Les Creoles et Familles Metis de la Ville Platte, de la Louisiane by J. LaFleur II, 2014 Founded by former Napoleonic French soldier Marcellin Garand of the Savoy region of France, who was later joined by many other former colonial soldiers and 19th century French immigrant families to this area such as the Flaugeac, DeRouen, DeBaillon, Van Hille, Bordelon, Picard, LeBas and Coreil families and including Saint-Domingue Creole families of Demourelle, Coulon, Boulet, Domengeaux, Morein, Brunet, Barre and many more. At the time of Marcellin Garands arrival in Ville Platte which was a mere French-Indian trading post outside the Postes des Opelousas, many Colonial French & Canadian metis & creole families-descendants of the coureurs des bois -were already settled here. Marcellin operated a post office and inn where many French soldiers gathered to play card, trade and drink. The site was evidently pre-owned by a wealthy Irishman of O Donegan family name from whom Garand purchased his lots. The upper northwestern parishes we now know as part the upper northwestern Creole French-speaking triangle included Natchitoches, Avoyelles, St. Landry and Pointe Coupee-already centers of French Creole & metis culture since the end of the French & Indian War ended with Britains success in 1763. The result of this British victory caused the Illinois metis and North American French creole populations of Ardoin, Catoire, Deculus, Deshotels, Dupre, Pruhomme, Saucier and Vidrine, Dupre families and others to seek refuge in the territory of Orleans along with their other French-Indian creole & metis relatives-black, white and red-from other regions of this vast Louisiana Purchase area known as la Nouvelle France. This area included the modern States of Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas and including parts of Texas. These colonial families included Arvie, Brignacs, Fontenot, Frilot, Duplechain, LaFleur, La Branche, Henry, Buhler, Chapman, Guillory, DeVille, Leger, LeMelle, Milano-Hebert, Mayeux, Picard, Poullard, Prudhomme, Folse, Veillon, Semien, Sensat, Sittig, Soileau and later Fuselier and many other Louisiana surnames-all non-Acadian in origin. Spanish family surnames of Ortego, Rozas, Aguillard, Manuel, Sebastian and Hidalgo continue to remind us of the unique Creole and Latin culture of this remarkable area. But, not to be overlooked were also the Germans, (Schexnayder, Miller/Mueller, Arsenault/Arceneaux, Buller/Buhler, Volse/Folse, Hoffpauer, Reed/Reid), Irish, (OConnor, Mc Kinney, McBride, Daire, O Donegan, McGee), Italian (Pierotti, Boagn and Marcantel) and yes, American families (Johnson, Andrus, Smith, Walker), who were also to become a part of the colorful and diverse ethnic weave or braid of the historic Louisiana French & metis creole families. This most southerly part of what had been la Nouvelle France is now the State of Louisiana, since Napoleon sold the Louisiana Purchase territory to Thomas Jefferson in 1803, and which was to be the final destination of these French Creole, metis and Afro-Creole families-long before the arrival of the poor Acadians. This last group of Old World French-speaking people to arrive in Franco-Spanish Louisiana were to learn and adopt all of Louisianas multi-ethnic Creole & metis food, social and linguistic traditions as their own; thus, embracing a new Louisiana-based creole identity and culture. Louisiana, the American State was born in 1812. The Acadians, as a group were not settled in this upper northwestern French-speaking part of our State, with few exceptions such as the Francois Pitre family. And, this family chose the Creole planters way of life over the care free existence of the Acadian families of the Acadian Coast, (Donaldsonville, Baton Rouge, Morgan City to New Iberia to Pierre-Part, Louisiana), who refused to participate as a class- in their new and adopted homeland of la louisiane and did not contribute or significantly influence the already-existing multi-ethnic French Creole-metis culture or Creole French of Latin Louisiana. The exceptions, of course, being among notable families such as the Pitres, Broussards and Moutons to name a few who happily adopted their new Creole identity and culture. Contrary to popular myth, the Creoles did not lose or trade their/our pre-Acadian culture or language for any mythical Cajun or Acadian-based culture. We still exist as Creoles and speak the same old Colonial French w/ its Choctaw patois as we always have and our food culture has never been Acadian but, continues to reflect all of the pre-Acadian ethnic contributions of our long metis, French, Germanic, African and Spanish creole influences-both linguistically and culturally. The presumption that somehow 2500-3000 Acadian settlers gradually imported over 20 years, and who were limited to specific geographical settlements of pre-existing diverse metis and creole peoples, and sometimes far apart, numbering to at least 30,000, is an ideological, but politically- and commercially-created myth which cannot be supported by objective historical, cultural and linguistic reality. Shown below is an original 5ft.x 12ft. oil on canvas La Grande Rue de la Ville Platte en 1902 by John laFleur II. Commissioned by the Evangeline Bank & Trust Co. of Ville Platte in 1984, their original bank is seen below. The Old Bank is now beautifully restored and is used as a reception/banquet hall. It is owned by Pam & Shawn McGee of Ville Platte. Below also is the later replacement tombstone of Marcellin Garand, French Napoleonic soldier-founder of Ville Platte, Louisiana as seen in Le Vieux Cimitiere de la Ville Platte/Old Cemetery of Ville Platte, La. It was a gift of attorney, Creole-activist and founder/editor of the Ville Platte Gazette. (5 photos)
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 17:26:40 +0000
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