Carol Mills-Nichol

The Aubrys - Free People of Color in Early New Orleans Carol Mills-Nichol

The Aubrys - Free People of Color in Early New Orleans and other Allied Families including: Allain, Bonneval, Bringier, Chiapella, Coudrain, Dalcour, Delachaise, Domingon, Dupuy, Edmunds, Flot, Foy, Grandmaison, Lassize, Latrobe, Lemelle, Lorreins, Ozenne, Pinta, Raby, Rigaud, St. Hubert, Watkinson, & Whittaker. The Aubry sisters who came of age at the very beginning of American domination in colonial New Orleans, were, while it may seem ironic to some, certainly freer than their white female married counterparts. Since the beginning of the Spanish regime in 1769, Louisiana's free women of color, could buy and sell property, make contracts, and sue for their rights in court, all without interference from a spouse, father or guardian. While life in general during these times was often beset by periodic epidemics, floods and famine, the Aubrys, carved a niche for themselves in early New Orleans using their wits, their education and their financial acumen to make a better life for themselves and their children. They forged bonds with many existing Caucasian, African American, and racially-mixed families, some of whom had been in Louisiana for generations, and others who had recently arrived from Saint-Domingue. While the Civil War and its aftermath brought hope of equality, it was only after the end of Reconstruction, when the heavy hand of Jim Crow discrimination was reintroduced by the democrat party, that some of these long-time New Orleanians of color abandoned Louisiana. This is the story, not only of the Aubrys, but also the Chiapella, Coudrain, Foy, Lemelle, Delachaise, Lorreins, Dupuy, Allain, Bonneval, Ozenne, Edmunds, Flot, Bringier, Pinta, Grandmaison, Dalcour, Raby, St. Hubert, Latrobe, Domingon, Lassize, Rigaud, Cassan, Watkinson, Grasse, and other related families who populated the multicultural landscape of early New Orleans.