Jean-Baptiste d'Estrehan de Beaupré (surname often written as Destrehan; died 26 February 1765, New Orleans, Louisiana)
was a high-ranking
French official in
colonial Louisiana and the founder of the Destrehan family there. A native of France, he was appointed Royal Treasurer of Louisiana early in the colony's history.
He arrived in New Orleans in 1722, the year it was designated as the
capital
Capital may refer to:
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* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of
Louisiana (New France)
Louisiana (french: La Louisiane; ''La Louisiane Française'') or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682 to 1769 and 1801 (nominally) to 1803, the area was named in honor of King Louis XIV, ...
.
Biography
D'Estrehan is credited with the completion of the
Harvey Canal on the west bank of 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 ...
in 1739, which connected the river with
Barataria Bay
Barataria Bay (french: Baie de Barataria), also Barrataria Bay, is a bay of the Gulf of Mexico, about 15 miles (24 km) long and 12 miles (19 km) wide, in southeastern Louisiana, in Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish, United Stat ...
to the south and thus to the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
.
The canal work took many years. He cultivated
indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
as a commodity crop on his west bank plantation. In 1746, d'Estrehan was appointed as Comptroller of the
colony
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
. He held both this position and the treasurer position until his death in 1765.
D'Estrehan married Jeanne Catherine de Gauvret (daughter of Jean-Baptiste de Gauvret, an officer of colonial troops, and Jeanne Catherine Pierre). They had six children together,
the most notable of whom was
Jean Noel Destréhan
Jean may refer to:
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* Jean (female given name)
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* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
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* J ...
, after whom the town of
Destrehan was named. Another son, Jean Baptiste Honoré d'Estrehan, was the first husband of Marie Felicité de St. Maxent. After his death, she married
Bernardo de Gálvez
Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Count of Gálvez (23 July 1746 – 30 November 1786) was a Spanish military leader and government official who served as colonial governor of Spanish Louisiana and Cuba, and later as Viceroy of New Sp ...
, a
Spanish colonial governor during the decades of Spanish rule in the late 18th century. D'Estrehan's daughter, Marie Marguerite, married
Étienne de Boré
Jean Étienne de Boré (27 December 1741 – 1 February 1820) was a Creole French planter, born in Kaskaskia, Illinois Country, who was known for producing the first granulated sugar in Louisiana. At the time, the area was under Spanish rule. Hi ...
, who was appointed as the first mayor of
after the United States made the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
. Daughter Jeanne Marie d'Estrehan, married Pierre Philippe de Marigny, the son of
Antoine Philippe de Marigny
Antoine Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville (17 July 1721 – 6 November 1779), Chevalier de St. Louis, was a French geographer and explorer. Born in Mobile in 1722, he was part of the Creole elite of French Louisiana.
Biography
Antoine Phi ...
, a French Creole geographer and explorer. She was the mother of
Bernard de Marigny.
[Louisiana Historical Societ]
''Publications of the Louisiana Historical Society'' Vol. 5
1911, p. 44
In his role as a colonial official, d'Estrehan clashed with the colonial governor
Kerlerec, who described him as being "too rich and dangerous."
Kerlerec ordered d'Estrehan to be returned to France, along with the Commissary-Commissioner
Vincent de Rochemore Vincent Gaspard Pierre de Rochemore (c. 1726–1763) was a French nobleman from Languedoc who entered the military as a career. In the mid-18th century, he was appointed as a colonial official in French Louisiana, where he served as the Commiss ...
and
Antoine Philippe de Marigny
Antoine Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville (17 July 1721 – 6 November 1779), Chevalier de St. Louis, was a French geographer and explorer. Born in Mobile in 1722, he was part of the Creole elite of French Louisiana.
Biography
Antoine Phi ...
, with whom the governor was in conflict.
[ King, Grace Elizabeth. ''Creole Families of New Orleans'', pg. 16] In France d'Estrehan and the other men were briefly held in the
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...
. They convinced the colonial administration of their view, and Kerlerec was recalled and exiled from Paris for a year. He remained in France. D'Estrehan returned to New Orleans, where he lived for the remainder of his life.
See also
*
History of Harvey, Louisiana
References
External links
"Jean-Baptiste Destrehan" ''Dictionary of Louisiana Biography''] (scroll down through the D entries)
{{DEFAULTSORT:d'Estrehan, Jean Baptiste
1765 deaths
18th-century French people
French slave owners
People of Louisiana (New France)
Politicians from New Orleans