You are here

DeClouet Family Papers

Collection 22

DeClouet Family. Papers, 1811–1917

1.5 feet

The collection consists mainly of letters to Paul DeClouet, son of Alexander DeClouet, Sr. (1812-1890) of St. Martinville, Louisiana. Paul was a student in Virginia, a volunteer in the Confederate army, and a farmer in St. Martinville after the war. For a time in 1862 he and his brother, Alexander, Jr. were prisoners-of-war. The letters usually deal with domestic and personal matters. Some touch upon national politics including the Confederate Congress (to which Alexander DeClouet, Sr. was a delegate) and the Civil War. Major correspondents are Paul's parents, his siblings Alex Jr., Blanche, and Gabrielle, and after the war, his wife, Jane Roman DeClouet. Most of the letters were written in French. The collection also contains the legal agreement between the DeClouet family and their former slaves executed in 1866. There are also a number of documents concerning expenses of family members during Reconstruction.

Typescripts of all documents including translations of the letters in French are available. These were provided by Thomas Favrot, Jr. The typescripts include documents from the DeClouet Family Papers at Tulane [1854-1858] and papers in the possession of Mrs. Marty Sims [1849-1858, 1875 legal document.]

Series:

A. Correspondence  
  1. Family Correspondence 1-01 through 1-24
  2. Friends' Correspondence 1-25 through 1-29
B. Records  
  1. Financial Records 1-30 through 1-40
  2. Legal Document 2-01
  3. Miscellaneous Records 2-02 through 2-05
C. Writings 2-06 through 2-08
D. Newspaper Clippings 2-09 and 2-10
E. Photographs 2-11
F. Miscellaneous 2-12
G. Typescripts Box 3

Inventory:

A. Correspondence
1. Family Correspondence
  [personal matters unless otherwise noted]
1-01 1811: Etienne DeClouet [Alexander DeClouet's father] to his wife, Aspasie DeClouet (unsigned)
1-02 1830-1831: Alexander DeClouet, Sr. to family members from Europe
1-03 1832: Alexander DeClouet, Sr. to family members
1-04 1836
1-05 1854-59: Benoit St. Clair and his wife, Henriette Lebreten St. Clair to their nephew, Paul DeClouet
1-06 1854-59: Alexander DeClouet to his son, Paul
  [See also: 2-02]
1-07 1857-59: Louise DeClouet to her son, Paul
1-08 1857-59: Blanche DeClouet to her brother, Paul
1-09 1859: Alexander DeClouet Jr. to his brother, Paul
1-10 1859: Gabrielle and Christine DeClouet to their brother, Paul [with additions from other family members]
1-11 1860: Alexander or Louise DeClouet to their son, Paul
1-12 1860: Alexander DeClouet Jr. to Paul
1-13 1860: Blanche, Gabrielle and Christine DeClouet to their brother, Paul
1-14 1860: Alfred Lastrapes, a cousin, to Paul
1-15 1861: Alexander and or Louise DeClouet to their children, mainly Paul
1-16 1861: Blanche, Gabrielle and Christine DeClouet to their brother, Paul [some of letters include notes from one of his parents]
1-17 1861-62: Alexander DeClouet, Jr. to his brother, Paul
1-18 1861-62: Alexander DeClouet, Sr. from his wife or children
1-19 1864: Alexander DeClouet, Sr. to his sons and his aunt, Josephine DeClouet de l'Homme
1-20 1876: Jane Roman DeClouet to her husband, Paul
1-21 1876: Edwidge Lauve [friend] and Charles Wright DeClouet [son] to Paul
1-22 1881: Edmond Jabet to his cousin, Alexander DeClouet Jr.
1-23 1893-94: George Henry DeClouet to his aunt, Blanche DeClouet
1-24 undated: fragments
 
A. Correspondence
2. Friends' Correspondence
1-25 1860 Jan., 1862: W. C. Shaumburg and C. W. Gay to Paul
1-26 1860-61: Leon Sere (Darby and Tremoulet firm, New Orleans) to Paul
1-27 1861: M. L. Gay and C. S. Gay to Paul and/or Alexander DeClouet, Jr.
1-28 1861-62: letters to Paul and/or Alexander, Jr.
1-29 1862: unsigned letters to Paul and/or Alexander, Jr.
 
B. Records
1. Financial
1-30 1817: receipt from estate auction sale of Etienne DeClouet
1-31 1859-60: bills incurred by Paul DeClouet
1-32 1860-61: receipts from University of Virginia concerning expenses of Paul DeClouet
1-33 1861: bills incurred by Paul DeClouet, includes letter [with bill] from W. M. Dinwiddie
1-34 1876-78: bills incurred by Alexander DeClouet, Jr. with Mrs. Fenwick, a seamstress
1-35 1879: bill for Paul DeClouet from Mrs. Fenwick
1-36 1880-84: accounts of Alex and Paul DeClouet with Mrs. Fenwick
1-37 1883-84: accounts of Alex and Paul DeClouet with Mlle. P. Allain and partial expenses of Paul for 1884
1-38 1884-86: accounts of Blanche and Christine DeClouet for seamstress work
1-39 1887: accounts of Blanche DeClouet for seamstress work
1-40 1896: receipt from Dr. J. D. Trahan to Paul DeClouet
 
B. Records
2. Legal Document
2-01 1866: agreement between freedmen on DeClouet plantation in St. Martin Parish and Alexander DeClouet, Sr.
 
B. Records
3. Miscellaneous Records
2-02 1858-59: items from school Paul attended in Virginia; one has a letter from Alexander, Sr. on the back
2-03 1859: invitation to the Fourth of July celebration with a letter from the family of Irving Howard, to Paul and Alexander DeClouet [photocopy]
2-04 1860: invitation from Mr. and Mrs. Cochran to Mr. and Mrs. DeClouet
2-05 1860: printed instructions on enrolling in Brookland School in Virginia
 
C. Writings
2-06 n.d.: booklet of questions of Brown's philosophy and also a thesis on rhetoric written by Alexander DeClouet
2-07 n.d.: speech written by the grandson of Paul L. DeClouet on behalf of the dedication of a building in the honor of his grandfather at SLII typescript, 3 pp.
2-08 n.d.: " The Inquiry." poem by Paul Henry DeClouet, typed, 1 p.
 
D. Newspaper Clippings
2-09 1917: Oct. 16: " Maj. DeClouet Enthused Over Peace Jubilee " (no source); article of Paul DeClouet and the peace jubilee held in Vicksburg, Mississippi
2-10 [c. 1917]: "Life Story of the Real Evangeline Sadder Than That of Longfellow's Heroine ", no source
 
E. Photographs
2-11 Photographs: DeClouet family members and others
  some identified
 
F. Miscellaneous
2-12 1884: Information about birth and baptism of Louis Alfred Perrot, the godchild of Paul L. DeClouet and his sister, Blanche DeClouet
  sticker with coat-of-arms for Peru
  calling cards
 
G. Typescripts
Box 3 Typescripts of all documents including translations of the letters in French are available. These were provided by Thomas Favrot, Jr. The typescripts include documents from the DeClouet Family Papers at Tulane [1854-1858] and papers in the possession of Mrs. Marty Sims [1849-1858), 1875 legal document.]
3-01 Typescripts, 1811-1836
3-02 Typescripts, 1854-1860
3-03 Typescripts, 1860
3-04 Typescripts, 1861
3-05 Typescripts, 1862-1866
3-06 Typescripts, 1876-1879
3-07 Typescripts, 1880-1896
3-08 Typescripts, 1854-1858
3-09 Typescripts, 1849-1875