 1804 - 1885 (80 years)
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| Name |
Alexandre MOUTON |
| Prefix |
Gov. |
| Born |
19 Nov 1804 |
Attakapas Landing, Assumption, Louisiana, USA  |
Address:
Bayou Carencro
Saint Martin Parish
Saint Martin Parish, Louisiana |
| Gender |
Male |
| Education |
1821 |
- Studied law under Charles Antoine.
|
| Occupation |
1825 |
| attorney |
|
|
| Occupation |
1826 |
, , Louisiana, USA |
| representative in the State Legislature |
| Occupation |
Between 1831 and 1832 |
, , Louisiana, USA |
| Speaker of the House |
| Occupation |
Between Jan 1837 and 1 Mar 1842 |
, , Louisiana, USA |
| senator |
| Occupation |
Between 1843 and 1845 |
, , Louisiana, USA |
| governor |
 Census |
1850 |
, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA |
Mouton, Alexander 46 Farm $43,500
Gardner, Emma K. 30 (N.Y.)
Alfred 21
Mathilde 18
Odilde 16
Cecila 13
Anne Liza 6
Charles A. 4
Paul 2
|
| Membership |
Jan 1852 |
| Southwestern Railroad Convention |
|
|
| Membership |
1858 |
| Vigilance Committee for the Attakapas Country |
|
|
| Census |
1860 |
, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA |
Alexandre Mouton 55
Emma 35 (Gardner) (From Columbia)
Cecilia 21
Lyisa 15
Charles 13
Paul 11
George 6
Marie 9
Rufus 3
|
| Education |
Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA |
| Georgetown College |
| Membership |
1860 |
Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, USA |
| National Convention held at Charleston |
|
|
| Membership |
1861 |
| Secession Convention |
|
|
| Buried |
Feb 1885 |
Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA |
Address:
Saint John's Cathedral Cemetery
Lafayette Parish
Lafayette Parish, Louisiana |
| Died |
12 Feb 1885 |
Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA |
| Membership |
1886 |
Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, USA |
| National Convention held in Cincinnati |
|
|
| Person ID |
I1966 |
An Armstrong & A Heffernan |
| Last Modified |
31 Mar 2014 |
| Father |
Jean MOUTON, b. 1755, Beaubassin, , , Acadia , d. Deceased |
| Mother |
Maria Martha BORDAT, b. 1768, Saint Martinville, St. Martin, Louisiana, USA , d. Deceased |
| Married |
22 Jun 1783 |
Saint Martinville, St. Martin, Louisiana, USA |
| Family ID |
F1024 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family 1 |
Celestine Zelia ROUSSEAU, b. Abt 1809, d. Bef 1842 (Age ~ 32 years) |
| Married |
1826 [1] |
| Children |
| | 1. General Jean Jacques Alexandre Alfred MOUTON, b. 18 Feb 1829, , St. Landry, Louisiana, USA , d. 8 Apr 1864, Mansfield, De Soto, Louisiana, USA (Age 35 years) |
| | 2. Mathilde MOUTON, b. 1832, d. Deceased |
| | 3. Henriette Odieda MOUTON, b. 22 Mar 1834, d. 20 Dec 1912 (Age 78 years) |
| | 4. Cecilia MOUTON, b. 1839, d. Bef 1891 (Age 51 years) |
|
| Last Modified |
6 Dec 2008 |
| Family ID |
F1035 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family 2 |
Emma K GARDNER, b. 1825, , , New York, USA , d. Aft 1860 (Age 36 years) |
| Married |
1842 |
Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA [1] |
| Children |
| | 1. Anne Liza MOUTON, b. 1845, d. Deceased |
| | 2. Charles A MOUTON, b. 1847, d. Deceased |
| | 3. Paul MOUTON, b. 1849, d. Deceased |
| | 4. Marie MOUTON, b. 1851, d. Deceased |
| | 5. George MOUTON, b. 1854, d. Deceased |
| | 6. Rufus MOUTON, b. 1857, d. Deceased |
|
| Last Modified |
6 Dec 2008 |
| Family ID |
F1036 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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-
| Notes |
- ALEXANDER MOUTON.--The name that heads this sketch is well known, not only in Louisiana, but throughout the United States. Alexander Mouton was born November 19, 1804, in what was then Attakapas, on Bayou Carencro, which was the dividing line between Attakapas county and county of Opelousas, on the road now leading from the present town of Lafayette to Grand Coteau. He died February 12, 1885.
Mr. Mouton was the ninth Governor of the State of Louisiana, and the first Democrat to occupy the executive chair. He was a lineal descendant of an early Acadian family, and was proud of his origin. His mother, Marthé Bordat, was the daughter of Dr. Antoine Bordat, ex-surgeon of the French army, and Marguerite Martin, who was first married in Acadia, now Nova Scotia, to a gentleman named Robichaux, who came to New Orleans with many other refugees who were driven from their country by the British government on account of their allegiance to France, which had possessed and controlled it prior to England's conquest of Canada. Mrs. Robichaux married a second time, in New Orleans, Dr. Bordat of that city, who subsequently removed to the birthplace of Governor Mouton. Governor Mouton's father was a son of Salvator Mouton, who was also an Acadian refugee.
Educational advantages in the section of Louisiana in which Governor Mouton spent his youthful days were at that time very limited, a few indifferent country schools affording the only opportunities for instruction of the rising generation. The population consisted nearly solely of Acadian descendants, and the French language was universally spoken and for many years the only language taught in the schools of that locality, so that it was difficult for one to obtain a thorough English training. Governor Mouton was, however, a precocious youth, and he proved himself equal to the emergency. He acquired, unaided, a good knowledge of the English language, and from the fluency with which he spoke he might have been considered a thorough classical scholar.
The days of his boyhood were uneventful, and consisted in the regular routine of events attending the youthful days of a country boy. At an early age young Mouton evinced a great interest in public affairs, and, probably, to this is due the fact that he chose as his vocation law, as the entrance to the political arena has been, in the United States, chiefly through the doors of this profession.
In 1821 Governor Mouton went to St. Martinsville, the seat of the parochial government of St. Martin parish, and studied law in the office of Charles Antoine, an attorney of St. Martinsville. Charles Antoine died shortly after Governor Mouton entered his office, and young Mouton finished his law study with Edward Simon, a distinguished jurist, who was at one time Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Louisiana.
Being admitted to the bar in 1825, Mr. Mouton commenced the practice of his profession in Lafayette parish, which had been incorporated in 1823. He only practised [sic] a short while, however, when he retired to his country home, seemingly preferring the freedom and ease of a country life to the tedious routine of an attorney's duties.
In 1826 the citizens of Lafayette parish, looking around for a man of energy and ability to represent them in the State Legislature, chose Mr. Mouton. His services were eminently satisfactory, and he succeeded himself in that body for three consecutive terms, and was Speaker of the House during the sessions of 1831-32.
From 1832 until 1836 Governor Mouton resided on his plantation. He was on the Presidential Electoral ticket during the presidential campaigns of 1828, 1832 and 1836. In the latter part of 1836 he was elected for the fourth time to the lower house of the State Legislature. In January, 1837, he was elected by that body to fill the unexpired term of Judge Porter in the United States Senate, and succeeded himself for the long term. While in Congress he was a member of the Committee on Private Land Claims and Patents.
Mr. Mouton was nominated for Governor of his State in 1842, and he resigned his seat in the Senate March 1, of that year, and, being elected, he entered upon his executive duties January 30, 1843. Commenting upon the condition of public affairs in the State at the time, Governor Mouton in his first message to the Legislature remarked: "We can justly attribute the evils we suffer to no other cause than to ourselves. Louisiana, under a good government, and poised on her own resources, would leave nothing to be wished for by her sons. It is but too common to look abroad for causes which are to be found immediately among ourselves. It is too customary to look to the general government for relief in distress, whilst that relief should have been sought at home. By the manly exercise of our own faculties, availing ourselves of our own advantages, and calling to our aid the sovereign power of the State, we could overcome all our difficulties." His public utterances were noted for their strength and wisdom. The Governor's remarks upon the fearful condition of the State Treasury, its cause and remedy, are full of facts and suggestions. He recommended as a remedy for this great evil legislative prevention, as far as possible, of the revival of a banking system as heretofore organized.
A new constitution for the State having been adopted May 14, 1845, involving a complete change of officers, Governor Mouton's term was brought to a close at the expiration of his third year. Leaving the executive chair, Governor Mouton again retired to private life and never again participated actively in political affairs.
January, 1852, he was chairman of the great Southwestern Railroad Convention. He was also a delegate to the National Convention held in Cincinnati, 1886. In 1858 he was selected president of the Vigilance Committee for the Attakapas country, which was organized to rid that section of the country from an organized band of marauders who set the laws at defiance. In 1860 he was a delegate to the National Convention held at Charleston, South Carolina, for the nomination of President of the United States. In 1861 he was a delegate and president of the Secession Convention that met in Baton Rouge. This may be said to have ended his public career, although he was afterward a candidate for a seat in the Confederate States Congress.
The latter days of Governor Mouton's life were spent on his plantation in Lafayette parish. There he lived a retired life, rarely leaving his home, save occasionally making a trip to New Orleans, since the extension of the Morgan Railroad, which afforded the traveling facilities which he could not previously command, for which he had a peculiar partiality, railroads being confessedly his hobby. Age pressed more heavily upon the governor in consequence of the severe loss he sustained in the war, by the death of his gallant son, General Alfred Mouton, at Mansfield, Louisiana, through the treachery of a body of Federal soldiers, who, after surrendering, fired upon and killed him. The devastation of his native place also added to the misfortunes which seemed to accumulate at that period of life when he was least able to sustain himself under the burden.
Governor Mouton was a man of remarkably prepossessing appearance; tall and commanding in figure, every feature of his countenance plainly expressed the great courage and resolution characteristic of his nature. Dignified and courteous in his manner, slow and deliberate in conversation, Governor Mouton laid no claim to oratorical power, preferring to listen to others rather than express his own views and opinions. He had that happy faculty of setting at ease those whom he entertained, and was a most congenial host.
Governor Mouton was married, in 1826, to Miss Zelia Rousseau, the daughter of Jaquez Dupre', the most wealthy stock raiser in " Opelousas county" in his time. He was also prominent in public affairs, and acted as President pro tem. of the State Senate and ex-officio Lieutenant Governor, subsequently becoming acting Governor in 1830; succeeding A. Beaurias, who was acting Governor after the death of Governor Derbigny. By his first marriage Governor Mouton had five children: General Alfred Mouton a graduate of West Point, who was killed at Mansfield, 1864; Mathilde, who married Frank Gardner, the defender of Port Hudson; Idieda, who married J. S. Mouton, a sugar planter of Lafayette parish; Cecilia, who died unmarried. After the death of his first wife the governor married, while a Senator in Washington City, 1842, Miss Emma K. Gardener, daughter of Colonel Charles K. Gardener, officer in the United States army. To the latter union four sons and two daughters were born: Charles, Paul, George, Rufus, Ann Eliza and Marie.
"Characteristics.--The general history of the parish has been peacable and moral to a high degree. But back before the war, along in the fifties, a lot of lawless characters banded tgether and depredated upon the people until patience ceased to be a virtue, and the law-abiding men formed themselves into a vigilance committee for the purpose of ridding themselves of the bandits. The people organized under Gov. Mouton and other prominent leaders. In the summer of 1859, a battle was fought on the Bayou Queue Tortue, which fortunately proved bloodless, which routed the bandits so completely they never rallied again, a full account of which is given in the chapter on St. Martin.
"Ex-Gov. Mouton was elected judge in 1864, but his term was cut short by the civil war. He held his last term in 1865. Court was then suspended in the parish until 1866, when, at the November term, we find Judge Adolph Bailey on the bench of the Lafayette court. He died in office in 1868. Judge Bailey was a native of the parish, and a graduate of Yale College, and withal, one of the most learned men this part of the country ever produced. Judge J. M. Porter was elected judge in 1868, and served until his death, when George E. King was appointed to fill out the unexpired term of Judge Porter, but never held court in this place. Eraste Mouton was appointed judge in 1871, and afterward elected, and served until the time of his death in 1878. He was of the most brilliant judges that ever sat on the bench of this district. E. E. Mouton was appointed in 1879 to fill out the unexpired term, and was subsequently elected to the office, which he held until his death. Judge John Clegg was then appointed to fill the vacancy. In 1884, C. Debaillion was elected judge, and was reelected in 1888. He resigned, and N. N. Edwards was appointed to serve until an election could be held. In 1890 the present judge, Orther C. Mouton, was elected.
"The former practitioners of the bar of Lafayette, and who have passed away, were M. E. Girard, R. C. Crow, Wm. Mouton, V. Cornier, and Gov. Mouton. The following compose the present bar, Ex-Judge Debaillion, L. Tansy, Charles D. Caffrey, Julian Mouton, Edward G. Voorhies, and William Campbell."
"A deadly silence prevailed and a battle was imminent, when, for the purpose of avoiding a useless effusion of blood, Governor Alexander Mouton proposed to hold a parley with the chiefs of the antis. This was acceded to, and Governor Mouton, with Major St. Julien, Captain Valmont Richard and Lieutenant Steak, advanced toward the antis, walking up to the fence which enclosed Lagrange's house. This was a one-story house, surrounded by a shed. It was "cat and clayed," and pierced with loop holes. The shining barrels of guns could be seen pointed toward the new comers, ready to be fired at any moment. Lagrange and Jones, two anti chieftains, came to the fence
"What do you wish, gentlemen?" said Lagrange.
"We have come," said the Governor, "to find out the object of your meeting."
"It is nothing but a political meeting," answered Lagrange.
"A political meeting! Why, we have no elections this year. But I see that you are armed to the teeth. Political meetings are generally held without guns. It may be that you have cannons also?"
"We are too poor to buy cannons," answered Jones, 'we meet here to-day because we have a constitutional right to do so."
"Very well," said the Governor, "but you have among you men that have received orders to leave the State ; men that we intend to chastise severely for their disobedience to our orders."
"We know not these men," answered Jones.
"Then you refuse to deliver them up?" Lagrange answered evasively.
"Governor," said St. Julien, "what is the use of parleying with these men, since they refuse to deliver their friends; let us return to our post and open fire at once."
"Lagrange," said the Governor, "it were well that you should send away the women and children I see in your yard; we have come to fight men, and not children; " and then he added, "the responsibility of what follows is yours, not ours."
"The Governor and his escort returned to their posts, the little army, was deployed for action, the cannon was unmasked, and when the lighted match was about to be applied to it there followed in the camp of the antis a scene of confusion which beggars description. Panic stricken the antis fled in every direction; their army had melted away in the air; the sight of the cannon had produced that most unexpected result. The battle had been won without shedding a drop of blood. Then a helter-skelter race took place in the prairie, in the wood, along, the bayou, between the panic stricken antis and the vigilants, who captured over two hundred prisoners, and over a thousand small arms, guns and revolvers. The battle was over, and excepting eighty prisoners, the balance of the antis were released and allowed to return to their homes.
"The prisoners were closely examined separately and the testimony of each one of them coincided with that of the others, and, being condensed, established the fact that their plan was to overrun the parish of Lafayette, to incite the negroes to revolt against their masters, to burn and sack all the plantations on their way to Lafayette, and plunder the safes of Alexander Mouton, Emile Mouton, V. A. Martin, Gerassin Bernard, Alexandre Latcolais,, Camille Doucet, Francois D'Aigle and others, all of whom were doomed, besides, to a cruel death; and lastly to plunder the town of Lafayette and reduce it to ashes after having abandoned it to all the horrors of a town taken by assault."
"On the assembling of the Convention at Baton Rouge on Wednesday January 23, 1861 on motion of Lawrence of Plaquemines, John Perkins Junior was made temporary Chairman. The candidates for the Presidency of the Convention were Alexander Mouton and Isaiah Garrett: the ballot stood, Mouton 81, Garrett 41, and Perkins 1, making a total of 123 votes.
"After Governor Mouton took the chair and delivered his address of acceptance, and other organization preliminaries were completed, upon motion of Samuel W. Dorsey, Parish delegate from Tensas, a Committee of Fifteen was appointed "to prepare arid report an ordinance providing for the withdrawal of the State of Louisiana from the Union." Perkins was made Chairman of this Committee."
Alexandre Mouton
Born: November 19, 1804 in Attakapas District (Lafayette Parish), Louisiana
Political Affiliation: Democrat
Religious Affiliation: Catholic
Education: Geogetown College, Washington, DC
Career Prior to Term: State Legislator; Speaker of the House of Representatives; U.S. Senator.
How He Became Governor: Elected in 1843
Career after Term: Planter; Chairman of the Louisiana Secession Convention; Defeated in election to the Confederate Senate; President-Southwestern Railroad Convention.
Died: February 12, 1885 in Vermilionville (now Lafayette)
[http://www.sec.state.la.us/33.htm]
Alexandre Mouton 1843-1846
Alexander Mouton, elected as the first Democratic Governor of Louisiana, led the Constitutional Convention of 1845. The new Constitution directed the legislature to begin a public education system and eliminated property qualifications to vote or hold office. Mouton reduced state expenditures and sold off state property to avoid raising taxes.
Later, in 1861, Mouton chaired the Louisiana Secession Convention and led the overwhelming vote to pass the Ordinance of Secession. During the war, Union troops seized his plantation to use as their headquarters; they burned the sugar mill and released his slaves.
He died in 1885 in Vermilionville, present-day Lafayette, a city founded by his ancestor, Jean Mouton.
[http://www.sec.state.la.us/33.htm]
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