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Notes on Barthelemy Lafon « Russell Guerin
http://www.russguerin.com/history/notes-on-barthelemy-lafon/
Russell Guerin
A Creole in Mississippi
2010-01-04 13:44:51
Notes on Barthelemy Lafon
.. .considered as possible builder of Pirate House
As noted in the article, “Who Built the Pirate House in Waveland,” Lafon was considered as a possible suspect in the search for someone who could fit the description of the builder of the Pirate House. I finally settled on Blanque as the man, but my notes below give some of the reasons for considering Lafon.
Barthelemy Lafon had been a man of high standing in early New Orleans, but did engage in piracy and ultimately lost all his real estate holdings.
Much of his work in engineering, city planning, and architecture lives after him. In addition, he fathered a son, Thorny Lafon, a mulatto, who acquired wealth in his own name by developing real estate. Thomy built and donated the hospital, still standing, for black women. It is located near Galvez and Esplanade, and is now the Odyssey House.
From Davis’ The Lafittes
p. 7: Lafon mixed privateering with map-making; escaped to Havana in 1802
p. 32: selling ships in NO in 1803. Commerce with Havana, Charleston on copper-bottomed privateer Bellona.
61: owned property where Bayou Lafourche met river, area close to Donaldsonville, frequently used by Lafittes; probably knew them
107: Lafon’s La Misere brought in prize the Cometa in August 1813
199: October 1814 grand jury called for indictments of Lafon for taking two Spanish vessels
225: Lafon along with 15 others face indictments for piracy of for illegally fitting out a privateer in US territory
233: “Association” of men, including Livingston, Laffites and Lafon were bent on gaining profit through encouraging attacks on Spanish property in 1815-16
324: 1816 - Lafitte simply took over Galveston, organized others. In meeting with them, Lafon acted as secretary. (This hardly makes Lafon out to be the master of the pirates of Mississippi gulf coast and builder of Pirate House.) Met on board Lafon’s Carmelita.
326: Ducoing held sham admiralty meeting aboard Lafon's Carmelita
330: 1817 - Ducoing refused to condemn Lafon’s prize the Evening Post', later, appears to condemn him and others
336: still 1817: Lafon owed $1200 to Espagnol, whom he asked to testify on his behalf that the government of Lafitte was legal; Lafon applied to go before Judge Hall to prove that the authorities that had OK’d taking of ships at Galveston had been legally appointed.
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