Visiting his Free minor children placed the enslaved Simon’s life at risk. The accusations of a white landowner and the strict rules of the Louisiana Black Code had the potential of having Simon harmed physically, imprisoned and/or hindered from visiting his children again.
Also, discover a family connection between a slave-owner and the enslaved Simon.
My Search for Simon
The Emancipation of Unity and Unity’s Hidden Legacy discussed what I learned about my great-grandmother Unity’s life and how I learned it. The Lavallais/Lavallé Lineage in the blog Reclaiming our Ancestors by Jessica tells the story of my grandfather, George Lavallé, born 1827, son of my great grandfather Simon and Unity FWC.
This article will focus on the life of Simon. While I’m writing about them separately, their lives and my research are intertwined. I learned Simon’s name before I learned Unity’s, but I found more documents regarding Unity before I found documents on Simon. The only document I’d found of him being present in Avoyelles Parish was a Simon Lavallè in the [1]St. Paul Catholic Burial Registry.
Early Life
Simon was born about 1807 to Marie Thérèse, who was enslaved by Jean-Pierre and Marguerite Vickner Normand. Marie Thérèse was freed on the will of her owner. (More about her in a later blog article.)
Marguerite Vickner passed away in 1828 and willed Simon to her son, Pierre Normand (1774-1844). [2]The document which separated her possessions between her children is in French and was translated by Judy Riffel. Only the part referring to Pierre Normand and Simon is pictured here. The translation is below the image. Simon is changing masters, for the first time.
Finally, Mr. Pierre Normand takes for his share and portion as follows: 1. Two arpents of frontage by the depth which is found there forming part of the above-said plantation and estimated also at the sum of $200. 2. A mulatto named Simon, aged around 20 years, estimated according to the inventory at the sum of $700.
The Courtship
Simon began courting Unity while he still belonged to Marguerite Vickner and Unity to William InRufty. Their first child, George Washington was born in 1827. Simon would have been about 19 or 20 years old and she would have been about 29 years old.
How they first saw each other? I don’t know. They were enslaved on neighboring plantations. Was he loaned to InRufty for work or did he see her from a distance, found her attractive and wanted to meet her? Did he have permission to court her or did he sneak away under the cover of darkness? He probably had permission for reasons I’ll discuss in the Black Code section. However it happened, they became acquainted and he visited her. He continued to visit her until her death in 1842. That’s evidenced by the births of their children. He continued to visit the children after she’d passed. We know that from the petition of Lewis Gorton that you will read later in the article.
Simon and Unity couldn’t get married because the Louisiana Civil Code promulgated June 20, 1825 stated such:
[3]ART. 95. Free persons and slaves are incapable of contracting marriage together; the celebration of such marriages is forbidden, and the marriage is void.
Death of Pierre Normand (1774-1844)
Simon’s second slave-owner passed away in 1844 and Simon is seen on a [4]Succession supplement of an inventory dated March 5, 1845 and again on [5]April 9, 1845 (See below). This document is also in French. He is described as a mulatto slave, age of about thirty-eight and is adjudicated to Pierre (Belzaire) Normand (1799-1876) for $665.00. This is his second move.
The Family Connection
Pierre Belzaire Normand aka Pierre Normand fils and the enslaved Simon, were second cousins. [6]According to The Normand Family of Louisiana, Volume 2, page 4, Pierre Belzaire’s mother, Marie Joffrion Normand is the daughter of Joseph Joffrion, a prominent leader in Avoyelles Parish, and Marie-Francoise Bouchard. Marie-Francoise Bouchard is the sister of my great-great-great grandfather, Simon Bouchard dit Lavallé and Simon’s grandfather. The enslaved Simon’s father, and Marie Joffrion Normand were first cousins.
The Dangerous Confrontation
Sometimes before October 7, 1845, Lewis Gorton, a white resident and former postmaster at Gordon’s Landing, called on the minor children of Unity FWC and Simon. He knew that Unity had been deceased since 1842 and no one was acting as an administrator of her estate. He encountered Simon there. I can only imagine what the conversation might have been. Something like “What are you doing here?” “Does your master know you are here?” The tone of the petition indicates to me he did not like Simon being there.
When he left, he went to the parish judge to get himself appointed as the tutor for the minors, since none had been chosen. [7]A tutor in civil law is a person who has been lawfully appointed to take care of the person and property of a minor.
The Petition
This is the petition of Lewis Gorton requesting that he become tutor of the minors of Unity FWC and his reasons for doing so.
To the Honorable the Parish Judge and Ex-Officio Judge of the Probate Court in and for the Parish of Avoyelles and state of Louisiana. The Petition of Lewis Gorton, a resident of the Parish and State above written with respect represents that on or about the day of August 1842, one Unity a free woman of color of your Parish and State died – leaving some property both real and personal in your Parish and also George, Simon Jr., Louisa, Jackson, Jean Baptiste and Henry Clay all minors and natural children of said deceased Unity that since her death no one has applied nor will anyone take upon himself the Tutorship of said minors and give security. And comply with the existing laws relative to Tutors.
That no inventory has been taken. That a slave belonging to one Pierre Normand fils of your parish and state representing himself as their father has taken and expended nearly all of their personal property and has left the said minors in a most destitute situation from his illegal acts.”
Wherefore the premises considered your petitioner prays that he be appointed Tutor to said minors and have control of their property-as under the allegations above and without giving security in accordance with the laws in such cases made and provided-and he prays for an inventory and other orders and general relief.
Lewis Gorton Petitioner
The Citation
A family meeting was necessary to select a tutor. Below is the [8]citation sent out to several white men in the community advising them to have a family meeting.
To Justin Normand, William Edwards, Fielding Edwards, James Rey Jr. and Marcelin Bordelon.
You are hereby notified and cited to be and appear at the Office of the Parish Judge in the town of Marksville Parish afore said on Monday the thirteenth day of the present month (October 1845) at ten o’clock A.M. to constitute members of a family meeting to be then and there held before me in behalf of George, Simon Jr., Louisa, Jackson, Jean Baptiste and Henry Clay, natural and minor children of Unity, a deceased free woman of color, for the purpose of deliberating and advising on the propriety of appointing Lewis Gorton, tutor of said minors, without his giving security for his administration as such tutor. And therefore, do not fail.
Witness my official signature this 7th day of October A.D. 1845.
F. B. Coco, Not. public
The Louisiana Black Code of 1806
Lewis Gorton’s petition accused Simon of doing illegal acts. Illegal acts of enslaved persons were governed by the “Black Code” of 1806 and updated periodically. The “Illegal act” of being away from his plantation without permission was a serious one.
[9]Section 30 of the “Black Code” stated to keep slaves in order and lawful submission, no master shall allow them to go beyond the city in which they dwell, or beyond the plantation to which they belong, without a permission, in the following form:
“The bearer, (negro or mulatto,) named ______, has leave to go from _______ to _______ for _____ days (or hours).” …and every slave found…shall be punished with twenty lashes by the person arresting him, and shall be sent back to his master, who shall pay one dollar.
In addition, Section 32 stated, for the same violation, he could be examined, seized, corrected, arrested and if he should resist in any way, killed “by any freeholder.” A freeholder is anyone who owns land, buildings and/or slaves.
Illegal Acts
The petition also insinuated Simon stole from his children by saying he had expended nearly all of their personal property and has left the said minors in a most destitute situation from his illegal acts. According to Section 17, Simon could have been indicted and tried, without appeal, because of that allegation.
The Allegations
[10]In law, an allegation is a claim of a fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions. So because Lewis Gorton made those claims doesn’t mean they were true.
Even though Simon and Unity FWC hadn’t been married, there seemed to have been a family unit. In a small town and in the same neighborhood, the Normands would have known the children were Simon’s. If the Normands would have had a problem with that, they wouldn’t have allowed it to continue. Hence, I believe he had permission to be there.
As far as the accusation that he’d left the children destitute, sections of the “Black Code” forbade Simon from selling anything without his owner’s permission. In 1845, George would have been 18 years old, Simon Jr. 16, Louisa 13, Jackson 12, Jean Baptiste 9 and Henry Clay 4. They were children running a plantation. They probably were having a hard time, but it wasn’t Simon’s fault. Even though, being enslaved limited him in what he could do to assist them, he tried to do what a father does. Be there and help in any way he could.
Being found at his children’s home put Simon in a very precarious situation, indeed. From the petition, I know he was examined about who he was. To which Simon replied that he was their father. Whether he was seized, taken to jail, bullwhipped with twenty lashes and/or taken back to his owner, Pierre Normand, I don’t know. The documents don’t say.
His Motives
The petition said, “he prays for an inventory and other orders and general relief.” I can’t judge what Lewis Gorton’s motives were. They may have been honorable. However, it seemed like he focused on selling the property, so he could be paid for being their tutor. The expression “And therefore, do not fail” at the end of the citation by F. B. Coco seemed to signal an urgency to the participants of the family meeting to be sure and have the meeting, because Lewis Gorton wanted tutorship.
[11]The family meeting was held on October 13, 1845 in front of Ferdinand B. Coco, Notary Republic. It was attended by William Edwards, Fielding Edwards, Marcelin Bordelon, Justin Normand and Pierre Normand fils (Simon’s owner), instead of James Ray, Jr., who had been served a citation, but did not appear. The witnesses were J. H. Barbin and V. Reynaud. This group would have known what Lewis Gorton’s relationship with the minors had been and whether he’d ever shown any interest in their welfare. They would have had an idea of what his motivations might have been. His petition was rejected. Fielding Edwards was appointed the tutor and Justin Normand was appointed the subrogate-tutor.
Reflections
I became aware of the treasures the Avoyelles Parish Archives hold through a fellow researcher, Lyle Barbato. There I found the petition filed by Lewis Gorton which gave me the proof I needed to substantiate the Simon on the records of Margaret Vickner and Pierre Normand to be my great grandfather. He had been “a slave belonging to one Pierre Normand, fils.” That’s why he wasn’t named on the 1830 census with Unity, the 1850 census with his children, the baptism records for his children or the Family Meeting concerning the tutorship of his children.
Then knowing he was enslaved and who owned him, I looked through the records of Pierre Normand, fils, especially successions and inventories for someone named Simon. I used the age of the Simon Lavallè on the St. Paul Burial Register, and found the documents in this article. Another brick wall broken, but it had taken years of research. So, just because you haven’t found someone you’re looking for, doesn’t mean you won’t. Don’t be discouraged.
Therefore, if you’re looking for an African-American and can’t find them on the censuses before 1870, there’s a good chance they’d been enslaved. Look through records for them after 1870 for clues on who might have been their owner. During the period of slavery, it was possible for some family members to be free and others to be enslaved.
The Last Chapter
Simon appears on the [12]Estate of Joseph P. Normand on March 22, 1860. He was adjudicated to Mistress Elimere Barbin, the widow, for $1025.00.
Fifteen years after the dangerous confrontation in 1845, Simon is still with the Normand Family. Thus, he remained enslaved by the Normands from birth through December 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. He was buried December 4, 1867 at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, two years after receiving his freedom.
The Next Blog
After the death of Unity FWC, Simon had several ladies in his life who bore him children, starting with Eulalie (Lalie) Jacob. I will discuss them in the next blog. Please come back and learn about them.
Sources
[1] Ducote, Willie. “Hydopolis Burials 1860-1869. Vol. III, Burial Registry Church of Avoyelles, Avoyelles Publishing Company
[2] Division of the Estate of Pierre Normand, père, Avoyelles Parish Court House, Conveyance Book F, page 47 and 48, dated October 31, 1828
[3]The Law of Slavery in the State of Louisiana, https://www.accessible-archives.com/2011/08/law-of-slavery-in-the-state-of-louisiana/
[4] Succession of Pierre Normand, Avoyelles Parish Courthouse, Inventories A, B, C-Section A, pages 269
[5] Succession of Pierre Normand père, Avoyelles Parish Courthouse, Conveyance Book R, pages 338-339
[6] Normand, Mark Joseph. “The Normand Family of Louisiana.” The Daughters of Pierre Normand, Volume 2, Slaughter, Louisiana, 2012
[7] Tutor meaning in Civil Law in Louisiana, https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Tutor
[8] Petition-Estate of a free Woman of Color Unity, Avoyelles Parish Archives
[9] The Louisiana Black Code, 1806, https://www.accessible-archives.com/2011/08/the-black-code-of-louisiana-1806/
[10]Allegation meaning in law, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegation
[11] Minors of Unity F.C.L., Meeting of Family, Avoyelles Parish Courthouse, Conveyances Book S, Filed 13 October 1845. , pages 40 and 41.
[12] Estate of Joseph P. Normand, Avoyelles Parish Courthouse, Probate Sales Book C, pages 144-149
Other Sources for “The Louisiana Black Code”
McLoughlin, James J. Louisiana Historical Society New Orleans. The Black Code, pages 32 and 33, Volume VIII-1914-1915, University of Arkansas Library, 1916
Saucier, Corinne L., History of Avoyelles Parish. Patriotism, pages 226 and 227, Pelican Publishing Company, Gretna, 1998
Very informative information and a lot of research overtime wonderful work. On our family thank you Susane Lavallais-Boykins.
Thank you so much, Allison. You’re all so very welcome.
Susan, Thank you for Sharing your research with us and for your encouragement. I look forward to reading more posts.
Thank you, Karen. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
You’re welcome, Karen.