June 1875 to 6 September 1917
My Great-Grandmother
Daughter of Nicholas Provost and Marie Emilie (Armide) Judice
Wife of Luc (Luke) Alexander Provost
Mother of Robert Nicholas, Joseph Robert, Earl, Emile Louis, Marcel Eno, Gertrude Enola, Lucy Helen, Margaret Theresa, Charles Luke
Note: My Many Mothers has focused on the ancestral mothers of my maternal grandmother, Velma Carrow Provost. Velma's paternal side is mostly Acadian. Velma was married to Emile Louis Provost. Emile's family could be defined as Creole Planter. They were French descendants not born in France but in Louisiana. Emilie Helen Provost would have been Velma's mother-in-law. This year is the 150th anniversary of Emilie's birthday. Emilie's biography has been written at the request of my mother's cousin, Beverly. She has been reading this blog and requested a biography of some of the Provost women. Beverly, this biography is dedicated to you.
“Oh, Mama, how is Luke going to take care of the children? I know the three oldest boys, Earl, Emile, and Eno will help with Enola, Lucy, and Margaret. But who will take care of little Charlie? Mama, he’s only three years old. This lump in my breast seems to keep growing and I feel lumps in my stomach too. This is just too much. Mama, promise me you’ll stay here and help take care of the children after I pass.”
And so it was that Emilie Helen Provost died of breast, stomach, and uterine cancer 6 September 1917[1] in Port Arthur, Texas, at forty-two years old. Sadly, she left seven children for her husband, Alexander Luc (Luke) Provost, to raise. How was Emilie to know that her mother, Armide Provost, would die six months later.[2] Emilie’s brother, Armand, and his wife Laurance (Nan), raised the youngest, Charlie.[3] Emilie’s body was sent to her hometown of Jeanerette, Louisiana, to be buried at Saint John’s Cemetery.[4]
Introduction and Family Background
Emilie Helen Provost was the daughter or Nicholas Provost (the fifth with the name Nicholas in five generations) and Marie Emilie (Armide) Judice, his second wife.[5] One of sixteen children, Emilie was the twelfth child.[6] Her older half-sister and another older sister died before Emilie was born and an older brother died two years after Emilie was born, and a younger sister also died when Emilie was young.[7] She was born June 1875 in Jeanerette, Louisiana,[8] ten years after the Civil War ended. At one time, her great-grandfather, Nicholas Provost, owned much of the land that became Jeanerette.[9]
Her father was a former enslaver[10] and plantation owner,[11] losing much of his wealth during the Civil War.[12] Nicholas Provost was conscripted into the Confederate army in Sim’s Battery, 1st Regular Battery of the Louisiana Artillery at thirty-two years of age.[13] Emilie grew up during the post-Reconstruction era but the facts that are available seem to tell a story where this Provost family did not suffer as much as other families during that time.
Jeanerette, Louisiana
Three years after Emilie was born, the town of Jeanerette, “Sugar City,” was incorporated in 1878. It was a growing town with plantations and sugar houses nearby, hotels, stores, a coffeehouse, and even a dental surgeon. Schools were being constructed, and houses were being built. Some of the homes of the affluent had board fencing erected around the property, including some homes of the Provosts. Jeanerette even had a baseball team. The first newspaper was established in 1879. The population grew from 698 in 1880 to 1,309 in 1890. The town was prospering with railroad tracks being built nearby in 1879 and telephone lines being installed in 1893.[14]
However, in Louisiana during Emilie’s childhood, it was a time of steadfast racial segregation and honor was still being satisfied by way of duals. In 1874, many of the white men of Jeanerette established the First Ward Iberian White League and Emilie’s father, grandfather, and uncles were members. The last resolution of the league included “…we are determined that so far as in us lies, we shall have a white man’s government in this parish, in this State and in this nation”[15]
In 1880, when Emilie first appeared in the U.S. census, she was four years old. Her uncle Louis P. Provost and her paternal aunt Ophelia lived nearby.[16] Other kin living nearby were the Judices, Pellerins and Borels.[17]
There was a dozen or so children right around Emilie’s age for her to play with. Emilie’s aunt, Ophelia Provost, married to Alcibiades Judice, donated land she inherited from her father for the building of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church where the family went for Mass and the blessed sacraments.[18] Nicholas Provost, Emilie’s father built a house where her grandfather, Nicholas Philemon Provost, built a home for himself adjoining Emilie’s home in 1877.[19]
Public and private schools were in Jeanerette as early as 1885, so it is possible that Emilie went to school.[20] She was able to read, write and speak English as did many of the residents of Jeanerette at that time.[21]
Many of the families in the neighborhood were of French descent and had been born in Louisiana as well as their parents. There were a few families from France and Germany. Neighbors held a variety of jobs such as grocery clerks and town employees. Other neighbors included a druggist and a physician. Several of the Provost men were carpenters.
The 1890s was a time of strange weather in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, where Jeanerette was located. Emilie probably experienced snow for the first time in 1895. Iberia Parish received 15 inches of snow and a below-freezing cold of fifteen degrees. In 1898 the heat was enough to kill horses. Extreme cold and snow in 1899 caused schools to be closed for a week. Surprisingly, the temperature on March 29, 1899, was 36 degrees. Then rain came down on June 5, 1899, in the amount of four inches in one and a half hours.[22]
Provost and Provost
More than likely, Emilie met Luke at a family gathering. They may have met many times over the years as children. Luke and Emilie were second cousins once removed. Luke’s great-grandfather, Leufroy Provost was the older brother of Nicholas Philemon Provost, Emilie’s grandfather. They were the sons of Nicolas Provost and Marie Jeanne Prevost.[23] Inevitably, they married 21 September 1897 at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. Luke was twenty-eight years old and Emilie was twenty-two years old. Cousins Lucy Provost, Florian Provost, and Camille Provost served as witnesses.[24]
Emilie and Luke made their home in Jeanerette. They lived at the home of Emilie’s mother along with her brothers Armand, Zachary, and Joseph in 1900.[25] Emilie’s first children were a set of twin boys, Robert Nicholas and Joseph Robert who were born 10 September 1898. Sadly, Joseph Robert may have been stillborn as he died that same day, and Robert Nicholas died in April 1899.[26] John Earl was born in January of 1900. Next there was Emile Louis (1902), Marcel Eno (1906), Gertude Enola (1907) and Lucy Helen (1909), all born in Jeanerette. The family moved to Port Arthur, Texas, where Margaret Theresa (1911) and Charles Luke (1913) were born.[27]
As Jeanerette grew to a population of just over 2,200 in 1910, the town became more diverse. Immigrants from Italy, Ireland, Germany, England, and French Canada made Jeanerette their home. Black families rented houses near White families.
For a time, Emilie and Luke lived in the country outside of Jeanerette, as told by Emile Provost in a short memoir of his life.[28] Luke worked as a watchman for a shuttered sawmill. They lived in “three two room [sic] houses, the first house was used as bedrooms, the second was used as kitchen and dining room, the third was used as a barn, and corn crib.” They must have lived “in the country” until 1907 as Emile remembered his mother “went to Jeanerette and came back with a baby named Enola…”.[29]
When they returned to Jeanerette after 1907, they lived on Main Street; and the fairgrounds could be seen from their house. Luke made a garden, and he had numerous occupations. At times he was a carpenter, a farmer, and a fisherman. He would sell fish and crabs in Jeanerette on the weekends. The two oldest boys, Earl and Emile would peddle the vegetables in a wheelbarrow. Sometimes they would collect brick dust from one of the nearby brick factories and peddle the brick dust. “People would use this brick dust to scrub the floors.”[30]
Emilie sent Earl and Emile to the Webster School in Jeanerette. However, Emilie taught Emile how to read and write before he attended school.[31] Emilie was proud of her children and must have thought Eno was the cutest baby there could be. She entered him in two baby contests which he won. One year the prize was a baby buggy and the next time it was a gold heart locket.[32]
Family gatherings took place at Emilie’s and the homes of the numerous cousins that lived nearby. “The men would go hunting squirrel and rabbits and deer. The ladies would cook and have a big feast.”[33] Other social activities were the horse races, opera, and the town brass bands playing around the town.
Move to Port Arthur, Texas
In 1910, Emilie and Luke owned their home in Jeanerette on the West End.[34] Work was hard to find for Luke, and he heard of work in the Port Arthur oil refineries. Nearby Beaumont, Texas, was home of the Lucas Gusher prompting an oil boom in East Texas in 1901. Port Arthur was a growing town which catered to the oil industry. Leaving Emilie with the five children in Jeanerette for a few months in late 1910, he went to Port Arthur. After he found work, Emilie took the train from Jeanerette to Texas with the children in 1911 to join Luke. Luke worked as a carpenter at the Texas Company (later known as Texaco), an oil refinery. Margaret was born 16 November 1911 followed by Charles (Charlie) Luke Provost on 12 September 1913.[35]
When they first arrived in Port Athur, they rented at 224 6th Street along with Joseph Provost who most likely was Emilie’s brother.[36] They then moved to 1040 Dallas Avenue and rented a house. Luke and Joseph worked at the Texas Company. Emilie’s brother Armand had recently arrived and was working as a carpenter.[37] As other family members moved to Port Arthur, they may have stayed with Emilie and Luke until they found their own homes.
In 1914, Emilie’s mother lived with them at the Dallas Avenue home. Luke was employed as a carpenter.[38] Shortly thereafter, they moved to 932 Austin Avenue and Luke continued working for the Texas Company.[39]
In 1915, Luke took out a loan for $200.00 to buy Lot 10 Block 23 in Port Arthur. Payments were $5 a month for 35 months at 7% interest. A lien was also made on 8 April 1915 in the sum of $170 at 10% interest and Emilie signed the lien as Mrs. L. Provost along with Luke. C. Patrick contracted to make improvements to the lot, which must have been the house at 827 11th Street.[40] Was the house completed before the hurricane struck in August 1915 or were they still renting on Austin Avenue? Emile told Katherine (Kitten) Hill eight feet of water was in their home. The family evacuated to the Franklin School after storing the furniture in the attic.[41]
After Emilie’s death, her mother lived with Luke and the children until she died 23 January 1918.[42] Earl married four months after his mother died and moved out of the house.[43] Luke asked his sister and his brother-in-law, Malvina and O’Neil Provost, to move in to help with the children. They had one child still living at home with them, O’Neil, who was about five years old.[44] The three-bedroom house must have been crowded with three adults and six children ranging in ages from five to sixteen years old in it.[45]
Though Emilie died young, she must have left a lasting impression on her children. Her children grew up close to each other and looked out for each other. She had twenty-nine grandchildren. At least nine of her grandchildren are still living at the time of this writing. The grandchildren knew each other and grew up together and had lasting relationships. Truly, a great tribute for a woman who was taken too soon from her family.
Figure 1 Adapted from the map entitled “18th Edition Golden Triangle Telephone Directory,” undated with no copyright citation. This map shows where Emilie and Luke Provost lived between 1911 and 1917 in Port Arthur, Texas. The red star indicates the last home where Emilie lived as well as the home that became the home of her son Emile Provost for approximately 50 years. Other locations on the map are the homes of Emilie’s siblings or cousins in 1916.
[1]“Bexar. Death Certificates August 1917-September 1917,” database with images, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9Y1J-9P17?view=index&lang=en&groupId= : viewed 13 October 2025), certificate image Mrs. Emily Provost, 6 September 1917, no. 164, stamped 25446, citing “Texas State Board of health Bureau of Vital Statistics, Image 2008 of 3,363.
[2] Katherine Hill, The Provost Family Tree: Marie Jeanne Prevost and Nicholas Provost of Jeanerette, Louisiana (Goliad, Texas, 2000) p. 28.
[3] Katherine Hill, The Provost Family Tree: Marie Jeanne Prevost and Nicholas Provost of Jeanerette, Louisiana (Goliad, Texas, 2000) p. 29.
[4] “Bexar. Death Certificates August 1917-September 1917,” Mrs. Emily Provost.
[5] “Bexar. Death Certificates August 1917-September 1917,” Mrs. Emily Provost.
[6] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, p. 29.
[7] Ibid. p. 28-29.
[8] 1900 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Jeanerette, p. 17 (penciled), enumeration district (ED) 38, dwelling 347 (corrected), family 349 (corrected), Provost, Armide; NARA microfilm publication T623, Roll 565 ; FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6Q5S-WN5?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMS5W-NZ4&action=view&cc=1325221&lang=en&groupId=M92X-H26 : viewed 13 October 2025).
[9] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, p. 11.
[10] 1860 U.S. census, St. Martin, Louisiana, Slave Schedule, Attakapas, p. 6 (penciled), Nicholas Provost, owner or manager; NARA microfilm publication M653, record group 29, imaged, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7668/images/lam653_431-0326?pId=93075887 : viewed 13 October 2025)
[11] 1860 U.S. census, St. Mary, Louisiana, population schedule, Attakapas, p. 15 (penned), dwelling 102, family 102, Nicholas Provost, planter; NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 425; imaged, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBS4-3QM?view=explore : 19 October 2025), image 19 of 469.
[12] In the 1860 census, Nicholas Provost’s real estate was valued at $35,000 but in the 1870 census, there is no real estate or personal estate values recorded. 1860 U.S. census, St. Mary, La, pop. Sch., Attakapas, p. 15 (penned), dwell. 102, fam. 102, Nicholas Provost and 1870 U.S. census, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Pattersonville Post Office, p. 8 (penned), dwelling 81, family 74, Provost, Nicholas; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6W2S-JH?view=explore : viewed Oct 19, 2025), image 458 of 616; citing NARA microfilm publication M653, Roll 425.
[13] “Louisiana Confederate Pensions, 1898-1950,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939F-VZS8-1J?view=explore: 13 October 2025), Entry for Marie Armide Judice Provost and Nicholas Provost, 1 Aug 1914.images 1475 to 1484 of 1,496.
[14] Maurine Bergerie, They Tasted Bayou Water: A Brief History of Iberia Parish (New Orleans, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Co., 1962) p. 62; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/864238/?offset=1&return=1#page=1&viewer=picture&o=info&n=0&q= : viewed 13 October 2025).
[15] “First Ward White League,” The Louisiana Sugar-Bowl,” 23 July 1874, p.1, col. 4; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-louisiana-sugar-bowl-frist-ward-whit/182905899/?xid=637&_gl=1*1vyqpjz*_gcl_au*MTIzNDU0Njc4MS4xNzU4MTU1NTkw*_ga*Njg5NTIyMTU0LjE3NTgxNTU1OTE.*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*czVhZDFjNzViLTAwMjEtNGM1Yy1hZWM3LTU2YTZlNDNmMjhiZSRvNzgkZzEkdDE3NjE0MzcyNTckajU5JGwwJGgw*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*czVhZDFjNzViLTAwMjEtNGM1Yy1hZWM3LTU2YTZlNDNmMjhiZSRvNzgkZzEkdDE3NjE0MzcyNTckajU5JGwwJGgw : viewed 13 October 2025).
[16] 1880 U.S. census, Iberia, Louisiana, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 26, p. 29th(penciled) 309 A (stamped), dwelling 40, family 51, Provost, Nicolas; Archive.org https://archive.org/details/10thcensus0453unit/page/n829/mode/2up : viewed 19 October 2025) citing NARA microform publication T9, roll 453; image 830 of 835.
[17] Hill, The Provost Family Tree. The Provost family tree reveals the Borels Judice, Pellerin, and Provost families intermarried throughout the earlier generations.
[18] Michael R. Rogers, From the Illinois County to the Bayou Teche Country: With the Provosts and Quebedeaus (Michael R. Rogers, Jeanerette, Louisiana, 2002) p. 98.
[19] “Improvements at Jeanerette,” The Louisiana Sugar-Bowl,” 26 July 1877, p. 2, col. 3; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/333130606/?match=1 ; 13 October 2025).
[20] Maurine Bergerie, They Tasted Bayou Water: A Brief History of Iberia Parish (New Orleans, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Co., 1962); digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/864238/?offset=1&return=1#page=1&viewer=picture&o=info&n=0&q= : viewed 13 October 2025).
[21] 1900 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Jeanerette, p. 17 (penciled), enumeration district (ED) 38, dwelling 347 (corrected), family 349 (corrected), Provost, Armide; NARA microfilm publication T623, Roll 565 ; FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6Q5S-WN5?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMS5W-NZ4&action=view&cc=1325221&lang=en&groupId=M92X-H26 : viewed 13 October 2025).
[22] Maurine Bergerie, They Tasted Bayou Water: A Brief History of Iberia Parish (New Orleans, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Co., 1962) p. 62; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/864238/?offset=1&return=1#page=1&viewer=picture&o=info&n=0&q= : viewed 13 October 2025).
[23] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, p. 12-13.
[24] Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Clerk of Court, Marriage Record A-3 Iberia Parish Marriage License, 5700-3, Luke Provost-Emilie Provost, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-BQ9T-RJ?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQKJW-CNQB&action=view&cc=1807364&lang=en&groupId= : viewed 6 October 2025; citing Image Group Number: 004705592. See also, Hill, The Provost Family Tree Certificate of Marriage, St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette, Louisiana, Luke Provost and Emily Provost, 21 September 1897.
[25] 1900 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Jeanerette, p. 17 (penciled), enumeration district (ED) 38, dwelling 347 (corrected), family 349 (corrected), Provost, Armide; NARA microfilm publication T623, Roll 565 ; FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6Q5S-WN5?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMS5W-NZ4&action=view&cc=1325221&lang=en&groupId=M92X-H26 : viewed 13 October 2025).
[26] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, p. 2. Emilie is reported to have lost one child in the 1900 U.S. census when the question of how many had been born and how many were living. If a child was stillborn, it was not counted in the census. 1900 U.S. census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Jeanerette, p. 17 (penciled), enumeration district (ED) 38, dwelling 347 (corrected), family 349 (corrected), Provost, Armide; NARA microfilm publication Roll 565 ; FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6Q5S-WN5?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMS5W-NZ4&action=view&cc=1325221&lang=en&groupId=M92X-H26 : viewed 13 October 2025).
[27] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, p. 2.
[28] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, “Memories,” p. 1.
[29] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, “Memories,” p. 2.
[30] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, “Memories,” p. 1.
[31] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, “Memories,” p. 1
[32] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, “Memories,” p. 2.
[33] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, “Memories,” p. 1-2.
[34] 1910 U.S. Census, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Police Jury Ward Eight excluding Jeanerette, p. 5172 (inked), enumeration district (ED) 23, Sheet 8A, dwelling 131, family 131, Provost, Luke; NARA microfilm publication T624, roll 514; accessed via “Louisiana United States records,” image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RVL-K9Y?view=explore&lang=en&groupId=TH-1951-23061-10600-46 : Oct 19, 2025: viewed 19 October 2025) ), image 1345 of 1450.
[35] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, p.2.
[36]John F. Worley Directory Co., compiler, Worley’s Directory Port Arthur, TX 1911-12 (Port Arthur, Texas: John F. Worley Directory Co. 1911-12) p. 136; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-NQ9P-K9FB-Y?cat=koha%3A1124842&i=82&lang=en : 7 October 2025).
[37] John F. Worley Directory Co., compiler, Worley’s Directory Port Arthur, TX 1913 (Port Arthur, Texas: John F. Worley Directory Co. 1913) p. 167; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-PQ9P-K9ZY-F?cat=koha%3A1124842&i=198&lang=en : 7 October 2025).
[38] John F. Worley Directory Co., compiler, Worley’s Directory Port Arthur, TX 1914 (Port Arthur, Texas: John F. Worley Directory Co. 1914) p. 189; digital image, FamilySearch https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-GQ9P-K96F-3?cat=koha%3A1124842&i=327&lang=en : viewed 7 October 2025).
[39] John F. Worley Directory Co., compiler, Worley’s Directory Port Arthur, TX 1914-15 (Port Arthur, Texas: John F. Worley Directory Co. 1915) p. 174; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-8Q9P-2SSR?cat=koha%3A1124842&i=436&lang=en : viewed 7 October 2025).
[40] Holland Texas Hypotheek Bank, Lot Sale Receipt signed by L. Provost, dated 2 February 1915 and Vendor’s Lien Notice signed by L. Provost and Mrs. L. Provost, dated 8 April 1915. Both documents privately held by the author, Seekonk, Massachusetts.
[41] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, “Memories,” p.3.
[42] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, p. 28.
[43] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, p. 2
[44] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, p. 24.
[45] Hill, The Provost Family Tree, “Memories,” p.3.