Arnaud Julie Beauvais (September 6, 1783 – November 18, 1843), also known as Armand Beauvais, or Arnaud Jules Beauvais, was the seventh Governor of Louisiana, as well as member and Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, and member and President of the Louisiana State Senate. His governorship oversaw little change, aside from the transition of the capital of Louisiana being moved from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

to Donaldsonville. He worked as a merchant and plantation owner, as well.

Biography

Early life

Arnaud Beauvais was born on September 6, 1783, in

Pointe Coupee Parish Pointe Coupee Parish ( or ; french: Paroisse de la Pointe-Coupée) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,802; in 2020, its population was 20,758. The parish seat is New Roads. Pointe ...

to slaveholding, wealthy, parents Pierre Charles St. James Beauvais and Marie Franáoise Richer. He was the youngest of eight siblings and received limited education in the form of private tutoring. By 1806, he purchased a plantation from his widowed mother and a slave. His plantation included eleven arpents (2,112 feet) of frontage land on the

Mississippi river The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. In 1810, he married Louise Delphine Labatut. A French Louisianian, he was

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Career

His first political role came about when William C. C. Claiborne named him the Justice of the peace of Pointe Coupee Parish in 1810. Shortly thereafter, he became an administrators of the Point Coupee school district. His career continued, and he, a supporter of

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...

, soon thereafter was elected into the Louisiana House of Representatives, serving in 1814, 1816, and 1818. He then took a short break, before returning in 1821 to serve as the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1821 to 1823. During his tenure as Speaker of the House, he also ran for State Senate office as a Whig, being elected in 1822. He would soon thereafter serve as

President of the Louisiana State Senate The President of the Louisiana State Senate is the highest-ranking member of the Louisiana State Senate. The president convenes the session and calls members to order, and can designate another state senator as the presiding officer. The Louisia ...

from 1827 to 1830, but was soon thereafter required to serve as the Governor. After his governorship, he served on the House from 1833 to 1834 after the resignation of a Representative Chenevert.

Governor

As President of the Senate, Arnaud was next in line to governorship. This came when Governor

Pierre Derbigny Pierre Augustin Charles Bourguignon Derbigny (June 30, 1769 – October 6, 1829) was the sixth Governor of Louisiana. Born in 1769, at Laon, France, the eldest son of Augustin Bourguignon d'Herbigny who was President of the Directoire de l'Aisne ...

was thrown from a carriage after ten months in office, dying from injuries sustained. Under Beauvais, the Louisiana capital was moved from New Orleans to Donaldsonville. His three-month period as acting Governor ended when his bid for reelection as Governor during the special election of 1830 failed. He only ended up receiving 18% of the vote. This campaign was financed using a loan, which he eventually had to pay off, leading to financial woes and the selling of his estate in 1839.

Death

Arnaud Beauvais died in his New Orleans home on 18 November 1843. He is buried in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 2.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beauvais, Armand Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Speakers of the Louisiana House of Representatives 1783 births 1843 deaths Governors of Louisiana Louisiana Whigs 19th-century American politicians Louisiana National Republicans National Republican Party state governors of the United States Louisiana state senators American slave owners