Jean-Noël Destréhan de Tours (1754 – October 4, 1823) was a Creole politician in

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 ...

and one-time owner of St. Charles Parish's

Destrehan Plantation Destrehan Plantation () is an antebellum mansion in the French Colonial style modified with Greek Revival architectural elements. It is located in southeast Louisiana, near the town of the same name Destrehan. During the 19th century, the p ...

, one of Louisiana's historic

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...

landmarks. The community of

Destrehan Destrehan is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 11,340. It is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River. Destrehan is par ...

was named for his family. Destréhan was born in colonial New Orleans to

Jean Baptiste d'Estrehan Jean-Baptiste d'Estrehan de Beaupré (surname often written as Destrehan; died 26 February 1765, New Orleans, Louisiana) was a high-ranking Early modern France, French official in Louisiana (New France), colonial Louisiana and the founder of the Des ...

and Jeanne Catherine de Gauvret (1729-1773) and was educated in

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 ...

. His father was the colonial treasurer for France, and his brother-in-law was Etienne de Boré, who perfected the sugar granulation process and served as New Orleans' first mayor. Destréhan married Marie Claudine Eléonore Robin de Logny in 1786 and bought Destréhan Plantation in 1792. After the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

, he served as Speaker of the territorial House of Representatives from 1804 to 1806 before receiving an appointment from President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

to serve on the Orleans Territorial Council. Destréhan served in this position during 1806 as president of the council. President

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

appointed him to a second legislative council for Orleans Territory in 1811, where he served again as president.Congressional biography
/ref> The Orleans Territorial Council crafted a legal system based on

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

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

codes In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ch ...

and established Louisiana's

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

system of governance. Destréhan ran for

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

in the first gubernatorial election since statehood, but he placed a distant third behind

William C. C. Claiborne William Charles Cole Claiborne ( 1773–1775 – November 23, 1817) was an American politician and military officer who served as the first governor of Louisiana from April 30, 1812, to December 16, 1816. He was also possibly the youngest memb ...

and

Jacques Villeré Jacques Philippe Villeré (April 28, 1761 – March 7, 1830) was the second Governor of Louisiana after it became a state. He was the first Creole and the first native of Louisiana to hold that office. Early life He was born in 1761 near prese ...

. He was selected to serve in the

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

instead, but he resigned within a month. He served in the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

from 1812 to 1817. He again ran for

in the 1820 election but placed fourth. During the 1814-15 Battle of New Orleans threat, Jean N. Destrehan served on the Committee of Defense and three of his sons served in a cavalry unit. He continued planting, dying at his plantation on October 4, 1823. Destréhan was buried at the St. Charles Borromeo Church cemetery in

Destrehan, Louisiana Destrehan is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 11,340. It is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River. Destrehan is par ...

Jean Noël Destréhan and sugar plantation slavery

Destréhan pioneered the Creole system of

slave labor Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

on his

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

plantations Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...

. A blend between the harsher

gang system The gang system is a system of division of labor within slavery on a plantation. It is the more brutal of two main types of labor systems. The other form, known as the task system, was less harsh and allowed the slaves more self-governance than th ...

and the more lenient

task system The task system is a system of labor under slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated ...

, the Creole approach was to use head slaves called drivers to allot tasks and inspect work, as opposed to relying on a hired overseer. During the planting and grinding seasons, plantation owners required slaves to work long hours; but during the off-season when the

sugar cane 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 ...

fields needed little maintenance, slaves were allowed a considerable amount of time off to grow food, work for themselves, and trade. Several of Destréhan's slaves participated in the

1811 German Coast Uprising The 1811 German Coast uprising was a slave rebellion which occurred in the Territory of Orleans from January 8–10, 1811. It occurred on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the modern-day Louisiana parishes of St. John the Baptist Paris ...

, said to have been the largest

slave rebellion A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by slaves, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of slaves have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedom and the dream o ...

in American history. Destréhan himself served on a local six-member tribunal at the conclusion of the revolt.

was the location of the St. Charles Parish slave trials. Three of Destréhan's slaves were among the eighteen conspirators who were

summarily executed In civil and military jurisprudence, summary execution is the putting to death of a person accused of a crime without the benefit of a free and fair trial. The term results from the legal concept of summary justice to punish a summary offense, a ...

References

External links

Jean Noel Destrehan
at 64Parishes.org
Jean Noël Destrehan on KnowLa encyclopediaDestrehan and his father in Dictionary of La. Biography (Scroll down)
La. Historical Association
Official website
for

*
Destrehan Family Papers
a
The Historic New Orleans Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Destrehan, Jean Noel 1754 births 1823 deaths Politicians from New Orleans People from Destrehan, Louisiana Members of the Territory of Orleans Legislature United States senators from Louisiana Louisiana Democratic-Republicans American people of French descent Louisiana state senators United States senators who owned slaves 19th-century United States senators

Jean Noël Destréhan and sugar plantation slavery

See also

References

Further reading

External links