The Ancestors and Family Tree of Shari Lynn Ward Berens:Information about JACQUES Dupre
Governor JACQUES Dupre (b. February 12, 1773, d. September 14, 1846)
Notes for JACQUES Dupre:
Jacques Dupre was the 8th Governor of Louisiana.
From "THE LEGEND OF JACQUE DUPRE: ONE OF LOUISIANA'S COLORFUL GOVERNORS", by Carola Ann Andrepont:
"Jacque Dupre, the eldest son of Laurent Dupre dit Terrebone and Marie Josephe Fonteno, a resident of St. Landry Parish, was born in New Orleans on February 12, 1773.When he was only ten years old, his father died and his mother later married "Grand Louis" Fontenot, owner of more than twenty thousand head of cattle.Following the marriage, the family moved to Fontenot's home, which was a plantation located on the road about halfway between Opelousas and the present town of Washington, today known as the halfway house.In 1791, Dupre and his two brothers each received from the King of Spain land grants of forty arpens of frontage on the Bayou Boeuf.Dupre married Theotiste Roy, of Point Coupee, at Opelousas on May 19, 1792, and the couple had seven children.
By 1810, Dupre had aquired more land in the Plaisance area, northwest of Opelousas, where the family raised large herds of cattle.Dupre eventually built a great house on his property in Plaisance.That home is still standing today and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.By the year 1830, Dupre, who was known to be a good businessman, was recognized as one of Louisiana's major cattlemen and land owners.
Dupre served as major in the 16th Regiment of the Louisiana Militia at the Battle of New Orleans; his two eldest sons served with him.Jacque Dupre was also a good politician and in 1816, he was elected at the age of forty-three, to the Louisiana House of Representatives and re-elected in 1822 and 1824.In 1828, the voters of the district, sent him to the Louisiana Senate where he served for the remainder of his life.On January 14, 1830, he was elected president of the senate and, because of the situation at the time, immediately assumed the duties of Governor of Louisiana.In 1831, the state elected Andre Bienvenu Roman, also of St. Landry Parish, governor of the state.On January 31, 1831, after Roman became governor, Dupre resigned as President of the Senate.He remained in the Senate for the rest of his sixteen years of life, serving on many committees.He died on September 14, 1846, and is buried in St. Landry Catholic Cemetery in Opelousas.His tomb adjourns that of his wife's.Both are easily recognized, his is topped with the figure of a lion, and the one of his wife is topped with the figure of a lamb.This surely tells us something of his character.
Many of Dupre's descendants live in the Opelousas area today.Wonderful stories about Jacque Dupre, one of Louisiana's most colorful governors, have been handed down through the years.One of the best is an old poem, author and origin unknown, concerning Jacque Dupre and the chief of the Opelousas Indian tribe who lived in the territory.This legend was sent many years ago to the late Miss Ita LeDoux, who was then custodian of the Acadian House Museum at Evangeline State Park in St. Martinville, Louisiana, by a Mr. J. Dean Butler, an attorney of Oregon City, Oregon.No one knows where Mr. Butler got the poem, or how correct it is.However, the citizens of Opelousas and the area claim it is an explanation of how Jacque Dupre acquired so much land in St. Landry Parish, once the territory of the Opelousas Indians."
From a brochure titled "St. Landry Parish - History and Statistics of the Old Imperial Parish", by the St. Landry Parish Police Jury, produced in the 1980's:
"The last mention of the Opelousas Indians in the area of the present city of Opelousas is in about 1850 when Opelousas Chief Bob Brandy and his tribe, including all the men, women and children, paid their last visit to Opelousas."
From the book, "OPELOUSAS", by Winston DeVille, published in 1973:
"From documents kept by the early settlers, the names of some of the members of the Attakapa and Opelousas Indians are known.Three of their great chiefs were Mermantau, Lacasine, and Nez Picque.These names should sound familiar to most in the Opelousas area as they are now Louisiana "place names".Some of the other names that have been preserved in the old Opelousas colonial records include: Attakapas Chief LaTortue and warriors Penaque, Jano, Miniche, Nong, Chaknohaye, Hayeouhaye, and Ouchanache.
It is unfortunate that not much more is known about the Opelousas Indians.However, there are some legends concerning these people.One legend tells of an Opelousas Indian Chief and Jacques Dupre, a resident of the Opelousas Territory at the turn of the 19th century, who later became governor of Louisiana in 1831.Although called "The Legend of Jacques Dupre", it could also be called "The Legend of an Opelousas Indian Chief."The following is the story of Jacques Dupre and a Chief of the Opelousas Indians:"
The poem, entitled "THE LEGEND OF JACQUES DUPRE" (mentioned above) reads:
"Where the live oaks grow in beauty/And the Spanish moss swings low,/Where the red birds fly in the twilight/When the sun has swung below.
There is told a witching story,/Where the sun and shadows play,/When a chief of the Opelousas/Dreamed a dream with Jacques Dupre.
For an Opelousas custom/In the Indian mind has stilled,/When a dream comes to the sleeper,/By the gods it is fulfilled.
Now the Chieftain walked one morning/In a thoughtful mood and slow,/And he saw a rider coming/On a horse as white as snow.
And the Indian felt a longing,/So he spoke to Jacques Dupre:/"I dreamed last night I owned your horse,/ for you gave your horse away."
It was then a sorrowed moment/For the rider Jacques Dupre,/But he swung out from the saddle,/And he gave his horse away.
And the mocking bird was singing/As the Chieftain rode away,/On the gallant white caballero/That had carried Jacques Dupre.
And the song seemed only sorrow,/To the saddened Jacques Dupre,/He was walking in a shadow/As the Chieftain rode away.
But another day came dawning/And the Indian rode with pride/Just to greet the kindly Frenchman/As he walked the trail beside.
"I dreamed, good Chief, a dream last night,"/Said the jovial Jacques Dupre./"And you had given me your land/For a galloped day each way."
Now the Indian felt a sorrow,/But he harkened to his god/And he gave to wily Jacques Dupre/All his birthright in the sod.
And a parchment bore the boundary/In a legal way to say/All the land he saw in dreaming/Was the land of Jacques Dupre.
Then the Chieftain spoke with meaning/For he knew his Indian lore,/"I have your horse, you have my land,/We will dream our dreams no more."
There was peace and trusting friendship/With the Chieftain and Dupre/And the trading made in dreaming/ As a covenant stands today."
More About JACQUES Dupre:
Burial: Unknown, Opelousas, Louisiana.
Elected 1: Bet. 1830 - 1831, Governor of Louisiana.
Elected 2: 1816, Louisiana House of Representatives.
Elected 3: 1822, Louisiana House of Representatives.
Elected 4: 1824, Louisiana House of Representatives.
Elected 5: Bet. 1828 - 1846, Louisiana Senate.
Elected 6: Bet. January 14, 1830 - January 31, 1831, President of Louisiana Senate.
Military service: Major, 16th Regiment or Louisiana Militia, Battle of New Orleans.
More About JACQUES Dupre and Theotiste Roy:
Marriage: May 19, 1792, Opelousas, Louisiana.
Children of JACQUES Dupre and Theotiste Roy are:
- +LASTIE Dupre, b. March 20, 1795, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, d. August 15, 1886.
- Six Children Dupre, d. date unknown.