Brian James Costello (born December 28, 1966) is an American historian, author, archivist and humanitarian. He is an 11th generation resident of
New Roads, Louisiana
New Roads (historically ) is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana was located in New Roads in 2000. The population was 4,831 at the 2010 census, down from 4,966 ...
, seat of
Pointe Coupee Parish
Pointe Coupee Parish ( or ; ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,758. The parish seat is New Roads.
Pointe Coupee Parish is part of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana Metropolitan Stati ...
. He is three-quarters
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
and one-quarter
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
in ancestry.
Education
He graduated from
False River Academy
False River Academy (commonly False River, or FRA) is a nonsectarian private school located in New Roads, Louisiana, in Pointe Coupee Parish. It serves grades Pre-K through 12. The school is independent, and has its own school board. Its enrollmen ...
in New Roads and from
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
, with a major in History and minor in English. He is one of the few remaining speakers of
Louisiana Creole
Louisiana Creole is a French-based creole language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Also known as Kouri-Vini, it is spoken today by people who may racially identify as white, black, mixed, and Native ...
French, having been immersed in childhood in the
dialect
A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
spoken in Pointe Coupee Parish and is internationally regarded as an advocate of the
Louisiana Creole people
Louisiana Creoles (, , ) are a Louisiana French people, Louisiana French ethnic group descended from the inhabitants of colonial Louisiana (New France), Louisiana during the periods of French colonial empire, French and Spanish Empire, Spanis ...
Work
Costello is one of Louisiana's most published figures, having published as many as four books in one year. He is the sole author of 19 books, co-author of six books and numerous newspaper columns and features since 1987. Among his co-authored works are ''Furnishing Louisiana: Creole and Acadian Furniture, 1735-1835'', published by
The Historic New Orleans Collection
The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) is a museum, research center, and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South region of the United States. It is located in New Orl ...
, and ''New Roads and Old Rivers: Louisiana's Historic Pointe Coupee Parish'', published by
LSU Press
The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of University Pres ...
. He was editor of ''
The Pointe Coupee Banner'' newspaper in New Roads, Louisiana during 1988-1996.
He holds membership in the Catholic Writers' Guild, numerous spiritual and charitable apostolates and has been recognized as an outstanding advocate of the
Lions International
Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo) in more than 200 geographic ...
charitable works since 1993. He has served as president of Le Cercle Historique, a historical preservation and archival organization, since its founding in 1992.
Costello is a Louisiana Carnival historian and advocate, having been active in the preservation and growth of New Roads and New Orleans Carnival krewes, historical documentation and
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...
parade orchestration since 1993. He was chairman of the New Roads Lions Carnival parade from 1993 though 2010, and reigned as King of the Carnival in 2009.
In 2009, Costello was named founding historian and archivist of the Historic Materials Collection of the Pointe Coupee Parish Library in New Roads, Louisiana. He is often featured as a consultant and documentary participant in the fields of American and European genealogy, history, culture, linguistics, antiquities and spirituality with local, national and global audiences.
In recognition of his cultural and spiritual works, Costello was knighted by the Military and Hospitaller
Order of Saint Lazarus
The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was a Catholic military order founded by Crusaders during the 1130s at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose car ...
of Jerusalem. in 2015, and by the Equestrian
Order of the Holy Sepulchre Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre may refer to:
* Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), chivalric order belonging to the Holy See (the Roman Catholic Church)
* Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Orthodox), chivalric ...
of Jerusalem in 2019.
Bibliography
Sole author
*''New Roads: A Community in Retrospect''. Claitor's, 1993.
*''Chronicles of Carnival: A History of the New Roads Mardi Gras''. Claitor's, 1993.
*''The Catholic Church in Pointe Coupée, A Faith Journey''. Franklin Press, 1996.
*''Louisiana Mardi Gras, A Historical Guide to the State’s Carnival Parades Outside New Orleans''. Franklin Press, 1997.
*''A History of Pointe Coupée Parish, Louisiana''. Franklin Press, first edition 1999, second edition 2005.
*''The Life, Family and Legacy of
Julien Poydras''. Franklin Press, 2001.
*''From Ternant to Parlange: A Creole Plantation Through Seven Generations''. Franklin Press, 2002.
*''From Porche to Labatut: Two Centuries on the Pointe Coupée Coast''. Franklin Press, 2002.
*''Creole Pointe Coupée, A Sociological Analysis''. Franklin Press, 2002.
*''The House of Lejeune''. Franklin Press, 2002.
*''A History of Carnival in Louisiana'' New Roads Printing, 2003.
*''Darby: A House and Family on Spanish Lake''. New Roads Printing, 2003.
*''Quintessential Creoles: The Tounoir Family of Pointe Coupée''. New Roads Printing, 2003.
*''
Canal Street
Canal Street may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Canal Street (Manchester), Manchester, England
* Canal Street, Oxford, Jericho, Oxford, England
United States
* Canal Street (Buffalo), a street and district at the western terminus of the Er ...
and Beyond: Louisiana’s 20th Century
Department Stores
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made ...
''. New Roads Printing, 2003.
*''C’est Ca Ye’ Dit: Creole Folk Tales, Superstitions, Remedies, Customs, Nicknames and Linguistic Peculiarities of Pointe Coupée Parish, Louisiana''. New Roads Printing, 2004.
*''Rolling for Charity: A Pictorial History of the New Roads Lions Carnival Parade''. New Roads Printing, 2004.
*''Desolation Unmeasured… The Tragic History of Floods in Pointe Coupée Parish, Louisiana''. New Roads Printing, 2007.
*''A History of Pointe Coupée Parish, Louisiana, The Murray G. LeBeau Memorial Edition''. Margaret Media, 2010.
* ''Carnival in Louisiana: Celebrating Mardi Gras from the French Quarter to the Red River'',
Louisiana State University Press
The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of University Pres ...
, 2015.
* ''And I Saw a River: A History of the Catholic Church in Pointe Coupée, St. Mary of False River & St. Francis Chapel'', Holy Water Books, 2023.
Collaborative works
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Brian James
Recipients of the Order of Saint Lazarus
American archivists
People from New Roads, Louisiana
Louisiana State University alumni
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
20th-century American historians
20th-century American male writers
1966 births
Living people
Historians from Louisiana
American male non-fiction writers