Generation One
Known children (both probably born in Bayonne, France) of Unknown1 Lafitte and his equally unknown spouse were as follows:
2. Pierre2 Lafitte (Unknown1); probably born before 1779 in Bayonne, France; married Adelaide Maselari (date unknown, but probably 1809 or early 1810). He also took Marie Louise Villars of New Orleans as a mistress in 1811; they had seven children, all of whom apparently survived to maturity.
NOTE: Most of the events in which Jean and Pierre both took part are detailed under Jean, below.
Pierre suffered what was probably an apoplectic stroke in 1810 in New Orleans, which left one side of his face paralyzed. In April 1814 in New Orleans, following an indictment by Governor Claiborne's secret grand jury [see below], Pierre was arrested in the street and held in the Cabildo without bond. He was examined while in jail by two doctors on 10 August 1814, after claims that the confinement was affecting his health. He escaped from the Cabildo on 6 September 1814 (probably with help) and made his way to Barataria.
On 6 September 1814, Pierre is known to have visited Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia [see below], carrying with him a letter from his brother to the president in an attempt to recover their contraband property.
On 3 January 1820 at New Orleans, Jean wrote to Commodore Patterson, again protesting the innocence of himself and his brother; this was the last mention of Pierre in any documentable source -- though he apparently went to Washington again in May 1820 to see the president on behalf of their condemned crewmen. Pierre Lafitte also was reported to have been seen clandestinely leaving Charleston, South Carolina, in a schooner in March 1821, possibly on a piratical expedition.
Adelaide Maselari was born in St.-Louis-of-Jeremie Parish, Santo Domingo.
Only known child of Pierre2 Lafitte and an unknown person was:
Only known child of Pierre2 Lafitte and Adelaide Maselari was:
In the 1830 city directory, Marie Josephe was recorded as living at 141 Hospital St, New Orleans (with the Sauvinet family).
Marie Louise Villars (reportedly a quadroon or octaroon) was born January 1791 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was baptized 14 March 1793 at St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans. Her sponsors were Martin Robin & Marie Badon, but her parents' names were omitted. She was a sister of Catherine Villars, the mistress of Pierre's brother, Jean.
Known children of Pierre2 Lafitte and Marie Louise Villars all born New Orleans, Louisiana, were as follows:
3. Jean2 Lafitte (Unknown1); probably born 1780? in Bayonne, France (also reported born 1781 in St. Malo, France, but this is demonstrably incorrect); Catherine Villars became his mistress probably in November 1812 in New Orleans, Louisiana; he died probably in 1826 at Losbocas, Yucatan, Mexico (reported to have died of fever while on a dyewood expedition out of Charleston, and to have been buried in Silan, 15 miles from Merida).
He probably first visited New Orleans with his brother in 1804.
He and Pierre Lafitte lived in 1809 St. Philip St, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana. The brothers lived in a cottage at the corner of St. Philip & Bourbon, and owned a blacksmith shop (attached to the cottage), as well as a shop on Royal Street. They also sold slaves obtained from "unknown sources," which were warehoused in Grande Terre. Jean was actually seen by 18-year-old Esau Glasscock in November 1809 in New Orleans, as reported in a surviving letter by Esau to his brother in Virginia.
He apparently joined the privateers at Barataria, following clashes between different groups of slave-smugglers in October 1810. In 1811, he lived at Grande Isle, Louisiana and built a house at Grande Terre. Jean and Dominique You [who may have been another brother or half-brother; the sources are unclear] began their privateering association circa September 1811.
On 16 November 1812 at Barataria, Jean and Pierre Lafitte were arrested by Capt. Andrew Hunter Holmes of the U.S. Dragoons, and charged with smuggling slaves following the slave rebellion of January 1811 -- an event which was widely blamed on the smugglers of Barataria. While awaiting trial, they attended a birthday party on 25 November 1812 at New Orleans for General Jean Robert Marie Humbert, which ended in a near-riot. On 29 November 1812, they stood trial as smugglers. The trial was carried over to the Spring session, but the brothers could not then be found. Their bonds were forfeited and arrest warrants issued, which made them outlaws.
Gov. William Claiborne issued a proclamation ordering that Lafitte's auctions of stolen slaves and goods cease immediately, effectively outlawing him (again) on 15 March 1813. On 23 June 1813 at Barataria, the captain of a British sloop of war attacked the pirate stronghold but was driven off. Revenue officer Walker Gilbert caught Lafitte with contraband goods in the marshes near the city on 14 October 1813, tried to arrest him -- and actually did succeed in capturing the schooner -- but then was routed by the pirates.
Gov. Claiborne thereupon issued another proclamation, on 24 November 1813, offering $500 reward to anyone delivering Lafitte to the authorities. Jean issued his famous counter-proclamation two days later, offering $1,500 to anyone delivering Gov. Claiborne to him at Grande Terre! (This exchange was hugely enjoyed by the citizens of New Orleans.)
The Lafitte brothers announced an auction of contraband goods and slaves in January 1814. In response, the U.S. Collector of Customs sent a small force to close the auction but on 20 January 1814, the pirates killed three of them and held the rest prisoner. Pierre was arrested in the street and held in the Cabildo without bond in April 1814 [see above]. By June 1814, Jean was hiding out in an inn at Donaldsonville, Ascension Parish, while awaiting Pierre's trial. (He is also known to have met Mrs. Claiborne, wife of the governor, while visiting the plantation of a friend between New Orleans and Barataria in August 1814.)
On 3 September 1814 at Barataria, Lt. Col. Edward Nicholls, commanding the British forces in Florida, attempt to bribe the Lafittes (offering money, land, and forgiveness of acts of piracy against British shipping) into joining him against the American forces in Louisiana. Jean delayed the colonel and the next day wrote a letter to Gov. Claiborne, offering his services to the American forces in return for dropping the piracy charges against himself and his brother (who was still being held in the Cabildo at that point). Col. Nicholls apparently received intelligence of the approach of ships of the U.S. Navy and withdrew. U.S. Navy Commodore Patterson, together with Col. Ross, with a schooner, six gunboats, and three barges filled with armed men, attacked Barataria on 11 September, intending to destroy the pirate stronghold. The pirates declined to resist against the U.S. flag and scattered, but more than 80, including Dominique You, were captured. Hundreds of others escaped easily into the swamps. More than $500,000 worth of vessels and goods were captured from Barataria five days later.
Meanwhile, on 14 November 1814, Gov. Claiborne warned the Legislature of an imminent invasion by the British and called for the immediate arming of the militia. Gen. Andrew Jackson arrived in New Orleans on 2 December. Jean met with Jackson and offered to supply him with flints and ammunition. Jackson accepted the proffered aid, freed the captured pirates, and put them to work in the defense of the city, probably about 10 December. The British army was quickly discovered to be encamped nine miles down the river from the city. On 23 December 1814, Jackson ordered his army of 2,130 men downriver to the attack, which prevented the British from immediately invading the city, and bought him some time.
THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS:
On 8 January 1815 on the Plains of Chalmette, 3,200 Americans & Creoles, more than half of whom had never seen action before, decisively defeated more than 12,000 seasoned British regulars. Losses: 3,000+ British, 71 Americans (killed/wounded/missing).
There was a celebration of public thanksgiving for victory on 23 January 1815. Pres. James Madison pardoned the Baratarians, canceled all criminal legal actions against them, and restored them to full citizenship on 6 February 1815.
Only recently discovered in the Spanish records in Seville is the intriguing fact that the Lafitte brothers subsequently were in Texas between November 1815 and June 1816, acting as spies for the Spanish government against the Mexican revolutionaries.
Then, taking advantage of the temporary desertion of Galveston, Jean occupied and fortified the town in May 1817, and changed its name to Campeachy, intending to recomence his pirate activities (under the Venezuelan flag). Indeed, the brothers ran a very successful slave-dealing operation out of Galveston. Apparently, Catherine Villars joined him there in 1818; she was reported keeping house for him by American letter-writers. In August 1818, however, a major hurricane destroyed Galveston/Campeachy, and Catherine was injured when the fort collapsed.
On 7 July 1819, Jean replied to a letter from James Long, head of the filibustering expedition to Texas, who had asked his assistance -- assuming incorrectly (and rather naively) that Lafitte was on the side of the Mexican revolutionists. "Gen." Long even visited Galveston in September 1819, seeking Lafitte's aid for his filibustering expedition. He didn't get it. Instead, on 11 December 1819, Jean wrote a report on the Long expedition to the Spanish governor in Havana.
Meanwhile, one of the Lafittes' ships had been captured by the U.S. revenue cutter Alabama on 1 December 1819 off the coast of Louisiana, and its crew arrested and taken in irons to New Orleans. Jean and Pierre appeared again in New Orleans a few weeks later, when the old Baratarians were threatening to burn the city unless the captured pirates were released. Jean wrote to Commodore Patterson, again protesting the innocence of himself and his brother.
Jean remained at Galveston until about May 1821. Finally, acceding to the demands of the U.S. Navy, he abandoned Galveston/Campeachy, destroying the remains of the settlement as he went. Reportedly, he was one of the few to escape after his pirate schooner was captured near Cuba in December 1821, nearly all the rest being killed or captured. He was subsequently reported to be engaged in not very successful piracy off the coast of Cuba in May 1822. He also is reported to have been captured following a shipwreck on the Cuban coast in November 1822 and was thrown in prison at Puerto Principe, but escaped with the assistance of some local friends.
+ + +
Among the demontrably non-factual stories about Jean, many of which he promulgated himself at various times:
He shipped as 1st Mate on a French East Indiaman in 1802.
According to himself (in 1821), he had been a merchant in Santo Domingo 18 years before and there married a wealthy woman. He returned to Europe, but his ship was captured by the Spanish on the way and everything he had was stolen. He and his wife were marooned on a sandy islet but were picked up by an American schooner and dropped off at New Orleans. His wife died a few days after their penniless arrival. He claimed he had been a stout enemy of Spain for 15 years (i.e., since 1803) in Santo Domingo.
He became a pirate based on Mauritius in 1803. He made a second cruise as an Indian Ocean pirate in 1807, transferred his operations to the West Indies, and began attacking British shipping in 1809.
+ + +
Catherine Villars was also known as Jeannette. She was born about 1799 in New Orleans. She was a sister of Marie Louise Villars, who became the mistress of Pierre Lafitte, and was therefore presumably also a quadroon or octoroon [see above].
Known children of Jean2 Lafitte and Catherine Villars were:
5. Pierre3 Lafitte (Pierre2, Unknown1); born before 1808? New Orleans, Louisiana; married Marie Berret circa 1827? New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana; date of death unknown but he was buried in St. Louis Cemetery No. 2, New Orleans.
In the 1830 city directory, he was recorded as living at 67 Barracks St, New Orleans.
Marie Berret apparently was born in Cuba.
Known children of Pierre3 Lafitte and Marie Berret were:
UPDATE! I recently received a note from Toni Langlais which called my attention to some additional information about this Pierre, son of Pierre. In the the newly published Vol. 15 (p. 221) of the Archdiocese of New Orleans Sacramental Records, which covers the years 1822 & 1823, the following appears on p. 221:
So, this would have the elder Pierre (and presumably also Jean) born in Bordeaux instead of Bayonne . . . but considering how many different birthplaces the brothers cited over the years, we'll probably never know for certain. However, since Maria was born in September 1823, and there's no indication that she was illegitimate, the marriage date of Pierre and Marie Berret (or Maria Veret) should be pushed back to late 1822 -- which also implies that Pierre's birthdate should be pushed back to about 1804 or earlier. So: Who is Juana (or Jeanne) Delas, who is given as Pierre's mother, and therefore the wife or mistress of Pierre Senior? That's not a name I've seen before in connection with the Lafittes, so I'll have to work on that. |
SOURCES: All material on this page was taken from Lyle Saxon, Lafitte the Pirate (NY: Century, 1930; reprinted by Pelican Publishing Co, 1989). Saxon also cites information from a lengthy article on Lafitte's abandonment of Galveston, published in United States Magazine and Democratic Review, July 1839, and from an article by George A. Pierce published in DeBow's Review in October 1851. I have not yet been able to obtain copies of these two articles.
I know there is a great deal more information out there -- especially in the publications of the Lafitte Society -- and I will try to locate it and update the information on this page as necessary. (Most are expensive and/or very difficult to find.) I also know that descendants of either Jean or Pierre were identified in the early 1930s in connection with oil rights to certain property on Barataria, of which they were the legal heirs -- but I haven't found them yet either! (I'm working on, I'm working on it. . . .)
Please direct comments and inquiries to: Michael K.Smith
©2000-2003 Michael K. Smith / Updated 4/27/2003
![[Return to Genealogy Main Page]](images/l_arrow.gif){kind=icon}