Harry Minor was one of two million enslaved individuals sold from the Upper South to the Lower South through the interstate slave trade. He was forcibly brought to Laura Plantation and made to assimilate into the Creole community. Hear his story, along with his own words, in this episode.
This episode is centered around the 1829 donation of the plantation. Nanette Duparc donated the plantation and seventy-seven enslaved people to her children, Louis, Flagy, and Elisabeth, and her son-in-law Raymond Locoul. The 1829 donation led to a corporation being founded, the Duparc Brothers and Locoul Plantation, and enslaved people became either owned by the company (mostly field hands, skilled laborers, and artisans) or privately owned by individual family members (mostly enslaved house servants). We will explore the lives of two of them---Lucy Moore Jones, enslaved as a house servant and nurse for the Locoul family, and her husband, Marius Jones, an enslaved laborer for the company who appears on the inventory made at the time of the 1829 donation.
This episode is centered around the first people enslaved at Laura Plantation. When Guillaume Duparc died in 1808, an inventory was made of all of his property, including enslaved individuals. Learn about them and then listen to an in-depth story of Tantale, present on the 1808 inventory and who lived to see freedom.
Laura Plantation provides a cultural experience unlike any other in the United States. Here you will find the difference that exemplifies Creole Louisiana. Explore the rigors of 200 years of daily life, along with the sobering experience of slavery as it happened at one historic site on the banks of the Mississippi River in the middle of New Orleans plantation country. In this podcast, historian Katy Morlas Shannon and Director of PR and Marketing Joseph Dunn will be your guides into the Creole world, offering you true, personal, compelling stories of the people who lived, worked, and died at this unique historic site. Real History. About real people.
In this episode, we provide a brief history of Laura Plantation, share our mission, and introduce many of the topics we will discuss in later episodes. Please visit www.lauraplantation.com to learn more and to plan your visit.
"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit in..." Greek Proverb
Nearly thirty-five years ago, Norman Marmillion came to an overgrown complex of buildings on the River Road of St. James Parish, and while many passed it by, he was inspired. Undeterred by the weeds and cobwebs, he went to work. Norman was a true renaissance man who had a vision of illuminating the rich history and unique creole culture of Laura Plantation. Through his tireless efforts, he restored and opened Laura to millions of vistiors from across the country and throughout the world. He challenged the way history was being taught; he researched and wrote, and he planted many trees.
On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, Norman unexpectedly passed away surrounded by family and close friends. He touched the lives of many and his family is currently planning a memorial in his honor. It seems only fitting to celebrate his energy and vitality at one of his favorite events, the annual December bonfire. Details for this memorial will be announced later.
For those of you who would like to share your memories or condolences, we invite you to post them here or to write in care of Laura Plantation, 2247 Hwy 18, Vacherie, LA 70090. We are compiling a memory book of photos and stories to share with those who loved him, and we welcome your contributions.
Being a great advocate for the environment, one way you can honor Norman's legacy is by planting a tree... even if you never sit in its shade.
