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1850 United States Federal Census
Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
259-303
BROUSSARD, Edouard 58m Planter;
Seraphine 50f;
Leo 18m;
Frederick 16m;
Aurelien 14m;
Drosin 12m;
Joseph 10m;
Denise8m;
Emisia 6f
========================================================
BROUSSARD HISTORY 1830 - Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
BY: NOLA MAE ROSS American Press Writer
Publication: American Press
Publication Date: 11/11/1990 Page and Section: 1 CT
Submitted by Kathy Tell
When Eduard and Seraphine Broussard left St. Martin Parish and entered Imperial
Calcasieu in the 1830s, they found their dreamland near Lake Arthur an abundance
of water and firewood and trees to build a home. Thousands of ducks and
geese flew above the nearby marshland just perfect to make gumbo. In the
surrounding waterways, fish were plentiful. And schooners brought coffee, tea,
sugar, tools and piece goods from the outside world. By 1850, a few
Catholic priests were visiting the outpost where the Broussard's settled, and
some of the neighborhood settlers were building small schools and hiring
teachers, even some from France. About this time, the first parish sheriff,
Johnson Moss, was appointed, but due to the size of Imperial Calcasieu Parish,
it is doubtful that he ever made it to the area where the Broussard's lived.
The Calcasieu Parish courthouse/jail was at Marion, on a river bluff seven miles
northeast of Lake Charles. At that time, Lake Charles boasted about two-dozen
families, and the main business in the village was making shingles by hand, with
a drawknife. The Broussards had eight sons: Rene, Raphael, Leo, Frederic,
Orelien, Derosin, Joseph and Dennis; and five daughters, Josephine, Carmelite,
Marcelitte, Amelie and Emma. It is mostly their descendants that make up the
hundreds of Broussard families in Jeff Davis and Calcasieu parishes today.
Mrs. Eduard Seraphine Broussard was a popular mid-wife. In those days, midwifery
was one of the few ways a woman could make a living. Her pay was about $2 per
baby, and she played an important role in recording births. Several sons of
Eduard stayed in the Lake Arthur area, among them Frederic and Rene. Frederic
joined Captain Todd's Prairie Rangers of the Louisiana Calvary in 1862.
Another son of Eduard was Raphael, who married the daughter of a famous cowboy
from Big Lake. Eloi Hebert had come from the east to the Hayes area, where he
herded cattle for prominent cattle owners around Abbeville. Eloi and his sons
had a reputation of being ''good with wild cattle'' and were much in demand.
Eloi Hebert moved his family to Big Pasture, and his daughter, Aspasie, married
Raphael Broussard. The children of Aspasie and Raphael Broussard were Jean
Baptist, Rene, Soraphia, Carmelite, Amelia, Celestine, Ozeia and Raphael.
This second Raphael married Zelda Babino (Babineaux) and they headed west in
1880. They found their ideal homestead near ''Little Lake'' that later was named
Prien Lake for Cyprien Duhon, who had settled near it in 1820. By the time
Broussard was granted his homestead of 163 acres in 1884, there were at least
two sawmills in the area. The Duhon-Burleson Mill stood where the Lake Charles
Country Club is located today, and the Stout Mill was nearby. Broussard could
cut trees from his own land, have them sawed and then use them to build his
home. Ducks, geese and fish were still plentiful, and the virgin soil was
just begging for vegetables to grow. There was a prairie to the southeast where
Broussard's herd of cattle could roam. And nearby lived families named Duhon,
Ogea, Reon, Benoit, Fargue, Granger, Burleson, Guidry and Hebert. By 1884,
Lake Charles had a mayor, Adolph Meyer, and David John Reid had just defeated
D.H. Lyons in the sheriff's race. The courthouse and jail had been floated down
the Calcasieu River from Marion to Lake Charles by Jacob Ryan. Next to the
relocated courthouse, on South Court Street, was J. LeFranc's Dance Hall, where
fais-do-dos were held every Saturday night. Calcasieu had organized its
first school board, and John McNeese had arrived in Lake Charles in 1873. He was
named superintendent of parish schools in 1889. The Broussard children had a
long walk, but they d Burleson School, which was located on Country Club Road
and funded by the school board. Norman Sanner of Sulphur, great-grandson of
pioneer Raphael Broussard, recalls the family farm. ''They raised all their
food, made their own soap and even had a syrup mill,'' he said. The syrup
mill is also vividly remembered by a granddaughter, Mrs. O.B. (Salene Duhon)
Byler. ''Grandpa Broussard made the best cane syrup I've ever tasted,'' she
said. ''People came from miles around, some as far away as Chloe, their wagons
loaded with sugar cane, for grandpa to make into syrup.'' The cane was
shoved into the grinder, and then a horse walked around and around, grinding it.
When the juice was cooked, it was poured into brand-new gallon cans and lids put
on. ''The farmers usually paid grandpa in syrup, letting him keep a share
for making it. After he'd given all the family what they needed for the next
year, he'd sell the rest for about 50 cents a gallon.'' I remember my
grandfather driving his two-seat hack to town each Saturday o take my Aunt May
to St. Patrick Hospital. There, she picked up uniforms from the live-in nursing
students. She'd bring them home, wash, starch and iron them, then take them back
the next Saturday. I believed she charged about ten cents per uniform.
''Another granddaughter, Mrs. Ambrose (Mary) Duhon, said, ''Grandma Zelda
Broussard was quite a shoe-repairer. I remember helping her as she fixed our
shoes. She'd put them on her shoe form, then cut out a piece of leather with a
sharp knife and nail it to the shoes. She even made new soles. ''She'd also
make all of grandpa's shirts, which were called jumpers then, from ten-cent-per-
yard denim. She couldn't speak English, but all the family spoke French, so she
had no trouble with communication. ''When grandpa would take me into town
in his hack, he'd park it and the horses at Mrs. Seger's house on Peake Street.
Then we'd walk the rest of the way to town.'' ''Treaters'' were also a
vital part of the early Broussard family since they lived in a rural area where
doctors were often impossible to get. Although ''treaters'' and most of the
pioneers were aware of the healing powers of sassafras tea, mamou root and
medicinal herbs, they had other methods of treating the sick. Today a
Broussard granddaughter, Mrs. Audrey Taimer) Pizanie, carries on the ''treater''
tradition she learned from her mother. ''We have certain prayers that we
say for the sick, and for people who are hurting,'' she says. ''We say different
prayers for different illnesses. Some people call me and ask me to say a special
prayer for them over the phone.'' The Raphael Broussard's have five
daughters: Eliza Duhon, Mary Duhon, May Broussard, Ozeia Lyons and Eva Sanner.
There are four grandchildren still living in this area: Harold Duhon, Mrs.
Taimer Pizanie, Mrs. Salene Byler and Mrs. Mary Duhon. A great-
granddaughter, Mrs. Robert (Margaret) Hebert of Big Lake, recalls: ''I
especially remember going to Raphael and Zelda Broussard's for Thanksgiving and
Christmas when all of the very large family would get together.'' Today
there are many family descendants in this area who still hold dear the
traditions and values that were brought to Calcasieu by the Broussards over 150
years ago.
=================================================
1850 United States Federal Census
Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
256-300 LE BLANC, Don Louis 38m Planter;
Josephine 29f;
Joseph 6m;
Eusebe 3m;
Lisemine 13f;
Jean 17m;
Pierre 20m Laborer;
Leon 5/20 m
======================================================
1860 United States Federal Census
Name: Don Louis Leblan
Age in 1860: 47
Birth Year: abt 1813
Birthplace: Saint Martin
Home in 1860: Opelousas, St Landry, Louisiana
Gender: Male
Post Office: Grand Coteau
Value of real estate: View image
Household Members: Name Age
Don Louis Leblan 47
Josephine Broussar 32
Joseph Leblane 16
Usebe Leblane 13
Leon Leblane 9
Dolse Leblane 6
Raphael Leblane 2
====================================================
1860 United States Federal Census
about Charlotte Leblane
Name: Charlotte Leblane
Age in 1860: 33
Birth Year: abt 1827
Birthplace: Avoyelles
Home in 1860: Opelousas, St Landry, Louisiana
Race: Mulatto
Gender: Female
Post Office: Grand Coteau
Value of real estate: View image
Household Members: Name Age
Charlotte Leblane 33
Elisabeth Guillory 10
Zeolide Guillory 6
Etienne Guillory 5
William Guillory 2
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