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[edit] Charles Sallier - Facts Blended with Legend Add Color to the History of Lake CharlesBy MIKE JONES Colonial pioneer Charles Sallier not only gave his first name to Lake Charles, but also some of its most colorful and romantic legends. However, what are the known facts about this man? The actual records are very scanty but do provide a frame work to better understand the romantic legends. Sallier's origins are particularly elusive. When he married for the first time to Angelica Fontenot on Jan. 31, 1792, at St. Landry Catholic Church in Opelousas, he was listed as being the son of Michel Sallier and Jeanne Montmayer of Holy Trinity Parish, Diocese of Chambery, Province of Savoy, France. A note in the margin of the marriage record states, Anselm Sallier and not Charles. Himself (Charles) told me that having come very young in this country they gave him the name of Charles Savoyard. Attempts by researchers to locate a baptismal record on Sallier in the Savoy province of France have been unsuccessful. The late Mrs. Amy Boyd, who was a descendant of Sallier and a family historian, said, according to family tradition, he was 19 years old when he first married. That would put his birth at about 1772 or '73. However, an older age may be indicated on the Spanish colonial census for the Opelousas territory in 1788. On that census he was categorized as being in his 20s. That could put his birth back to 1768 or earlier. A hint at when and why he came to Louisiana is to be found in another church record in Opelousas. In the death record of Louis Guichard dated May 14, 1814, it states that Guichard and Charles Sallier were brought to Louisiana when they were about 14 or 15 years old by Bartholomy LeBleu, who was the earliest white settler in the Calcasieu area. A family legend says that Sallier was of noble birth and came to Louisiana to escape the French Revolution. But the 1788 census shows him to already be in Louisiana and the French Revolution began in 1789. Sallier had one child by his first wife, a daughter named Philonese, born in 1794. Angelica Fontenot Sallier died in 1797. He remarried to Catherine LeBleu, daughter of Bartholomy LeBleu and Marie Josephine Lamarande, on Aug. 9, 1802, at the Catholic Church in Opelousas.
Catherine LeBleu Sallier's brother, Arsene LeBleu, according to family tradition, was an associate of the famed patriot-buccaneer Jean Lafitte, who befriended the Salliers as well. In a 1971 interview, Amy Boyd said that LeBleu sold slaves for Lafitte throughout the area and the pirate was said to have given the newlyweds a pair of slaves as a wedding present. She said the family lived in a 20-foot by 20-foot log cabin at the present site of the Barbe family home on Shell Beach. The cabin was enclosed and added to through the years by the Barbe family. In a 1979 interview, the late Mrs. Felix Stone, another descendant, said Sallier used to trade with Lafitte who would bring his boats filled with goods to dock on the lake in front of the Sallier home. Charles was said to have supplied the buccaneer with meats and vegetables and received in return wines and tobacco. A story passed down from her great-grandmother, Sydalise Sallier, stated she met Lafitte when she was a little girl and he offered her a bag of gold if she could pick it up. The bag was too heavy for her to lift, but it provided her with a memorable tale for future generations. Sydalise also recalled hearing the songs sung by the pirates on their ship. They accompanied themselves on little accordians, she said. Mrs. Stone said Charles and Catherine Sallier planted the now historic Sallier Oak at the Imperial Calcasieu Museum, 204 W. Sallier St. In her 1971 interview, Mrs. Boyd said, According to legend, Charles Sallier suspected his wife Catherine of an undue interest in Jean Lafitte, and to defend his honor, he shot her. She put her hand to her heart, the bullet penetrating her hand and striking a broach she wore, a quite large, oblong-shaped or cut amethyst in an old gold setting. She then fell to the ground, feigning death. The last seen of Sallier, he was swimming his horse across the river. I have seen the pin, and on the reverse there are two distinct cracks in the amethyst. I understand the stone is now in a new setting, but it is still an old-style setting. If this did indeed happen, it must have taken place sometime between 1820, the last census that listed him, and 1825 when his succession was opened. Historians do believe that Lafitte was operating along the coast of western Louisiana between 1817 and 1821. It is also known that he shifted his headquarters from Galveston Island, Texas, in 1821 to Isla Mujeres, off the Yucatan coast in Mexico. On the 1820 census, individual names aren't given, except for the head of the household, but the following categories of persons were listed in the Charles Sallier family: one white male under 10 years old; one white male between 10 and 16; one white male between 16 and 18; one white male between 16 and 26; one white male 45 or over. Five of those males were listed as being engaged in agriculture. White females were listed as three under age 10, one between 10 and 16 and one between 26 and 45 years old. Also listed were two male slaves between 14 and 26; three female slaves under 14 and one female slave 14 to 26 years old. Exactly when and where Sallier died is unknown. Some say he died in East Texas and others say he died in St. Landry Parish. When his succession was opened in 1825, the following inventory was listed: Six slaves valued at $2,350; 21 head of horned cattle at $7 per head; seven head of unbroken horses at $12 per head; 47 head of horse creatures of one year old and upward excluding of broke and unbroke, $8 per head; 12 head of pacherie horses at $12 per head. Catherine LeBleu Sallier lived until 1860. So, fact blended with legend about pioneer settler Charles Sallier add color and romance to Lake Charles' history. PD:11/14/92 File historyLegend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete
this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version.
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