Don José Vidal (March 12, 1763, in

A Coruña, Spain A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

– August 22, 1823, in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

) was a Spanish

grandee Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neith ...

who served in many different roles during the last decade of Louisiana's colonial period.

Biography

Cottage garden, Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi

Early life

Don José Vidal was born on March 12, 1765, in

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Career

He was secretary to

Manuel Gayoso de Lemos Don Manuel Luis Gayoso de Lemos y Amorín, KOM, OTS (May 30, 1747 – July 18, 1799) was the governor of Spanish Louisiana from 1797 until his death in 1799. Biography Early years and military career Born in Oporto, Portugal, on May 30, ...

, the Spanish Governor of the

Natchez District The Natchez District was one of two areas established in the Kingdom of Great Britain's West Florida colony during the 1770sthe other being the Tombigbee District. The first Anglo settlers in the district came primarily from other parts of Britis ...

from 1792-1797. He preferred to remain on Spanish territory, and petitioned the Spanish Governor-General

for a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

across 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 f ...

from Natchez. Gayoso granted the petition, with the stipulation that Vidal erect a “strong house” (

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

) on the property. In 1798 Don Jose moved his family from Natchez across the river and became the Commandant of the new Post of Concordia. Don Vidal also worked to develop a town at the fort, building the first steam-powered

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

. He also owned a

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

and

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shop – facilities to support the town.

Concordia Parish Concordia Parish (french: Paroisse de Concordia) borders the Mississippi River in eastern central Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,822. The parish seat is Vidalia. The parish was formed in 1807. Concordia Parish is part ...

later derived its name from the fort, and the town was called Concord by 1801. The Orleans Territorial legislature in 1811 changed the name of the city to Vidalia after its founder. Vidal had donated land along the river to the city, where its civic buildings were later constructed. He also donated land for the first school in Concordia Parish. He lived most of his later years in Vidalia, although he went to New Orleans on business.

Personal life

He was married and had children.

Death

He died August 22, 1823, in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. He was buried in the Natchez City Cemetery.

References

Don José Vidal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Jose (Don) Spanish untitled nobility 1823 deaths 1763 births 18th-century Spanish people 19th-century Spanish people