Marianne Part Delaune – three of three

An Acadian in Louisiana – The Golden Years 

Fifteen hundred Acadians bound for Louisiana left France in seven ships in 1785. Marianne Part Delaune, her husband, Jean, her daughter Marie Celeste and son Pierre were to have boarded L’Amitie to leave 20 August 1785 but they and Christophe Delaune’s family, Jean’s brother, did not board that ship. The two Delaune families boarded the last ship, La Caroline, taking Acadians to Louisiana on 19 October 1785. Their friends Basile Chaisson, his wife, Monique Commeau, and their children also were on La Caroline.^[1]Tim Hebert, “Passenger List for La Caroline,” Acadian-Cajun Genealogy & History (http://www.acadian-cajun.com/ship7.htm : viewed 23 August 2022).

Did Marianne have a chance to tell her father, Eustache Part, and brother, Laurent, goodbye? Were they expecting to join Marianne in Louisiana at a later date? Or did they know that they would probably never see each other again? At least they knew how to write and could send letters to each other.

Jean Delaune and his brother were described as ship’s carpenters on the passenger list. Pierre was a year old and Marie Celeste was about eight months old when Marianne boarded La Caroline. What was it like to be on a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean for sixty-four days in the late 1700s? How does a young mother cope with an infant and toddler on a ship? Surely the journey from France to Louisiana was better than the deportation experience of Acadia to France some twenty years earlier.

The Delaune families arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana, 17 December 1785.^[2]Tim Hebert, “Passenger List for La Caroline,” Acadian-Cajun Genealogy & History (http://www.acadian-cajun.com/ship7.htm : viewed 23 August 2022). Upon arrival they probably stayed in a converted warehouse the Spanish government set up while they acclimated to Louisiana. Did they right away find Acadian friends and family who arrived in Louisiana earlier? Marianne’s family may have been one of the families that went to Galveztown as there were many families from L’Amitie who went there. Incredibly, Marianne crossed paths with her father’s cousins in Louisiana that she had not seen since she left Saint-Anne in 1759. ^[3]Members of the Part family arrived in Louisiana as early as 1770 as Part children were baptized at St. James in Parish, see Diocese of Baton Rouge, Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records … Continue reading

Another daughter was born to Marianne and Jean in 1787, Margarita. She was baptized at Saint James Parish in September, but she did not live very long because her name is not listed in the 1795 Census of Valenzuela.^[4]Diocese of Baton Rouge, Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Diocese of Baton Rouge) 2:234. Citation reads “Margarita (Juan & Maria Ana Par) bt. 2 Sept. 1787, … Continue reading In August 1788, the Delaunes were in the area known as Cabannocé (St James Parish) and flooding caused considerable damage to the area. Miguel Cantrelle, Commandant of Militia of the First Acadian Coast, was familiar with problems the Delaunes encountered in Louisiana. He noted in a document that Acadian families from France had lost their crops from a “large amount of water of the river which caused a considerable fissure and so forth.”^[5]Albert J. Robichaux, Jr. “Records from the Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla, Spain.” L’Heritage (Saint Bernard Genealogical Society, Chalmette, Louisiana), vol. 7:27 (June 1984), … Continue reading Jean Delaune, his wife and three children; and Christophe Delaune, his wife and three children; and several other families were named in that document.

Marianne’s children in 1788 were probably Marie Celeste, Pierre and Adelaide. Adelaide was born around 1788.^[6]Adelaide is described as being six years old when the 1795 Valenzuela census was taken. Albert Robichaux, Colonial Settlers along Bayou Lafourche 1770-1798 (Harvey, Louisiana, 1974). If Adelaide had been baptized, the record has not been found. Rosalia was born 19 December 1791 and baptized at St. James in February 1792.^[7]Diocese of Baton Rouge, Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Diocese of Baton Rouge) 2:234. Citation reads: “DELAUNE, Rosalia (Juan & Maria Ana Part) bt. 20 … Continue reading Rosalia’s godfather was Registre Part, probably a cousin of Marianne’s. Marianne and Jean may have served as godparents to Registre’s daughter, Marie Virginie.^[8]Diocese of Baton Rouge, Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Diocese of Baton Rouge) 3:81.

Pierre, Marianne’s son who was on La Caroline in 1785, probably died before 1795 as he was not included in the Valenzuela 1795 census. It is possible that he was apprenticed off somewhere but more likely he succumbed to one of the small pox epidemics of 1786 or 1787.^[9]Cajuns in the 18th Century, http://www.acadian-cajun.com/hiscaj2c.htm, ACADIAN-CAJUN GENEALOGY & HISTORY, viewed 20 Nov. 2017. It is possible that Marianne experienced miscarriages between 1792 and 1797. Finally, Alexandre, the only son that lived to adulthood, was born around 1797.^[10]Alexandre is described as being one year old in the 1798 census of Lafourche. Albert Robichaux, Colonial Settlers along Bayou Lafourche 1770-1798 (Harvey, Louisiana, 1974). A baptism record has not … Continue reading The Delaune household must have been ecstatic when a baby boy was born. One can imagine how spoiled he must have been with three older sisters.

With Marianne being able to read and write, it is strange that  she did not teach her children to read and write. Alexandre and Adelaide signed with a marque. Could it be that after working on the farm all day and running the household, Marianne did not have the energy to teach her children to read and write. Maybe she taught then to read but not to write? 

Did Marianne tell her children stories from her childhood? Did she tell them of hiding in the woods at Saint-Anne in what is now New Brunswick? Or that her mother had been killed by British soldiers? Were there stories of imprisonment on George’s Island in the Halifax harbor? Did she tell her children about her crossing the Atlantic Ocean twice? Did she tell them how she said goodbye to her father and brother in France? Would she have told them that she found cousins in Louisiana in 1785 she had not seen since leaving Saint-Anne in 1759?

By 1798, Jean and Marianne were property owners in Lafourche.^[11]Robichaux, Colonial Settlers Along Bayou Lafourche, p. 116. Their land was six arpents (about an acre) wide and about fifty in depth. In 1803, after the Louisiana Purchase, Jean claimed a tract of land on the right bank of Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche. The land was  just over 214 acres. Joseph Felix Boudreau was on the upper side of his land and Pierre Goutreau was on the lower side. Jean was able to prove that he had inhabited and cultivated the land for more than ten consecutive years. Jean was required to build a levee along Bayou Lafourche and maintain a public road.

Marie Celeste, Marianne’s oldest daughter, married Hyacinth Laurent Aucoin around 1804.^[12]George A. Bodin, Selected Acadian and Louisiana Church Records (Special Publication No. II) (St. Martinville, Louisiana, Attakapas Historical Association, 1968). Most likely Marianne, Jean, Adelaide, Rosalie and Alexandre attended the wedding. Rosalie married next. She married Hyacinth Rousseau 5 June 1809.^[13]Diocese of Baton Rouge, Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Diocese of Baton Rouge) 3:763. But when Adelaide married Jean Pierre Clemence in 1810, her father had died and her mother was indisposed and may not have attended the wedding. However, Marianne sent a letter written in French to the court clerk giving permission for Adelaide to marry.^[14]Assumption Parish Courthouse Clerk, Acts of Marriage 1-A , Assumption Parish Courthouse, Napoleonville, Louisiana, Jean Pierre Clemence and Adelaide Delorme 27 August 1810. Alexandre was a witness to the marriage contract and made his marque.

Top: As a witness, Alexandre Delaune made his marque and Adelaide Delaune made her marque on Adelaide's wedding contract. Bottom: Marianne Part's note written in French giving permission for her daughter to wed. Both documents are part of the wedding contract found in Assumption Parish Courthouse Clerk, Acts of Marriage 1-A, Assumption Parish Courthouse, Napoleonville, Louisiana, Jean Pierre Clemence and Adelaide Delorme [sic] 27 August 1810. Images provided by Assumption Parish Courthouse and privately held by Sindi Broussard Terrien. 

Jean Delaune died before 6 August 1810 as he was not included in the 1810 U.S. census though there was a “Ve. Jean Delaume,” the widow Jean Delaune.^[15]1810 U.S. census, Assumption Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, p. 27, Ve. Jean Delaume household; National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) microfilm publication M252, roll 10; … Continue reading His succession did not take place until September 1811. It could be that Marianne was not feeling well enough to execute the inventory and sale of the property until then. 

Most likely, newlyweds Adelaide and Jean Pierre Clemence with a newborn lived with Marianne in 1810. Alexandre would have been about thirteen years old and still living in Marianne’s household. Marie Celeste and Roslalie lived nearby. Jean Baptiste Delaune, her nephew, also lived nearby.^[16]1810 U.S. census, Assumption Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, p. 26, Jn. Bpt. Delaume household; p. 27, Jaocent Aucoin household; p. 26, Ve. Jean Delaume household; p. 28, Joacint Rousseau … Continue reading

Grandchildren followed with the marriage of Marianne’s three daughters. Marie Celeste and Hyacinth had at least eight children, six before Marianne died. Rosalie was godmother to her namesake, Rosalia born in 1804. Adelaide was godmother to Hubert born in 1806 and Alexandre was godfather to Adeline born in 1808. Adelaide and Jean Pierre had at least nine children, with four being born before Marianne passed. Marie Celeste was godmother to Adela in 1811 and Alexandre was godfather to Euxiriano Evaristo in 1815. Rosalia and Hyacinthe Rousseau had at least ten children, five born before Marianne died. Marianne was the godmother to her granddaughter, Josefina, born in 1810 and Alexandre served as godfather to Rosalia born in 1815.^[17]Sindi Broussard Terrien, “Carrow-Walker Family Tree,” Ancestry.com: Marie Celeste DELAUNE, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/76901568/person/380150316050/facts : viewed 2 … Continue reading

An inventory of Jean and Marianne Delaune’s estate was taken in September 1811. The estimated value of the estate was about $2800. The inventory included farm equipment, horses and cows. Several of the cows were named in the inventory: Linette, Grisette, Lisette and a heifer named Jolie Neaur (Pretty Girl).  I imagine either Alexandre or Marianne walking around the farm with the clerk naming each animal in French: “This one is Fortune and this one is Blanchette. And here are the oxen, Jolie and Major.” The estate also included some furniture, two chests and a table that were not in good condition, six chairs, a mirror, some pots, dishes and glasses, clothes, handkerchiefs, a mattress and bed linens.^[18]Assumption Parish Inventory 1808-1811, No. 22 M Delaune, p. 407-421; FamilySearch.org, Assumption Parish (Louisiana) Inventory estates, original acts 1788-1852; images 467-474 of 894 … Continue reading

At the estate auction, Marianne bought a horse named Grison for herself as well as a cow named Florine with its calf and another cow named Colette. Marianne paid $73 for Grison, the highest priced item at the auction. Alexandre bought a white heifer for $16 and son-in-law Hyacinth Aucoin bought a mare named Rougette (Little Red) for $29 as well as several tools for farming. Jean Pierre Clemence bought a black filly for $37 while Hyacinth Rousseau, Rosalie’s husband, bought a white mare for $30.^[19]Assumption Parish Inventory 1808-1811, No. 22 M Delaune, p. 407-421; FamilySearch.org, Assumption Parish (Louisiana) Inventory estates, original acts 1788-1852; images 467-474 of 894 … Continue reading

In 1812, Marianne sold land to Joseph Paul Bourgeois for $900. It is possible that she sold the land to distribute shares of the estate to the heirs, her children Marie Celeste, Adelaide, Rosalie and Alexandre.^[20]Kenneth B. Toups, Assumption Parish LA Original Cahier Records Books 1 thru 5 1786-1813 (Thibodaux, Louisiana, 1991).

Two years later, Marianne sold property and gave up all claims to it to Jean Pierre Clement and Alexandre Delaune, her minor son, for the sum of $900. Jean Pierre and Alexandre purchased land that was three arpents by forty in ordinary depth, and on the right bank of the Bayou Lafourche. The land was bounded by Joseph Bourgeois and Pierre Olivier Gautreau. Marianne reserved one square arpent of land with all its buildings for herself for the rest of her lifetime.^[21]Assumption Parish Conveyance Book 1813-1820 Vol. 1 is  missing a page of the conveyance where names were signed. Clerk of the Court, Assumption Parish Conveyance Book 1813-1820 Vol. 1, La. Ve. … Continue reading

More than likely, Marianne lived a few more years after the sale of the property. She probably lived long enough to worry about Alexandre when he participated in the Battle of New Orleans. If so, she was probably thrilled when the British were soundly defeated fifty-five years after her mother and siblings died at their hands. Marianne died before Alexandre married Julie Hebert, but since the families were neighbors, it is most probable that she knew Julie and approved of their marriage. Marianne was between sixty-five and seventy years old when she died.

During Jean and Maranne’s lifetime, they lived what could be described today as a global life and had a very diversified experience, especially for their time period, but with all the heartbreak, struggles, and perseverance that immigrants of all ages, even today, face. Beginning life in Acadia, they were either under British or French rule depending on the year. Marianne, more than most, experienced the cruelty of the British when they killed her mother and imprisoned her family before deportation. Jean and Marianne sailed across the Atlantic to France to live there for more than 20 years in a disruptive environment before they sailed across the Atlantic again; this time the destination being Louisiana.  Upon their arrival, they were living under Spanish rule. Then in a few short years, the United States bought Louisiana in 1803 and imposed a territorial government.  Next Louisiana became a state in the United States in 1812 with a new form of government yet again. One constant in their lives seems to be their Catholic religion as they married, brought their children to be baptized, and buried their dead. Marianne had at least 11 children with only four who survived into adulthood. Were they relieved when their son Alexandre was born late in their lives after having no surviving sons? Like many immigrants who come to America, Jean and Marianne lived near their extended families and fellow immigrants, worked hard and met with some success.