George Eustis Jr. (September 28, 1828 – March 15, 1872) was an American lawyer and politician.

Early life

Eustis was born in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

on September 28, 1828. He was the namesake and eldest son of George Eustis Sr. and Clarisse Duralde Eustis (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Allain). His father was a lawyer who served as a Chief Justice of the

Louisiana Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Louisiana (; ) is the supreme court, highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The Supreme ...

. Among his siblings was brother

James Biddle Eustis James Biddle Eustis (August 27, 1834September 9, 1899) was a United States senator from Louisiana who served as President Grover Cleveland, Cleveland's U.S. Ambassador to France, ambassador to France. Early life Born in New Orleans, he was the ...

, a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

and Ambassador to France. His paternal grandparents were Jacob Eustis and Elizabeth Saunders (née Gray) Eustis and his maternal grandparents were Valérien Allain and Céleste (née Duralde) Allain. His mother was the niece of Julie Duralde Clay, a sister-in-law of statesman

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

through her marriage to Clay's brother John Clay. Eustis graduated from Jefferson College in

Convent, Louisiana Convent () is a census-designated place in and the parish seat of St. James Parish, Louisiana, United States. It has been the parish seat since 1869. It is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area . As of the 2010 census, its population was ...

, and obtained a law degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

Career

After graduation from law school, he was admitted to the bar and practiced in Louisiana before becoming involved in politics. He was a member of Congress and then later secretary to

John Slidell John Slidell (1793July 9, 1871) was an American politician, lawyer, slaveholder, and businessman. Database at A native of New York, Slidell moved to Louisiana as a young man. He was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, U.S. House ...

during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. He became a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

representing Louisiana. He served two terms, from March 4, 1855, to March 3, 1859, as a member of the anti-immigration American Party. During the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded fr ...

, he was a Confederate Military Aide to Louisiana Senator

and was captured along with Slidell and

James Murray Mason James Murray Mason (November 3, 1798April 28, 1871) was an American lawyer and politician who became a Confederate diplomat. He served as U.S. Senator from Virginia for fourteen years, having previously represented Virginia's 15th congression ...

aboard the steamer RMS ''Trent'' by Union Navy Captain

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and List of explorers, explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865 ...

in what became known as the ''Trent'' Affair. Eustis followed Slidell to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he served as Secretary of the

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

mission there.

Personal life

In April 1859, Eustis was married to Louise Morris Corcoran (1838–1867), the only surviving daughter of Louise (née Morris) Corcoran and

William Wilson Corcoran William Wilson Corcoran (December 27, 1798 – February 24, 1888) was an American banker, philanthropist, and art collector. He founded the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Early life and education Corcoran was born on December 27, ...

, a banker and philanthropist who co-founded the

Riggs Bank Riggs Bank was a bank headquartered in Washington, D.C. For most of its history, it was the largest bank headquartered in that city. On May 13, 2005, after the exposure of several money laundering scandals, the bank was acquired by PNC Financia ...

. Her grandfathers were mayor Thomas Corcoran and naval officer Charles Morris. Together, they were the parents of two sons and a daughter: *

William Corcoran Eustis William Corcoran Eustis (July 20, 1862 – November 24, 1921) was a captain in the United States Army and the personal assistant to General John J. Pershing during World War I. He was chairman of the inauguration committee for the first ina ...

(1862–1921), who married Edith Livingston Morton (1874–1964), daughter of U.S. Vice President

Levi Parsons Morton Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 – May 16, 1920) was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as United States ambassador to France, as a U.S. representative from New York, and as the thirty-first governor ...

and a descendant of the

Livingston family The Livingston family of New York (state), New York is a prominent family that migrated from Scotland to the Dutch Republic, and then to the Province of New York in the 17th century. Descended from the 4th Lord Livingston, its members included s ...

of New York, in 1900. * George Peabody Eustis (1864–1936), who married his first cousin Marie Eustis (1866–1956), only daughter of

James B. Eustis James Biddle Eustis (August 27, 1834September 9, 1899) was a United States senator from Louisiana who served as President Cleveland's ambassador to France. Early life Born in New Orleans, he was the son of George Eustis (1796–1858) and Cla ...

, in 1887. They divorced in 1901, and she married pianist

Josef Hofmann Josef Casimir Hofmann (originally Józef Kazimierz Hofmann; January 20, 1876February 16, 1957) was a Polish-American pianist, composer, music teacher, and inventor. Biography Josef Hofmann was born in Podgórze (a district of Kraków), in Aus ...

in 1905, and he remarried to Rosamund K. Street, daughter of William Street, in 1908. * Louise Mary Eustis (1867–1934), who married

steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

trainer Thomas Hitchcock in 1891. He died in of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, on March 15, 1872. His body was brought to the United States and interred in the Oak Hill Cemetery in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Descendants

Through his son George, he was a grandfather of George Morris Eustis (1899–1961) and Lucinda Eustis Corcoran (born Lucinda Morgan Corcoran Eustis). Through his daughter Louise, he was a grandfather of Celestine Eustis Hitchcock (1892–1935), who married New York City architect Julian Livingston Peabody and died with him aboard the SS ''Mohawk''; Thomas Hitchcock Jr. (1900–1944), who married Margaret Mellon (daughter of

William Larimer Mellon Sr. William Larimer Mellon Sr. (June 1, 1868 – October 9, 1949), sometimes referred to as W. L., was an American businessman who was active in Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politics. A co-founder of Gulf Oil, he was a member o ...

);

Francis Center Eustis Hitchcock Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie29 ...

, who married, and divorced, Mary Atwell; and Helen Hitchcock (d. 1979), who married James Averell Clark, (son of George Crawford Clark, a founder of Clark, Dodge & Co.) in 1919.

References

Notes Sources

External links

Bio at Congress.gov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eustis, George Jr. 1828 births 1872 deaths Politicians from New Orleans Know-Nothing members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana Lawyers from New Orleans Harvard Law School alumni Corcoran family Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) American expatriates in France Eustis family Members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives