M. (1) 7 Nov 1731 in New Orleans, New France
Husband: Joseph Turpin
M. (2) 19 Mar 1750 in Kaskaskia, New France
Husband: Joseph de LaMirande
D. before 15 May 1758 in (probably) Opelousas, Louisiana, New France
For so many victims of the slavery system in colonial America, there are no records. But the story of Hypolite Chauvin de La Frénière was unique, and we can track her to beginnings on the plantation of her father.
Hypolite was born on January 17, 1718, and was baptized the following day at Mobile in present-day Alabama. Her father was Nicolas Chauvin de La Frénière, a French-Canadian plantation owner, and her mother was his “Indian woman” slave. Nicolas was unmarried at the time, which may have factored into why Hypolite’s paternity wasn’t hidden. Was she a slave at birth even though it wasn’t indicated on her baptism? The answer is yes because of the early Louisiana slave code that stated a child took on the status of their mother. The code also mandated that slaveholders were to baptize their slaves, and this fits with the record of Hypolite.
The origins of Hypolite’s mother can be deduced from her father Nicolas’ travels. From October 1716 to October 1717, he was on a trading expedition with his brothers that went through present-day Texas into Mexico. About nine months before Hypolite’s birth, he was at Mission San Juan Bautista south of the Rio Grande. It seems highly likely that Nicolas acquired her there as a slave, probably in exchange for goods he brought with him. Hypolite’s mother may have been transported there from hundreds of miles away by slave traders, a fact which is suggested by DNA readings of Indigenous Mexico and Yucatan showing up in many of her descendants.
Maps showing ethnicities of Hypolite descendants from Ancestry and FamilyTreeDNA.
It’s likely that Hypolite had no memory of Mobile because when she was under 2-years-old, her father moved to a place just outside of the new settlement of New Orleans. By the mid-1720s, Nicolas was running a large plantation with over 100 slaves. He got married in about 1724, and soon Hypolite had several younger half-siblings.
Hypolite’s life dramatically changed at age 13 when she was married to a French-Canadian man named Joseph Turpin. The wedding took place in New Orleans on November 7, 1731, and her mother was mentioned as being a former “servant” of Nicolas named Catherine. It suggests that both Catherine and Hypolite were free at the time because if they were slaves it would have been noted in the record. There’s no evidence of when Nicolas may have emancipated Catherine, and we can only say that it happened between the dates of Hypolite’s baptism and marriage. Hypolite and her new husband Joseph travelled up the Mississippi River, and settled in the Illinois outpost of Kaskaskia, where Joseph had been living. Within a year or two, Hypolite gave birth to a daughter.
New Orleans around the time Hypolite was married.
As a woman who was half Native American, Hypolite wasn’t out-of-place in Kaskaskia. During the time she lived there with Joseph it was a lively trading outpost on the Mississippi, and many early French settlers had married Indian woman, including Joseph’s brother Louis. The result of this was a large percentage of the population having Native American blood. By the 1740s, Kaskaskia started to become more of a farming community, supplying New Orleans with the types of crops that wouldn’t grow on the Gulf Coast.
Surviving records from Kaskaskia are scarce, and there are no baptisms naming Hypolite and Joseph as parents. Besides the daughter born in about 1732, there was a son born in the 1740s or as late as 1750; other children who may have died young are unknown. In late 1749 or early 1750, Joseph Turpin died, and on March 19, 1750, Hypolite married a man named Joseph de LaMirande. They left Kaskaskia probably during the spring of the following year, heading to New Orleans, and she gave birth to a son on June 13th. Then they settled in the town of Opelousas, where Hypolite had her final child, a daughter.
Hypolite’s second husband Joseph had started out life as a fur trader, but once in Opelousas, he became a plantation owner, acquiring many slaves. Unfortunately, Hypolite died a few years after they settled there, likely in early 1758 because her husband remarried on May 15th. She was only about 40-years-old at the time of her death.
Over time, Hypolite had many descendants in both the Illinois/Indiana and Louisiana areas. Two of her grandchildren in Louisiana had colorful stories. Her grandson Arsene LeBleu captained a ship for the legendary pirate, Jean Lafitte. And her granddaughter Catherine LeBleu married Charles Sallier, who founded the town of Lake Charles. Lafitte was said to have been in love with Catherine and family lore says that he once gave her a brooch. The story goes that when her husband saw her wearing the brooch, he became enraged and shot her, then fled thinking he killed her. But the bullet hit the brooch and she survived the shooting. Sallier was never heard from again.
Hypolite’s grandson, Arsene LeBleu.
Children by Joseph Turpin:
1. Marie-Madeleine Turpin — B. about 1732, Kaskaskia, New France; D. after 1810, Natchitoches, Louisiana Territory; ; M. (2) Pierre Texier dit LaVigne (1728-1770), 12 Jan 1751, Kaskaksia, New France; (2) Antoine Cusson, 1774, Kaskaskia, Illinois Territory; (3) Joseph Auger, about 1778
2. François Turpin — B. (probably) about 1750, Kaskaskia, New France; D. 1 Oct 1809, Vincennes, Indiana Territory; M. Marie-Josephe Levron dit Metayer, about 1777, (probably) Post Vincennes, Illinois Territory
Children by Joseph de LaMirande:
1. Louis Joseph LaMirande — B. 13 Jun 1751, New Orleans, New France
2. Marie Rose Josephe LaMirande — B. about 1752; D. 15 Jul 1794, Opelousas, Louisiana Territory; M. Marin Barthelemy LeBleu dit Comersac (1722-?), 16 Oct 1769, Pointe Coupee, Louisiana Terriitory
Sources:
The Family of Nicolas Chauvin de La Freniere, Sadie Greening Sparks, 18 Oct 2000, sadiesparks.com
Race, Sex and Social Order in Early New Orleans, Jennifer M. Spear, 2010
Sacramental records of the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of Mobile, Volume 1, Section 1, 1704-1739, Michael L. Farmer, Ann Calagaz, 2002
The History of Kaskaskia, Illinois, in a Family History Context (website)
Pointe de l’Eglisse: Acadia Genealogical and Historical Society, Inc., by Gene Thibodeaux (website)
Le Bleu’s Landing: Fine Cuisine & Gifts (website)
