Document of the Month Pages
Begun in April of 2012, Document of the Month highlights interesting documents, photographs, and other images from the holdings of the Louisiana State Archives. This page features documents for the current year. Below are links to the current year and previous archives.
2024 Documents
Dorothy Lamour (1914-1996)
(12/1/24) Born Mary Leta Slaton, Dorothy Lamour was a actress and singer best known for her appearances in The Road to. . . series of movies with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby between 1940 and 1952. She was born at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans on December 10, 1914, to John W. Slaton, a waiter from Birmingham, Alabama, and Carmen Louise Laporte, of New Orleans. Her parents had married in New Orleans a year before her birth, and divorced when she was young. Her mother's second husband was Clarence Michael Lambour, whose surname Dorothy was using in 1931 when she was crowned Miss New Orleans. She later modified it to Lamour and used it as her stage name. In 1940, "Dorothy Lamour" was living in Los Angeles with her mother and stepfather, Ollie Castleberry. Her occupation is listed as motion picture actress. She had recently divorced her first husband, Herbie Kay. Her second husband was William Ross Howard, III, by whom she had two children. She died in Los Angeles in 1996. Her birth certificate is on file at the Louisiana State Archives (Orleans Births, 1914, vol. 153, p. 979).
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Charles F. Page
(11/1/24)
Few people have ever heard of Charles F. Page, but his accomplishments have recently come to light. At the time the Wright Brothers were developing their airplane, Page built a working model of his airship at this home in Pineville, Louisiana. The U.S. Patent Office issued him a patent in 1906, predating the one issued to the Wright Brothers. Page also built a full-scale model to enter an aeronautical contest at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904, but it never made it to the exposition. It was stolen or destroyed in transit, possibly because Page was African American. Bankrupt and devastated, he gave up on his idea. Census records indicate his occupation as either farmer or laborer. This month's document is Page's death certificate. He died November 18, 1937, in Pineville at the age of 73. He was born in Caddo Parish, the son of Ruben Page of Virginia and his wife was named Ida. The document is on file at the Louisiana State Archives (Statewide Deaths, 1937, vol. 35, p. 15064).
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Louis Alfred Wiltz
(10/1/24) Louis Alfred Wiltz was Governor of Louisiana from 1880 to 1881. He was a native of New Orleans and had previously served as Mayor of the city, speaker of the State Legislature, Lieutenant Governor, and President of the Constitutional Convention of 1879. His term in office was cut short when he died at the age of 38 years and eight months. This month's document is his death certificate indicating his cause of death as phthisis pulmonalis or pulmonary tuberculosis. His death certificate is on file at the Louisiana State Archives (Orleans Deaths, 1881, vol. 79, p. 726).
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Jim Croce Death Certificate, 1973
(9/1/24) Jim Croce was in the middle of a five-week concern tour when he appeared at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches the night of September 20, 1973. Reviewers described his performance as "honest, sincere, old fashioned, but not slick and spoiled by success." Indeed, the folk and rock singer-songwriter was a rising star. An hour after closing his concert, however, his career ended in tragedy. In a last-minute change of plans, Croce had canceled his motel reservations in Natchitoches and decided to fly to Dallas. The plane carrying him and five others crashed one quarter mile south of the airport shortly after take off. This month's document is his death certificate, which became a public document this year. It indicates he was born January 10, 1943, in Philadelphia, the son of James A. Croce and Flora Babucci, and married to Ingrid Jacobson. His occupation was musician and writer. He was buried in Haym Salomon Memorial Park in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The document can be found on file at the Louisiana State Archives (Statewide Deaths, 1973, vol. 19, #119).
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Sending Packages Via Steamboat in 1824
(8/1/24) Two hundred years ago, steamboats had become a crucial means of transportation, particularly traveling upstream from New Orleans. In this letter written in August of 1824, Louis T. Caire in New Orleans apologizes to John Dutton, Iberville Parish Judge, for not sending him the Acts of the State Legislature from the session of 1823. He explains the difficulty he had in persuading captains of steamboats to take on board small bundles containing those acts, particularly when they had no other freight for the parish. Caire mistakenly thought that Iberville was one of the parishes at which that the captains would not stop and send small packages ashore. Caire informs Dutton that he has since sent his bundle via the steamboat Fanny. The document can be found on microfilm at the Louisiana State Archives (Iberville Parish Civil Records: 1775-1958, Accession P1986-18, Reel 6.1). These records were abstracted and published in Iberville Parish Records, vol. 3, published by Le Comité in 2000.
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James Joseph LeBoeuf Death Certificate, 1927
(7/1/24) The 1927 killing of James Joseph LeBoeuf was the media sensation of its day. Convicted and executed for his murder were his wife, Ada Bonner LeBoeuf, and her purported lover, Dr. Thomas Dreher. (Ada's death certificate was featured as the February 2019 Document of the Month.) The case has been the subject of books, articles, and even a paranormal television show. This month's document features the death certificate of LeBoeuf. It indicates he was born 3 June 1884 in Terrebonne Parish, the son of Clodamie LeBoeuf of Terrebonne and Rosaline Sevin of Lafourche Parish. His occupation was electrical engineer for Ice & Power Generation. He died of a gun shot wound at Morgan City 2 July 1927. The document can be found on file at the Louisiana State Archives (Statewide Deaths, 1929, vol. 8, #3216).
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Samuel Douglas McEnery
(6/1/24) Samuel Douglas McEnery was Governor of Louisiana from 1881 to 1888. A native of Monroe, he attended Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the University of Virginia. After graduating in 1859, he practiced law in Missouri. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, he joined the Confederacy, after which he practiced law in Monroe. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana in 1879, then became Governor upon the death of Governor L.A. Wiltz, then was elected for a full term. The World Industrial and Cotton Exposition was held in New Orleans during his term. After an unsuccessful bid for another term, he was appointed Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, then was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served until his death on the 28th of June 1910 in New Orleans. He was married in 1879 to Elizabeth Phillips of Monroe. His death certificate is on file at the Louisiana State Archives (Orleans Deaths, 1910, vol. 149, p. 974).
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Dave Treen Marriage
(5/1/24) David Conner "Dave" Treen served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Louisiana from 1973 to 1980 and Louisiana Governor from 1980 to 1984. He was the first Republican elected to either office since Reconstruction. He was born in Baton Rouge in 1928, the son of Joseph Paul Treen of Mississippi and Elizabeth Speir of Louisiana, and raised in New Orleans. He graduated from Tulane Law School and served in the military. In 1951, he married Dolores Yvonne "Dodie" Brisbi of New Orleans, daughter of August Joseph Brisbi and May Payne, and they had three children. Dodie Treen died in 2005 and Dave Treen in 2009. They are buried in Saint Timothy UMC Memorial Garden in Mandeville. Their marriage license is on file at the Louisiana State Archives (Orleans Marriages, 1951, vol. 0, #1698).
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1824 Bush/Landry Marriage
(4/1/24) Permission slips from parents for their minor children to marry are rare finds in civil marriage records. This example from 1824 is written in French by the bride's father in his own hand. Pierre Joseph Landry, inhabitant of Iberville Parish, gives his full and free consent to the projected marriage between Francois Evan Bush, son of Jean Louis Bush deceased, and Heleine Hamilton, and his daughter, Marie Caroline Landry. Her mother is Rosalie Capdevielle. It is dated 29 April 1824. The document can be found on Reel IV 5.1 of the collection entitled Iberville Parish Civil Records: 1775-1958 (Accession P1986-18), on microfilm at the Louisiana State Archives. For a guide to the collection, see Le Comité's publication, Iberville Parish Records, Volume 3, listed on the Publications Page.
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Jared Young Sanders
(3/1/24) Jared Young Sanders served as governor of Louisiana from 1908 until 1912. Sometimes called the "father of the good roads movement" in Louisiana, he is remembered for his efforts to improve state infrastructure while protecting its natural resources. Later in his career, he was an outspoken critic of Huey P. Long. Born in St. Mary Parish in 1869, he was the son of Jared Young Sanders and Elizabeth Wofford. He was a graduate of Tulane University and began practicing law in Franklin. He entered politics and served two terms in the Louisiana House of Representatives and one term as Lieutenant Governor. After his term as governor, he resumed his law practice. He died in Baton Rouge on March 23, 1944, and was buried in Franklin. His death certificate is on file at the Louisiana State Archives (Statewide Deaths, 1944, vol. 513, p. 448).
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Jelly Roll Morton
(2/1/24) Jelly Roll Morton, born Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, was an early New Orleans jazz musician, composer, and arranger. As a teenager, he played in Storyville brothels, traveled the South, and later performed in Chicago, New York, and California. He struggled in the 1930s and died in Los Angeles in 1941. Although records vary as to the date of his birth, it was likely around 1894, according to the 1900 census. His parents were not married to each other and split up around the time of his birth. His mother, Louise Hermance Monette, married William Mouton in New Orleans February 5, 1894. Their marriage certificate is on file at the Louisiana State Archives (Orleans Marriages, 1894, vol. 17, p. 362).
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Pandely Naturalization Declaration
(1/1/24) A Declaration of Intention is the first step in the process of becoming a citizen of the United States. On the 29th of January 1824, Paul Pandely, appeared in the District Court in New Orleans and filed his declaration. He stated that he was 25 years old, was born in Plymouth, Kingdom of Great Britain, emigrated from Genoa, arrived in the United States in 1821, and intended to reside in Louisiana. Although not stated in this document, Pandely had married Euphrosine Dimitry in New Orleans in 1822. The record of his marriage identifies his parents as Chevalier De Pandeli and Ysavel English. His son, George Pandely, served on the Assistant Board of Alderman in New Orleans. Paul Pandely died in New Orleans at the age of 56. His Declaration of Intention is found in a microfilm collection entitled New Orleans District Court Declarations of Intention, 1816-1906 (Accession P2005-11), Reel 1, page 228. The collection was abstracted by Ann DeVillier Riffel and published in the June and September 2006 issues of Le Raconteur. The original records are housed at the National Archives Branch in Fort Worth, Texas.
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