What was life like way, way back here in the Opelousas Post area? The best book I read was Winston DeVille's Opelousas: The History of a French and Spanish Military Post in America, 1716-1803. There are several interesting things such as "Social conduct in early Opelousas was typically that of a rough frontier settlement." (DeVille, 119) It makes me think of a western show or movie but with Louisiana Creoles as the cowboys and cowgirls speaking in French and eating gumbo on the prairie.
I will get a machine to listen to Paw Paw Adan tell stories in French told to him from Pepere Hypolite. Dad has the tapes. Hypolite probably told stories also told from his Dad, Joachim. Maybe, probably, from his Mouman also, Divine Fontenot. She died in Eunice and is buried in Pointe aux Tigre area, in the Ashford cemetery. Joachim was born in 1803 in Opelousas. His Poupa was Joachim also. He was born in 1781 in Pointe Coupee. His first wife, the line I'm from, was Emilie Gagnard. Gagnard sounds like Gaa-nyay. That's my best way of trying to sound it out. Her Mom and Pop were Jacques Gagnard and Ursula Juneau. Now maybe some stories were passed down from even Joachim's Dad, Francois. Francois came from Martigny Le Comte in Burgundy France. He came to Louisiana with his brother, Phillip. Francois, line I'm from, married Marie Marcantel in Pointe Coupee. She was born in 1756 and I think in Louisiana. Her Mom and Pop were Francois Marcantel and Ann Rondo. They, I think, were in Louisiana for a long time compared to Francois coming to Louisiana from France. Phillip signed Francois and Marie's wedding contract in 1771 Pointe Coupee. Dad has a copy of the actual contract.
It would be great to read or hear about life back then about the prairie Creoles. The Opelousas Post was not all rich, rich plantation owning aristocrats. Not at all. Sure, they had some like that, just like in St. Martinville, but the majority of the people were small farmers, ranchers and things like that. From what I know, my family were not big time plantation types. A lot were military types that changed to farming and ranching. Simple country western Louisiana Creole cowboys.