prieto in New Orleans. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Captain Prieto was living next to the Raby family in Fabroug Marigny at the time. He then, two days, later leased it to Baham's lady friend companion, (common law wife) Marianne Raby. Marianne in a short time, not satisfied with just a lease agreement, purchased the land outright from Captain Prieto. (Was this planned? This was likely done) So thereafter, she then sold thirteen acres, which included the cemetery, to Eugene Marchand, a friend of Marianne's brother Antoine. Eugene was also the younger brother of Felicite Marchand, the widow of Basil Krebs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Basil Krebs, son of Marianna Chauvin dit Joyeuse, who was widow of Hugo Ernest Krebs and the owner of the Spanish land grant at the mouth of the Tchefuncte River, had married Felicite Marchand of New Orleans in 1799. Felicite's father was a wig maker and she belonged to a very interesting New Orleans family, the Marchands. Her younger brother Eugene, (John Eugene Marchand, born 1768) married Maria Beluche. Marie's brother was none other than Renato Beluche , the pirate and freedom fighter of some </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">renown. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Renato was a Lieutenant of Jean Laffite, the New Orleans pirate and was with Laffite on many of raids in the Gulf of Mexico. Later, Renato joined the fight for freedom in South America and was one of Simon Bolivar's favorite Admirals. Marianna Chauvin, Widow Krebs, and Felicite's mother-in-law, died December 12, 1811. At the time of their marriage Basil was 35 and Felicite was 38. They never had any children. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When was the cemetery consecrated? The exact date has not been found, but we know in about a five year period span of time when this occurred. Before 1840 only an occasional Catholic priest would stop in Madisonville to say Mass and baptize. In 1841 Renez Baham and wife Isabelle Milon built a small chapel on the corner of Pine and St. Mary's Street, square 11 lot 6. The visiting priest would use this chapel. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In September, 1841 the Bahams gave the land and building to Bishop Antoine Blanc of New Orleans. It was shortly thereafter that Renez Baham died on January 23, 1842 in Madisonville. It was sometime between Renez death and when his son John Baptiste bought the land from John Spencer that the Cemetery was consecrated. In the act of sale the cemetery was referred to as consecrated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is no doubt that the Madisonville Municipal Cemetery is significantly historically important, not only to Louisiana but nationally. It is not the purpose of this essay to list all the important persons known to be buried in the cemetery, but in fact, there were many, some of local renown and some of national importance. It should be preserved and placed on The National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana as soon as possible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Iris Lulu-Simoneaux Vacante at one of the cemetery's many historic gravesites.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">See also:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/591362080994351/"><br /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/591362080994351/">Friends of the Madisonville Cemetery Facebook Page</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://tammanyfamily.blogspot.com/2018/11/madisonville-cemetery-candles-lit.html" style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Madisonville Cemetery Candles Lit, Graves Blessed</span></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7633023465085308861.post-20614438222499302482019-03-20T14:01:00.004-07:002023-04-27T15:16:49.973-07:00Tom Spell Memorial Cemetery<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">In April of 2010, Don Sharp and Anita R. Campeau published a history of the Tom Spell Memorial Cemetery in Mandeville. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">To read the text of their article, <b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gfgY_PDC8mhrNVpga0znhZxUcgVzHOIm/view?usp=sharing">CLICK HERE for a PDF </a></b>File. </span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The article was published in the<i> New Orleans Genesis</i>, the monthly magazine of the Genealogical Research Society of New Orleans. </span><div><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FkhTgZTUIeR7J3IRnmZFdXpcy4i5ntHo/view?usp=sharing" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">The Thomas Spell Cemetery</a><br /><b>With Edgar Sharp</b><br />The Old Pelican</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxwxxNrop-sB7OIpqeaok1DPOzupH0nAeT_i2LJMSO1O803KOsO4Y-eORi1P0ViGsi7SUTkd6C_wvtEkQr9FFaaqLJhaouUqBv_a4EVzrTUvt_VI9-IarNgetIHm0J8Eq_jECKKvQtPRqJYi3YGp4p338gnGsrSjysz2ECApJG4cuw5oMXHOzr5APpw/s2148/EdgarSharpOldPelican001aa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1264" data-original-width="2148" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxwxxNrop-sB7OIpqeaok1DPOzupH0nAeT_i2LJMSO1O803KOsO4Y-eORi1P0ViGsi7SUTkd6C_wvtEkQr9FFaaqLJhaouUqBv_a4EVzrTUvt_VI9-IarNgetIHm0J8Eq_jECKKvQtPRqJYi3YGp4p338gnGsrSjysz2ECApJG4cuw5oMXHOzr5APpw/w400-h235/EdgarSharpOldPelican001aa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Edgar Sharp at the cemetery</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsvDrb74rIDUHBgg6wUa_swfKyhe11YbP30hNzxvCZQVNLc-jVbJ6D7tAHPNKukgnW6wm4sLCJpNMHvgB9vLbm-rEl-V6CK7uFn3lCMwK7hXGJ-k0E1fzPiBVyxGMd5R1k5ISASi39o_gshDbzisDQSYaGzNvG0MmWpsogS4liVRP6fPHj-r4-qpjGQ/s1332/EdgarSharpOldPelican005aa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="1332" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsvDrb74rIDUHBgg6wUa_swfKyhe11YbP30hNzxvCZQVNLc-jVbJ6D7tAHPNKukgnW6wm4sLCJpNMHvgB9vLbm-rEl-V6CK7uFn3lCMwK7hXGJ-k0E1fzPiBVyxGMd5R1k5ISASi39o_gshDbzisDQSYaGzNvG0MmWpsogS4liVRP6fPHj-r4-qpjGQ/w400-h226/EdgarSharpOldPelican005aa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULlarACtlvIPZsqVv4UC2zEflBUJaoWga6Y8edY-WGJFj08rBV7J1jtRepyT8qEr0BapUNnNDwFIzUBlXmD40eBpsrUST9_lVCOMLsYsI3J71e6b5kFce3xfn0HVMxVpNAQAeTwX6u5Qf7x_-Xehv0rm9PTw9-VIrlNQWUOAtGAida4mZ6PbYtPDmCg/s1660/EdgarSharpOldPelican009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1480" data-original-width="1660" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULlarACtlvIPZsqVv4UC2zEflBUJaoWga6Y8edY-WGJFj08rBV7J1jtRepyT8qEr0BapUNnNDwFIzUBlXmD40eBpsrUST9_lVCOMLsYsI3J71e6b5kFce3xfn0HVMxVpNAQAeTwX6u5Qf7x_-Xehv0rm9PTw9-VIrlNQWUOAtGAida4mZ6PbYtPDmCg/w400-h356/EdgarSharpOldPelican009.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com