Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Louis Philippe Chollet

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Descendants of Louis Philippe Chollet

Generation No. 2

2. CHARLES JACOB² CHOLLET (LOUIS PHILIPPE¹) was born 1863 in Petit Lacounet, Geneva, Switzerland, and died August 14, 1903 in Morgantown, WV. He met (1) OLIVIA OLINDE, daughter of MICHEL OLINDE and ROSA MICHEL. He married (2) VIVIAN FLORENCE FARRAR November 29, 1887 in Rhode Island, daughter of __?__ FARRAR and CHARLOTTE FARWELL. He married (3) MARY LANE August 18, 1898 in New York, NY, daughter of EDWARD LANE and CATHERINE FITZGERALD.

Notes for CHARLES JACOB CHOLLET:
Time Line - Charles Jacob Chollet

1863 - Charles Jacob Chollet was born in Geneva Switzerland
1880 - Eleve de Jere, (high school?) College de Geneva, Switzerland
1883 - Arrived in the US via Bremen, Germany on January 24, 1883
1887 - Received an AB degree from Harvard University
1887 - November 29, Charles married Florence Julia Farrar in Rhode Island. (Florence was born in Mississippi in 1863.)
1888 - Florence & Charles had a son (also named Charles) on April 6, 1888 (see note 1). We have been unable to find Florence on any census reports after that point, possibly indicating that she may have died in childbirth.
1888 to 1893 - Professor of French, German, Latin & Greek - Louisiana State University
1893-1897 - Principal, Poydras Academy, New Roads, Louisiana
1894 - Michel Joseph Chollet born December 28th
1896 - Alfred Leonard Chollet born, October 8th
1897-1900 - Graduate Student Columbia University, NY
1898 - Charles Archange Chollet born, April 6th
1898-1900 - Instructor of French, Latin & Greek, Sachs Collegiate Institute, NY
1900 - Federal census lists the elder Charles in Manhattan, NY with another wife, Mary Lane Chollet, born in Ireland March 1871. (The family lists two children in the 1900 census report; Charles, Jr., now 11 and Paul Lewis (or Lane) Chollet (b. Feb 25, 1900) who was just three months old.)
1900 - Charles Jacob Chollet takes teaching position at West Virginia University
1901- Has another son, Phillip Edward Chollet born November 25, 1901, died July, 1955
1903 - Killed by accidental discharge of a firearm in West Virginia. Buried in Wood Lawn Cemetery in New York

(Copy of a newspaper article from a Morgantown, WV newspaper about the life and death of Charles Chollet)

From: The (Morgantown, West Virginia) New Dominion. Wednesday, August 14, 1903
Professor Chollet Found Dead
Killed By Accidental Discharge Of Gun While Hunting

Report Of Gun Heard By John Clear
Rails Broke As Unfortunate Man Climbed Fence
Death Came Quickly From Hemorrhage
Body Surrounded By Dogs He Was Training
Verdict Of Jury

The dead body of Professor Charles Chollet was found shortly after nine o'clock this morning in a field east of town by John Clear who was at work in a neighboring field. The new of the accident reached town shortly afterwards, and caused the deepest sorrow among hundreds of friends who have known him. People who had seen him alive and well yesterday in the best of spirits could scarcely realize what a terrible thing had befallen him. Squire Hayes impaneled a coroner's jury and went to the spot where the body lay undisturbed.

Professor Chollet left his home in South Park about seven o'clock this morning with his gun and four beagle hounds. He made his way across the fields beyond the crest of South Park Hill and was seen by several parties at work, to whom his figure had become familiar.

About nine o'clock, John Clear, who had been stacking oats on the slope across the ravine and thicket from the spot of the accident occurred on whit is know as the Fleming land, heard the baying of the beagle hounds. A little later he heard the report of a gun, followed in a few minutes by loud moaning. He listened and thought it the call of a huntsman who had started game. He continued his work and in about ten minutes, his little son at work with him, said, "Father, I hear someone moaning." Mr. Clear left his work, crossed the hollow and came down the fence. He saw the body of Prof. Chollet surrounded by his dogs. The fourth ran towards him, barking furiously, and seized him by the leg.

Mr. Clear hastened up over the hill and called to Mr. Zinn who was mowing in a field. B. A. Mackey, Mr. Zinn and some others ran at once to the spot. Mackey stooped over the body and listened for the heartbeat, but life was extinct. They did not move the body or gun. It was 9:30 when Mackey went to the body.

Squire Hayes impaneled a jury consisting of Jeff Tennant, Tim Bennett, Rufus West, E. M. Grant, Frank Cox and K. B. Stewart. These, with Dr. Hartigan and Dr. Bush went at once to the scene and held an inquest. The evidence of John Clear, B. A. Mackey, Dr. Hartigan, Dr. Bush and R. B. Price was taken.

A large number of his friends including several of his nearest associates in the University, also hurried to the scene, and stood with bowed heads and sorrowful hearts around the form of their friend.

The body lay about sixteen feet from the fence, which runs along the edge of a steep declivity. Above it spread the boughs of a big sugar tree. The legs were crossed and one foot was placed lightly against a small sapling. The arms were crossed under the head, which lay naturally, with the face downward, though the body rested on its right side.

A few feet up the hill, was found the gun. One hammer stood at full cock. The other was closed. The left barrel contained an empty cartridge, the right a similar one loaded with No. 8 shot. The muzzle pointed in the direction of the spot where he climbed the fence.

A close examination of this showed the manner of Prof. Chollet's death. Two rails were broken near the center of each. The gun-stock had cracked and the tip of the butt had been shoved into the ground. There was grass in the hammer accounting for the discharge of the piece.

The muzzle of the gun had been very close to the lower part of the abdomen, on the left side, when the cartridge was discharged. Dr. Bush examined the wound. They found that the load had taken a downward course, severing a great artery. The immediate cause of death was internal hemorrhage. The shirt and trousers above the wound was scorched by the explosion of powder.

From all these facts, it can be concluded with considerable accuracy that, when the rails broke, Prof. Chollet slipped to the ground, on the steep slope and pushed his gun in front of him to break his fall. The weapon was discharged either by the shock of by the grass catching the trigger.

The news of the accident was broken to Mrs. Chollet as gently as might be by Prof. Patterson, one of her husband's nearest and best friends. Sympathy for her in her sudden and terrible grief goes out from the hearts of all who know it.

Prof. Chollet was an enthusiastic sportsman. He loved the open air, the wide fields, and blue sky, and often spent his hours of recreation with dogs and gun. He was training three young beagle hounds this morning, and his death while pursuing his favorite sport is too pathetic for words. The dogs seemed to realize that something had befallen their master, and waited patiently near his body during the inquest.

Prof. Chollet was of a genial, companionable disposition, and his friendship was highly prized by those who were fortunate as to come near him. His learning and intellectual gifts were of high order. He possessed a fine voice, and few people in Morgantown have not heard his singing with pleasure in the different churches of the city.

A wife and three children survive him. The children are all young. They are Charles, who is in Switzerland, Paul and the baby, who are at home. Mrs. Farrar, of Cambridge, Mass., the mother of Prof. Chollet's first wife, is also here.

SKETCH OF HIS LIFE

Charles Chollet was born near Geneva in Switzerland in the year 1863. His father is dead, but his mother is still living not far from the Swiss capital. His only child by his first wife, a son, Charles Chollet, is now in school in a college near the Professor's old home.

Prof. Chollet had his academic training in the College of Geneva, Switzerland, graduating there in 1880. In 1883 he came to this country and entered Harvard University, graduating from that institution in 1887 with a degree A. B. For the next ten years he was engaged in teaching the French and German and ancient languages in New York and Louisiana colleges. From 1897 to 1900 he was a graduate student at Columbia University, New York. Since the year 1900, he has been an associate professor and professor of Romance Languages and Literature in West Virginia University.
The Verdict of the Jury
State of West Virginia - County of Monongalia to wit:

An inquisition taken at Morgantown, in the county of Monongalia on the 14th day of August in the year 1903, before M. Hayes, a justice of the said county, upon the view of the body of Charles Chollet there lying dead.

The jurors sworn to inquire when, how and by what means the said Charles Chollet came to his death, upon their oath, do say that Charles Chollet came to his death by means of a gun shot wound, accidentally inflicted in getting over a fence while hunting on August 14, 1903 at 9 o'clock a.m.

Rufus West, Edgar B. Stewart, E. M. Grant, Frank Cox , T. Bennett, Jefferson Tennett, M. Hayes, Justice
Funeral Service (From Friday's Daily)

Funeral services over the remains of Professor Charles Chollet will be held at his late home, South Park, tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. Dr. Buchanan will conduct the services. The body will be buried in Wood Lawn Cemetery, New York City.

Notes added by Michael Chollet

1. The 1910 census listed Mary L. Chollet as widowed and living in New York as a boarder with a Radigan family. Sons, Paul (age 10) and Phillip (age 8), are listed as "inmates" in an institution - perhaps an orphanage or military school - called something like the Shelton Armory - not sure, it was hard to read. Paul later shows up entering the army in Litchfield, Connecticut on September 12, 1918. As a nearest relative, he lists his brother, Phillip Edward Chollet of New Rochelle, NY. Paul died in Alameda, CA, September 2, 1954.

2. Poydras Academy: Built in 1924, Poydras High School is locally significant in the area of education because its construction represents a "coming of age" for public education in the parish seat of New Roads. Poydras High School is the descendent of a succession of schools made possible by the philanthropy of Julien Poydras, a local planter and public benefactor. When Poydras died in 1824 his will contained a clause bequesting the sum of $20,000 for an education fund, the interest from which was to be used for the construction of a school. Poydras College, established in 1829 near New Roads, operated until the outbreak of the Civil War. A "Poydras School of New Roads" operated for a few years in the 1880s, and in 1889, the immediate predecessor of Poydras High School was established on the present site, named Poydras Academy. By 1912, the school had outgrown the resources of the Poydras Fund, and it was taken over by the Pointe Coupee School Board, which operated the school as Poydras Academy until 1923. In that year, a school district was formed, a $100,000 bond issue was passed, and the school board purchased the property in question. Poydras High School is located at 460 W. Main St., in downtown New Roads. It is open by appointment only, please call the Pointe Coupee Historical Society at 225-638-9031 or 225-638-8333 for further information.

3. Charles Jacob Chollet and his first wife, Florence J. Farrar had a son named Charles, Jr. in 1888. (Not to be confused with the second Charles Chollet born of Olivia Olinde ten years later.) In later census information, Charles, Jr. incorrectly lists the place of his mother, Florence Farrar's birth as Louisiana. This may indicate that Charles, Jr. lived in Louisiana with his father and perhaps, Olivia Olinde. Charles, Jr. would have been less than two years old when his father began teaching in Louisiana. Charles Chollet, Jr. later married a woman named Edna Jacobson in Washington state and they had two daughters. Perhaps in tribute to his "two mothers", one was named Edna Florence Chollet and the other, Olive Chollet.

4. Were Charles and Olivia married?

Olivia was mulatto, born of a Negro mother (Rosa) and white father (Michel, Jr.). Charles Jacob Chollet was from Switzerland and, most likely, an exceptionally white guy. Given the social and political climate in Louisiana in the latter part of the 1800s, it is highly unlikely that they were married, and may possibly have even been unable to live together. Here is a brief overview of Louisiana statutes regarding interracial marriage around that time.

1825, Civil Code of Louisiana forbade interracial marriages and declare any existing unions null and void.

1855, Louisiana State Supreme court declared "mixed" marriages contracted outside the state null & void.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 and a Louisiana statute of 1870 permitted interracial marriages. (Olivia's mother Rosa married Michel Olinde in 1870)

By 1880, there were 227 legal mixed unions in Orleans parish.

In 1894, the year that Grandpa Michel was born, state statute AGAIN outlawed interracial marriages.

1908, interracial cohabitation was made a felony.

If Charles and Olivia were married in the "legal" period after 1888 -- the last record we have of Charles' first marriage-- their marriage would probably have been nullified by the 1894 statutes.

Michael G. Chollet
St. Louis, MO
October 5, 2006

More About CHARLES JACOB CHOLLET:
Degree: June 1887, Harvard University - Cambridge, MA
Immigration: January 1883, Geneva to New York, NY
Interment: August 18, 1903, Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, NY
Occupation: College Professor - Romance Languages

Notes for OLIVIA OLINDE:

1900 Census - New "Rhodes", LA - Point Coupee Parish

Olivia Olende (Different spelling of surname) Age 26 - b. Oct 1873 - Keeping House
Living with her mother, Rosa (age 50 - b. May 1850) who owns her farm outright and sisters:
Christine, 33 - b. Dec 1866 - Farm Laborer
Marie, 20 - b. Sep 1880 - House Servant
Lorenza, 19 - b. Nov 1881- Baby Nurse
Rosanda, 14 - Apr 1886 - Baby Nurse
All are listed as black females

1910 Census - New Roads, LA - Point Coupee Parish

Olivia Olinde is not listed as living with her mother at this time
Rosa lists her age at 50.
Daughters at home include:
Christine, 30
Marie, 28
Lazanda, 22
Lorenza, 20
Leonor, 18
Also living in the household are three grandchildren:
Gibbon (Sp?) George
Charlies George
Alfred George
Although 2 of the 3 names match those of Olivia's children, there is no way of knowing which of the daughter's bore these children.

1920 Census

Olivia Chollet
Age 42
Single, living alone as head of household
Mulatto
Profession is hard to read but may be "Proprietor Boardinghouse".
She lives alone at 173 Rickey Street as head of household
She lists herself & mother as having been born in LA.
She lists her father as being born in France and speaking French

1930 Census:

Olivia Olinde
Age 48
Single, living alone as head of household
Negro
She is working as a washer woman for a private family.
She lives next door to Oliver, Jr. (a farmer, age 60) and Louis (55) and their children Estelle (27), Rosa (25), Mitchell (17) & stepson Sidney Fabre (32).
Estelle and Rosa are listed as cook and maid for a private family.
Mitchel works on the farm and Sidney works in a Pop Factory.

More About MARY LANE:
Interment: November 23, 1911, New York (?)

Children of CHARLES CHOLLET and OLIVIA OLINDE are:

4.	i.	MICHEL JOSEPH³ CHOLLET, b. December 28, 1894, New Roads, LA; d. April 20, 1951, St. Louis, MO.
5.	ii.	ALFRED LEONARD CHOLLET, b. October 08, 1896, New Roads, LA; d. November 12, 1978, 76708 Waco - McLennan, TX.
6.	iii.	CHARLES ARCHANGE CHOLLET, b. April 06, 1898, New Roads, LA; d. December 1971.

Child of CHARLES CHOLLET and VIVIAN FARRAR is:

iv.

CHARLES³ CHOLLET, b. April 06, 1888, Manhattan, NY; d. December 11, 1971, Colville, Washington.

Children of CHARLES CHOLLET and MARY LANE are:

8.	v.		PAUL LEWIS³ CHOLLET, b. February 1900; d. 1954.
9.	vi.		PHILIP EDWARD CHOLLET, b. November 25, 1901, New York, NY.

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