Lucia Provost (unknown to 1888) and Julianne Provost (about 1883 to 1888)
If there are guns, there will be accidental shootings and death resulting.
Nothing is sadder than when a child is the victim of an accidental shooting. Horribly, Mrs. Lucia Provost and her five-year-old daughter were killed by the same pistol ball in February 1888 in Rayne, Louisiana. The little girl accidentally knocked a loaded pistol from a mantle to the floor causing the gun to fire. The ball struck the girl and then the mother.[1] One newspaper that carried the story ended it with “The deplorable accident is to be much regretted, adding as it does two more victims to the long roll of tragedies for which the revolver and its silly ally ;[sic] the owner, is responsible.”[2] The commentary sounds familiar today given the number of deaths by accidental gunshots 138 years later.
My maternal grandfather’s grandmother was Malvina Lucia Harry Provost who was identified as Lucia Harry in her succession documents.[3] She was married to Leufroy Provost.[4] The succession record cites her date of death in 1886 in the Parish of Vermilion, Louisiana.[5] The succession record proves that the Lucia Provost who died in 1888 is not my great-great grandmother. As of this writing, I have not been able to identify how the Lucia Provost involved in the article may have been related to my grandfather’s family.[6]
[1] Untitled, The Lake Charles Echo, 10 February 1888, p. 1, col. 5; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/354098146/ : viewed 4 March 2025).
[2] “State News,” Lake Charles Commercial, 11 February 1888, p. 1, col. 7; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/319372364/ : viewed 4 March 2025).
[3] “State of Louisiana Twenty-Fifth Judicial District Court Parish of Vermilion No. 44 Succession of Lucia Harry,” Abbeville Meridional(Abbeville, Louisiana) 11 Aug 1888, p.2., col. 4; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/68051121/?match=1&clipping_id=187407452 : viewed 3 May 2026).
[4] Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records (1750-1900); Harry, Malvina Lucie (Gustave & d. Malvina Petit) m. 19 Mar 1866 Leufroy Provost (NI Ch.: v. 1, p.296).
[5] Succession documents indicate that Malvina Lucia Harry Provost died before 4 January 1886. Vermilion Parish Clerk of Court, No. 44, Succession of Lucia Harry, Vol. 1 of Successions p. 669-709, 16 November 1888. Copied images of the succession are in the possession of Sindi Broussard Terrien and were received from the Vermilion Parish Clerk of Court Diane Meaux Brousard 19 March 2026.
[6] Negative searches on Southwest Louisiana Records 1750-1900 using Lucia Provost/Prevost, Julianne Provost/Prevost, Rayne + 1888, Lucia + Rayne, etc. Additionally, negative searches when looking for a Lucia or Julianne Provost/Prevost on Ancestry, FamilySearch, and WikiTree.