Mystery Monday: Mystery photo, La. Legere or Leger family

This is a copy of a photo owned by P.J. Blanchard, my 3rd cousin once removed.  It was originally owned by his grandparents, Hypolite and Oza or Ozea (Landry) Blanchard, of Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and is captioned on the back "Alciae Legere, Cameron 18 miles east Grand Chanere [sic] Rd." ["Alciae" is hard to read but it's the closest spelling P.J. could determine.]

There is a Grand Chenier Rd. in Cameron Parish, and there is a Leger or Legere family in Cameron Parish in the 1920 census with a daughter Elza ("Elzea" in Southwest Louisiana Records) who was born in 1901 in or near Kaplan to Alcée Legere (possibly spelled Leger) and Ida Landry Legere.  Elza married Alva ("Alvy" or "Cap") Miller and lived in the community of Grand Chenier, in Cameron Parish.  She is related to both P.J. and I through the Legere family, but neither of us knew of her before P.J. was given this box of photos.  P.J. does remember that his father occasionally visited cousins in the Cameron area, though.

The photo mounting with what looks like a cardstock backing resembles one I have from North La. c. 1905. If it's from the same time period, the woman would probably be a generation older than Elza, perhaps her mother Ida Landry Legere or an aunt?  Is there an "Alicia" relative perhaps?  Or another "Elzea" or "Alcea" relative?  Or could it be from c. 1920 and be Elza?  Perhaps Ida Landry Legere is related to Oza Landry Blanchard, P.J.'s grandmother.  I'm still investigating this angle along with the Legeres in Cameron Parish.

Meanwhile, P.J. and I would like to know if anyone out there can help us identify the woman.  And while I'm asking, P.J. would also love to find a photo of his great-grandmother, Eve Legere Blanchard, wife of Romain Blanchard, of Kaplan, LA.  She was born in 1862 in St. Landry Parish to Hypolite "Paul" & Mary (Addison) Legere and died in Kaplan (Vermilion Parish) in 1920.  E-mail me at hallroots **at** sbcglobal **dot** net if you can help with either request.  Thanks!

Tombstone (-less) Tuesday: Aurore Legere

I'm taking a page from Lucie LeBlanc Consentino and declaring this a "Tombstone-less Tuesday" post.  This is the only record that I've found so far of the child "Orore," probably a phonetic spelling for "Aurore," daughter of Constant Légère and his third wife, Eudalie or Idalie Landry, and my (half-) great-aunt.   Aurore doesn't even appear in that mainstay of Cajun secondary sources, Rev. Donald Hebert's Southwest Louisiana Records.  I may check with St. John's in Lafayette or St. Peter's in Carencro (established c. 1874) to see if there is a record of her which didn't make it into Hebert's volumes.  By my calculations, based on the info above and the birth dates of the other children, she was born between October 1870 and March 1871.

The list of children excerpted above was probably printed in a church bulletin; I remember the framed original was displayed at my dad's cousin Ashton (a.k.a. "Nacoon") Legere's house.  Cousins, was it a written list, or was it done in needlework?  I can't quite remember, though I did take notes from it.  Not all the info was exactly correct, by the way, if you happen to have a copy (which is why I haven't reproduced the entire list here).  It was apparently compiled from memory by Constant or Octavie, his fourth wife, many years after some of the children's deaths, and perhaps expanded by Ashton.

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.