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It's quite a story.
The story of Louis Joseph Paul Antoine Garrigues de Flaugeac began
Sept. 5, 1780, in Montfaucon, France, where he was born to Jean Charles
and Marie Jeanne Sabrejon. His father was a Field Marshal and body guard
to King Louis XVI.
De Flaugeac began his military career with
Napoleon's Dragoons taking part in the Italian Campaign. After Italy, he
served in the San Domingo expedition.
Most of the army would die
of yellow fever, but the willful de Flaugeac survived. He was, however,
wounded, captured and then sent to a British prison camp in Cuba.
When
peace was declared, the British put him on a ship to sail back to
France. But a storm threw the ship off course and de Flaugeac and his
comrades ended up in the Gulf of Mexico, where they were picked up by an
American ship headed to New Orleans.
In January of 1805,
Garrigues met Poste de Opelousas resident Grand Louis Fontenot, who was
in New Orleans on business. Fontenot encouraged de Flaugeac and his
companions, Benoit Van Hille and Jean Marie De Ballion, to travel back
to Opelousas and build a home and prosper on the area's fertile soil.
In
August, de Flaugeac married Marie Louise Fontenot, daughter of Grand
Louis Fontenot and Marie Joseph Fontenot. Meanwhile two other daughters
of Grand Louis and Marie Joseph would marry de Flageac's comrades. In
1815, Benoit Van Hille married Caroline Fontenot. Jean Marie De Baillion
married Marie Josephe Nicette Fontenot.
De Flaugeac settled into his new town becoming a surveyor, landowner and judge.
He even joined Stephen W. Wikoff, George King, Eliakim Little and Benoit Vanhille as owners of the Opelousas Steamboat Company.
When
Louisiana became a state in 1812, de Flaugeac was elected a state
senator from Opelousas. As a senator, he was not obliged to fight in the
War of 1812, but General Andrew Jackson sought him out because he was
an experienced artillery military officer.
In the Battle of New
Orleans at Chalmette, de Flaugeac took center position of the line.
Research indicates that his discharge of grape shot artillery wounded
and then killed British Commander Edward Packinham.
"The account
of the commander's death coincides with Garrigues shooting him," said
Harvey Weir, descendent of de Flaugeac. Senator de Flaugeac returned to
his family. He died in 1845 and is buried in St. Landry Catholic
Cemetery, where his gravesite his marked with a marble table top. (Read entire article.)
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3 comments:
Garrigues Flaujac is my 4th great grandfather! I love his story. I'm a direct descendant of his only son Adolph Garrigues de Flaujac. His daughter Lise Garrigues DeJean is my Great Great grandmother. My father, my great uncle and my brother are all named Garrigues A DeJean. Very proud of my roots.
High Stacey deJean--I am Garrigues H. Andrus Jr., and Garrigues de Flaujac is my 3rd great-grandfather as he is of James C. Andrus(my brother) I,too am a direct descendant of Adolph Garrigues. I just recently met a cousin, Jacqueline Laird, from New York, who came to Opelousas to visit in February. I am planning to visit her at her and her husband's lodge in the Catskill Mountains at the end of July/first of August.I will give her your name, if you don't mind, and maybe you can communicate. Garrigues de Flaujac is also her 4th great grandfather. Your cousin, Garrigues
My apologies for the delay in the response. It’s so exciting to find relatives on my paternal side. I would love to hear from all of my Garrigues cousins. I hope the visit went well at the Catskills last year and please reach out when you can. My Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/staceyangeliquedejean. I also have a Garrigues/DeJean Family page (it’s definitely a work I’m progress). The purpose of that page is to connect the relationships of the pioneer families of Louisiana. Contact me through Facebook if possible. Thanks so much for responding.
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