Jean Baptiste Brevelle (French: ''Jean Baptiste Brevel'') was a Parisian-born trader, explorer, and one of the first soldiers garrisoned at Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches in present-day Natchitoches, Louisiana and Le Poste des Cadodaquious in Texas.

Explorer of French Louisiana

Brevelle arrived in French Louisiana during the construction of Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches in 1719. Commandant Claude Charles du Tisné had arrived to the outpost just a few years earlier to convert the 2 huts built in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis into a fortified post on

Red River of the South The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major river in the Southern United States. It was named for its reddish water color from passing through red-bed country in its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name ...

to establish France's claims to the region and to prevent the Spanish forces in the province of Texas from advancing across the border. Brevelle's military and trade assignments took them to various Native American, Spanish and French settlements throughout present-day Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma including Le Poste des Cadodaquious (also known as ''Le Posts des Nassonites'') in Bowie and Red River County, Texas. This post was founded by Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe, and it is the first European settlement in northeast Texas. The post was garrisoned by a detachment from Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches. Brevelle traveled and mapped the areas along the Red, Sabine, and Trinity Rivers where he lived among and traded with the Natchitoches, Adai, Hasinai, Nasoni, Yatasi, Tawakoni and Kadohadacho Indians.

Family Life

Brevelle took a young Native American slave from the ''Village of the Adays'' near the El Camino Real (English: ''The King’s Highway''). She was given the

Christian name A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious personal name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often assigned by parents at birth. In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian name ...

of Marie Anne des Cadeaux, named for

Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

, the mother of the Virgin Mother and grandmother of Jesus. Brevelle so loved Anne that he obtained permission from Fort Commandant Louis Juchereau de St. Denis to marry her and free her from slavery. After the publication of three banns, they were married in 1736 in the Catholic Church in Natchitoches. Anne bore two children, who would become the first Creoles of Isle Brevelle.

Legacy

Brevelle died in 1754 on Isle Brevelle near

Bayou Brevelle Bayou Brevelle is a series of interconnected, natural waterways totaling over 18 miles in length in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. Its main channel is at Old River (Natchitoches Parish), Old River and Kisatchie Bayou at Montrose to Natchez, Lo ...

. Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches became the town of Natchitoches, the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase territory. Brevelle's son, Jean Baptiste Brevelle II, with his knowledge of various

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, wh ...

languages and customs, worked as the famed translator, arbitrator, explorer, and soldier for the French and Spanish crowns. For his service, he was issued a land grant of fertile farmland south of Natchitoches along the Cane River and Old River. The 30-mile long island is today known as Isle Brevelle. Dr. John Sibley, Indian Agent and council to Louisiana's first U.S. Governor, in 1804 reported to the U.S. Congress that the Isle Brevelle was named for its earliest settler, Jean Baptiste Brevelle II. The former Brevelle Plantation (now Isle Brevelle) is home to the Cane River Creole National Historical Park and is the ''birthplace of Creole culture''. In Louisiana, the term ''Creole'' is defined as native-born people of ethnic European background mixed with Native American and/or African. Brevelle's story and that of both of his Creole children are documented in the records of the Catholic Church and in interviews conducted by Indian Agent Dr. Sibley after the Louisiana Purchase which are on file in the American State Papers, Library of Congress, and the Annals of Congress.

St. Augustine Parish (Isle Brevelle) Church St. Augustine Catholic Church and Cemetery, or the Isle Brevelle Church, is a historic Catholic parish property founded in 1829 near Melrose, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. It is the cultural center of the Cane River area's historic Black Creo ...

, Bayou Brevelle, and Isle Brevelle in Natchitoches Parish and Brevelle Lake in Red River County are named for this pioneer family. ''"The Caddo left their names, art, and culture in Louisiana. Several colonial European families can claim Caddoan ancestors: Grappes, Brevelles, Balthazars, and others."''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baptiste Brevelle, Jean 1754 deaths French explorers of North America Explorers of the United States Catholics from Louisiana People of Louisiana (New France) People from Natchitoches, Louisiana People of New France People of Spanish Texas People from pre-statehood Oklahoma People from pre-statehood Louisiana People from pre-statehood Texas People from pre-statehood Arkansas 1700s in New France American city founders People from Île-de-France People from Paris Explorers of Texas Louisiana (New France) 1698 births

Explorer of French Louisiana

Family Life

Legacy

See also

References