Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#2334
JAMES AMEDEE GAUDET COLLECTION
OF HOUMAS PLANTATIONS AND WILLIAM PORCHER MILES MATERIALS
Inventory
Abstract: Secretary-treasurer of the Miles Planting and
Manufacturing Company, which controlled 13 large sugar
plantations; developer of a subdivision of New
Orleans; and business representative of William
Porcher Miles.
Business papers and correspondence passed down to
Gaudet, arranged in two series. 1) Financial and
legal papers, 1760-1927, 800 items, relating chiefly
to the ownership of the Houmas Plantations and other
Louisiana property, including deeds, mortgages, wills,
claims, notes, receipts, agreements, and some
correspondence among successive title holders and
their legal and business agents. There are also lists
of slaves and freedmen, agreements with Chinese
laborers, plans for land drainage, and memoranda of
cotton sales, sugar crops, and plantation stores. 2)
Letters from William Porcher Miles at Houmas House to
Henry Eustis at New Orleans, 1893-1896, 400 items,
concerning cultivation and sales of sugar, his
opposition to national legislation relating to the
sugar market, Miles Planting and Manufacturing Company
activities, state and national politics, civic and
social events, and family and personal affairs.
Online Catalog Terms:
Alien labor, Chinese--Louisiana--History--19th century.
Agricultural laborers--Louisiana--History--19th century.
Agriculture--Louisiana--History--19th century.
Ascension Parish (La.)--Social life and customs.
Cotton--Louisiana--History--19th century.
Eustis, Henry C., fl. 1894-1896.
Freedmen--Louisiana.
Gaudet, James Ame‚de‚e, 1861-1939.
Houmas Plantation (Ascension Parish, La.).
Louisiana--Politics and government--1865-1950.
Miles, William Porcher, 1822-1899.
Miles Planting and Manufacturing Company.
Plantations--Louisiana--Ascension Parish.
Real property--Louisiana--History--19th century.
Saint James Parish (La.)--Social life and customs.
Sugar--Louisiana--History--19th century.
Sugar laws and legislation--United States--History--19th
century.
Sugar trade--Louisiana--History--19th century.
United States--Politics and government--1893-2897.
Size: About 1,200 items (2.0 linear feet).
Provenance: Received from Bessie M. Gaudet of New Orleans,
La., in April 1941 and April 1946.
Related Collection: William Porcher Miles Papers (#508).
Processing Note: Series 1 description is based on an original
inventory compiled by Elizabeth H. Cotten
around 1946.
Access: No restrictions.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendants, as stipulated by United States
copyright law.
INTRODUCTION
Biographical Note
James Amedee Gaudet (1861-1939) was the son of Amedee Michel
Gaudet and Louis Ilsley. His father was a sugar planter and a
member of the Louisiana state legislature. His mother was the
daughter of John H. Ilsley, a justice of the Louisiana Supreme
Court. Gaudet was secretary-treasurer of the Miles Planting and
Manufacturing Company; secretary-treasurer of the Miles Timber
Company; and developer of Ingleside Heights, a subdivision of New
Orleans. He was a business representative for William Porcher
Miles and the Houmas Plantations.
William Porcher Miles (1822-1899) was born in Waterboro, S.C.
He attended the Willington Academy in Abbeville District and the
College of Charleston from which he was graduated in 1842. He
first studied law, but then changed to the teaching profession
and become assistant professor of mathematics at the College of
Charleston, 1843-1855. He was elected mayor of Charleston in
1855, running against Know-Nothingism. In 1857, he was elected
to Congress and championed slavery and succession until his
withdrawal in 1860. During the Civil War, he served as
representative from the Charleston District to the Confederate
Congress. In 1863, Miles married Betty Beirne, daughter of
Oliver Beirne, a wealthy planter in Virginia and Louisiana.
After the Civil war, Beirne made him manager of the Houmas
Plantations in Louisiana, which he had inherited from his friend
John Burnside (d. 1881). Miles managed these plantations until
his death in 1899.
John Burnside acquired the Houmas Plantation in 1858. It had
been purchased by General Wade Hampton (1751?-1835) of South
Carolina in 1812. His daughter and son-in-law, Caroline Martha
and John Smith Preston (1809-1881), were sent out to manage the
property and built Houmas House in 1840. They sold it to John
Burnside in 1858, and Burnside bought several other plantations
in the area. It is believed that he owned a total of 13
plantations in Ascension and Saint James parishes, including
Houmas, Orange Grove, Conway, Clark, Riverton, Donaldson, Saint
James, White Castle, and Armant. The term "Houmas Plantations"
is sometimes used to refer to these plantations as a group.
Houmas Plantation and Houmas House are located on the Mississippi
River, near Burnside in Ascension Parish. Burnside managed to
retain his plantations after the Civil War because he was a
British subject.
(The section on William Porcher Miles is adapted from a sketch by
Francis Butler Simkins in the Dictionary of North Carolina
Biography, Vol. 12.)
Collection Overview
This collection consists of two distinct sections. The first
contains financial and legal documents, 1785-1927. The bulk of
these documents fail are dated 1840-1882. From 1785 to 1848,
documents are chiefly deeds and land grants relating to the
Houmas Plantations. From 1849 to 1881, documents are chiefly
promissory notes, acts of protest, or other items relating to the
business affairs of John Burnside. Documents at the end of the
series belonged to Oliver Beirne and William Porcher Miles and
are chiefly tax returns and tax receipts.
The second series consists of letters, 1893-1896, from William
Porcher Miles to Henry C. Eustis, a business associate, about the
Houmas Plantations and the Miles Planting and Manufacturing
Company, politics, and family activities.
The collection is arranged as follows:
Series 1. Financial and Legal Papers
Subseries 1.1. 1785-1848
Subseries 1.2. 1849-1881
Subseries 1.3. 1882-1900
Subseries 1.4. 1900-1927
Series 2. Letters of William Porcher Miles to
Henry C. Eustis, 1893-1896
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Financial and Legal Papers
1785-1927 and undated. About 800 items.
Arrangement: roughly chronological.
Subseries 1.1. 1785-1848
About 150 items.
Chiefly papers concerning the ownership of Houmas Plantation
and other Louisiana plantations. Included are deeds, bills of
sale for land and slaves, and wills executed by Wade Hampton,
William Conway, John Conway, Caroline M. Preston (daughter of
Wade Hampton), and many others. Many of the documents are copies
made at a later date; they are filed by the date of the original
document. Burnside left his property to Oliver Beirne, who was
the father-in-law of William Porcher Miles. Below is a
chronological listing of some of the documents included.
1785: Deed, Alexander and John Anderson to Joseph Saumier.
1797: Deed, J. Maurice Conway to William Conway.
1805: Agreement among William Conway, David Clark, and Jean
Ramiers Joachim.
1807: Will of William Conway.
1809: Copy of deed, William Conway to his son John.
1811: Deed, John Mills to Wade Hampton.
1817: Deed, John Mills to Wade Hampton.
1824: Deed of sale of Houmas Plantation by Wade Hampton to John
Sims.
1825: Deed of sale of land, Mrs. Robert (Elizabeth Conway) Laws
to Benjamin Winchester.
1827: Deed of sale of land, James Conway to M. D. Bringier.
1829: Mortgage against property of William Donaldson.
1832-1835: Deed, John Henderson to M. D. Bringier. Deed,
Elizabeth Ann Conway Righton to Benjamin Winchester.
Deed of sale, Charles de Armas to Wade Hampton. Deed
of sale of a tract of land by Wade Hampton to William
C. Kenner. Deed of sale, John Conway and Dominique
Lamoux to Augustus S. Phelps. Copy of document
concerning settlement of Wade Hampton's estate.
1836: Extract from will of William Conway, filed in case of
Millandon v. McDonough. Other documents used in the same
case.
1840-1841: Deed of sale by Laurent Millandon to Phillipson
Millandon. Deed of sale of land and slaves from John
Slidell to Laurent Millandon. Copy of deed of sale of
land by Laurent Millandon to Manuel Julian de Lizardi.
Copy of deed of sale of land by Jean Franc‡ois Saville
to Abraham Francis Righter.
1842: Deed of sale of land, Joachim Kohn to Laurent Millandon
(Orange Grove). Deed of sale of property by Laurent
Millandon to Henry Phillipson.
1843: Document about sale of land by Henry Godfrey Schmidt to
Elizabeth A. Conway, later involved in a law suit. Sale
by H. B. Commack, assignee of Kohn, Daron and Company,
bankrupts, to J. F. Preston.
1844: Deed of sale of interest in plantation and slaves,
Alexander Gordon to Manuel Julian de Lizardi.
Rectification of an error and deposit of documents by
Victor Burthe, Charles Casimer Gardennes, and Millardon.
1846: Deed of sale of plantation and slaves by C. C. Gardennes
to Manuel J. de Lizardi, and release of mortgage to L.
Millandon (incomplete).
1847: Deed of sale of land, C. C. Gardennes to Philip Millandon.
Sale of White Hall Plantation, Mr. and Mrs. John Penny to
John S. Preston and John L. Manning.
1848: Deed of sale of land and slaves, Mary Hampton to John and
Caroline Preston.
Folder 1 1785-1809
2 1811-1827
3 1829-1839
4 1840
5 1841
6 1842
7 1843-1844
8 1846
9 1847
10 1848
Subseries 1.2. 1849-1881
About 500 items.
Beginning in 1849, John Burnside played a conspicuous part in
the business transactions documented here. Many of the papers in
this subseries relate to John Burnside and Company Some of these
documents relate to Burnside's friend Oliver Beirne, and include
several powers of attorney from Beirne to Burnside, who was to
act for his friend in land purchase deals.
Another company that frequently appears in these papers is
McStea, Value and Company, of which Nelson McStea was the
principal figure. Both John Burnside and Company and McStea,
Value and Company appear to have been involved in lending money
to various individuals; many papers relate to suits ("protests")
brought by the companies to collect money from defaulting
debtors. Also included are numerous promissory notes. Below is
a chronological listing of some of the documents included.
1849: A few promissory notes of John Burnside and Company.
1850-1853: Copies of papers in the United States Land Office, a
number of promissory notes, and other items relating
to John Burnside and Company. Original act of
donation from Mary Hampton to Caroline Preston
involving a gift of land.
1854: Business papers, notes, and other items of John Burnside
and Company. Succession from H. F. Williams to Aglae
Duborg, widow of M. D. Bringier. Protest for non-payment,
S. Condit and Company on Siddall Greene and Company to
John Burnside and Company. Protest for non-payment,
Dowling and Young to John Burnside.
1855: Deed of sale of land and slaves, John S. Preston to
Caroline M. Preston. Andrew Beirne's instrument granting
power of attorney to John Burnside. Deed of sale of
property and slaves, Philip Millandon to L. Millandon.
Various protests and promissory notes.
1856-1857: Manuel Julian de Lizardi's document granting power of
attorney to Juan Y. de Egana. Protests, promissory
notes, and other documents. Transcripts from the case
of John Burnside v. Jesse R. Kirkland.
1858: Promissory notes and deeds of sales of land and slaves.
Power of attorney of Oliver Beirne to John Burnside. Deed
of sale of Houmas Plantation, Caroline M. Preston to John
Burnside. Letter from Louis Janin to "Benjamin,"
discussing the Houmas and other titles.
1859: Notes, acknowledgements, receipts, and other papers.
Notice of an assignee's sale.
1860-1862: Memoranda of bales of cotton on J. M. Gillespie's
plantation. John M. Andrews's protest against the
burning of cotton and a press by armed troops for the
Planters Cotton Press. Other protests; vouchers;
deeds of sales of property; papers documenting
transactions of John Burnside, Nelson McStea, and
others.
1863-1864: Document executed by Nelson McStea, a British subject,
leasing captured or abandoned property from the U. S.
government. A protest executed by John Burnside, also
a British subject, against Confederate officers who
burned cotton on his land.
1865-1866: Notes, vouchers, and protests of John Burnside, Nelson
McStea, McFarland and Bucksdale, and Beverley L.
Holcomb. John Burnside's tax return.
1868-1870: Receipt of Gilmore and Sons for fee in Burnside legal
case and other papers relating to Burnside, including
tax return. Power of attorney granted by Richard I.
Manning, Wade Hampton Manning, and Mary Hampton
Manning to their father, John L. Manning. Deed of
purchase by Arthur W. Foley of part of the Houmas
grant, formerly owned by Wade Hampton. Bill for
lumber for sugar house and cane shed. Power of
attorney granted by Caroline M. Preston to Randell L.
Gibson. John Burnside tax return.
1871-1873: Claim of Nelson McStea against the United States for
bales of cotton burned during the Civil War. New
Orleans tax receipts. Agreement between John S. Swann
and McStea and Value. Contract of George E. Payne,
who was to go to China to hire Chinese laborers to
work for Burnside in Louisiana. Receipt for sale of
cotton by firm of Burnside and McFarland to Nelson
McStea. Notice of election of Nelson McStea to the
New Orleans Chamber of Commerce. List of documents
relating to Wade Hampton's property. Agreement
between John Burnside and 80 Chinese laborers to work
on the Armant Plantation. Bills and receipts of
McStea and Value.
1874: Notes, receipts, New Orleans tax receipts.
1875: Bills and receipts relating to stores at Houmas, Armant,
Orange Grove, Saint James, Riverton, White Castle, and
other plantations. Receipts for purchase of 3,000 barrels
of molasses for Ascension store. Promissory notes.
Agreement of Lucien Granderry to deliver bricks to John
Burnside at Saint James Refinery Plantation.
1876-1879: Copy of an act of mortgage from Benjamin E. Story to
Hugh D. Hopkins. Many bills, receipts, and notes.
Folder 11 1849-1850
12 1851-1852
13 1853
14 1854
15 1855
16 1856-1857
17 1858
18 1859
19 1860
20 1861
1862
21 January-March
22 April-November
23 1863
24 1864
25 1865
26 1866
27 1867
28 1868
29 1869
30 1870
31 1871
1872
32 January-May
33 June-December
1873
34 January-April
35 May-December
36 1874
1875
37 January-June
38 July-December
39 1876-1879
40 1880-1881
Subseries 1.3. 1882-1900
About 60 items.
After John Burnside died in 1881 and left his property to his
friend Oliver Beirne, the volume of materials decreases. Most of
these papers relate to Beirne's business affairs. Below is a
chronological listing of some of the documents included.
1882: New Orleans tax receipts and other business papers of
Oliver Beirne.
1884-1889: Agreement among Oliver Beirne, William Greene, and J.
B. Quimby for Greene and Quimby to sink wells at
Riverton Plantation. List of expenditures of J. L.
Bradford on a contract with Oliver Beirne and D. F.
Kenner. New Orleans tax receipts.
1890-1899: State and city tax receipts. Share of stock in the
Davis Land Company and in the Louisiana State Fair
Association.
Folder 41 1882
42 1884-1889
43 1890-1894
44 1895-1899
Subseries 1.4. 1900-1927
About 60 items.
Papers after 1900 deal chiefly with the Miles Planting and
Manufacturing Company for which William Porcher Miles served as
president and James Ame‚de‚e Gaudet as secretary. The majority of
these documents are the Company's city and state tax receipts.
Included are the following: bill for publishing the Miles
Planting and Manufacturing Company's charter; deed of sale
passing the property of Miles Planting and Manufacturing Company,
Ltd., to the Miles Planting and Manufacturing Company; state,
city, and federal tax receipts; deed of sale by Miles Planting
and Manufacturing Company for Riverton Plantation; map of
Riverton Plantation, dated 1920.
Folder 45 1900-1906
46 1907-1914
47 1915-1927
Series 2. Letters of William Porcher Miles to Henry C. Eustis
1893-1896. About 250 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Note that a more extensive description of the material in this
series is available on request (see control file).
Almost entirely letters from William Porcher Miles to Henry C.
Eustis, 1893-1897, when Miles was managing the Houmas Plantations
for his father-in-law, Oliver Beirne. The connection between
Miles and Eustis is not clear. Eustis seems to have managed
business affairs for Miles and was connected with the Miles
Planting and Manufacturing Company. However, Eustis was more
than a business associate, since Miles frequently discussed
politics and family affairs in his letters. For example, Miles's
1894 letters frequently include references to the tariff debate
in Congress. Miles vigorously opposed high tariffs and argued
against Southerners who joined the Republicans on the issue.
Miles discussed the management of Houmas Plantations and the
progress of his sugar crop in letters to Eustis, including
references in 1894 to carelessness on the part of some of his
overseers, lack of rainfall, and low sugar prices. Miles also
referred several times to letters sent him by Eustis, which
apparently contained information on expenses and profits at the
plantations.
Also included are several letters from early 1895 with news of
Miles's family's activities during the holiday season and Miles's
fear that the sugar cane stubble and seed would be damaged by the
very cold weather. In March 1895, Miles referred to having
obtained a fair portion of the sugar bounty, apparently as a
result of a long legal fight. Controversy over payment of this
bounty continued throughout the year.
In 1896, Miles wrote to Eustis about sugar, his plantations,
the Miles Planting and Manufacturing Company, family news, and
politics.
1893
Folder 48 December
1894
January-February
49 March-April
50 May-August
51 September-December
1895
52 January-March
53 April-June
54 July-August
55 September-December
1896
56 January-February
57 March
58 April-May
59 June-September
60 October-December
Shelf List
Box 1 Series 1.1. (folders 1-10)
Series 1.2. (folders 11-19)
Box 2 Series 1.2. (folders 20-35)
Box 3 Series 1.2. (folders 36-40)
Series 1.3. (folders 41-44)
Series 1.4. (folders 45-47)
Series 2. (folders 48-49)
Box 4 Series 2. (folders 50-50)
Items separated:
OP-2334/1-2