This text was obtained via automated optical character recognition.
It has not been edited and may therefore contain several errors.

---

In 1768, when the French and Indian war came to an end and peace was made between France and England, France pave up all her territory, part of which was given to Spain. Spain afterwards gave it secretly back to France - thus for a time the little Village of "Chou-cou-pou-lou" was governed by the Spanish.
About that time, to encourage immigration, the government gave grants of land to whomsoever would cultivate the ground and make their home here in the district of Bay St. Louis.
Kany men of French and Spanish extraction availed themselves of the Government's offer and became the owners of extensive tracts of land.
After Spain had returned France her territory It was necessary for all these Spanish grants to be confirmed by the French Government.
In the early part of the year 179^ the Baron de Carondelet, then governor of these provinces, had the Spanish grant of one Louis Alexis Lassassier made good by the French Government, which he represented.
Later in the same year, 179^, upon a return trip from France, this Louis Alexis Lassassier suffered shipwreck and lost his papers, among them his grant to lands at Choucoupoulou Point in the District of Bay St. Louis.
In the year 1798 Louis Alexis Lassassier applied to Kanuel Gayoso de Lemos, Brigadier of the Royal Army and Governor General of those provinces, and at the request of his excellency the Baron de Carondelet, General Manuel Gayoso de Lemos directed his secretary, Don Andrew Lopez Armesto, to search for a record of the Lassassier claim. Copies were found and Louis Alexis Lassassier again gained possession of his lands, and later, in 1823, a grant was made to his widow, Kelite Lassassier. (Book A, pp. 298-303* Hancock County Land Deed Records)
In the early 1800s Jesse Cowand migrated from Virginia to New Orleans. When the War of 1812 came along he participated in the Battle of New Orleans as a Corporal in Captain Thomas Beale's Company of Orleans Riflemen. On the night of the 23rd of December, 1814, General Jackson surprised the British forces when they marched up from the swamp and encamped on the river bank under cover of their fleet. Facing them on the extreme right were Lafltte's command and the Orleans Riflemen. Captain Beale's Company of Orleans Riflemen during this night attack was overwhelmed by a superior force of British regulars and a large number taken prisoners. Among those captured and confined aboard the fleet was Jesse Cowand. Following the war he operated a cooperage business in the French Quarter at #30 Chartres Street, corner of Bienville. I have in my possession an old ledger used in this business, the last entry being dated January 15, 1825. One of his customers was Judah Touro for whom Touro Infirmary in New Orleans was named.
The land on which Elmwood stands and surrounding lands was purchased by Jesse Cowand in 1826 - 1829 from Nelite Lassassier.
It is believed that construction of Elmwood was begun in the early 1800s and prior to the War of 1812 and completed by Jesse Cowand
about 1830. This is a two story brick building put together with