Barbin de Bellevue
Replies: 3
Re: Barbin de Bellevue
| PeteNormand1949 (View posts) | Posted: 6 Jul 2008 3:41AM GMT |
Classification: Query
Connie: I am also a descendant of Prosper Casimir Barbin, but then there are literally thousands of Americans that descend from him. I'd like to know if you find anything in your census search for 1810, 20 & 30. However, I suspect that, although he owned the Bellevue plantation down in Plaquemines Parish, he was probably residing more in New Orleans where he and his wife could have more of a social life than they would down at the plantation.
Mr. Manor Thorpe of Santa Barbara, Ca., another descendant of the Barbins, has compiled a massive volume of material on the Barbin family, and has done quite a bit of research on them.
Your dates and facts are a bit incorrect. Let me provide the following:
1) Louis Barbin was b. about 1650 at Melun, Seinve, France. His father was Jean Barbin I. Louis md. Marguerite Claire Chaabouille at Fountainbleu on 6/07/1682. Their son, Nicolas Godefroy Barbin came to Louisiana. Louis died in 1707 in France.
The Barbin family at Melun, like so many others, were employed at the nearby Royal Palace at Fontainbleu. The Palace must have been a huge operation, especially when the King (Louis XIV) was in residence, and it provided a lot of employment for the local community. (Sort of like having Disneyland in the neighborhood.) Undoubtedly, because of this employment, Louis caught the King's favor and, in 1703, Louis Barbin was given a commission as the "garde magazin" (quartermaster of the King's stores) at The Balize (the little collection of warehouses, wharves, and fortifications) at the mouth of the Mississippi. (It could also be argued that he had annoyed the King, who gave him this commission to get rid of him.) In 1703 it was still 15 years before New Orleans (or any permanent French settlement) existed up the Mississippi. At that time, the only French settlement in the area was Mobile. Nevertheless, Louis Barbin died four years later in 1707, and he never went to Louisiana.
2) Nicolas Godefroy Barbin was b. in 1682 at Monterau, France. He attended military school in Paris and was about 25 years old when his father died. At some point (most likely in the 1720's, after the formation of New Orleans, Nicolas took his father's 1703 Commission and sailed for Louisiana. We know that on 6/24/1735 Nicolas signed a marriage contract with the family of Helene Voisin at New Orleans. (In fact, he did not marry her for another seven years, probably because he had to finish his service at The Balise.) In the contract of marriage are listed several witnesses including none other than "Sieur de Bienville, the Royal Governor. After Bienville's name appear the words "sa cousin," or "his cousin," indicating that Nicolas was related to Bienville. Nicolas and Helene had eight or nine children. The youngest of these was Prosper Casimir Barbin, who was only a very small child when his father Nicolas died.
We also know that, in 1735 when he signed his marriage contract, Nicolas was serving as the "gardemagazin" at The Balise. How he had gained the position as gardemagazin and as "commissioner of the King" we don't know. Had he convinced those in authority at New Orleans that he was the "Barbin" listed in the commission of 1703? Or had that commission been somehow "renewed," naming Nicolas to the position? We may never know. The original Barbin Commission of 1703, signed by King Louis XIV and co-signed by his personal secretary "Colbert," is now in the possession of Manor Thorpe of Santa Barbara.
3) Prosper Casimir Barbin was b. in March 1756 and was baptized on 14 Nov. 1759 along with a younger half-sister, Helene Flore Delay Flotmanville. So we know that at the age of 3 years and 8 months, Prosper's mother had remarried to a Louis Michel Antoine Grenon, Sieur Flotmanville. In later court records we read that Prosper's grandfather, Pierre Voisin sued for custody of Prosper as his step-father was not taking proper care of him. It may be that Prosper's mother has died by this time and Flotmanville was living off of their inheritance.
Prosper Casimir Barbin, at the age of 20, was appointed a cadet in New Orleans in 1777. By that time Louisiana had become a Spanish territory and Prosper served for 27 years in the Army of Spain. A carabinier, and later a sublieutenant of grenadiers on 12 February 1792. During this time, in 1779 he fought under General Bernardo de Galvez against the English. Through this service, his descendants may gain admission to the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1780, he md. his cousin, Helene Modeste Guinault. Following his marriage, he and his wife were known around New Orleans as "the de Bellevues." Afterwards, Prosper added the estate name "de Bellevue" onto his full name, becoming Prosper Casimir Barbin de Bellevue.
Manor Thorpe and Harold Barbin of Houston have studied this matter in great detail. Some have speculated that the de Bellevue name came from a grant of land that Prosper received from the Spanish Crown for his military service. But Thorpe and Barbin disagree. They believe that after Prosper's grandfather, Pierre Voisin, died, that Prosper was adopted by a family friend, Rene de Bellevue who was living in New Orleans at the time. During the following ten-year period all mention of Prosper Barbin disappears from any records. The next mention is when he becomes a military cadet. Thorpe believes that after de Bellevue's death, that his estate, including the Bellevue plantation in Plaquemine's parish was inherited by Prosper who then took the name "de Bellevue" in honor of his adopted step-father.
It is also most likely that Prosper's older brothers and sisters were also adopted out and took the names of the families that adopted them. All the descendants of Nicolas Godefroy Barbin - all the "Barbin" descendants in Louisiana - trace their ancestry through Prosper Casimir Barbin. His older brothers and sisters all having changed their surnames.
Prosper Casimir Barbin de Bellevue and his wife Helene Modeste Guinault had six children: Eulalie, Josephine, Louis Jacques, Francois Godefroy, Clotilde, and Prosperite.
4) The third child listed above, Louis Jacques Barbin, was the recruiting officer for the city of New Orleans before the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. He later became a Parish Judge in Avoyelles Parish, La., and served for a time as the official translator for the Louisiana Legislature.
The fourth child listed above, Francois Godefroy Barbin, was a Marine Lieutenant and the Commander of the Marines under General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. He had a son named Francois Barbin who settled in Avoyelles Parish, La., and kept the name "de Bellevue." All the DeBellevue descendants of the Barbin family descend from him. One of those DeBellevue descendants is Charles B. "Chuck" DeBellevue, a former Air Force Navigator and Weapons System Officer, who was the second of three Air Force "Aces" of the Vietnam War.
Mr. Manor Thorpe of Santa Barbara, Ca., another descendant of the Barbins, has compiled a massive volume of material on the Barbin family, and has done quite a bit of research on them.
Your dates and facts are a bit incorrect. Let me provide the following:
1) Louis Barbin was b. about 1650 at Melun, Seinve, France. His father was Jean Barbin I. Louis md. Marguerite Claire Chaabouille at Fountainbleu on 6/07/1682. Their son, Nicolas Godefroy Barbin came to Louisiana. Louis died in 1707 in France.
The Barbin family at Melun, like so many others, were employed at the nearby Royal Palace at Fontainbleu. The Palace must have been a huge operation, especially when the King (Louis XIV) was in residence, and it provided a lot of employment for the local community. (Sort of like having Disneyland in the neighborhood.) Undoubtedly, because of this employment, Louis caught the King's favor and, in 1703, Louis Barbin was given a commission as the "garde magazin" (quartermaster of the King's stores) at The Balize (the little collection of warehouses, wharves, and fortifications) at the mouth of the Mississippi. (It could also be argued that he had annoyed the King, who gave him this commission to get rid of him.) In 1703 it was still 15 years before New Orleans (or any permanent French settlement) existed up the Mississippi. At that time, the only French settlement in the area was Mobile. Nevertheless, Louis Barbin died four years later in 1707, and he never went to Louisiana.
2) Nicolas Godefroy Barbin was b. in 1682 at Monterau, France. He attended military school in Paris and was about 25 years old when his father died. At some point (most likely in the 1720's, after the formation of New Orleans, Nicolas took his father's 1703 Commission and sailed for Louisiana. We know that on 6/24/1735 Nicolas signed a marriage contract with the family of Helene Voisin at New Orleans. (In fact, he did not marry her for another seven years, probably because he had to finish his service at The Balise.) In the contract of marriage are listed several witnesses including none other than "Sieur de Bienville, the Royal Governor. After Bienville's name appear the words "sa cousin," or "his cousin," indicating that Nicolas was related to Bienville. Nicolas and Helene had eight or nine children. The youngest of these was Prosper Casimir Barbin, who was only a very small child when his father Nicolas died.
We also know that, in 1735 when he signed his marriage contract, Nicolas was serving as the "gardemagazin" at The Balise. How he had gained the position as gardemagazin and as "commissioner of the King" we don't know. Had he convinced those in authority at New Orleans that he was the "Barbin" listed in the commission of 1703? Or had that commission been somehow "renewed," naming Nicolas to the position? We may never know. The original Barbin Commission of 1703, signed by King Louis XIV and co-signed by his personal secretary "Colbert," is now in the possession of Manor Thorpe of Santa Barbara.
3) Prosper Casimir Barbin was b. in March 1756 and was baptized on 14 Nov. 1759 along with a younger half-sister, Helene Flore Delay Flotmanville. So we know that at the age of 3 years and 8 months, Prosper's mother had remarried to a Louis Michel Antoine Grenon, Sieur Flotmanville. In later court records we read that Prosper's grandfather, Pierre Voisin sued for custody of Prosper as his step-father was not taking proper care of him. It may be that Prosper's mother has died by this time and Flotmanville was living off of their inheritance.
Prosper Casimir Barbin, at the age of 20, was appointed a cadet in New Orleans in 1777. By that time Louisiana had become a Spanish territory and Prosper served for 27 years in the Army of Spain. A carabinier, and later a sublieutenant of grenadiers on 12 February 1792. During this time, in 1779 he fought under General Bernardo de Galvez against the English. Through this service, his descendants may gain admission to the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1780, he md. his cousin, Helene Modeste Guinault. Following his marriage, he and his wife were known around New Orleans as "the de Bellevues." Afterwards, Prosper added the estate name "de Bellevue" onto his full name, becoming Prosper Casimir Barbin de Bellevue.
Manor Thorpe and Harold Barbin of Houston have studied this matter in great detail. Some have speculated that the de Bellevue name came from a grant of land that Prosper received from the Spanish Crown for his military service. But Thorpe and Barbin disagree. They believe that after Prosper's grandfather, Pierre Voisin, died, that Prosper was adopted by a family friend, Rene de Bellevue who was living in New Orleans at the time. During the following ten-year period all mention of Prosper Barbin disappears from any records. The next mention is when he becomes a military cadet. Thorpe believes that after de Bellevue's death, that his estate, including the Bellevue plantation in Plaquemine's parish was inherited by Prosper who then took the name "de Bellevue" in honor of his adopted step-father.
It is also most likely that Prosper's older brothers and sisters were also adopted out and took the names of the families that adopted them. All the descendants of Nicolas Godefroy Barbin - all the "Barbin" descendants in Louisiana - trace their ancestry through Prosper Casimir Barbin. His older brothers and sisters all having changed their surnames.
Prosper Casimir Barbin de Bellevue and his wife Helene Modeste Guinault had six children: Eulalie, Josephine, Louis Jacques, Francois Godefroy, Clotilde, and Prosperite.
4) The third child listed above, Louis Jacques Barbin, was the recruiting officer for the city of New Orleans before the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. He later became a Parish Judge in Avoyelles Parish, La., and served for a time as the official translator for the Louisiana Legislature.
The fourth child listed above, Francois Godefroy Barbin, was a Marine Lieutenant and the Commander of the Marines under General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. He had a son named Francois Barbin who settled in Avoyelles Parish, La., and kept the name "de Bellevue." All the DeBellevue descendants of the Barbin family descend from him. One of those DeBellevue descendants is Charles B. "Chuck" DeBellevue, a former Air Force Navigator and Weapons System Officer, who was the second of three Air Force "Aces" of the Vietnam War.