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.
2026 Documents
Benjamin Franklin Flanders
(3/1/26) Benjamin Franklin Flanders was governor of Louisiana from 1867 to 1868. Born in New Hampshire in 1816, Flanders moved to New Orleans in 1843 and studied law. There he was a school principal and superintendent, editor of a newspaper, and Secretary and Treasurer of the New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western Railroad Company. In 1862, he was appointed by the Federal military authorities Treasurer of the city. In 1867, he was appointed Military Governor of Louisiana, a post which he resigned in 1868. In 1870, he was appointed Mayor of New Orleans, then elected the following year. In 1873, he was appointed United States Assistant Treasurer at New Orleans, which post he held until 1882. He retired to his Ben Alva Plantation in Lafayette Parish. Flanders died of pneumonia in Youngsville March 13th, 1896. His death certificate, filed the following day in New Orleans, is on file at the Louisiana State Archives (Orleans Death, vol. 110, p. 772). Flanders was originally interred in Girod Street Cemetery, but his remains were removed in 1900 to Metairie Cemetery.
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Sam Morgan
(2/1/26) Sam Morgan was a jazz trumpet player and leader of a popular jazz band in the New Orleans area. Born around 1889 in Bertrandville in Plaquemines Parish, he was the son of Isiah Morgan and Harriet Banks. He and his brothers, Isiah and Andrew, formed the "Sam Morgan Band" which played in the New Orleans and Gulf Coast area. They recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 and 1928. He died at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. His death certificate, featured here, indicates he was 38, however, other records put his age at around 48 (Louisiana State Archives, Orleans Death, vol. 208, p. 667).
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Alvin E. Hebert
(1/1/26) Alvin E. Hebert served as Louisiana Secretary of State from 1912 to 1915. Born near Plaquemine in Iberville Parish on January 5, 1877, he was the son of Alexandre Hebert and Clarice Roth. After studying law and receiving his license to practice as an attorney, he set up his practice in New Orleans. In 1912, he received the nomination of the Democratic Party and was elected to the office of Secretary of State. Hebert clashed with Governor Luther E. Hall and was investigated by a grand jury on allegations made by Horace Wilkinson, Democratic Party Chairman. The Louisiana State Archives holds a small collection regarding Alvin E. Hebert (Accession N1993-015). Included are articles about his death, a copy of his photograph, and this letter written to Miss Ruby Draye Arthur in Aldershot, England, on February 12, 1915. Hebert tells her of his political battle with the governor and the pressure exerted on him to appoint "certain people to office." His turmoil was so great that he fled to New Orleans and locked himself in a room at the Grunewald Hotel in order to get himself together. His friends would not let him walk the streets alone for fear of assassination. Hebert would die less than a month later at the age of 37. His death certificate indicates he caught a cold over Mardi Gras and died of pneumonia. Governor Hall appointed W.F. Millsaps to replace him as Secretary of State. The identity of the young lady in England to whom he wrote this letter could not be determined.
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