Laura Plantation

In this episode, Joseph and Katy chat once more with Dr. Brittany Cochran Jones, a member of the Laura Plantation Descendant Community about the role of formerly enslaved men from Laura Plantation who fought in the U.S. Colored Troops, their role in founding the First Baptist Church of Vacherie, and the enduring legacy of leadership in the descendant community.

In this episode, Joseph chats with Dr. Brittany Cochran Jones, a member of the Laura Plantation Descendant Community. Dr. Cochran Jones shares the journey of discovery that led her to her enslaved ancestor Madison Gray and her family's subsequent participation in the founding of local First Baptist Church.

Descendant d'un militaire autochtone francophone vétéran de la Première Guerre mondiale, le comédien français Clément Lagouarde est ajourd'hui l'un des chefs de la tribu Natchitoches de Louisiane. Il parle de son ancêtre au parcours ambiguë, de la découverte de son appartenance au peuple Natchitoches et de sa double culture franco-amérindienne. Regardez son dernier court-métrage ici :...

Bonjour everyone and welcome back to the Laura Plantation podcast. In this episode,  Joseph will be talking with Dr. Angel Adams Parham about her research into the Haitian refugee community in early 19th century New Orleans, how slavery and enslavement are represented at plantations and in urban spaces, and the importance of preserving and talking about buildings and stories that  reveal Louisiana...

Background on Juneteenth and the story of men born into slavery at Laura Plantation who enlisted in the 80th United States Colored Infantry and were among the first to celebrate Juneteenth in Texas on June 19, 1866. Discussion of violence in Texas during Reconstruction and the unique role that the 80th USCI played. This episode is in memory of Bernard Stewart, Auguste James, Zeno Joseph, Nathaniel...

Historian Katy Morlas Shannon and a special guest discuss why Laura Plantation was restored and the discovery of the first primary source documents concerning the historic site. They explore how those key resources shaped the historical narrative and the storytelling approach taken in writing the tour and curating the historic structures that remained on the property. For more information about th...

In this episode, Katy and Joseph talk about the importance of steamboats on the Mississippi River and their connection to Laura Plantation, including a steamboat accident that had a direct impact on the Duparcs and Locouls and the enslaved population on the plantation.

Voici un premier supplément en français du podcast de la Plantation Laura.  Dans le dernier épisode en anglais enregistré avec Katy, nous avons évoqué ce que nous appelons “le cahier de Lobel-Mahy.”  Il s’agit effectivement d’un cahier de correspondance — une boîte d’envoi en quelque sorte –écrit à la main en français par Ivan de Lobel-Mahy, l’oncle par mariage de Laura. Dans ce cahier, de Lobel-M...

Joseph and Katy talk about what we call “the Lobel-Mahy notebook.” It is indeed a correspondence book - a sort of outbox - written by hand in French by Ivan de Lobel-Mahy, Laura's uncle by marriage. In this notebook, de Lobel-Mahy details the recipients, dates and content of the letters sent to his various friends, relations and acquaintances. The two small excerpts, the images of which you can se...

In this episode, we compare and contrast the lives of Creoles on the plantation in the countryside and in their French Quarter mansions in New Orleans. We talk about the Locouls' Toulouse Street mansion, its significance as a status symbol, and some of the experiences Laura would have had in her grandmother's home. We also explore the impact of the Civil War, the diversity of the neighborh...

Sand Marmillion, Director and Curator of Laura Plantation, joins us to share the stories of two very significant enslaved women who lived and worked at Laura Plantation. Clarisse Peterson, an American slave who arrived on the plantation in adulthood and was in charge of tending to the sick and injured in the plantation hospital, and Clarisse Wilson, a Creole, born into slavery at Laura Plantation,...

In this episode we discuss the educational opportunities available to Creole women--both free and enslaved--and the way they evolved over time. These include convents, governesses, private schools, and public schools. Religion and language were key elements in the instruction of Creole women in the colonial and antebellum eras, but after the Civil War this would change. Formerly enslaved children...

Laura Plantation was owned and operated by women at various times spanning four generations. Nanette Duparc took over after her husband’s death and established the business. Her daughter Elisabeth Locoul inherited the plantation during the Civil War and ran it until she donated the property to her children. After Emile Locoul’s death, his wife Desirée and their daughter Laura were instrumental in...

Joseph and Katy discuss Women's History Month topics, including enslaved women, Nanette's role in the early days of Laura Plantation, Louisiana exceptionalism in women's property laws, and social mores of different eras. They also touch upon International French Language Month and the significance of French not only to Louisiana's cultural heritage but also in the process of studying and researchi...

Harry Minor was one of two million enslaved individuals sold from the Upper South to the Lower South through the interstate slave trade. He was forcibly brought to Laura Plantation and made to assimilate into the Creole community. Hear his story, along with his own words, in this episode.

This episode is centered around the 1829 donation of the plantation. Nanette Duparc donated the plantation and seventy-seven enslaved people to her children, Louis, Flagy, and Elisabeth, and her son-in-law Raymond Locoul. The 1829 donation led to a corporation being founded, the Duparc Brothers and Locoul Plantation, and enslaved people became either owned by the company (mostly field hands, skill...

This episode is centered around the first people enslaved at Laura Plantation. When Guillaume Duparc died in 1808, an inventory was made of all of his property, including enslaved individuals. Learn about them and then listen to an in-depth story of Tantale, present on the 1808 inventory and who lived to see freedom.

Laura Plantation provides a cultural experience unlike any other in the United States. Here you will find the difference that exemplifies Creole Louisiana. Explore the rigors of 200 years of daily life, along with the sobering experience of slavery as it happened at one historic site on the banks of the Mississippi River in the middle of New Orleans plantation country. In this podcast, historian K...

Laura Plantation provides a cultural experience unlike any other in the United States. Here you will find the difference that exemplifies Creole Louisiana. Explore the rigors of 200 years of daily life, along with the sobering experience of slavery as it happened at one historic site on the banks of the Mississippi River in the middle of New Orleans plantation country. In this podcast, Director of...