Catherine Estelle (or Estelle Catherine) Legere or Légère ("Estelle Catharine" in Southwest Louisiana Records and Estelle in census records, but "Catherine" according to her death certificate and her great-granddaughter) was my great-aunt, the daughter of my great-grandfather Constant Legere ("Leger" in some records) and his first wife (of four), Estelle Babineau(x). She was born 12 Dec. 1867, probably in Lafayette Parish, La. Extracted death certificate info says she was born in Carencro (in Lafayette Parish), and her birth was recorded in Grand Coteau, at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church (then the nearest Catholic church to the family, in St. Landry Parish). I think the Ossun community near Carencro, where her parents lived, is a safe bet for her birthplace, but that's just my opinion.
At age 15, she married Jean Euclide Brasseaux on 27 Dec. 1882 in St. Peter Roman Catholic Church in Carencro, but he died not long after their marriage (anyone have a date?) and they had no children that I know of. I recall noticing Brasseaux graves in a section near (catecorner from?) the Hernandezes, but I did not check for him on that visit.
Catherine married Arthur Hernandez on 2 Dec. 1884 in the same church. Arthur was the son of Sebastian Hernandez (of Canary Islands descent) and Euphrosine Sonnier (a Cajun). He was born 15 Jan. 1865, in Lafayette, La., according to extracted death certificate info, where his birth is recorded in St. John Catholic Church (now Cathedral) records. Arthur and Catherine farmed in Lafayette Parish and also reared 10 children there. My dad remembered some of his Hernandez cousins, who were a generation older than he and his siblings.
Catherine died 4 Oct. 1930 in Carencro, and Arthur died 4 Feb. 1949 in Rayne, in Acadia Parish. Their children included a teacher and a doctor. More on my Hernandez cousins in a future post.
My sources include Southwest Louisiana Records by Rev. Donald Hebert; U.S. Census records and La. Death Index at Ancestry.com; and La. Deaths at www.familysearch.org. Questions/corrections/additions welcome at hallroots [at] sbcglobal [dot] net.
Text/photo copyright 2011 by Liz Hall Morgan, all rights reserved.
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