Tombstone Tuesday: Legere/McBride (paternal great-grandparents)

Constant Legere and Marie Octavie McBride, my paternal great-grandparents, are buried in St. Peter Cemetery in Carencro, Louisiana.  Carencro is in Lafayette Parish (county) in the southern part of the state.

Headstone of Constant Legere and daughter Odette, St. Peter Cemetery, Carencro, La., Nov. 2007.  Digital photo by Liz Hall Morgan.

Constant was the son of Hypolite Paul Legere and Marcellite Lebert.  He was born 26 Oct. 1837 in Opelousas, St. Landry, La. and died 19 May 1923 in Rayne, Acadia, La.  He was a farmer who was married four times and had 17 children, though not all lived to adulthood.  Octavie, or "Tavie," as she was known, was his fourth wife, and they lived in the small community of Ossun in Lafayette Parish.  (Constant's first three wives, in order, were Estelle Babineaux, Idalie or Udalie (Eudalie?) Landry and Marie Irma Guidry.)

Headstone of Mrs. Constant [Marie Octavie McBride] Legere, St. Peter Cemetery, Carencro, La., Nov. 2007.  Digital photo by Liz Hall Morgan.

Tavie was the daughter of William McBride and Melasie Hollier.  She was born 31 Jan 1859 in St. Landry Parish, La. and died 29 Mar. 1946 in Lafayette, Lafayette Parish, La.  Her first husband was Cyprien Stemmann or Stemann, with whom she had four children. (The spelling has changed in usage over the years to Stemmans and Stemmons.)  Cyprien died in 1887, and on 23 Feb 1889, Constant and Tavie were married at St. Peter Roman Catholic Church in Carencro.  They had five children, including my grandmother Elia Legere Hall.  Both Constant and Tavie spoke Cajun French, and little, if any, English.

Constant and Tavie Legere, c. 1920?, Ossun, La., unknown photographer, scanned photo privately held by Liz Hall Morgan.