Alcée Louis la Branche (1806 – August 17, 1861) was an American politician who served as a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He served one term as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

from 1843 to 1845.

Biography

La Branche was born near

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, the son of Alexandre La Branche (a Revolutionary War regimental commander whose family had emigrated to Louisiana from Bavaria and had changed its surname from the German "Zweig" to the French "Branche," with both names meaning "branch") and Marie Jeanne Piseros (whose family was of Spanish ancestry).See "Alcée Louis La Branche" in "The Handbook of Texas," published by the Texas State Historical Association: http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fla06. La Branche attended the Université de Sorèze in

Sorèze Sorèze (; ) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. Population See also * Communes of the Tarn department The following is a list of the 314 communes of the Tarn department of France. The communes cooperate in the f ...

(France). La Branche was a slaveholder.

Political career

He served as Speaker of the House of the Louisiana State House of Representatives in 1833 and later served as

Chargé d'Affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

to the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

. He served in Congress from 1843 until 1845.

Death

He died in

Hot Springs, Virginia Hot Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bath County, Virginia, Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 Census was 524. It is located about southwest of Warm Springs, Virginia, Warm ...

References

External links

Bio at Congress.govBio at Handbook of Texas OnlineLa Branche
at the

Office of the Historian The Office of the Historian is an office of the United States Department of State within the Foreign Service Institute. It is legally responsible for the preparation and publication of the official historical documentary record of U.S. foreign p ...

1806 births 1861 deaths American people of Spanish descent Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Speakers of the Louisiana House of Representatives American people of German descent Louisiana Creole people of Spanish descent Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress Ambassadors of the United States to the Republic of Texas Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature {{Louisiana-politician-stub