Introduction
To celebrate Black History Month, I chose to highlight an Avoyelles Parish born history maker, Judge Israel Meyer Augustine, Jr. His ancestors’ roots are buried deep in the soil of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana. He’s my second cousin once removed, and he has many relatives, the Augustines, Benjamins, Pierres, Perrys and many others from Moreauville and Mansura. (The above picture was taken from a Georgia Family Reunion booklet) My great-great grandfather, Ursin Augustin (1808-1901) was his great grandfather, also. In 1969, [i]he was appointed to a district judge position of the Orleans Criminal District Court by Governor John McKeithen. He was the first Black to be appointed to a judgeship in Louisiana since Reconstruction.
I will give summaries of his life and the lives of the men whose shoulders he stood on. His Father – Israel Meyer Augustine, Sr., Grandfather – André/Andrew Augustine. Great-Grandfather – Ursin Augustine pére (pére means father in French, comparable to the usage of Senior and Junior in English). I discussed two uncles as well, Dorsey Augustine and Forest Paul Augustine.
Because on my blogs, I give tips on how I gather facts, I, also, discussed two bits of contradictory information from a genealogical standpoint that are examples of things that can be encountered while researching. The first is finding more than one date for the same event, such as a birth date and the other is census errors.
Personal Life and Family
Israel Meyer, Jr. was born to Israel Meyer, Sr. and Ethel Coleman in New Orleans, Louisiana in the early 1920s.* Helene Sabourin [ii]became his wife on August 1955. One [iii]daughter, Carlene Augustine Barthé and one granddaughter, Angele Barthé were descendants of this union.
He served his country in the [iv]United States Army from September 16, 1942 to December 1, 1944.
Complications from [v]Lou Gehrig’s disease caused his death on August 29, 1994. Mount Olivet Cemetery in New Orleans is where he’s buried.
*Genealogical Explanation
Problem:
Some sources use November 16, 1924 as his birthday. I found other dates for his birthday from different sources.
Facts:
On his Social Security Death Index, his Social Security and Claims Index, and his World War II Draft Registration, his birthday is November 16, 1920. On the 1930 and 1940 censuses, his age is 9 and 19, respectively, which would put him with a 1920 birthday if he was born after April 1920.
U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1 says November 16, 1921.
His Department of Veterans’ Affairs Death File and Findagrave memorial give November 16, 1924 as his birthday. Newspaper notices of his death said he died at 69 years of age, which would put the date in the 1924 bracket.
Analysis:
The 1930 and 1940 censuses are closer to his birth than the other sources, so memory is better then than later on. The ages, 9 years and 19 years, correspond with each other. The censuses were taken in April of those years. If Judge Augustine was born in November, he’d have been 9 on the 1920 and 19 on the 1940. Additionally, his mother was the informant on the 1940 census and I feel she would have given the correct ages. He would have signed up for Social Security in 1940 and filled out his World War II draft card in 1942, himself. Those documents had November 16, 1920 as his birthday.
Conclusion:
Therefore, I believe he was born November 16, 1920, instead of November 24, 1924 as it appears on Findagrave and Wikipedia.
Education
Judge Augustine graduated [vi]from McDonough 35 High School in New Orleans. He [vii]received his undergraduate degree from [viii]Southern University’s main campus in Baton Rouge and taught American government there for sixteen years. Lincoln University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri is where he earned his law degree. He earned a [ix]doctorate of Humanities in 1983 from Union Baptist Theological Seminary.
Law and Judicial Career
In 1951, he was admitted to the Louisiana Bar, and in 1962, he was allowed to practice before the Supreme Court. He’d practiced law for about [x]fifteen years before being appointed to the history making judgeship in 1969. The following year, [xi]when his appointment had ended, he ran for the seat and won a 12-year term, becoming the first Black to be elected to a District Judgeship since Reconstruction.
In 1981, he sought a seat on Louisiana’s 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and won. After three years there, he resigned to run for 2nd Congressional District seat against the incumbent Lindy Boggs in 1984 and was defeated.
In 1988, he was appointed ad hoc judge of the state’s [xii]Criminal District Court drug program.
Honors
[xiii]Southeastern University of Louisiana awarded him a Doctorate of Humane Letters in 1984. Over 200 community service awards has been awarded to him.
In 1996, [xiv]the Criminal Court building at Tulane and Broad was named the Israel M. Augustine Jr. Criminal Justice Center Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. Nearby, the former Samuel J. Peters School was also renamed Israel Meyer Augustine Middle School. It was heavily damaged during Hurricane Katrina and has been sitting vacant since.
Organizations He Belonged To
Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization which promoted non-violence in achieving racial equality, was organized in 1957 in New Orleans. Attorney Augustine was a part of that process and was the[xv] first council for the organization. Pictured below are Attorney Israel M. Augustine, Jr., Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Carter. (The picture and the title picture was taken from the Georgia Family Reunion Booklet)
He served [xvi]on the boards of the Urban League, Louisiana Human Relations Committee, Louisiana Commission on Human Rights and Responsibilities, Community Relations Council and the Metropolitan Area Committee.
To combat [xvii]poverty and provide successful role models for the young residents in housing projects, he created the “Roots” Home Coming Program in public housing.
“Keenly [xviii]aware of the need for prevention and rehabilitation in criminal justice, he instituted the Black Crime Study Committee of 100 in 1973, the First Offender and Angola Awareness Programs in 1978 and served as a board member of the Gethsemane prison ministry.” He served as the director of the Boy Scouts of America, Audubon District, Parents Club and Dome Stadium Advisory Committee.
Economic Awareness
He [xix]understood that Black business and economic prosperity was a necessity. He helped organize and was elected to the board of directors of United Federal Savings and Loan Association in 1964, the first black federally chartered savings and loan association in the city of New Orleans. He, also served on the board of directors and executive committee of Liberty Bank and Trust Company. For his uncompromising and unselfish devotion to country, family, church and race, he received over 200 community service awards.
His Devotion To God
From his works and the organizations that he was a part of, it was evident that he was centered on doing the right thing. Always trying to help the disadvantaged. He was a faithful parishioner of St. Raymond’s Catholic Church for 20 years. He loved the gospel choir and the children’s programs.
Israel Meyer Augustine, Sr.
Israel Meyer Augustine, Sr. was born [xx]January 7, 1890 in [xxi]Moreauville, Louisiana to André/Andrew and Louise “Louisa” Johnson Augustin. [xxii]He married Ethel Coleman on May 19, 1917 in New Orleans, Louisiana. They had a daughter named Portia Augustine about 1918, who passed on [xxiii]December 21, 1927 in New Orleans.
He completed his elementary education in [xxiv]Moreauville, Louisiana, then moved to New Orleans, where he graduated from the New Orleans University High School in 1914. He worked for the [xxv]Southern Pacific Railroad Company as a third cook. He graduated from *New Orleans University in 1918. He received his master’s degree in secondary school administration and supervision from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He furthered his education at Northwestern University with advanced courses in 1950.
He was the first principal of[xxvi] L. B. Landry, which opened as an elementary school in 1938. Located on New Orleans west bank in Algiers, L. B. Landry became a full-fledged high school in 1942. He was principal until 1959.
He [xxvii]was a life member of the National Educational Association, chairman of the First District of the Louisiana Interscholastic Athletic and Literary Association, President of the New Orleans Secondary School Principals Association, a member of the Rho Phi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, a member of the Bunch Club and the First Street United Methodist Church.
He died on August 8, 1950.
Israel Meyer Augustine Sr.’s Siblings
Two of Israel Sr.’s brothers, Dorsey and Forest Paul Augustine, who were Israel Jr.’s uncles were also high school principals.
Dorsey B. Augustine was born in [xxviii]April 1870 in Moreauville, Louisiana. In 1910, he lived with his wife, [xxix]Ophelia Morrell, in Moreauville and farmed. Ophelia, worked as a teacher in the Avoyelles Parish Public School system. Ten years later, in 1920, Dorsey worked as a [xxx]principal in Mansfield, Louisiana and Ophelia as a teacher. In 1930, he lived in New Orleans and worked as a teacher and Ophelia worked as a sick nurse in a private home. In 1940, [xxxi]at the age of 70 years, he stilled worked as a teacher in New Orleans. Dorsey died [xxxii]April 10,1952.
Like his brother, Israel Sr., Forest Paul Augustine, also, graduated from New Orleans University High School and then received his B.A. degree from *New Orleans University. [xxxiii]“He earned a Bachelor of Divinity Degree from Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Georgia, and a B.S. degree in Agriculture from Southern University, Baton Rouge.”
In 1918, he worked as a[xxxiv] minister in Bayou Rapides, Louisiana. His teaching career included being a school principal in three parishes, Avoyelles, Rapides, in [xxxv]Woodworth and Allen at [xxxvi]Elizabeth Colored School in Elizabeth, Louisiana. His wife, Emma Lee Fisher Augustine was also a teacher. Forest Paul died [xxxvii]April 2, 1973.
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[xxxviii]“New Orleans University was a historically black college that operated between 1873 and 1934 in New Orleans. It was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church and affiliated with a number of preparatory schools located in various parts of the state of Louisiana. It merged with Straight College in 1934 to form Dillard University.”
André/Andrew Augustin
André/Andrew was one of the sons of Ursin Augustin pére and Constance Desiré Dupas also known as Thérèse Lemoine. He was born into slavery on [xxxix]July 8, 1845 and baptized on January 2, 1846 with four other enslaved young children belonging to his owner, Zenon Lemoine, at the St. Paul Catholic Church in Mansura, Louisiana.
When Zenon Lemoine, his owner, passed in 1850, André was separated from his father and older siblings, because they were sold to other landowners in the community as part of the probate process. He was sold with his mother and four of his siblings, who were ten years old and under, for Seventeen hundred and ten dollars to Ceran Gremillion, Zenon Lemoine’s son-in-law.
In 1865, when the emancipation proclamation was ratified, André and his enslaved relatives and friends, were able to walk free and attempt to finally experience the part of the United States Constitution that said he had “unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” He had been enslaved the first 20 years of his life. What a joyous day that must have been.
He [xl]married Marie Louise “Louisa” Johnson, with whom he’d already started a family, on April 21, 1870. On the 1870 census, André is living on the property purchased by his father, Ursin Augustin pére, from Dr. Joseph Moncla for four thousand five hundred dollars.
André’s father divided the property into tracts of land that were situated on the left descending bank of Bayou Des Glaises to several of his sons, including André, and each farmed their respective tract. Ursin Augustin pére formally transferred tracts of twenty-eight and one third acres each to [xli]Andre and four other siblings on November 26, 1881.
On October 2, 1891, of his remaining acres, Ursin pére, Ursin sold to André, [xlii]Auguste and his two sons-in-law, Alfred Carmouche and Eli Johnson, an additional five-acre plot each.
*André is on the 1900 census with his family. He’s living in the Bayou Des Glaise area and his brother-in-law and sister, Eli and Marie Louise Augustine Johnson are living next door. This could be the original land that was a part of the bigger tract that Ursin pére bought from Dr. Moncla.
*Genealogical Explanation
Most of the transcriptions on the Census records are correct, but occasionally mistakes happen.
Problem
The transcriber of the 1900 census for the Avoyelles Parish Moreauville area, transcribed the Head of House Number 417 as Henry Augustine.
Facts
I’d gotten this record while I was searching for Louisa Augustine. Louisa was André’s wife’s name; Henry’s wife’s name was Lucille. On this record, I recognized three of the children as belonging to André. They were Dorcin (Dorsey), Annillia (Onelia) and Forest. Henry’s children had different names.
Analysis
If you’ll look closely at the original copy (pictured above), you can see that the A for the first name, is made similar to the A in Augustin and the As in Adelia and Annillia in André’s children’s names. His H’s are opened at the top, but his As have a more rounded flourish at the bottom of the first letter. (Compare Annette, Henry and Armand in the example.)
The next letter in the first name looks like an N, not an E, as in André, not Henry.
Eli Johnson was listed right before him on this census and André’s father had sold them land close to each other.
Conclusion
Therefore, I believe this record on the 1900 Census was for André Augustine and not Henry Augustine.
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The 1900 census is the last one that André is on. His wife, “Louisa”, is shown as a widow on the 1910 and 1930 censuses.
Ursin Augustin pére
Ursin was born to an enslaved woman named [xliii]Mannette in 1808. Both were on the 1809 succession of Charles Dufour in Pointe Coupee Parish. He was [xliv]sold to Zenon Lemoine on March 1, 1832, where he met Constance Desiré and formed a family. He was 57 years old when he was released from slavery in 1865. He set out to carve a future for himself and his family through land ownership and farming. The details of his life and how I researched it are discussed in a two-part series on this blog. Parents for Ursin Augustin and The Trials of Ursin Augustin.
Reflections
Ursin, Constance, André and Louisa could not read or write. Yet they instilled in their children that they should be strong, independent people with a love of God, a duty to their family, a strong work ethic, a thirst for knowledge and a drive for excellence.
The accomplishments done by Israel Meyer Sr. and his siblings being only one generation from slavery were not easy tasks.
My mother was very proud to be a part of the Augustine legacy and so am I.
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Resources
[i] The Town Talk (Alexandria, Louisiana), McKeithen Appoints Negro District Judge in Orleans,18 June 1969, Wednesday, Page 36
[ii] New Orleans, Louisiana, Marriage Records Index
[iii] Georgia Family Reunion booklet, The Honorable Judge Israel Meyer, Jr. 1924-1994
[iv] U.S., Department of Veterans’ Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010
[v] The Herald (Jasper, Indiana), Augustine, 30 August 1994, Tuesday, Page 17
[vi] Daily World (Opelousas), Israel Augustine, Jr., 28 February 2008, Page 2
[vii] The Town Talk (Alexandria, Louisiana), Civil Rights Leader, Judge dies at 69, 30 August 1994, Page 23
[viii] San Antonio Express (San Antonio, Texas), Judge at Panther Trial, 13 July 1971, Tuesday, Page 11
[ix] Georgia Family Reunion booklet, The Honorable Judge Israel Meyer, Jr. 1924-1994
[x] The Town Talk (Alexandria, Louisiana), McKeithen Appoints Negro District Judge in Orleans, 18 June 1969, Wednesday, Page 36
[xi] The Herald (Jasper, Indiana), Augustine, 30 August 1994, Tuesday, Page 17
[xii] The Town Talk (Alexandria, Louisiana), Civil Rights Leader, Judge dies at 69, 30 August 1994, Page 23
[xiii] Georgia Family Reunion booklet, The Honorable Judge Israel Meyer, Jr. 1924-1994
[xiv] Blake Pontchartrain, Blakeview: Remembering pioneering Black jurists Israel Augustine Jr. and Revius Ortique Jr., https://www.nola.com/gambit/news/blake_pontchartrain/article_02dffcea-64d5-11eb-b09a-4b67fdeb8a00.html
[xv] Gambit, https://www.nola.com/gambit/news/blake_pontchartrain/article_02dffcea-64d5-11eb-b09a-4b67fdeb8a00.html
[xvi] Georgia Family Reunion booklet, The Honorable Judge Israel Meyer, Jr. 1924-1994
[xvii] Daily World (Opelousas), Israel Augustine, Jr., 28 February 2008, Page 2
[xviii] Georgia Family Reunion booklet, The Honorable Judge Israel Meyer, Jr. 1924-1994
[xix] Georgia Family Reunion booklet, The Honorable Judge Israel Meyer, Jr. 1924-1994
[xx] Ancestry.com, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 and U. S., World War II Draft Registration, 1942
[xxi] Ancestry.com, Find A Grave Index, 1700-Current https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/62371777:60525?ssrc=pt&tid=37591718&pid=362247543180
[1] (22) Ancestry.com, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., Marriage Records Index, 1831-1964, Orleans Marriage Indices, Volume 39, Page 819
[1] (23) Ancestry.com, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., Death Records Index, 1804-1949
[xxiv] The Times Picayune, Israel M. Augustine Sr. Funeral will be Saturday, August 8, 1980, page 23
[xxv] U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
[xxvi] History of L. B. Landry High School, https://africanamericanhighschoolsinlouisianabefore1970.com/l-b-landry-high-school-new-orleans-louisiana
[xxvii] The Times Picayune, Israel M. Augustine Sr. Funeral will be Saturday, August 8, 1900, page 23
[xxviii] Ancestry.com, Census 1900, Police Jury, Ward 8, Avoyelles, Louisiana, Page 24
[xxix] Ancestry.com, Census 1910, Police Jury, Ward 8, Avoyelles, Louisiana, Page 27-A
[xxx] Ancestry.com, Census 1920, Mansfield, De Soto, Louisiana, Page 9A
[xxxi] Ancestry.com, Census 1940, New Orleans, Orleans, Louisiana, Page 9A
[xxxii] Ancestry.com, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., Death Records Index, 1804, 1949, Louisiana State Archives; Baton Rouge, LA; Year Range 1937-1952
[xxxiii] The Times Picayune, Service Today for Augustine, April 6, 1973, Page 22
[xxxiv] Ancestry.com, U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
[xxxv] Ancestry.com, Census 1920, Boyce, Rapides, Louisiana, Page 9B
[xxxvi] Ancestry.com, U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards
[xxxvii] Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index,
[xxxviii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans_University
[xxxix] Alberta Ducote, Hydropolis Baptisms 1845-1850, Slaves, page 87, Avoyelles Publishing, Mansura, Louisiana, 1994
[xl] Jeraldine Dufour LaCour, Brides’ Books of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, 1856-1880 Volume Two, page 160, Bunkie Louisiana
[xli] Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, Ursin Augustin pére to André Augustin, Conveyance Book UU 6468, page 670-672, Avoyelles Parish Courthouse, Marksville, Louisiana.
[xlii] Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, Ursin Augustin Sr. to Auguste Augustin & others, Conveyance Book FFF, pages 269-270, Avoyelles Parish Courthouse, Marksville, Louisiana.
[xliii] FamilySearch.com, Inventory of Charles Dufour of Pointe Coupée Parish
[xliv] Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, “Faustin Dufour to Zenon Lemoine-Sale of Slave,” Conveyance Book H, pages 329-330, Clerk of Courts Office, Marksville, Louisiana
