Philomene Camilla Dooley – one of two

My Great-Great Grandmother

Daughter of William Dooley and Melanie (Melina) Toups^[1]Baptismal record on order from Lafayette Diocese. Rev. Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records Church and Civil Records, vol. 6, (Cecilia, Louisiana, Rev. Donald J. Hebert, 1977), Record … Continue reading

Wife of William Walker^[2]St. Nicholas, (Lydia, Louisiana), marriage act, unspecified volume, William Walker & Philomene Camilla Dooley, 28 May 1872, digital image from 1953 microfilm, supplied 18 October 2021 … Continue reading

Mother of eleven children: Luvinia, Laura, Eleanora, Joseph, Charles, Joseph Henry, Willard, Widney, Melanie (Mae), Enoch, and one unnamed child 

Philomene Camilla Dooley Walker. The name has such a nice rhythm to it when you hear it said aloud. So musical that it must be said twice! Philomene Camilla Dooley Walker. Nice to hear but too many syllables to say, so this name will be shortened to Camilla. Since my great-great grandmother signed her name as “Camilla” on her wedding license, that spelling will be used throughout these posts, though her name was spelled in many ways in other records. 

Camilla’s mother was Melanie (Melina) Toups, the second wife of William Dooley.^[3]”Arvillien Guidry vs The Widow and Heirs of William Dooley,” The Meridional (Abbeville, La.), 27 Feb. 1897; … Continue reading William’s first wife, Marcellite Broussard, died after giving him at least four children, maybe as many as seven.^[4]Rev. Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records Church and Civil Records, vol. 5 (Cecilia, Louisiana, 1976). Citation reads “BROUSSARD, Marcellite m. William DOULEY, Jr. d. … Continue reading Melanie gave birth to at least three children for him. So it was to a large household that Camilla was born 17 Feb 1857 in Perry’s Bridge, Vermilion, Louisiana now known as Abbeville.^[5]Dooley, Philomene Camela (William & Melanie TOUPS) b. 17 Feb. 1857 (Abbeville Ch. : v. 1, p. 147). Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, 1855-1860, 6:177.  

Use the following links to see maps of Abbeville and Perry’s Bridge. The first link is to a military map of 1868. Look in lower left corner of that map. http://usgwarchives.net/maps/louisiana/civilwar/lamiss1863.jpg.) The following link goes to a map of 1880. https://mapgeeks.org/louisiana/#!fancybox/28ebe73a/1880-State-and-County-Map-of-Arkansas-Mississippi-and-Louisiana.jpg.

When Camilla was three years old in 1860, the family lived in the Western District of Vermilion Parish.^[6]1860 U.S. census, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Western District, p. 16-17 dwelling 137, family 137, William Douly household; National … Continue reading There were nine children living in the house between the ages of sixteen and two: Camilla’s known older half-sisters and half-brother, Elizabeth, Caroline, Margaret, and Joseph; also, Sarah, Peter, and Mary (unknown related family members); while Camilla and William, Jr. were Melanie’s children. It is possible that her maternal grandmother lived nearby as there was a Mary Toups, age seventy-five, in her own household, listed immediately after the Dooley family in the 1860 census.^[7]1860 U.S. census, Vermillion Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Western District, p. 16-17 dwelling 138, family 138, Mary Toups household; National … Continue reading

Camilla was a child during the Civil War. Louisiana had seceded from the Union 26 January 1861 though parts of the state were Union supporters. The War Between the States lasted over five Aprils, from April 1861 through April 1865. The Union took over much of Louisiana, mainly New Orleans in April 1862, but also some of the area where Camilla had grown up. 

Did Camilla’s father take part in the Civil War? There was a William Dooley listed as a Private and Driver for the Washington Battalion, Louisiana Artillery but there is no proof that this was Camilla’s father as there appears to be another William Dooley in New Orleans at the same time. When you think that William would have been forty years old and with nine children to feed, it would seem like a great sacrifice to enlist in the Confederate or Union Army. Near Vermilion Parish, there was a battle at Lafourche Crossing 21-23 June 1863 and the Union Army occupied nearby New Iberia.^[8]Wikipedia (https:en.wikipedia.org), “Battle of LaFourche Crossing,” rev. 20:35 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_LaFourche_Crossing : 7 January 2021.) Camp Pratt, a prison camp for Union soldiers was in New Iberia, so it is possible that William Dooley had to have participated in some way if nothing more than supplying food from his farm.^[9] “Site of Camp Pratt,” The Historical Markers Datatbase” (https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=174096 : viewed 6 November 2021.)

Between 1860 and 1870 Camilla’s father may have died as her mother married Joseph Pierce^[10]“State of Louisiana Parish of Vermilion, 17th Judicial District Court, No. 978. Arvillien Guidry vs The Widow and Heirs of William Dooley,” The Meridional (Abbeville, Louisiana), … Continue reading Instead of living with her mother in 1870, Camilla and her younger brother William lived with their uncle Joseph Dooley and his wife, Louisa in New Iberia, Louisiana.^[11]1870 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, New Iberia, p. 66, dwelling 487, family 528, Joseph Dooley household; National … Continue reading Quite some distance away, her mother continued to live near Abbeville in Vermilion Parish with Joseph and three children, Laura (who was William’s child), Chapman and Thomas Pierce.^[12]1870 U.S. census, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Abbeville, p. 95, dwelling 747, family 717, Joseph Pierce household; National Archives and Records … Continue reading When did Camilla and young William start living with their aunt and uncle? In Birdie Moriarty Dartez’s memoire, she said that Joseph Dooley had raised Camilla.^[13]Mary Birdie Moriarty Dartez, Memories, Memories, Days of Long Ago  28 Jan 1983), p. 12. Birdie said, “She was raised by her uncle Joseph Dooley who died November 10, … Continue reading Why did Camilla’s mother allow two of her children to live with someone else? Did her new husband not want to take care of them? Or had Reconstruction impacted the family such that it was not affordable for all to live together?

While living with Joseph Dooley and his wife Louisa Walker, Camilla and her brother William attended school.^[14]1870 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, New Iberia, p. 66, dwelling 487, family 528, Joseph Dooley household; National Archives and Records … Continue reading Camilla had at least four years of schooling and she could read and write.^[15]1940 U.S. Census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Jeanerette, p. 28B, dwelling 480, Charles W. Walker household; National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) … Continue reading Camilla and her brother must have helped with farm work when not in school.

Camilla grew up fast. At the age of fifteen, Camilla married twenty-year-old William Walker (son of James H. Walker and Julianne Azelema Patin) 28 May 1872 at St. Nicholas Catholic Church, in Lydia, Louisiana.^[16]St. Nicholas, (Lydia, Louisiana), marriage act, unspecified volume, William Walker & Philomene Camilla Dooley, 28 May 1872, digital image from 1953 microfilm, supplied 18 October 2021 … Continue reading Camilla and William met because of family ties. Her uncle Joseph and his wife, Louisa Walker, had lived with her father, James Walker in 1860.^[17]1860 U.S. census, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Berwick City, p. 11 dwelling 83, family 83, Jame Walker household; National Archives … Continue reading Louisa was William Walker’s half-sister. Eighteen people were held in slavery by their father.^[18]1860 U.S. census, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, slave schedule, p. 4, Jas. Walker household; National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) microfilm … Continue reading Many of the neighboring farms also held people in slavery. How did that affect Camilla’s view on life? In 1870, both families were living in Ward 1 of Iberia where Camilla’s uncle and William’s father were farmers.^[19]1870 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, New Iberia, p. 66 dwelling 487, family 528, Joseph Dooley household and p.65, dwelling 483, family … Continue reading Both families seemed to have faired well after the war. 

Luvinia Alice Walker, Camilla’s first child, was born a few months before Camilla turned seventeen. Someone recorded the births of Luvinia and Laura in the Walker family Bible but did not list the names of their parents Camilla and William Walker.^[20]James H. Walker family record book, 1847-1978; Louisiana State University; LSU Libraries, Special Collections, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This record book is from an old family bible belonging … Continue reading Camilla named her second daughter Laura after her youngest sister. On a different page in the Bible insert, Charley Washington Walker’s birth in 1879 is written in ink with a notation of June 11 written in pencil. Charley’s draft registration cards confirm his birthdate.^[21]“U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6482/images/005152021_03403?pId=27457547 : accessed 9 January 2021), … Continue reading Children of Charley Walker and his wife Hortense are also recorded on the same page. No other children of Camilla and William are recorded in the Bible.

In 1880, Camilla and William Walker were still living next to her uncle Joseph and aunt Louisa in the 1st Ward of Iberia, most likely on a farm, maybe even the same farm, since Joseph was described as a farmer and William was working on a farm.^[22]1880 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 26, First Ward, p. 53,  dwelling 366, family 403, William … Continue reading Camilla was keeping house and a step-aunt, Sarah Monroe who was eighty-four lived with them. At the time, they had four children: Luvinia, Laura, Eleanora and Charles who was under a year old. William’s parents and two of his brothers and their children lived close by.^[23]1880 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 26, First Ward, p. 51,  dwelling 349, family 349, James … Continue reading

Camilla’s mother and her two half-brothers were still living in Vermilion Parish so one wonders how often they saw each other.^[24]1880 U.S. census, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 20, Seventh Ward, p. 8,  dwelling 43, family 45, Josepth Pierce … Continue reading Perhaps Camilla wrote to her mother and one of the half-brothers read letters to her. 

Willard was born in 1883^[25]Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, vol.16, p. 587. Citation reads ”WALKER, Andre Villord (William & Camelia DOOLY) b. 21 April 1883 (Lydia Ch.:v. 2, p.30).” and a child may have been born and died before the birth of Widney as he had been born about five years later.^[26]1900 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 28, Patoutville, p. 15-A,  dwelling 285, family 285, William Walkers … Continue reading Melanie (May), named after Camilla’s mother, was born 3 October 1889.^[27]Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, vol. 20. There was another gap of four years before Enoch^[28]1900 U.S. census, William Walkers household;(https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4120180_00406?pId=17821118 : viewed 7 November 2021). was born indicating another child may have been born and had not lived long. Camilla had been pregnant about every two years from 1873 until 1893. 

Her daughter, Luvinia married neighbor Gustave Bourgeois when she was fifteen in 1888.^[29]1880 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 26, 1st Ward, p. 54,  dwelling 373, family 415, Gustave Bourgeois household; … Continue reading Camilla became a grandmother when Luvinia began her childbearing years in 1891. At least four grandchildren were born before 1900.^[30]1900 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 28, Patoutville, p. 15-A,  dwelling 286, family 286, Gustave Bourgeois … Continue reading 

Come back next week to learn more about the life of Philomene Camilla Dooley Walker. 

If you have any stories or photographs of Camilla or her children, please share them with me by using the Contact page. I’d love to hear from you.