Jacques Telesphore Roman (March 22, 1800 – April 11, 1848) was a 19th-century

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

businessman, sugar planter, and builder of the Oak Alley Plantation.

Early years

Born near

Opelousas, Louisiana Opelousas (; ) is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 in Louisiana, Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 in Louisiana, U.S. Route 190 were constructed with a ju ...

, the son of Jacques Etienne Roman of

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, France, and Marie Louise Patin, Jacques Telesphore Roman and his family later moved to St. James Parish and engaged in the lucrative sugar trade. As the Roman family achieved greater prominence as leaders in society, their activities alternated between their sugar plantations in St. James Parish and elegant dwellings 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 ...

. Among the latter was the house now known as Madame John's Legacy on Rue Dumaine – which was purchased by Jacques Etienne's widow for herself and her bachelor sons shortly after her husband's death. From here Jacques Telesphore Roman began his courtship of Celina Pilie, whose prominent family lived around the corner on Royal Street. They were married on June 14, 1834.

Oak Alley

At this point, the fortunes of the Roman family had reached their pinnacle. Jacques' brother Andre was serving his first term as

Governor of Louisiana The governor of Louisiana (; ) is the chief executive of the U.S. state government of Louisiana. The governor also serves as the commander in chief of the Louisiana National Guard. Republican Jeff Landry has held the office since January 8, ...

, and his sister Josephine, was married to Francois Gabriel "Valcour" Aime, whose wealth, interest in the sugar industry, and opulent lifestyle had won him the title of "Sugar King Of Louisiana." On May 19, 1836, Valcour Aime sold Jacques T. Roman the plantation which riverboat captains later dubbed "Oak Alley." In keeping with the standards of the

elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (, from , to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful or wealthy people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ...

of that period, Jacques and Celina plunged with enthusiasm into the building of their own mansion on their newly acquired plantation. The architect is believed to have been Celina's father, Gilbert Joseph Pilie. Master builder George Swainy was contracted to direct the construction, which took over two years to complete.

Death

Jacques Telesphore Roman died in 1848, a victim 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 ...

. Without any experience in business or

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

farming, his widow Celina Roman took over management of the plantation. Mixing her lack of experience with her penchant for opulent spending, Celina drove the plantation into near bankruptcy. Her only surviving son, Henri Roman, assumed responsibility for family affairs in 1859. His valiant efforts to preserve the position and holdings of the family failed — against the overwhelming economic and political turmoil resulting from 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 ...

and

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. The Romans joined the ever-growing tide of once powerful and proud Creoles caught in a downhill slide toward oblivion. {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Jacques Telesphore 1800 births 1848 deaths Louisiana Creole people 19th-century American planters American slave owners