Auguste Davezac (May 30, 1780 – February 15, 1851) was a Saint Dominican-American diplomat who served twice as

United States Ambassador to the Netherlands The United States diplomatic mission to the Netherlands consists of the embassy located in The Hague and a consular office located in Amsterdam. In 1782, John Adams was appointed America's first Minister Plenipotentiary to Holland. According t ...

Biography

Auguste Genevieve Valentin D'Avezac was born in May, 1780, near Aux Cayes in the French colony of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

, now

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. His father was a wealthy landowner, and he was educated in France at the College de

Sorèze Sorèze (; ) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. Population See also * Communes of the Tarn department The following is a list of the 314 communes of the Tarn department of France. The communes cooperate in the f ...

and the French Military College. In 1791, the slaves of Saint-Domingue revolted, which resulted in the deaths of Auguste's two older brothers, with the rest of his family fleeing to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

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 ...

. In 1805, Davezac's sister Louise married

Edward Livingston Edward Livingston (May 28, 1764May 23, 1836) was an American jurist, statesman and slaveholder. Database at He was an influential figure in the drafting of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825, a civil code based largely on the Napoleonic Code. Li ...

. Ten years later, their younger sister Aglae Pauline married Judge Henry Cox Carleton of New Orleans. Davezac completed his education in France and moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

shortly after Louise's marriage, studying medicine in

Edenton, North Carolina The town of Edenton is located on the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. It is the county seat of Chowan County. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton served as the second official capital of North Carol ...

, and establishing a practice in

Accomack County, Virginia Accomack County is a United States county that, together with Northampton County, constitutes the Eastern Shore region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. These two counties also form the southern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula, which is bo ...

. He changed the spelling of his last name (eliminating the apostrophe), decided to abandon medicine for the law and relocated to New Orleans to study under Livingston. Davezac built a successful practice and was a sought-after criminal defense attorney. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, Davezac served on the local defense committee established by the residents of

. In 1814 he joined the staff of

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

as '' aide-de-camp'' and

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

with the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, the title by which he was addressed for the rest of his life. Davezac participated in the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

As a result of his War of 1812 experience Davezac became a devoted admirer and political supporter of Jackson, campaigning actively for him in both the

1824 Events January–March * January 1 – John Stuart Mill begins publication of The Westminster Review. The first article is by William Johnson Fox * January 8 – After much controversy, Michael Faraday is finally elected as a member of th ...

and

1828 Events January–March * January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France. * January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organiz ...

campaigns for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. In 1829 Jackson rewarded Davezac with appointment as Secretary of the United States embassy in the Netherlands, where he served under William Pitt Preble. In 1831 Edward Livingston became Secretary of State and Davezac succeeded Preble, serving as

Chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

until 1839. Davezac returned to New Orleans, but soon relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he was active in Martin Van Buren's unsuccessful 1840 campaign for reelection. In the early 1840s Davezac was elected to two terms in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

as a Democrat, 1842 to 1843, and 1844 to 1845. In 1844 Davezac supported Van Buren's efforts to win the Democratic nomination for President, and campaigned extensively for the eventual nominee,

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

. When Polk won the presidency, he rewarded Davezac by reappointing him as ''

'' in the Netherlands, where he served from 1845 to 1850. After leaving office Davezac returned to New York City, where he lived in retirement for only a few months before he became ill and died on February 15, 1851.William Allen
The American Biographical Dictionary
1857, Volume 1, page 287 He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davezac, Auguste 1780 births 1851 deaths American politicians of Haitian descent People from Sud (department) Lawyers from New Orleans Politicians from New York City American military personnel of the War of 1812 New York (state) lawyers Louisiana Democrats 19th-century American diplomats Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Ambassadors of the United States to the Netherlands Immigrants to the United States People from Saint-Domingue People from Accomack County, Virginia 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature