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History bhs 10 29 95 cemetery tour
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My name is Ellis C. Cuevas, and now I will be addressing you as my greatgrandfather James A. Cuevas.
I was bom at Cat Island on Feb. 28, 1838 and died at age 90 on Sept. 3, 1928. My father,' Raymond Cuevas, was the youngest of 11 children and moved to Shieldsborough (Bay St. Louis) in 1849 from Cat Island. We lived on Beach Boulevard west of the brothers? school which was was established four years later.
I am buried a few feet behind me alongside my father who was born in 1812 at Cat Island and died June 18, 1869.
I was known as the ?Sage of Beauvoir,? as I was blind in my later years and resided at that Confederate Soldiers home in Biloxi. I joined the Shieldsborough Rifles on June 29, 1861 and served in Company F of the Third Mississippi Infantry.
I had the honor of being interviewed by writer Joe Posey and had a story published in the New Orleans Picayune on Sunday, May 7, 1922. Even though I was blind, in that interview, I recalled the homes and the owners? names from Lakeshore to Old Chimney (Long Beach) that were along the beach prior to the Civil War.
Let me tell you about my grandfather Juan Cuevas, he was bom Mar. 16, 1762 in the state of Malaga Province of Andalucia, Spain and died Sept. 24, 1849. He was buried at Cat Island Island and later was laid to rest in the Biloxi cemetery.
My grandfather married Marie Helene Ladner in 1795, and she died on Oct. 10, 1853. She was the daughter of Christian Ladner and between her family and my grandfather?s, it is estimated there are some 63,000 descendants.
My grandfather was a very brave man and a veteran of the Battle of New Orleans in 1812. For his support to General Andrew Jackson he received Cat Island as a grant from the President of the United States.
I can recall a party given at Cat Island by my grandfather in 1844. People came from Old Chimney, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian and Rotten Bayou, about six boat loads.
Great preparations were made with the stuffing and baking of chickens, geese, ducks, pigs and other good foods. There was fine liquors, whiskey, cakes, candies and fine things.