Louisiana Genealogy Blog: June 2010

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Louisiana SAR contact

Sons of the American Revolution

Louisiana State Society Genealogy Contact:

Clifford Normand, Registrar
15131 Championship Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70810
Email: Clifford.Normand@att.net

SAR Genealogy Assistant

Edward E. Friloux, Louisiana
Expertise: Louisiana and Mississippi
Contact: edfriloux1@wwdb.org

EOGN:First African American in Georgia to be Inducted into National Society Sons of the American Revolution

"Henderson, a native of New Orleans, La. who currently lives in metro-Atlanta, discovered his unique lineage while researching his French ancestry. His fourth generation great-grandfather, Mathieu Devaux, a French National, served as a militiaman under the command of the Spanish Governor General Bernardo de Galvez, who led troops in several major battles in Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast. Devaux had a relationship with his former slave, Agnes Mathieu, in Spanish Colonial Louisiana. Henderson is descendent from one of their seven children, all of whom were born free prior to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803."

From the Louisiana Genealogy Blog Forum

Looking for information on Mrs. Manette LaVigne-Duberalde. She died circa 1848, her approximate age being 30 years. I'm speculating that she had brothers named Leon and Theodule LaVigne based on information from censuses taken in 1840 and 1850. She was married to Theodule Duberalde (Duberal sic.) and through their union produced 3-4 offsprings (Jules, Theodule, Hortense Duberalde (Juin) and Odile Duberalde (Xavier). Would appreciate any and all information solicited through this posting.

Louisiana baseball at Pelican stadium - a history

This is fantastic! This story was posted in The Times Picayune by Nick Stillman, June 14, 2010.
Preservationist hopes to have historical marker placed at site of Pelican Stadium.

"Pelican Stadium was a cavernous baseball field (legend has it that Joe DiMaggio once hit a fly ball so deep that the outfielder who caught it required a timeout before returning it to the infield) where the minor league New Orleans Pelicans and various New Orleans Negro League teams played from 1915 until the park was demolished in 1957. New Orleans prides itself on its history, but it is generally forgotten local lore that baseball immortals like Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, and even Babe Ruth once dug their spikes into Pelican Stadium dirt. Twenty-year-old Tulane student Jacob Ginsberg hopes to change this."

"Amateur clubs were playing in New Orleans as early as 1859. What is widely seen as the first spring training took place in New Orleans in 1870, a series of matchups between the Cincinnati Red Stockings - baseball's first professional team - and the Chicago White Stockings. The Pelicans became a local mainstay in 1887, and the ingenuity of their captain (and, later, manager) Charles Abner Powell cemented New Orleans into the annals of baseball history."

Friday, June 11, 2010

Lucretia Brainerd and Almira Brainerd on Ancient Faces in Louisiana

There are many mysterious photos from Louisiana posted on Ancient Faces. There are at least 36 photos posted from Louisiana. One of those photos posted is of a Miss Almira Brainerd. The photo was found in Louisiana.

More information from Ancient Faces:
Date taken : July 4, 1900 1900
Description :
I found this photo in a flea market in Louisiana.was so surprized she didn't have a home and was in a flea market.I am seraching for the rightful owner of this young lady's portrait. It reads on back.
Miss Almira Brainerd
Kirkwood ,Ill.
1-16x20 Crayon
Grade D
Agt A F Efrairly
Keittesburg,Ill.
July 4-1900 grand display of fireworks. Well remembered.
She is too beautiful to be left in a closet or tin box to go to ruin. Black and white photos usually last 100 yers..this photo in 104 yrs old..Is she your family? contact me at rita_matte@yahoo.com to claim her..thanks Rita..

Mystery :
Who does she belong to?

A Google Book popped up with information about several women named Almira Brainerd.

Almira Brainerd married M. Chadwick, and had one child, Charles Birney Chadwick. She died at Bucyrus, [Ohio] aged twenty-seven.

Almira Brainerd, born November 14, 1817 m. Alan Bliss of Plainville, Illinois having two children. p. 148

Almira F. Brainerd m. David Brainerd, son of Alfred Brainerd, January 15, 1838 no children. p. 132

Almira Brainerd was married ALSO to Mr. Cunger 1846 with a daughter. p. 16

Almira Brainerd was married to ______ Moffit, by whom she had three children: Edwin, Sarah Ann, and Romaine Moffit. p. 124

Almira Florilla Brainerd married David Brainerd on January 15, 1838 no children. She was the daughter of Roswell Brainerd. p. 142

Almira Linn married Asa Brainerd, December 9, 1828. p. 220

Almira Woodruff married Orren Brainerd March 8, 1834 in Conn. Having four children now living in Wisconsin as a farmer. p. 95

Almira Brainerd born April 19, 1807 daughter of Mabel Porter and Mr. Brainerd (lol) several siblings listed. p. 146

Dr. Brainerd married Maria Fox having twelve children, one of which, Almira born April 21, 1827 Buffalo, New York. p. 15

Almira Brainerd married Luther L. Dutcher, Esq. having seven children, one of which was..... you guessed it Almira Brainerd born June 21, 1832. p. 156

The title, The genealogy of the Brainerd family in the United States...., by David Dudley Field and written and published in they year 1857. None of this information tells me about the photo. I am left to wonder how did this photo end up in Louisiana? Well, transportation up and down the Mississippi River likely allowed for this adventure. So I tried Googling the title further and on page 47: "Lucretia Brainerd has been several years in some part of Louisiana, engaged in the instruction of youth, both in family schools and in seminaries." Lucretia was born March 2, 1807. Well, now there is a connection to Louisiana to the Brainerd family even if it is not the Almira Brainerd I am looking for! Do you suppose Lucretia has a burial in Louisiana? Searching FAG there are two hits for a few of the above entries of the title, but none are in Louisiana.

More on Lucretia's genealogy:
Chevers Brainerd married Martha Champion, daughter of Isreael and Mehetabel (Fuller) Champioin, September 10, 1795, and had five children by her. She died March 13, 1814, aged forty-one, and Mr. Brainerd married Widow Jerusha (Cornwall )Lord, relict of William Lord, October 15, 1814, and had by her four children.

Children:
A son b. Nov 18, 1803 d same day
A son July 1, 1805 died next day
Lucretia Brainerd Mar 20, 1807.
Martha April 19, 1809 m. Dr. Ira B. Blakeman
Mary Matilda Feb 22, 1812 single as of 1857
Jerusha July 28, 1815 d. Feb 18, 1818
Chevers Nove 7, 1817 d. Oct 13 1818
Jedidah Oct. 1 1819 d Aug 10 1844
Sarah March 16, 1821 d. Jan 2, 1840

More information is found on Lucretia in the LE RACONTEUR INDEX, VOLUME XXVII, 2007
Chevers 102
Lucretia 102
Miss 103

Google Reader preserves 404 blog posts

I've searched Google profiles this morning looking for all of those interested in genealogy and Louisiana. There are over 79 profiles, but very few of those profiles are actually filled out completely and have feeds to share.

One kewl trick I have found in my Google Feed subscriptions is the fact that Google Reader will preserve 404 blog posts! This was an awesome find, but it is likely that only I care about this tidbit! LOL.

I have way too many 404 subscriptions and I am attempting to clean those up this morning in my Google Reader, but most of the links here will remain until I can nail down those subscriptions that are 404 in Bloglines, too. This is something I have been dreading for some time.....and loathe to accomplish.... so it will be some time before this task is complete.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Fishing the Louisiana Archives

You can't search the USGenWeb Louisiana Archives without finding an obit that lists fishing as a hobby. Here are a few archive examples that I have noted.
USGenWeb Louisiana Archives, "Catfish Slim"
Manila Villiage on PBS -"These forlorn pilings sticking out of the water are all that's left of Manila Village, a large fishing camp that once even had a post office. It was abandoned in the 1950s."
October 1893 - USGenWeb Louisiana Archives - "The train brought to the city for treatment at the hospital two men with broken arms. They were Bob Ferro, a fireman on the New Orleans and Southern; and a fisherman named Pinter. They were sleeping near the Manilla fishing camp Sunday night when the storm arose. . . ." ". . . The storm came up with such velocity that nearly every fishing camp at Lake Borgne was wrecked and when the train arrived nearly seven feet of water was on the ground..."
Birdo Springs Fishing Camp
Biography of James Hardy Smith 1941 storm that rivaled one in 1915 - "September 26, 1941: -The weather is just fine this morning. Fair and some cooler. We still get reports from the Gulf shores. Lots of damage such as boats fishing piers and fishing camps. All the way from La Porte to Connor to Porte Author."
History of Vermilion Parish 1891 - "The prairies east, west and south are dotted with little groves of trees, which shade the cottages of the resident population, who live principally by hunting, fishing and stock raising."
I also recommend Googling a timeline. There was one article from the Atlanta Constitution newspaper written in 1898, LOUISIANA'S QUEEREST COLONY. Two Thousand Chinese and Other Orientals Live by Catching, "Hidden away in the labyrinthine bayous of lower Jefferson parish and scattered about the margins of Grand Lake. Little Lake and the musically named Cheniere Caminada is a strange colony, the bare existence of which is practically unknown."
MOA Chita: A Memory of Last Island by, Lafcadio Hearn
This title mentions the homes of the Chinese fishermen.
Serial: Harper's New Monthly Magazine Volume 0076 Issue 455 (April 1888)
Title: Chita. A Memory of Last Island. A Novelette [pp. 733-767]
Author: Hearn, Lafcadio
Collection: Journals: Harper's New Monthly Magazine (1850 - 1899)

Louisiana fish camps and recreational dwellings in 1979

This is an excerpt and a chart from an 1979 article about recreational dwellings in Louisiana that is available online from the LSUAgCenter and Sea Grant. While it was intended as a reference about coastal Louisiana dwellings in 1979, it is also a historical reflection of the Sportsmans Paradise. In 1979 there were over 10,000 camps in Louisiana.

Author: Don L. Gary & D. W. Davis
Year: 1979
# Pages: 80

Human activity in Louisiana's coastal marshes was studied to clarify location, density, and type of impact on local ecology. Historical background provides information to contrast with the study findings.

Copy available online from the National Sea Grant Library.
Download: http://nsgl.gso.uri.edu/lsu/lsut79002.pdf (1.79MB)

"French farmers, trappers, and fishermen, whom the British forced out of Nova Scotia in the mid 1790's, settled within the lower Mississippi River's alluvial valley. They regarded the semi aqueous terrain as an attractive location for their new settlements. In addition to the French, a group of Yugoslavian oyster fishermen settled along the bayous, bays, and lakes southeast of New Orleans. In time they were joined by other Balkan immigrants. Filipinos, Germans, Irishmen, Italian, Spaniards, and others also settled within the coastal zone. People began to occupy the deltaic plain in the 1830's and the chenier plain in the 1850's. By the mid 1930's there were 325 marsh communities. In the relatively isolated chenier plain 20 or more dwellings were located in 15 towns. On the deltaic plain there were 21 sites accomodating more than 20 dwellings. These pre-Word War II cammunities fit into four categories: agricultural, fishing, petroleum, and trapping."

"Today former marsh dwellers or their descendants use their former homes as trapping base camps and recreation centers. The marsh has also appealed to many outsiders. These two groups have built 8,516 camps, with more than 40 percent of them accesible only by boat or seaplane. The original agricultrual, fishing, hunting and trapping villages have been transformed. They no longer serve as permanent settlements; they have changed from work to leisure oriented communites."

"Grand Isle
As early as the 1780's the island was occupied by several sugarcane plantations. Toward the turn of the 19th century the Grand Isle area became a pirate stronghold and trade center for contraband goods destined for New Orleans."

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Sold to the highest bidder! A piece of history from Louisiana

This was in my news this morning from Antiques and the Arts Online:
"A Civil War standout was an important Confederate flag for the Second Louisiana Cavalry, captured at Henderson, La., March 21, 1864, by William Ayers, second sergeant of Company H, 35th Iowa Volunteers, Fifth Infantry. The flag was recently deaccessioned from the Southern Oregon Historical Society, where it has been since the 1950s. It sold to a private buyer for $51,480."

Monday, June 7, 2010

NGS honors Creole Association

Another tidbit from my mailbag:
The Louisiana Creole Research Association receives an honor in the UpFront with NGS blog.
New links

African American Registry Facebook
Creole Center
Creole Center Facebook
Louisiana AAG

This was cross posted to WordPress when Blogger was down:

Yahoo! Group Search Working on Louisiana Genealogy Blog but Blogger was down

Win some lose some. I can’t post this to blogger, yet, as Blogger is down. Yahoo! finally came through with the fix for the broken search group message features. I noticed this today and then attempted to post via blogger. Blogger was down. Whoops. Guess I’ll blog later (you can read it now) about the benefits of a Yahoo Group over a Facebook group. Message or discussions cannot be searched in a Facebook Group. Yahoo! Groups CAN search
messages. ++ feature when you are searching for very specific information. I sorta miss the forward button though in the Yahoo Groups.

One of the benefits of managing and joining a Yahoo group is the message search feature. Facebook genealogy groups do not offer this in their discussions. If you are searching for specific information, you will not be able to search messages in a Facebook genealogy group. Recently, the Genealogy Box published many Facebook genealogy groups to visit, like or join.

Here is a listing: