Laura Plantation

In this episode, Joseph chats with Dr. Brittany Cochran Jones, a member of the Laura Plantation Descendant Community.

Dr. Cochran Jones shares the journey of discovery that led her to her enslaved ancestor Madison Gray and her family's subsequent participation in the founding of local First Baptist Church.

Descendant d'un militaire autochtone francophone vétéran de la Première Guerre mondiale, le comédien français Clément Lagouarde est ajourd'hui l'un des chefs de la tribu Natchitoches de Louisiane. Il parle de son ancêtre au parcours ambiguë, de la découverte de son appartenance au peuple Natchitoches et de sa double culture franco-amérindienne.

Regardez son dernier court-métrage ici : https://www.festivalnikon.fr/index.php/en/video/2023/2862

Bonjour everyone and welcome back to the Laura Plantation podcast. In this episode,  Joseph will be talking with Dr. Angel Adams Parham about her research into the Haitian refugee community in early 19th century New Orleans, how slavery and enslavement are represented at plantations and in urban spaces, and the importance of preserving and talking about buildings and stories that  reveal Louisiana’s connection to Africa and African history.

Dr. Parham is Associate Professor of Sociology and senior fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture (IASC) at the University of Virginia.  Before moving to Virginia, she spent a number of years at Loyola University in New Orleans where she chaired the African and African American Studies program.

She works in the area of historical sociology, engaging in research and writing that examine the past in order to better understand how to live well in the

To learn more about Dr. Parham’s work, visit her website at www.angelparham.com

Background on Juneteenth and the story of men born into slavery at Laura Plantation who enlisted in the 80th United States Colored Infantry and were among the first to celebrate Juneteenth in Texas on June 19, 1866. Discussion of violence in Texas during Reconstruction and the unique role that the 80th USCI played. This episode is in memory of Bernard Stewart, Auguste James, Zeno Joseph, Nathaniel Eglan and John Bull, Civil War veterans, freedom fighters, and soldiers in the 80th USCI.

Historian Katy Morlas Shannon and a special guest discuss why Laura Plantation was restored and the discovery of the first primary source documents concerning the historic site. They explore how those key resources shaped the historical narrative and the storytelling approach taken in writing the tour and curating the historic structures that remained on the property. For more information about the early days of establishing Laura Plantation as a historic site and to hear from Norman Marmillion himself about the process, visit the following links:

Voici un premier supplément en français du podcast de la Plantation Laura. 

Dans le dernier épisode en anglais enregistré avec Katy, nous avons évoqué ce que nous appelons “le cahier de Lobel-Mahy.” 

Il s’agit effectivement d’un cahier de correspondance — une boîte d’envoi en quelque sorte –écrit à la main en français par Ivan de Lobel-Mahy, l’oncle par mariage de Laura. Dans ce cahier, de Lobel-Mahy détaille les destinataires, les dates et le contenu des lettres envoyées à ses différents amis, relations, et connaissances. 

Les deux petits extraits, dont vous pourrez voir les images sur notre site web à https://www.lauraplantation.com/news/post/podcast-s1-e10-fr nous donnent une fenêtre sur toutes sortes de détails sur la vie familiale, sociale et politique du mois d’octobre 1876.

In this episode, we compare and contrast the lives of Creoles on the plantation in the countryside and in their French Quarter mansions in New Orleans. We talk about the Locouls' Toulouse Street mansion, its significance as a status symbol, and some of the experiences Laura would have had in her grandmother's home. We also explore the impact of the Civil War, the diversity of the neighborhood, and the illegal activities surrounding the home.

Sand Marmillion, Director and Curator of Laura Plantation, joins us to share the stories of two very significant enslaved women who lived and worked at Laura Plantation. Clarisse Peterson, an American slave who arrived on the plantation in adulthood and was in charge of tending to the sick and injured in the plantation hospital, and Clarisse Wilson, a Creole, born into slavery at Laura Plantation, who was involved in the founding of the Baptist Church, took in orphans, and acted as a mother figure in the community. We also touch upon the lives of their husbands, one of whom they shared (not simultaneously)! We compare and contrast their lives, note the changes that took place after the Civil War, and learn about one of their descendants, Freddie Keppard, a famous New Orleans jazz pioneer. #lauraplantation #womenshistory #womenshistorymonth #jazzhistory #jazz