Zénon Labauve Jr. (February 16, 1801September 25, 1870) was a

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 ...

-era 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 ...

and the first Creole to serve on the court. Labauve was born in 1801 in a portion of

West Florida West Florida () was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. Great Britain established West and East Florida in 1763 out of land acquired from France and S ...

that would later become

West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana West Baton Rouge Parish (, Spanish: ''Parroquia del Oeste de Baton Rouge'') is one of the sixty-four parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Established in 1807, its parish seat is Port Allen. With a 2020 census population of 27,199 resident ...

. His father, Pierre Labauve, was a

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 ...

born in St. James Parish and his mother was a native of

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. He first won election to 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 ...

in 1834, but was defeated for reelection in 1838. In 1838, he was elected the first mayor of the newly incorporated Plaquemine. In July 1842 he was again elected to the state Senate as a Whig, but the election results were cancelled. When the election was re-run in 1843, he was again successful. In 1844, he was elected to the state's Constitutional Convention of 1845. In a brief biographical sketch of Constitutional Convention delegates, ''

The Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune , The New Orleans Advocate'' (commonly called ''The Times-Picayune'' or the ''T-P'') is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ancestral publications of other names date back to January 25, 1837. The cu ...

'' newspaper noted "His speeches are generally brief, but give evidence of a sound thinker." Despite desiring to retire from the state Senate, he was nominated once more and in 1851 reelected without opposition. After 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 ...

, Labauve was appointed by the Reconstruction-era governor

Michael Hahn George Michael Decker Hahn (November 24, 1830 – March 15, 1886), was an attorney, politician, publisher and planter in New Orleans, Louisiana. He served twice in Congress during two widely separated periods, elected first as a Unionist to the ...

to an associate justice seat on the

. Labauve served from April 3, 1865, to November 1, 1868. Prior to his appointment, Labauve had grown wealthy as a sugar planter and lawyer in the

German Coast The German Coast (French: ''Côte des Allemands'', Spanish: ''Costa Alemana'', German: ''Deutsche Küste'') was a region of early Louisiana settlement located above New Orleans, and on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Specifically, from ...

. He and his fellow appointees were considered "safe" and "loyal" and in alignment with the Federal government. Labauve was the " rst member of ''," meaning he was descended from a Creole family that was in Louisiana prior to the

Sale of Louisiana The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the 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's drainage basin west of the river. In retu ...

, to serve on the Louisiana Supreme Court. He died in 1870 in

Iberville Parish Iberville Parish () is a parish located south of Baton Rouge in the U.S. state of Louisiana, formed in 1807. The parish seat is Plaquemine. The population was 30,241 at the 2020 census. History The parish is named for Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberv ...

References

1801 births 1870 deaths People from West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court Louisiana state senators 19th-century Louisiana state court judges People from Louisiana (New Spain) 19th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature {{Louisiana-state-judge-stub