Jean-Noël Destréhan de Tours (1754 – October 4, 1823) was a Creole politician in

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 ...

and one-time owner of

St. Charles Parish St. Charles Parish (french: Paroisse de Saint-Charles) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, its population was 52,549. The parish seat is Hahnville and the most populous community is Luling. The parish was ...

Destrehan Plantation Destrehan Plantation (french: Plantation Destrehan) is an antebellum mansion, in the French Colonial style, modified with Greek Revival architectural elements. It is located in southeast Louisiana, near the town of the same name, Destrehan. ...

, one of Louisiana's historic

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ar ...

landmarks. The community of

Destrehan Destrehan is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 11,340. Etymology The community is named after Jean Noël Destréhan (1754–1823), who was twice President of ...

was named for his family. Destréhan was born in colonial New Orleans to

Jean Baptiste d'Estrehan 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 ...

and Jeanne Catherine de Gauvret (1729-1773) and was educated in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. His father was the colonial treasurer for France, and his brother-in-law was Etienne de Boré, who perfected the sugar granulation process and served as New Orleans' first mayor. Destréhan married Marie Claudine Eléonore Robin de Logny in 1786 and bought Destréhan Plantation in 1792. After 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 ...

, he served as Speaker of the territorial House of Representatives from 1804 to 1806 before receiving an appointment from President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

to serve on the Orleans Territorial Council. Destréhan served in this position during 1806 as president of the council. President

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...

appointed him to a second legislative council for Orleans Territory in 1811, where he served again as president.Congressional biography
/ref> The Orleans Territorial Council crafted a legal system based on French and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

codes In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

and established Louisiana's

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

system of governance. Destréhan ran for

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in the first gubernatorial election since statehood, but he placed a distant third behind

William C. C. Claiborne William Charles Cole Claiborne ( 1773–1775 – November 23, 1817) was an American politician, best known as the first non-colonial governor of Louisiana. He also has the distinction of possibly being the youngest member of the United State ...

and

Jacques Villeré Jacques Philippe Villeré (April 28, 1761 – March 7, 1830) was the second Governor of Louisiana after it became a state. He was the first Creole and the first native of Louisiana to hold that office. Early life He was born in 1761 near pres ...

. He was selected to serve in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

instead, but he resigned within a month. He served in the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is compose ...

from 1812 to 1817. He again ran for

in the 1820 election but placed fourth. During the 1814-15 Battle of New Orleans threat, Jean N. Destrehan served on the Committee of Defense and three of his sons served in a cavalry unit. He continued planting, dying at his plantation on October 4, 1823. Destréhan was buried at the St. Charles Borromeo Church cemetery in

Destrehan, Louisiana Destrehan is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 11,340. Etymology The community is named after Jean Noël Destréhan (1754–1823), who was twice President ...

Jean Noël Destréhan and sugar plantation slavery

Destréhan pioneered the Creole system of

slave labor Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

on his

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

. A blend between the harsher

gang system The gang system is a system of division of labor within slavery on a plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a ...

and the more lenient

task system The task system is a system of labor under slavery characteristic in the Americas. It is usually regarded as less brutal than other forms of slave labor. The other form, known as the gang system, was harsher. Under this system, each slave is assig ...

, the Creole approach was to use head slaves called drivers to allot tasks and inspect work, as opposed to relying on a hired overseer. During the planting and grinding seasons, plantation owners required slaves to work long hours; but during the off-season when the

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

fields needed little maintenance, slaves were allowed a considerable amount of time off to grow food, work for themselves, and trade. Several of Destréhan's slaves participated in the 1811 German Coast Uprising, said to have been the largest

slave rebellion A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by enslaved people, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of enslaved people have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedo ...

in American history. Destréhan himself served on a local six-member tribunal at the conclusion of the revolt.

was the location of the St. Charles Parish slave trials. Three of Destréhan's slaves were among the eighteen conspirators who were

summarily executed A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes include ...

References

External links

Jean Noel Destrehan
at 64Parishes.org
Jean Noël Destrehan on KnowLa encyclopediaDestrehan and his father in Dictionary of La. Biography (Scroll down)
La. Historical Association
Official website
for

*
Destrehan Family Papers
a
The Historic New Orleans Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Destrehan, Jean Noel 1754 births 1823 deaths Politicians from New Orleans People from Destrehan, Louisiana Members of the Territory of Orleans Legislature United States senators from Louisiana Louisiana Democratic-Republicans American people of French descent American slave owners Louisiana state senators

Jean Noël Destréhan and sugar plantation slavery

See also

References

Further reading

External links