Origins of Henry Schuyler Thibodaux
Henry Schuyler Thibodaux’s birth and early life remain an unresolved issue. We have lots of clues and historical hearsay but the facts are still elusive.
His marriage to Felicite Bonvillain in 1793 is recorded in the Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records: Vol. 2 (1770-1803), p. 104/5, as THIBODEAUX, Henrrique (Alexo & Ana Blanchar of New York in America) m. 7 May 1793, Felicitas BONVILEN (BONVILLAIN) (Santiago & Carlota Eber of St. Charles Parish) wit. Francisco Federig & Rosalia Fedrig (SJA-2, 20).
The baptism of their second child (same volume, p. 694) reads: THIBODEAUX, Cubino (Henrique & Felicitas Bonvilin) bt. 23 Apr. 1796, bn. 1 Mar. 1796, spo. Santiago Guedry & Maria Magdalena Hymelle, Pat. GP: (Alexis Thibodeaux & Anna Blanchard) Mat. GP: (Santiago Bonvilin & Carlota St. Ives) (SJA-3, 136).
The baptism of their third child (same volume, p. 694) reads: THIBODEAUX, Eugenia (Henrique & Felicitas Bonvilin) bt. 7 Jan. 1798, bn. 30 Aug. 1797, spo. Santiago Bonvilin & Margarita Parre, Pat. GP: (Alexis Thibodeaux & Anna Blanchard) Mat. GP: (Santiago Bonvilin & Carlota St. Ives) (SJA-3, 160).
Henri’s second marriage (same volume, p. 694) reads: THIBODEAUX, Henri of Canada (Alexi & Anna Thibodeaux) m. 3 June 1800, Brigita BELANGER (Nicolas & Margarita Lejune) wit. Nicolas Belanger & Guilermo Dorion (SJO-3, 25 & 26) also (SJO-85, 5).
From these records over a seven-year span, we would conclude that Henry’s parents were Alexis Thibodeau & Anne Blanchard and that Henry’s birthplace could be New York or Canada.
Henry, in all likelihood, was an Acadian refugee. Circumstantial evidence points to this as a logical conclusion. Henry’s birth probably occurred late in the 1760’s, and was in New York or the New York/Canadian border area. Upon moving to Louisiana he sought out the area which received the very first Acadian refugees who arrived in the late-1760’s.
In correspondence with respected researcher Nell Tucker Boersma from Louisiana (Nov. 1997), she reiterates the mystery and offers some supporting information:
"I have never been able to trace Henri Schuyler Thibodaux's mother Anne Blanchard. In the book "Les Indomptes" by Simone Vincens, it lists Alexis as being among the deportees in Philadelphia in 1762, along with his brother Olivier and possibly a son Joseph, and Catherine Leblanc. Alexis was known as a widower and shortly thereafter there is a departure from Philadelphia one ‘Catherine Leblanc, widow of Jean Baptiste Babin, remarried to Alexis Thibodaux.’ Catherine went to France alone, and rejoined at Belle-Ile her brothers and sisters. The date of departure seems to be about 1766, but the reference is vague.
[My note: From Stephen White’s ‘Genealogique’ we now know that this Alexis was born c1723, the son of Joseph/Marie Josephe Bourgeois, and was married to Marie Anne Blanchard (the daughter of Rene/Anne Landry born c1723) c1743 in Pisiquit. Marie Anne died sometime before Alexis’ second marriage to Catherine Leblanc on 17 February 1762 in Philadelphia. If this couple are Henry’s parents then his birth would have to be 8 or more years earlier than the 1769 usually ascribed and in Philadelphia. Others have decided this Alexis Thibodeau is Pierre-Alexis son of Claude/Elisabeth Comeau. Again referring to White’s ‘Genealogique’, he lists this Pierre-Alexis as only Pierre born 4 April 1718 with no spouse mentioned. Neither choice seems ideal.]
“The book ‘Scattered to the Wind. Dispersal and Wanderings of the Acadians 1755-1809’, by Carl A. Brasseaux describes these Acadian exiles in Philadelphia, and noted in the late 1760's they joined their relatives and friends exiled to neighboring Maryland in a massive migration to Louisiana. It was stated that the mayor of Philadelphia was asking families in the area to adopt the starving children of the Acadians. Although Henry was not yet born, the state of New York may also have put out the adoption rug by the time he was born in Albany, N.Y.
“I researched the Schuyler family, which included purchasing the Schuyler Genealogy, and the wills left by these Schuylers. It seems if Henry Schuyler was ‘adopted’ by General Schuyler, he would have been mentioned in one of the family's wills. But nothing appears to show he received a bequest. I think he was adopted, not legally by the General, and raised by the family, and received an education paid by them, but received nothing else.
“In the genealogy it lists Hester Schuyler marrying Col. Theunis Dey in 1749, son of Dirck Theunis Dey and Jane Blanchard. This would be the right generation for this Jane Blanchard to have a sister or niece named Anne Blanchard. No one in the Schuyler family genealogy could give me information on this Blanchard family. Since the Schuylers were prominent, moneyed people, and the Philadelphia Acadian group were miserably poor, it does not seem logical that this Jane Blanchard would have been related to Anne Blanchard, the mother of Henry. There is some family lore that Anne Blanchard was related to Alexander Hamilton, the General's son-in-law. Again, I cannot find a link.
“While going through some old plantation papers at LSU, I came across a letter from a well known plantation owner, who mentioned that ‘Henry Schuyler was a good shoemaker’. In the book, ‘General Schuyler's Guard’ by T. W. Egly, Jr., it mentions the guard of about forty-six men surrounding the General in daily life. It lists tailors, carpenters and shoemakers. So if Henry Schuyler grew up among these shoemakers, it would account for his being skilled at shoemaking, and would give credence to the fact that he lived with the General.
“His educational background said he was educated in Scotland. One of the General's brothers, Cortlandt married in Ireland to a Barbara Gray on 23rd August 1767, and also a sister lived in Scotland. So maybe he lived with one of them while attending school there. Contacted Glasgow & Edinburgh Universities with negative results. I was told many years ago by family members that Henry Schuyler came south to find his father. Since his uncle Olivier was living in Lafayette Parish, Alexis may indeed have come to Louisiana, although I have found no trace of Alexis, nor of any male living with Henry when he married for the first time."
The following is an article published by Mrs. Boersma 23 years earlier than our correspondence:
HENRY SCHUYLER THIBODAUX FORMER GOVERNOR OF LOUISIANA CALLED "FATHER OF TERREBONNE" [Louisiana Genealogical Register, December 1974, pp. 325-7, submitted by Mrs. Nell Tucker Boersma, Baton Rouge, LA]
Henry Schuyler Thibodaux was the only man from the parish to become governor of the state of Louisiana. He stayed in the executive chair for two years, after succeeding Thomas Bolling Robertson, who resigned from the office to accept an appointment of judge. Thibodaux was born in Albany, educated in Scotland and made history in Louisiana. Newspapers this past year (1974) have focused attention on problems and foibles of our delegates to the 1973 Constitutional Convention. Such reading brings to mind another convention, that of the Constitutional Convention of 1811 which presented delegates with the problem of drafting our first Louisiana Constitution.
One such delegate in 1811 was Henry Schuyler Thibodaux from Lafourche Parish. He was then a member of the Territorial Legislature, and Justice of the Peace for Lafourche Parish. He went on to become President of the Louisiana State Senate and ex-officio Lieutenant Governor, and while acting as such, became governor of the state when Governor Thomas Bolling Robertson vacated the executive chair on 15 November 1824.
Mystery surrounds the early life of this illustrious Father of Terrebonne Parish, although he left a noteworthy record at his death. Henry Schuyler Thibodaux, born in Albany, New York in 1769, was the son of Count Alexis Thibodaux and Anna Blanchard. He was orphaned at an early age and reared in the home of General Philip Schuyler, famed Revolutionary War soldier. There seems to be some family relationship between General Schuyler and his protege, but this has never been proven. Henry Schuyler Thibodaux received his education in Scotland, and came to Louisiana where he first settled in St. James Parish. Here he married Felicia Bonvellian on 7 May 1793. Felicia was the daughter of Santiago Bonvellian and Carlota Eber of St. Charles Parish.
Henry Schuyler Thibodaux next moved to a place on Bayou Lafourche, near the present city of Thibodaux. A widower, he married Bridgette Belanger of Pointe Coupee Parish on 22 May 1800. One of eight children, Bridgette was born on 4 July 1775, the daughter of Nicolas Belanger, a Canadian, and Marguerite Lejeune, a native of Illinois Territory. Whether Nicolas was an exiled Acadian or not remains to be researched; however, in 1796 he was among those inhabitants of Pointe Coupee Parish who signed a loyalty oath for the Government of Spain. He was a lineal descendant of Jacques Cartier, the French navigator who discovered Canada in 1534.
Fortune smiled upon Henry Schuyler Thibodaux during his years in Louisiana. He reared a large family; his son Claiborne was the first known male child born in Terrebonne Parish. Another son, Bannon G. was a state senator and member of Congress. While a member of the legislature, Henry Schuyler was instrumental in incorporating Terrebonne Parish, a name selected after the Canadian Parish where his father-in-law was born. While acting as president of the senate in 1812, he entered the war as a First Lieutenant, and finished out his service as Captain of the Lafourche Volunteers.
His land holdings were large. Upon his death of heart failure on 23 October 1827, he left an estate valued at over $105,751.00. He was buried at "Half Way", a small cemetery located near Schriever, Louisiana. After vandals looted the tomb several times, his remains were reinterred at St. Bridget's Church in Schriever. His wife Bridgette continued to skillfully manage the estate after his death. Before her demise on December of 1849, she turned over to her nephew, Hubert Belanger, land which includes that upon which Houma now stands. Her sons inherited an estate that had grown considerably since their father's death.
In a thesis entitled "History of Terrebonne Parish to 1861", Miss Marguerite B. Watkins provided much detail in describing Henry Thibodaux as one of the most "prominent pioneer planters in the Parish." In his will, he left instructions for each child to be given his share upon reaching the age of maturity. He left a vast estate, it consisted of landed property, a sugar mill, slaves, and notes due him. And this did not include a small parcel of property in the Lafourche Interior assessed for $4900. After his death, his wife, Bridgette Belanger, was described as "skillful, charitable, hospitable, and public-minded or spirited", managed the plantation in such a business-like manner that she left a small fortune to each of her five children. Miss Watkins reports that Bridgette died in 1849, leaving 1720 acres on both sides of Bayou Terrebonne, valued at $71,920.00 On the plantation, named the Sainte Brigitte, were 122 slaves, 35 mules, 10 horses, 25 oxen, a sugarhouse, and a number of Negro cabins. The property was sold at auction for $133,325.00 to the three sons of Henry Schuyler Thibodaux and Bridgette Belanger.
While succeeding generations also left illustrious records for posterity, none quite left such a mark on the pages of Louisiana history as that made by Henry Schuyler Thibodaux, delegate to our first Constitutional Convention for the State of Louisiana.
[end of article]
September 2007:
As I still occasionally receive queries regarding HST, I have looked again at the above. I have read Philip Schuyler's will and it makes no mention of Henry. I have contacted Glasgow University, again nothing.
I have found the deaths/burials of Alexis Thibodeau (b. c1723) and his 2nd wife Catherine Leblanc. They died and were buried in the parish of St. Jean Baptiste, Nicolet, Quebec in 1802 and 1801 respectively. This Alexis is highly unlikely to have been HST's father.
I also looked into the Schuyler family a bit more through some published works. There was the already mentioned Gen. Philip John Schuyler (1733-1804), but also his aunt, Margaret Schuyler (1702-1788), who was married in 1719 to her cousin Philip Schuyler (1699-1758) [who was Gen. Schuyler's granduncle].
A few comments were noteworthy: "The provincials brought home Canadian prisoners who were kept on their parole in the houses of the 3 brothers (Schuyler) and became afterwards their friends." This would have been mid-1700's.
Then from Anne McVicar Grant's (1755-1838) memoirs of Mrs. Margaret Schuyler (she provided education for Mrs. Grant): "She had a high regard for the Indians and spoke their language many of whom often came and set down in her neighborhood in 'the Indian field' left open for their encampment and use." and "Her husband Col. Philip Schuyler was the first who raised a corps in the interior of the province. This brought him much into intercourse with British military, and with the governor etc. Mrs. Schuyler by the good sense and good breeding with which she accommodated her numerous and various guests without visible bustle or anxiety showed herself worthy of her distinguished lot. Mrs. Schuyler, early in life, was delivered of a dead child; she had none of her own afterwards; but was constantly adopting and bringing up others. This indeed was the practice of the country. It was also done by the Indians. She was called Aunt Schuyler when advanced in years, by all who knew her familiarly, and Madame Schuyler by the public in general. The last sobriquet she derived from the French Canadian prisoners, to whom she had showed much kindness." [This 'adopting' was usually within the Schuyler extended family or social strata.]
One last connection, however slight: John Bradstreet (b. 1711 England) - Family moved to Port Royal, Acadia 1714. He was son of Lt. Bradstreet and Agatha De La Tour. His father died 1718, mother remarried and stayed there, where the boys grew up bilingual. He served at Louisburg. He married the widow of his cousin (also John Bradstreet), her name was Mary Aldridge. In the summer of 1756 he was stationed in Albany as guest of Philip Schuyler.
There are also a few connections within the Schuyler family with
Scotland.
Based on all these details I would offer the following. Alexis
Thibodeau and Anne Blanchard were most probably Acadian refugees. Their son
Henry was born in or near Albany, which is where he probably spent his early
years, if not longer. One of the Schuylers, possible Margaret, took an interest in him along with other 'French Canadian
prisoners'. Eventually his parents were either deported or died. [HST
was aware of his parents' names (evidenced by baptism/marriage records), but being 'orphaned early',
conflicts with 'went to Louisiana seeking his father'.]
Henry may have remained in Albany by accident or design, learning skills and receiving some form of education. His education may have included time in Scotland as his future occupations and career indicated a much more advanced level of education than most Acadian descendants would have come by at that time. However, being unable to find any reference to Schuyler children being educated abroad leaves me skeptical of the idea of Henry being educated in Scotland. Who would have financed this, and why?
In between Henry's birth c1769 and his marriage in 1793 in
Louisiana, we only have slivers of family lore and supposition. What the
exact circumstances of Henry's life was during those 20+ years we may never
actually know for sure.
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Last updated: 2 October 2007