held in the third floor auditorium of the Opelousas
General Hospital.
Society President, Estelle Perrault, called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM.
She introduced Birdie B. Lewis, Society Librarian.
Mrs. Lewis instructed society volunteers who assisted with filling out
information cards for books which were recently donated to the Society by the
family of the late Eddie Lee Elder Smart Comeau.
The extensive collection, representing a lifetime of research by Mrs.
Comeau, will be added to the Society’s library.
Many local genealogists should find useful information on ancestors who
came from the Atlantic coast states, and from Kentucky, Tennessee, and
Virginia, as well. At a later “work party”, books will be assigned catalog
numbers. The Society hopes to
install a computer software program, which will facilitate the process.
Mrs. Lewis pointed out that a number must be
assigned to each book, according to the Dewey Decimal System.
Therefore, books pertaining to General History in the United States
fall under “976”. Following
the three-digit number is a decimal point, followed by a number which
designates a region of the United States, followed by a number which
designates the area of the state, followed by a number which designates the
parish. For example:
“976.346” applies to titles under “General History in the
United States; the South Central or Gulf Coast Region; South Central
Louisiana; Parish of St. Landry”.
Miss Perrault then introduced Myra Matas, Society
member, who is in the process of researching the history of the “Robin
Plantation”, which is located on Bayou Teche, between Leonville and
Arnaudville. Mrs. Matas and her
husband are the present owners of the property, which has been placed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
Mrs. Matas has recently contacted Dr.
Carl J. Eckberg, author of a series of books offering information on the
Villars and Vallé families. Louis Villars and Marie Louise Vallé, who came
to Louisiana from St. Genevieve, a French Colony in the Upper Louisiana
Territory, were owners of the property until it was claimed by the United
States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
According to Dr. Eckberg, Marie Louise Vallé returned to St. Genevieve
before her death in the early 1800’s, leaving no representative of the
family to claim ownership in Louisiana. Eventually,
the property was sold to Marie Theresa Berthelot Stelly, who acquired the
property after the death of her first husband.
She later married Francois Robin, and many local family names, such as
“Marks”, “Stelly” and “Robin” are included in the land records.
Mrs. Matas would like to encourage Dr. Eckberg to continue his book
series to include families associated with the “Robin Plantation” in the
years which followed 1803. The first two books in the series by Dr. Eckberg
are COLONIAL ST. GENEVIEVE and FRENCH ROOTS IN THE ILLINOIS COUNTRY, and the
latest is FRANCOIS VALLE AND HIS WORLD.
Rosalyn L. Soileau, spokesperson for the nominating
committee, presented the following slate of officers, nominated by the
committee to serve in 2003:
President: Estelle
Perrault
Vice-President: Etha
S. Amling
Corresponding Secretary:
JoAnn H. Duncan
Recording Secretary:
Sylvia D. Morel
Treasurer: JoAnne
R. Savoie
3 Year Director:
Walter Juergen Amling.
Motion to accept the slate of officers was made by
Nelda Stelly. Motion seconded by
Sue Deville. Motion unanimously
approved by Society members who were present.
Agatha Bush will continue as 2 Year Director,
and David Lanclos will continue as 1 Year Director.
According to the Society’s By-Laws, only one new Director is named
each year to serve a three-year term, and the Director whose one-year term
expires at the end of the year is the one who is replaced.
Miss Perrault stated that the Imperial St.
Landry Genealogical and Historical Society was founded ten years ago.
There will be no meeting in December.
The next meeting will be held in the third floor auditorium of
Opelousas General Hospital on January 11th, 2003.
Meeting adjourned at 12:00 NOON.
Submitted by:
Sylvia David Morel
Recording Secretary