Categories: Free People of Color (FPOC), Genealogy, Slavery

This is the colonial census of free men of color (mulâtre and nègre) for the civil and military post of Opélousas, dated May 1792. I have retained the original spellings in the document to serve as additional variations in names of these individuals. The original language of this 1792 census is French.

Format of presentation: the name, as written in this census, will be in all uppercase and bold letters. Beneath it will be, from left to right: physical descriptor, age, civil status as single or married, followed by additional physical or biographical information. All of this information comes from the original census. Where LHCV can provide biographical information on the individuals, there will appear a superscripted numeral at the top right of each name for which you will find corresponding footnotes at the bottom of the page. Normally you can hover over the numeral and the footnote would appear on the screen without your needing to scroll down. Sadly, the footnote plugin cannot handle meaty footnotes, so I have had to do them manually.

Those interested in understanding the physical descriptors should click here [internal link], here

 

Liste des Mulâtres et Nègres libres du Poste des Opéloussas
(Opélousas Post Census of Free Mulâtres and Nègres)

 

GEORGES BOULARD¹
mulâtre, 54 ans, marié

MARTIN DONAS²
carteron, 31 ans, garçon

NICOLAS SIMON³
mulâtre, 39 ans, marié

FRANÇOIS ÉTIENNE⁴
mulâtre, 39 ans, marié

MICHEL TISSONNEAU
mulâtre, 16 ans, garçon

BAPTISTE TISSONNEAU⁵
mulâtre, 14 ans, garçon

LOUIS DÉCUIR (see footnote 19)
mulâtre, 32 ans, épine dans le pied

JN-BTE GUILLORI⁶ 
mulâtre, 27 ans, marié

JOSEPH GUILLORI⁷
mulâtre, 28 ans, garçon

CAM⁸
mulâtre, 29 ans, garçon

SEM⁹ 
  mulâtre, 37 ans, marié, estropié d’un pied

ANDRÉ ESCLAVON¹⁰
  carteron, 26 ans, garçon

JOSEPH BALQUAI¹¹
mulâtre, 21 ans, garçon

CUPIDON¹²
mulâtre, 27 ans, garçon

BAPTISTE LA FLEUR
mulâtre, 13 ans, garçon

JOSEPH MAILLÉ
carteron, 44 ans, garçon

LOUIS MARIE-CLAUDE¹³
mulâtre, 26 ans, garçon

LOUIS LEMELLE¹⁴
carteron, 19 ans, garçon

FRANÇOIS LEMELLE¹⁵
carteron, 17 ans, garçon

FRANÇOIS BOURGEOIS
carteron, 33 ans, garçon

BAPTISTE COLLEZ¹⁶ 
mulâtre, 17 ans, garçon

JOHN TCHIVERS¹⁷
mulâtre, 30 ans, garçon, une jambe cassée

CHARLES
nègre, 33 ans, garçon, officier dans la
compagnie de Noël Carrière en ville.

PIERRE GONZÁLEZ
nègre, 19 ans, garçon

JOSEPH-ANTOINE BERRERA
  nègre, 44 ans, marié

ZÉNON¹⁸
nègre, 20 ans, garçon

---

Footnotes

[1] Georges Boulard married Marie-Jeanne Taillefer, quarteronne libre of New Orleans, resident of the Opélousas Post, on 15 June 1799 at the Opélousas Post: Louisiana State Archives and Records (Bâton Rouge), 1877, no. 57. Marie-Jeanne Taillefer died 18 March 1833 in St. Landry Parish. Her tombstone reads: Marie Jeanne Taillefer, veuve George Boulard, décédée le 18 mars 1833 agée de 90 ans. Trans.: widow George Boulard, died 18 March 1833 at the age of 90. Succession dated 16 November 1836: St. Landry Parish Court House (Opélousas, La.), Clerk of Court’s Office, successions, no. 897. No known children born to this union.

[2] Martin Donato-Bello, de couleur libre, was born in 1756, probably in New Orleans, to Donato Bello of the Kingdom of Naples, and to Marie-Jeanne Taillefer, quarteronne libre, native of New Orleans. Georges Boulard above is his step-father. Martin parochially married 21 April 1800 Marianne Duchesne, also known as Marianne Castillon, mulâtresse libre, native of New Orleans, daughter of Louis Duchesne, a merchant in New Orleans from France, and Anne “Nanette” St-Laurent, négresse libre, native of New Orleans, formerly a slave of Laurent Lérable dit St-Laurent: Église Saint-Landry des Opélousas [St. Landry Catholic Church], mariages, vol. 1, no. 103. The couple married civilly on 16 March 1803 at the Opélousas Post: Louisiana State Archives and Records, Opelousas, 1803. To the civil marriage came dowries and acknowledgments: The bride acknowledges 2 natural children prior to her cohabitation with Bello, namely: Auguste Piernas and Marie-Louise Allain. Groom’s assets: (1) 5,000 piastres, some of which is lent out (2) 150 Bulls valued at 1,200 piastres (3) 1 boat with brand new rigging at 500 piastres (4) 1 old barge at 100 piastres (5) 1 tract of land measuring 20 arpents by 40 arpents depth on Coulée de Sonneliers in Bois Mallet with a ranch and storage house measuring 22 feet by 16 feet at 500 piastres (6) 450 horned farm animals at 2,250 piastres (7) 26 horses at 1,040 piastres (8) 50 pack horses at 750 piastres (9) 1 plantation measuring 11 arpents by 40 arpents, with 1 ground-level home surrounded by a veranda measuring 50 feet in length, and 1 brand new cotton mill all valued at 4,700 piastres (10) 1 Bambara nègre named Grégoire, age 40, at 750 piastres (11) 1 Congo nègre named Michel, age 24, at 900 piastres (12) 1 Congo nègre named Bauhus, age 40, at 450 piastres (13) 1 Congo négresse named Agathe, age 30, at 300 piastres (14) 1 Créole nègre named Lubin, son of Agathe, age 2, at 150 piastres (15) 4 Silver place sets (16) 1 Silver soup spoon (17) 2 horse carriages (18) 1 bull carriage (19) 2 calèches (open horse-drawn carriages) (20) 3 bull plows (21) Household goods. Estimated value of groom’s assets: 18,590 piastres. Bride’s assets: (1) 50 horned farm animals at 250 piastres (2) 100 piastres cash from aunt Marie Castillon and cousin Edmond Simon (3) 30 bulls at 240 piastres (4) 4 horses at 160 piastres (5) 10 pack horses at 150 piastres (6) 4 Silver place sets (7) 1 Silver spoon at 35 piastres (8) 1,600 piastres of coins from Mexico. Estimated value of bride’s assets: 2,535 piastres. Marie Castillon, mulâtresse libre, wife of Nicolas Simon, dit Larouille below, was Marianne’s maternal aunt. Martin died 1^st January 1848 in St. Landry Parish, age 92: St. Landry Catholic Church, sépultures, vol. 2, p. 50. Martin’s succession is dated 7^th January 1848: St. Landry Court House, Clerk of Court’s Office, successions, no. 1339; Louisiana State Archives and Records, Opelousas, 1848.

[3] Nicolas Simon, dit Larouille, was born at the Pointe-Coupée Post in 1764, to Nicolas Simon de la Cour and Marianne-Françoise, négresse esclave belonging to de la Cour. In 1779, Nicolas Simon de la Cour died testate at the Pointe-Coupée Post and through his will and testament emancipated a mulâtresse named Marianne, two siblings named Nicolas and Geneviève (children of Marianne), and acknowledged Nicolas and Geneviève as his natural children. His widow and brother protested on 14 July 1779: Archivo General de Indias, Papeles Procedentes de Cuba 206, folio 657. Liberty granted on 26 July 1779: Pointe Coupée Parish Court House (New Roads, La.), Clerk of Court’s Office, succession, no. 1004.  Larouille married 24 Nov 1788 Marianne Castillon, mulâtresse libre, native of New Orleans, daughter of Pierre du Rocher dit Castillon, native of France, and Jeanne “Jeanneton” St-Laurent, négresse libre: St. Landry Catholic Church, mariages, vol. 1, p. 11). Succession of Marie Larouille [sic] dated 11 Jul 1838: Louisiana State Archives and Records, Opelousas, 1838). Nicolas’s sister, Geneviève, known as Geneviève La Cour, was born 9 Nov 1758, baptized 26 Nov 1758. Baptismal sponsors were Nicolas de la Cour and Françoise Riché: Église Saint-François-de-la-Pointe-Coupée [St. Francis Catholic Chapel] (New Roads, La.), baptêmes, vol. 3, p. 37. Geneviève married 25 September 1797 Antoine Régis or Régistre, mulâtre libre, a former slave of Nicolas Simon de la Cour, native of the Pointe-Coupée Post: Louisiana State Archives and Records, Opelousas, 1797. Larouille and Geneviève had another sibling, Marianne Simon, mulâtresse esclave, who was born 20 November 1761 and baptized 22 February 1761 at St. Francis Catholic Chapel. Baptismal sponsors were Jean-Baptiste de la Cour and Marianne Léonard: St. Francis Catholic Chapel, baptêmes, vol. 3, p. 82. Nicolas Simon de la Cour emancipated Marianne in 1771: Archivo General de Indias, Papeles Procedentes de Cuba 206, folio 657 (same folio as her 2 siblings mentioned above). She bore children for François-Étienne Piquéry, homme de couleur libre, listed in the census below as François Étienne. Marianne Castillon’s mother, Jeanne St-Laurent, is perhaps the 50-year-old negra Juanetón [sic], who Marie-Jeanne “María Juana” Lérable – widow of Charles “Carlos” Lecompte, and wife in second marriage to Barthélemy Louis de Macarty – emancipated in New Orleans through coartación (self-purchase) for 140 pesos and “just causes that motivate me”: Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy, emancipation database, line 291.

[4] François-Étienne, also known as François Piquéry, François-Étienne Piquéry, and Francisco, mulâtre esclave, was born in 1753, possibly in New Orleans. In 1771, Jeanne “Juana” Fadet or Fardet, widow of Pierre “Pedro” Piquéry, emancipated a 17-year-old mulato named Francisco and his 16-year-old mulata sister named Margarita Dorotea [Marguerite Dorothée], “for their good services, fidelity, and love I have for their mother Francisca [Françoise].” Done with permission of governor Luis de Unzaga: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, lines 215-16. François-Étienne Piquéry fathered children with Marianne Simon, mulâtresse libre of the Pointe-Coupée Post, daughter of Nicolas Simon de la Cour and Marianne-Françoise, négresse esclave belonging to Nicolas Simon de la Cour. Françoise “Francisca,” negra esclava, was emancipated by Jeanne “Juana” Fadet, widow of Pierre “Pedro” Piquéry, in 1773 at the age of 40, along with 2 children named Julia, age 4, and Carlos, an infant, “for their fidelity and good service”: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, lines 335-37. Jeanne Fadet and Pierre Piquéry’s family emancipated many slaves, including one in Jeanne’s 28 June 1775 will and testament named María Juana [Marie-Jeanne], mulata, age 30. Jeanne’s son-in-law, René Brion served as executor of the will and carried out the decedent’s wishes issuing the carta de libertad to María Juana: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 415. Jeanne and Pierre’s daughter, Marianne “Marianna” Piquéry, and her husband, René “Renato” Brion, emancipated 2 slave families: (1) in 1772, the couple gave liberty to 5 mulato slaves, including a mother named Marianna, age 38, and her 4 children, viz.: Auresina [sic], age 8, María, age 5, Joseph, age 4, Adélaïde, age 9 months. The couple had purchased Marianna 10 years prior from Claude Joseph Villars du Breuil: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, lines 259-63. Marianne and René emancipated another family in 1776, a mother named Julia, age 22, mulata, and her 3 children named Benedicta, age 4, Achiles, age 3, and Modesta, age 1, all 3 children are cuarterones. Mistress freed them “because Julia has served us with loyalty and love”: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, lines 459-62. Pierre Piquéry was born c. 1693 in Mons, Hainault, present-day Belgium: “Native of Mons in Haynault. The Kings Baker in New Orleans. His wife and two small children are with him. His harvest was very small this year because of destruction by the blackbirds. He has decided to quit farming and move to New Orleans”: “Census of Persons Living along the Mississippi River
between New Orleans and the German Village,” December 20, 1724; published in Glenn R. Conrad, First Families in Louisana, vol. II (Baton Rouge: Claitor’s Publishing Division, 1971). Pierre Piquéry may have died in 1725 warring against the Natchez. They had 2 sons (Antoine Joseph “Antonio” Piquéry and Nicolas “Nicolás” Piquéry) and 3 daughters (the aforementioned Marianne, wife of René “Renato” Brion, Marie-Perinne “María Perinna” Piquéry, wife of Nicolas François “Francisco” de la Size, a major in the local militia, and Jeanne “Juana” Piquéry, wife of Robert “Roberto” Avart). Jeanne Fadet’s succession is dated 29 June 1775: includes a will and testament. Inventory, dated 2 October 1775 includes: (1) plantation located at Cannes-Brûlées  on the west bank of the Mississippi River (present-day Kenner, La.), (2) 4 houses in New Orleans, (3) 51 slaves, (4) livestock, (5) household effects, (6) silver, and (7) furniture. Husband Pedro Piquéry, daughter Juana Piquéry, her husband Roberto Avart, predeceased the testatrix: Louisiana Historical Quarterly 11, no. 1: p. 167.

[5] Baptiste Thissonneau, mulâtre libre, born Jean Baptistee Tisonneau in New Orleans, on 27 July 1776 to unidentified father and Madeleine – slave of Mr. Tisonneau of New Orleans. His baptism can be viewed here. Baptiste spent his adult years in a relationship with Victoire Marie Lasonde, négresse libre. Additional information: At the Opélousas Post, in 1780, Mr and Mrs [Antoine] Pilet dit Lasonde emancipated a négresse slave named Marianne: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 657. The widow [of Antoine] Pilet dit Lasonde gave freedom to a mulâtre slave named Joseph, age 40, in 1780 at the Opélousas Post, “for fidelity, and good services, and care”: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 663. Antoine Pilet dit Lasonde, native Prairie du Rocher, [present-day Randolph County] Illinois, born circa 1730 to possibly Pierre Pillet dit Lasonde or Lasond and Catherine Marie Boisron or Baron: Natalie Maree Belting, Kaskaskia Under the French Regime (SIU Press, 2003), 89, 97. Antoine married Marie Louise Baudreau dit Graveline, widow of Augustin Langlois: source on this second marriage from Marthe Faribault-Beauregard, La Population des Forts Français d’Amérique (XVIII^e siècle): répertoire des baptêmes, mariages et sépultures célébrés dans les forts et les établissements français en Amérique du Nord au XVIII^e siècle, vol. 2 (Bergéron, 1982). Marie Baudreau may have been born in 1708 at Détroit to Gabriel Baudreau and Catherine Forrestier: information unsubstantiated and needs sourcing, retrieved from here.

[6] Jean-Baptiste Guillory, mulâtre esclave, was born circa 1766, possibly at Mobile, to Jean Joseph Grégoire Guillory of Mobile and Marguerite “Margarita,” his négresse esclave. On 31 December 1770, Grégoire Guillory petitioned for the freedom of Margarita, negra, and her two children (probably Joseph and Jean-Baptiste, who were toddlers at the time). Hall’s database makes the following note: “Was not approved in N.O.-already passed on Dec 31 1770. See Guillory inventory in Opelousas in 1768. There was no date. (See LHC [Louisiana Historical Quarterly] court case also in LHQ 15, p. 545, in 1782, freedom granted in 1782)”: Orleans Parish (New Orleans), Notorial Acts, Almonaster y Roxas, #203; Hall, Afro-Louisiana, lines 181-83. Jean-Baptiste Guillory, mulâtre libre, married 3 November 1789 Catherine-Victoire Donato, quarteronne libre, daughter of Donato Bello of the Kingdom of Naples and Marie-Jeanne Taillefer, quarteronne libre of New Orleans. Catherine-Victoire is a full sibling of Martin Donato-Bello above: Louisiana State University at Eunice, Opelousas, 1789.

[7] Joseph Guillory, mulâtre esclave, was born circa. 1764, possibly at Mobile, to Jean Joseph Grégoire Guillory of Mobile and Marguerite “Margarita,” his négresse esclave. See notes above on their emancipation. Joseph Guillory, mulâtre libre, fathered children with Marie de la Vigne, mulâtresse libre. He married 19 April 1803 Louise Cheval-Meuillon, mulâtresse libre, daughter of Jean-Baptiste Cheval, also known as Baptiste Meuillon, mulâtre libre – husband of Céleste Susanne Donato, quarteronne libre, full sister of Martin Donato-Bello above – and of Marie Angélique, négresse libre, also known as Angélique Meuillon and Angélique Villeré: St. Landry Catholic Church, mariages, vol. 1, p. 164. Joseph’s succession is dated 3 July 1854: St. Landry Court House, Clerk of Court’s Office, successions, no. 1840. Additional information on Louise’s parents: Jean-Baptiste Cheval, also known as Bautista, Baptiste Meuillon and Baptiste Cheval, mulâtre esclave, was born circa 1760 in Saint-Charles Parish on the German Coast near New Orleans to François Cheval and Marianne Meuillon, négresse esclave, also known as María Juana. On 21 February 1777, in New Orleans, Louis-Auguste Meullion [sic] filed notice of intent to free two slaves, a mother and son: María Juana, age 40, negra and Juan Bautista, age 12, mulato, slaves Meullion had inherited from his deceased father, Antoine Meullion, “for serving us with love and loyalty consistently”: Orleans Parish, Notarial Archives, Garic, vol. 8, no. 67).  Baptiste married Céleste Susanne Donatto at the Opélousas Post on 6 February 1796. Groom’s assets: (1) 4 slaves (2) 1,000 piastres cash in New Orleans in hands of Mister Vivant [his sister Louison’s concubine], (3) act of private sell on a farm where he now resides (4) 12 silver place settings (5) 2 silver soup spoons (6) 2 full-sized and fully furnished beds (7) 3 riding horses (8) various utensils and movables. Bride’s assets: (1) 80 horned farm animals marked CF (2) 20 horses (3) 1 tract of land measuring 12 arpents by 60 arpents at Bois de Mallet [sic] (4) 60 hard piastres in cash (5) various movables (6) full-size bed with all furnishings (7) jewelry (8) 1 armoire. Groom adds 400 dollars cash because of his good and sincere love. Witnesses: Mⁿ [Martin] Duralde, commandant of the Opélousas Post, Mⁿ D^to [Martin Donato] Bello, A Dubroqua, Gorge Bollard [sic], J. Deborde, Paillet, J.B. Fonténot. Signed by Baptiste Meuillon and Céleste Donato: Louisiana State Archives and Records, Opelousas, 1796, no. 178. The couple celebrated a Catholic marriage on 8 Feb 1796: St. Landry Catholic Church, mariages, vol. 1, p. 43. Baptiste fathered Louise with Marie Angélique, also known as Angélica, Angélique Meuillon, Angélique Villeré, négresse libre, possibly a daughter of Jacques Villeré, nègre libre. Baptiste married 6 February 1796 Céleste Susanne Donato, quarteronne libre, daughter of Donato Bello of the Kingdom of Naples, and Marie-Jeanne Taillefer, quarteronne or mulâtresse libre of New Orleans: St. Landry Catholic Church, mariages, vol. 1, p. 43. On 2 February 1787, at St. Charles on the German Coast, Louis-Auguste Meuillon purchased from the estate of Jacques Philippe de Villeré-de la Chaise, later governor of Louisiana, a 15-year-old slave girl named Angélique, “négresse créole”: St. Charles Parish Court House (Edgar, La.), Clerk of Court’s Office, estates, no. 467, conveyances, no. 471. On 05 March 1792 at the St. Charles Post on the German Coast, Jacques Villeré, nègre libre, purchased his female daughter, Angélique – age 25, négresse – from Louis-Auguste [sic] Meuillon for 1,225 piastres: St. Charles Parish Court House, Clerk of Court’s Office, conveyances, no. 1107. Baptiste Meuillon was a great-uncle of Creole inventor, Norbert Rillieux, whose mother Constance “Constanza” Vivant, was a daughter of Baptiste’s sister, Louise “Louison” Cheval, and her concubine, Jean-Charles “Juan Carlos” Vivant of France.

[8] Cam, more commonly spelled Cambre Fusélier, sometimes Cam Fusilier, mulâtre esclave, was born circa 1762 in New Orleans to Gabriel Fusélier de la Claire and to Jeanne “Jeanette,” négresse esclave. He bore at least 1 daughter with Anne “Nanette,” négresse libre. More information on Nanette and Cambre: At the Opélousas Post, in 1782, Auguste Soileau emancipated a 26-year-old “négresse créole” from the Pointe-Coupée Post named Nannette [sic]. Soileau provides her with 6 horned animals in addition to her freedom: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 849. In 1806, Cam Fusilier [sic] sold to Auguste Soileau of the Opélousas Post, a 22-year-old négresse esclave named Marie-Louise, for 600 piastres. Soileau emancipated her upon purchase: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 2948. Cambre and Nanette’s daughter was Joséphine Fusélier, mulâtresse libre, who was baptized 10 June 1784 at age 2. Sponsor was Étienne Farnon. Fr. Geffrotin, priest: St. Martin Catholic Church, Baptêmes de couleur 2, no. 175. Joséphine Fusélier, mulâtresse libre, bore children for Joseph dit Damas “Damás” Carrière, mulâtre freed by Lawrence “Laurent” Bailley, son of Joseph Carrière fils and Françoise “Francisca,” négresse esclave belonging to Lawrence “Laurent” Bailey. On 19 April 1798, at New Orleans, Lorenzo [Lawrence] Bailey expressed his desire to emancipate his mulato esclavo named Damás, age 28, at his death. Damás was freed conditionally by Laurent Bailly [sic] in Opélousas on 22 August 1796, for “care & fidelity with the condition of serving his master during his lifetime”: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 2146. In 1806, at the Opélousas Post, Joseph dit Damas Carrière [sic], purchased a 50-year-old négresse esclave named Françoise, his mother, from the succession of Antoine Langlois, deceased, for 450 piastres: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 2153; see also Orleans Parish, Notarial Acts, Broutin, #328.

[9] Sem, also spelled Sam, Samuel Fusélier, Sem Fusilier, Estienne Semme, Étienne Samuel Fusélier, mulâtre libre, was a full sibling to Cam above. He married 20 April 1783 Marie-Magdeleine Masse, négresse libre, native of the Attakapas Post, daughter of unidentified father and Lisette, négresse libre, former slaves of André Masse of France. Witnesses were Claude, mulâtre libre, Guillaume [Fusélier],  mulâtre libre, Pierre [Masse], griffe libre, Cambre [Fusélier], mulâtre, Cupidon, mulâtre, and Jean-Antoine [Barrera?]: St. Martin Catholic Church, mariages, vol. 2, no. 106; St. Martin Parish Court House, Clerk of Court’s Office, conveyances, no. 194. Marie-Magdeleine’s succession is dated September 1824: St. Landry Parish Court House, Clerk of Court’s Office, succession, no. 347. Sem’s succession is dated 22 September 1836: St. Mary Parish Court House, Clerk of Court’s Office, succession, no. 337. The couple does not appear to have produced natural or legitimate children, however Sem may have fathered 2 sons with a slave. In 1797, Étienne Sem [sic], mulâtre libre, purchased from Auguste Soileau a nègre slave named Antoine dit Ésope, sold on the condition that the slave’s father, Étienne Sem, free him at once: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 2093.   On 14 December 1811, in St. Martin Parish, Sem’s widow, Magdeleine, négresse libre, emancipated 2 nègre slaves, both age 30, named Louis, known as Louis Sam or Louis Fuséilier, and Pierre Sam or Pierre Fusélier: St. Martin Parish Court House, Clerk of Court’s Office, Original Acts 2; Glenn R. Conrad, Land Records of the Attakapas District: Part 2, Attakapas-St. Martin Estates, 1804-1818 (Lafayette, La.: University of Southwest Louisiana, 1993), 137. Louis Sam married 3 November 1836 Élisabeth “Babet” Masse, also known as Élisabeth Sénet or Sénette, femme de couleur libre, daughter of unidentified father and Françoise Léveillé, sometimes called Françoise Masse, négresse libre (Opel Cth Notary b2 #80). In 1825, Rosalie, Annette [sic], and Jean François Masse, free people of color, sought to obtain the property of their late sister, Magdeline [sic] Masse, a free woman of color. The petitioners averred that Magdeline died in September 1824, possessed of a large property, including developed land and slaves. They believed that, as the “nearest heirs and legal representatives,” they are entitled to the estate. However, five people of color named Pierre, Louis, Ésope, Jean Louis, and Marie Louise have “wrongfully claimed possession” of the estate. The petitioners believed that Ésope, Jean Louis, and Marie Louise “[we]re really slaves for life, altho’ they pretend to be free.” The petitioners prayed that Pierre and Louis, free men of color, be compelled by the court to “deliver up” the estate to them, the rightful heirs, and to pay $500 damages. In addition, they prayed that Pierre and Louis be “injoined and inhibited from committing any waste or damage or doing any injury whatever to the said tract of land”: St. Landry Parish Court House, Clerk of Court’s Office, civil suits, no. 74 (Accession # 20882514); John H. Bracey Jr., Race, Slavery, and Free Blacks, Series II: Petitions to Southern County Courts, 1775-1867 …, database (Greensboro: University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2006), 119-20. In 1828, Pierre and Louis, free men of color, sought an injunction against a writ of possession executed against them by Rosalie and Jean François Masse, free people of color. The petitioners claimed that they were the legatees of the late Magdelaine Masse, a woman of color. By the terms of a judgment rendered in 1827, the Masses recovered “only two undivided third parts of the tracts of land and cattle given” to them “by the testament of Magdelaine Masse.” The land remains undivided and the petitioners have been living on it for some time. Now, “a writ of possession has lately been issued” against them,“in & by which the sheriff of the parish of St. Landry has been ordered to put the said Rosalie and Jean François in possession of the property.” The petitioners “run the danger of being compelled to depart from a tract of land of which a third part belongs to them.” They prayed that the writ be deemed “illegal and void” and that the defendants pay them $500 in damages. In addition, they prayed that the defendants be enjoined from bringing further proceedings against them: St. Landry Parish Court House, Clerk of Court’s Office, civil suits, no. 238 (Accession # 20882803); Bracey Jr., Race, Slavery, and Free Blacks, 149-50. In 1828, Pierre Ésope Fusilier [sic], a free man of color, begged  the court to recognize him as the only heir of the late Magdelaine Masse, a free woman of color. Fusilier asserted that he was the natural son of the late Etienne Sem Fusilier, a free man of color and Magdelaine Masse’s husband. Pierre Fusilier claimed that he was born a slave, but that Etienne and Madgelaine freed him in 1797 and then adopted him. Both of these acts were officially recognized by the court; therefore, he is “entitled to the same rights as a child of their lawful marriage.” Now, Rosalie and Jean François Masse, free people of color, have set up claim to Magdelaine Masse’s succession, “falsely alleging” to each have “a right of one third of the property real and personal of the said Magdelaine.” Fusilier asked to be declared and recognized as the only heir and representative of the estate and thus exclusively entitled to all property belonging to the succession. He further prayed that the defendants be inhibited from setting up further claim to the property. An inventory of Magdelaine Masse’s estate reveals that she was a slaveholder: St. Landry Parish Court House, Clerk of Court’s Office, civil suits, no. 425 (Accession # 20882833); Bracey Jr., Race, Slavery, and Free Blacks, 154.

[10] This must be André Esclavon, known in Spanish as Andrés Esclavón, and also known as Jacques Esclavon, native of New Orleans, son of André Esclavon of France and Marie-Françoise Vénus, known in Spanish as María Francisca Venus, sauvagesse affranchie. On 2 Oct 1783, at New Orleans, Andrés Esclavón [sic] declared freedom to María Francisca Venus, age 23, índia, and to her son Santiago, mestizo, “for much love, affection and various particular deeds”: Orleans Parish, Notarial Acts, Rodríguez, 1783, no. 876. She had given birth to a daughter before her relationship with Esclavon: Marie Gertrude del Castillo, was born circa 1778 to José Joaquín del Castillo and to Marie-Françoise Vénus, sauvagesse libre. Gertrude married 18 Aug 1801 Guillaume Martin, native of Fontaine Lévêque, Hainault, France, currently living at Natchitoches, son of Jean-François Martin and Jeanne Dubois. Witnesses were François Clément, Esclavon: St. Landry Catholic Church, mariages, vol. 1-A, p. 96. André and Marie-Françoise’s son was Jacques “Santiago”  André Esclavon, métif libre, born circa 1780. He fathered children with Rosalie Adélaïde L’étang, quarteronne libre, sometimes mulâtresse libre, daughter of Pierre L’étang – spouse of Constance de la Mirande – and of Rosalie de la Fosse, mulâtresse libre.

[11] Joseph Balquer, sometimes Joseph Balqué or Joseph Balka, mulâtre libre, was born circa 1776 at the Pointe-Coupée Post to Jean Pierre Joseph Balquet and to Catherine Geneviève Baron, négresse esclave belonging to Georges Baron of Houma, La. Joseph married 30 Aug 1803 Marie Françoise “Fanchonette” Bailey, mulâtresse libre, daughter of Lawrence BAILEY and Thérèse, négresse libre, Guinea or Congo nation in Africa: St. Landry Catholic Church, mariages, vol. 1, p. 169. Joseph Balquer died 10 September 1841 at age 70: St. Landry Catholic Church, sépultures, vol. 2, p. 27.  Joseph’s succession is dated 5 November 1841: St. Landry Parish Court House, Clerk of Court’s Office, successions, no. 1007. Franchonette Bailey [sic] died 12 October 1862 at age 80 at Prairie Laurent: St. Landry Catholic Church, sépultures, vol. 2, p. 154. Additional information on Joseph and his mother: Catherine Geneviève Baron bore several children while still a slave belonging to Georges Baron, to wit: Honoré, mulâtre, born 9 October 1769, baptized 14 October 1769: St. Francis Catholic Chapel, baptêmes, vol. 2, p. 86a; Antoine, mulâtre, born 17 April 1763, baptized 24 April 1763: St. Francis Catholic Chapel, baptêmes, vol. 3, p. 133; Marguerite, mulâtresse, born 17 March 1764, baptized 1^st April 1764: St. Francis Catholic Chapel, vol. 3, p. 156). On 6 February 1786, at the Pointe-Coupée Post, [Jean Pierre] Joseph Balquet emancipated Geneviève, age 43, and her 2 sons Jean-François, age 14, and Joseph, age 12, “for good services, fidelity, remuneration for other deeds”: Pointe-Coupée Parish Court House (New Roads, La.), Clerk of Court’s Office, conveyances, no. 1480. Additional information on Fanchonette: On 19 April 1798, in New Orleans, Lorenzo Baihy [sic] emancipated 3 generations of a slave family – (1) Congo mother named Teresa, negra, age 50; Teresa’s 3 children: Juan Pedro, negro, age 22, Luisa, negra, age 30, and Francisca, mulata, age 24; and Teresa’s grandchildren: (Luisa’s children) Francisca, mulata, age 10, Adelaïda, mulata, age 7, and Andrés, mulato, age 3, (Francisca’s children) Maneta or María, cuarterona, age 6, Joseph, mulato, age 3  –”freed for good services, much love and affection”: Orleans Parish, Notorial Acts, Broutin, no. 329. Marie Françoise, mulâtresse esclave belonging to Lawrence Bailey, was baptized 4 May 1777. Baptismal sponsors were Baptiste, nègre belonging to Lalonde, and Marie-Françoise, esclave belonging to M. Manne [probably the mulâtresse Françoise, age 25, belonging to François Manne in the 1777 slave census of the Attakapas and Opélousas Posts]: St. Landry Catholic Church, baptêmes, folio OA, p. 6.

[12] Cupidon, mulâtre libre, was a witness to the 1783 marriage of Sem Fusélier and Marie-Magdeleine Masse. See entry above for Sem. There is a 27-year-old slave belonging to Alexandre de Clouet named Cupidon, who is worth investigating. Alexandre’s slave is 5 years older than this Cupidon, 27 years old in 1792, and Alexandre’s Cupidon is described as nègre. But descriptors in the 1777 census often differ from other sources describing the same individuals. Alexandre de Clouet also witnessed the wedding between Sem and Marie-Magdaleine.

[13] More commonly known as Louis Thierry, mulâtre, son of Marie, griffe affranchie, formerly slave of Claude Guillory. In the 1777 census of the Attakapas and Opélousas Posts, Marie, négresse, age 27, and Louis, mulâtre, age 7, are the only slaves belonging to Claude Guillory fils: click here to view. Louis Thierry, mulâtre libre, fathered children with Dorothée Julie Meullion, négresse libre. This couple has ties to the Rapides Post. See Louis Thierry, homme de couleur libre, married to Julie Girou or Girond, femme de couleur libre, died 23 March 1839. Succession dated 2 May 1839: St. Landry Parish Court House, Clerk of Court’s Office, successions, no. 914.

[14] Louis Lemelle, métis libre, was born circa 1772 to François Lemelle III and to Marie-Jeanne Lemelle, quarteronne libre of New Orleans. He married 17 Oct 1798 Céleste Olympe de Grandpré, quarteronne libre of the Pointe-Coupée Post, probably daughter of Charles Boucher de Grandpré – Commandant at the Natchez Post – and of Jeanne “Jeanette” Glapion, mulâtresse libre of New Orleans (Opél Ch). At New Orleans, in 1772, Francisco Lemelle emancipated the following slaves: Juan, mulato, age 40; María Juana, mulata, age 22 and Julia, age 4. María Juana is a daughter of Jaquelina, slave of Santiago Lemelle: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, lines 276-78. François Lemesle or Lemelle III was born circa 1738 to François Lemelle II dit Bellegarde of Saint-Sulpice Parish, Parish, France [a baker] and Marie-Louise Mariette, native of Trève [present-day] Germany. He married 17 September 1789 Charlotte Christine Labbé, daughter of Jean Labbé and Christine Allard. He also fathered children with (1) Léonore, mulâtresse esclave, and (2) Marie-Jeanne Lemelle, sometimes called Marie-Jeanne Davion,  quarteronne libre of New Orleans, daughter of unidentified father and Jacqueline Lemelle, mulâtresse esclave of New Orleans, slave of Jacques “Santiago” Lemelle, François III’s brother. Charlotte Labbé died 10 December 1787 at age 62: St. Landry Catholic Church, baptêmes, vol. 1, p. 3. Charlotte’s succession is dated 18 July 1789: Louisiana State Archives and Records, Opelousas, 1789. François LEMELLE III died 18 September 1789: St. Landry Catholic Church, sépultures, vol. 1, p. 12. Successions dated 12 December 1789 (same as Charlotte’s); and 14 December 1789; lists 3 children: Louisiana State University Archives, Opelousas, no. 15. Last will and testament dated 16 July 1789: Louisiana State University at Eunice, Opelousas, 1789. Notes on Louis’s maternal grandmother, Jacqueline: Jacqueline Lemelle, mulâtresse esclave, was born circa 1730, probably in New Orleans. She bore children for (1) Joseph Louis du Suau de la Croix, native of Gap or Tallard, Dauphiné, France, son of Monsieur du Séau de la Croix and Françoise Borel; (2) Jacques Étienne “Santiago” Lemelle, son of François Lemelle dit Bellegarde of Saint-Sulpice Parish, Paris, France and Marie-Louise Mariette of Trève, Germany and (3) unknown. In 1767, at New Orleans, Jacques Lemelle sold a 5-month-old quarteronne daughter of his slave Jacqueline, mulâtresse, to Gaspard Gardelle, for the purpose of manumitting her after the age of 18 months. Lemelle stipulated that the child would remain with her mother for 18 months. Infant valued at 1,400 pesos: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 143. In 1769, at New Orleans, Jacques Lemelle manumitted a quarteron child of his mulâtresse, Jacqueline: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 156. On 10 November 1772, at New Orleans, Jacques Lemelle manumitted Jacqueline, mulâtresse, age 42 and the following quarterons, her children: Agathe, age 13, Tonton, age 3, Adélaïde, age 1: Orleans Parish, Notarial Acts, Almonáster y Roxas, no. 271.

[15] François Lemelle IV, métis libre, was born circa 1782 to François Lemelle III and Marie-Jeanne Lemelle, sometimes called Marie-Jeanne Davion, quarteronne libre. François is a full sibling of Louis Lemelle above. He married 1 March 1802 Marie-Denise Donato, quarteronne libre, daughter of Martin Donato-Bello, quarteron libre, and Marianne Duchesne, mulâtresse libre of New Orleans: St. Landry Catholic Church, mariages, vol. 1, p. 141.

[16] Known more commonly as Baptiste Provost or Prévost, mulâtre libre, son of possibly Joseph Provost dit Collet, his master, who was a native of the Illinois Post, and Josèphe, also spelled Josette, négresse slave belonging to said Collet. Baptiste married 26 October 1802 Judithe Lapointe – also known as Judithe Deshôtels or Desautelles, and Judithe Lamirande – mulâtresse libre, daughter of Nicolas Lapointe of the Pointe-Coupée Post, and Marie Élisabeth “Barbé/Babet/Lise” [de] Lamirande, négresse libre: St. Landry Catholic Church, baptêmes, vol. 1, p. 155. Baptiste, mulâtre, age 1, was freed by Joseph Provost dit Collet at the Attakapas Post in 1786: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 150. Judithe, mulâtresse esclave, was emancipated in 1786 at the Opélousas Post by the de la Mirande family: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 1134. Barbé, négresse, age 26, and her 3 children – Joseph, age 6, Émélie, age 4, and Louise, age 1 – children all mulâtres – are inventoried as slaves of Barthélemy Lebleu in the Opélousas Post Census of 1777: click here to view. Proceedings to emancipate Barbé, négresse esclave, began in 1793 at the death of Joseph de la Mirande at the Opélousas Post. Barbé was valued at the sum of 500 piastres, half of which Joseph’s daughter and heir, Marie Josèphe de la Mirande, wife of Barthélemy Lebleu paid: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 1978. Marie Josèphe de la Mirande, wife of Barthélemy Lebleu paid or received the remaining balance for the freedom of the négresse slave Barbé in 1797: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 2065. Provost dit Collet emancipated Josèphe, “négresse créole,” age 35, and her son (Baptiste’s brother), Célestin, mulâtre, age 3, at the Opélousas Post in 1791. Additional children were mentioned in the freedom act, viz. Basile, Margarita [Marguerite], Louison, and Julián [Julien]. Unclear whether they were freed, or not: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, lines 1548-49. This Baptiste Provost should not be conflated with another Baptiste Provost, also known as Baptiste Collet or Collette, whose father was the same Joseph Provost dit Collet. This particular Baptiste Provost, also mulâtre, was a son of the same Collet, but with a slave named Marianne-Cécile, négresse, both of whom belonged to Charles “Charlitte” Dugas. This particular Baptiste Provost, more commonly known as Baptiste Collet or Collette, was baptized 15 Jul 1778 at St. Martin Catholic Church. Baptismal sponsors were Baptiste Provôt [sic] and Madeleine Provôt [sic]: St. Martin Catholic Church, Baptêmes de couleur 1, p. 60). He married 27 Apr 1839 Marie Célestine Grévemberg, mulâtresse libre, daughter of Alexandre dit Célestin Grévemberg, quarteron libre, and of Marinette Lédé, griffonne libre, all natives of the Attakapas Post: St. Mary Parish Court House (Franklin, La.), Clerk of Court’s Office, marriages, vol. 3, p. 107.

[17] John Chavis, free mulatto, was born in North Carolina or in Virginia. He fathered children with Rachel Keys, also a free mulatto. The couple seems to have lived in both the Opélousas and Lafourche-des-Chétimachas Posts. A son named Juan Washingtón “John” Chevers, mulato libre, was born in Donaldsonville in Feb 1820, and baptized there on 9 May 1802 and age 3 months. Baptismal sponsors were Pedro [Pierre] Ricard and Sylvia Cease [Keys]: Our Lady of the Ascension Catholic Church (Donaldsonville, La.), baptêmes, vol. 3, no. 67. This family is mentioned in this post. See footnote 3.

[18] Possibly is Zénon Masse, sometimes spelled Zénon Mace, nègre libre, native of the Attakapas Post, who was born circa 1771 to unidentified father and Lisette Masse, négresse libre of the Attakapas Post, formerly a slave of André Masse of France. He is a brother-in-law of Sem above. He died in 1812: St. Martin Catholic Church, sépultures, vol. 1S, p. 452. Additional information on this Zénon: Age 6 in his mother’s household in 1777. See General Census of Attakapas and Opelousas Posts of 1777,Papeles Procedentes de Cuba, Archivo general de Indias, 1777, legajo 2358; Winston de Ville, Southwest Louisiana Families in 1777: Census record of Attakapas and Opelousas Posts (Ville Platte: n.p., 1987).

[19] No leads on Louis’s parentage or emancipation. There was a Louis, nègre, nation Kanga, inventoried on the estate of a Décuir at the Pointe-Coupée Post on 29 December 1788, age 30, valued at 300 piastres: Hall, Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy, database online, https://www.ibiblio.org/laslave/individ.php?sid=18336. Louis Kanga’s age are close enough to warrant more investigation. Louis Décuir, mulâtre libre, emancipated the 43-year-old négresse named Marie, later known as Marie Donato, at the Opélousas Post in 1791. Louis had purchased Marie from Susanne Moreau, widow of Donato Bello: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 1459. Their daughter, Euphrosine Décuir, also known as Sophie Décuir, is described in this post. She bore children for different men, but married Antoine Simien, nègre libre, at Opélousas on 13 May 1806, son of unidentified father and Marie-Magdeleine Esprit, négresse libre and consort of Antoine-Georges Simien of France.

Update on Louis Décuir: In 1771, Jean François Descuir, surname also spelled Décuir, Descuirs, Dequire, Décuire, a native of Mergey, Diocese of Troyes, France, died at the Pointe-Coupée Post. Jean was son of Albert Dequire and Marie Catherine Tomes. He had married Geneviève Mayeux, a Louisiana Creole, daughter of Pierre Mayeux and Marie Sellier, on 5 November 1743 at the Pointe-Coupée Post : St. Francis Catholic Chapel, mariages, vol. 1, p. 48; vol. 2, p. 2, no. 28. Jean had promised freedom to a mulâtre slave he owned named Louis. When Jean died in 1771, his widow, Geneviève Mayeux, and heirs (12 legitimate children with Geneviève) freed Louis based on Jean’s wishes: Hall, Afro-Louisiana, line 188, as found in Pointe-Coupée Parish Court House, conveyances, no. 393. Special thanks to Rodney Sam for this.

Source: Liste des Mulâtres et Nègres libres du Poste des Opéloussas, Papeles Procedentes de Cuba, Archivo general de Indias, 1792, legajo 206.

Latest Updates

• 2017   July 27th
  – Updated footnote information for Baptiste THISONNEAU and for André ESCLAVON.

– Christophe Landry