French-Language Manuscript Materials
The imprint of French culture on Louisiana and the Lower Mississippi Valley has been deep and long lasting. French explorers and colonists were among the earliest Europeans to arrive in the region, beginning in the seventeenth century. Louisiana, named for Louis XIV, belonged to France for much of the 1700s and again from 1800 until it was sold to the United States in 1803. French settlers came to Louisiana both directly from France and indirectly from other areas. The latter included Acadians expelled from present-day Nova Scotia in the mid-eighteenth century and refugees from St. Domingue (present-day Haiti) in 1804. Some followers of Napoleon arrived in Louisiana after their leader's defeat in 1814. Other French immigrants came to Louisiana for a variety of reasons throughout the nineteenth century.
The French-language manuscript resources in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections (LLMVC) at LSU touch upon all these sources of French cultural influence. This guide to these resources includes descriptions of the papers of early colonists, French-speaking planters and free people of color in the nineteenth century, and residents of cities and towns like New Orleans and Natchitoches. The documents it describes came from farmers and merchants, writers and artists, women and men, the famous and the anonymous.
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Chatillon, Auguste de. Manuscript, 1845-1851. 1 item (typescript, 127 pages). Location: vault:4. 'Souvenir du sejour aux Etats-Unis d'un artiste fran?ais' (1845-1851). In French. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1478. Referenced in Guides: French
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Chatry, Jean L. F. Document, 1831 June 1. 1 item. Location: Misc. Will of Jean Louis Fran?ois Chatry, made in New Orleans, Louisiana. In French. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 66. Referenced in Guides: New Orleans to 1861, French
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Chatsworth Plantation store records, 1865-1893. 0.7 linear ft. Location: 33:33. Plantation in Louisiana purchased by the Gardere family in 1866 and managed by Fergus Gardere until 1895. Gardere also operated a cotton gin in partnership with Joseph Staring in the 1880s. Papers relate to the operation of the store and plantation at Chatsworth, and to the Gardere and Staring families. They include store ledgers recording accounts and payrolls. There is also material from a plantation journal in French and English. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 4589. |
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Chauveroy, Jean François Hipolite. Legal Document, 1783 Mar. 27. 1 item. Location: Misc.C. Legal document (in French) of mortmain, signed by Jean François Hipolite Chauveroy, attesting the subject is free of debt and mortgage and paid a sum of 99 livres in a sale. Mss. 5343. Referenced in Guides: French
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Chemin, Camille. Letter, 1938. 2 items. Location: Misc. French author and resident of Paris, France. Letter and calling card from Camille Ce [pseudonym]. In French. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 965. |