Marie-Charles Demont

Notes (1) Marie was 1/2 Natchitoches Indian.

The Term "Creole" The term means many things to many people. Creole, used in its original sense, is derived from the Portugese crioulo, meaning "native to this place". In 18th century Louisiana, Creole referred to locally born Spaniards, French and enslaved people. After the Louisiana Purchase, Creole was used to differentiate between those native to Louisiana and those who were Anglo-American. Consequently, French-speaking white residents of Louisiana were also considered Creole. Today, the term Creole commonly refers to a mixture of predominantly French, African and Spanish traits with traces of American Indian culture.

There is some doubt as to name of origin of Henri's first wife by whom all his known children were born. There is no record of any children by his second wife. The original of the earliest baptismal record, that of the child in 1735, shows Henri's wife as simply Marie. This child was baptized by Father Vitry, a Jesuit. The baptism of Emanuel in 1737 also by Father Vitry, lists his mother's name as Marie Charles. The baptismal record of Jean Baptiste in 1739 in the handwriting of Father Jean Francois, gives his mother's name as Marie de Mond, followed by a work (now unreadable) which was read as Indian by the priest who prepared the index of births in 1825. This same records said that Henri was a German inhabitant of the post. The record of Marie's death and burial in 1743, the civil record of the inventory of her property, the second marriage record of Henri and marriage records of Marie's children, all give Marie's name as Marie Dumont. Based on the foregoing, my conclusion is that Marie was an Indian, probably the daughter of an Indian given the baptismal name Charles. We know that she and her sister, Angelique Charles respectively. In their late years they were known as Marie and Angelique Dumont. I will, when referring to Marie, adhere to the surname Dumont, sometimes with the addition Charles in parenthesis. Although the record of baptisms show only three children born to this couple, other Church and civil records indicate the existence of two other children; One, Marie Hyacinthe Trichel, was the wife of Jean Baptiste Davion, soldier at the Post of Saint Jean Baptist The original record of their marriage in 1745 can be seen in the files of Saint Francis Church. Another son, Joseph, was a soldier at Natchitoches in 1771 when records indicate that he accompanied de Mezieres, the Commandant on a trip to Texas. The civil record of the heirs of Marie Dumont list Marie Hyacinth, Joseph, Emanuel and Jean Baptiste as living children in 1747. From this we presume that the child Pierre was no longer living at this time. Since Emanuel and Jean Baptiste are listed in the order of their ages, we may infer that Marie Hyacinthe was the eldest child and Joseph the second. The absence of baptismal records of these two children is readily explained by the intermittent visits of priests to this colony in its early days or by the loss of the records in question. The priest who compiled the last index of early baptismal records in 1869, stated that they were collected from numerous unbound journals with many pages missing and many pages not in their proper place.

Marie Dumont died in 1743 and was Interred in the cemetery of Saint Francis Church by Father Avange. In 1744 Henri remarried. The wife of his second marriage was Louise Francoise Gilot, widow of Etienne Roy, to whom she had born several children; There is no record that there were any children born of this marriage and Louise Francoise died in October 1756. So far, I have not uncovered any record of Henri's activities after 1747. We, therefore, know nothing certain about the time of his birth or death.

Marie Dumont was Godmother to Marie Anne Des Caddo Brevelle. Since it was the custom to have the God-parents of your children normally chosen from someone closely blood related to you, it may be assumed that Marie's mother Angelique "The Indian Princess" could have been an aunt to Marie Anne Des Caddo in the Caddo tribe.
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Sources (2) 1.Barbara Cole Barbara Cole 2.Dyson's - Traveling The Trails For The Roots Of The Roshto's Audie Lee Dyson

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Citing This Record "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/3SD9-JL4 : accessed 2013-12-30), entry for Marie Charles /Demont (Du Mond)/, submitted by mdunne2705332.