The WPA writers project in 1937 interviewed John B. Filhiol, who told the following story.
Paul and Agatha were two of the slaves owned by Edward Landry Grammont Filhiol, son of Don Juan. Being of French blood, Paul and Agatha were great lovers of gumbo file. They smoked garfish in their chimneys to preserve them with the many herbs used in French cooking. When the slaves died, they were buried on a mound on the Filhiol Plantation. As a result of their having eaten so much gumbo file and spiced garfish during their lives, sassafras trees sprang up on their graves. They are still there and no one planted them.
Ouachita Parish History Tidbits 
I looking for information on the Dunn brothers, (Richmond and William) who were given there freedom by there owner/father and given most of his land including a Cotton Gin. They eventually settled in Monroe where Richmond became the first Black Police Juror and Justice of the Peace. Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated. By the way, William Dunn was my great-great-grandfather.
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I see Richmond Dunn mentioned a lot in the Monroe area papers (I use Newspapers.com to search). Mainly he served on the Police Jury, was a Democratic Delegate and several times had the first bale of cotton in Ouachita parish. The book “Contributors of Ouachita Parish: A History of Blacks To commemorate the Bicentennial of the United States of America” by the Black Bicentennial Committee of Ouachita Parish in 1976 has a couple of paragraphs about the Dunn family on page 26.
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Hello, have you heard about Amanda nabors or Jake Nabors or Charles McLaughlin? McLaughlin was Amanda Nabors father and slave master.
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I am not familiar with the Nabors name, but the McLaughlin name is an old one in the parish. I will try to remember to check the book “Founding Families of the Ouachita Valley…” when I get back to work tomorrow!
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Here is what the Founding Families book has (not much):
McLawchlin, Charles
[Transcript of the 1820 and 1830 Ouachita Parish census entries]
Charles McLawchlin md. in Ou. Par. on 23 July 1819 by Rev. Ashley Hewitt, to widow Elizabeth Ginn, with Isaac M. George, John Ferrell, and J.M. McGlothlen (McLawchlin), wits. (Ou. Par. Conv. Bk. F, p. 34 & 366)
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Thank you very much for checking for me. Is there anything else you might tell me about the McLawchlins? Or a place I might search for their/my history in the parish?
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I don’t know if they were connected to Charles, but there was a James McLawchlin who was a surveyor for the Spanish government who came to the Ouachita settlement around 1793. He was from Scotland. He may have been the J.M. McGlothlen who was a witness for your ancestor Charles’ wedding. James died in 1826 and left behind about 10 kids. He may be another avenue to study. I would try to research the McLawchlins at the Ouachita parish Clerk of Court office for any records they may have left behind. That would be my next step.
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Do you have any information about the Matthews family (e.g., Aaron Matthews, b. 1840), the Dollards (e.g., Settie Dollard, b. 1884, who married Johnson Smith after a relationship with a Degraffenreid; or her father Frank Dollard, b. 1845, who was married to Agnes Tisdale and Amanda Kellum [?]), or Sampson Green (b. 1821) whose father may have been named Moses. These are African American families, and I have hit a wall in my research. Thank you for anything you may have come across in your research!
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I’ll check when I get back to work on Monday!
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Thanks! 😀
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hello again,
in new orleans recently randomly ran into a white descendent of the mclaughlins. he and his wife were shocked to learn of the african side of the mclaughlin tree. would you have access or be able
to point me in a direction to
finding out what kind of plantations or occupations of Charles McLaughlin? Would you be able to locate the names of his enslaved? looking for the name of my great great great grand mothers mother – who lay with charles and then was sold
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No, we don’t have any more information on the McLaughlins other than the basics. Nothing about their enslaved. I would go to the Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court and look at all the records they left behind there. Sometimes there are tidbits left behind there about a family’s enslaved persons.
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Good Day,
Does one need to make an appointment to view records at the Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court?
Thank you,
nelson
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No, no appointment is needed. Go to the Ouachita Parish Courthouse and as soon as you pass through the Security gate, take a right. You should see the door to the Clerk of Court office.
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Hi, my ancestors’s last name is Charleston. Paperwork for my family goes way back to 1805 in Ouachita, LA. Is this name popular in the area? Does this parish have slave records or books for the public to look through?
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No, I can’t say that I have heard of the Charleston name in Ouachita. I don’t know of any books on the enslaved population written about this area, but there are several books on the area available in the Ouachita Parish Public Library, main branch. I would also check the Clerk of Court’s office to see if your family left any court records behind. Good luck!
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Thank you for your guidance and blessings.
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happy holidays!
been digging into my family history and found my great great Grandmother’s son, my great Grandfather Jake was listed as a school teacher in 1900 census in Ouachita. He was 26 years old. Though Jake Billings mother Amanda, and father Green, could neither read nor write, he became a school teacher. His other 8 siblings were also taught to read and write. Do you have any idea at which school he might’ve taught? Happy new year and I hope your Christmas brought blessings to your family.
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Besides the country schools, there were the white schools Ouachita Parish High and Monroe City High and the private St. Hyacinth Catholic school. The two main African-American schools were Wisner Colored High and Monroe Industrial (Monroe Academy). Unfortunately, I know of no teachers list that old for any of the area schools!
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