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Louis LeDoux “The Lifewriter’s Digest”, 2002, By Denis LeDoux

8/27/2017

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​The Montreal region was the western outpost of New France when our first Canadien Ancestor, Louis LeDoux, arrived in the 1660s. Louis was also called Louis Ladouceur and Louis Doux and was born in Le Mans in the ancient regime province of Maine in France. Several sources give the year of his birth as 1628; others give it as 1639. He was baptized in the church of Notre Dame de la Coutoure. While the name suggests a sartorial [tailoring of clothes] history, the couture is really a deformation of culture (as in agriculture) and refers to a time when the church and its abbey were not well within city limits but out in the country surrounded by farms.
 
LeMans has a Romanesque cathedral, St-Julien, that stands high above the city and near it is the Old Town whose narrow streets twist down to the Sarthe River. The city dates to the times of the Romans and there are broad stone steps that cut through the Roman walls and lead from the lower to the upper town. These steps are bordered by three and four story buildings for whom the stairs served the function of a city street, front doors opening up to a landing.
 
His parents, Louis LeDoux (born about 1590 and Marie Provost (born about 1600) had married in 1625 in Le Mans. Here in this town whose medieval characteristics are still evident in the twenty-first century, perhaps Louis LeDoux, fils, played, running up the winding stairs between the lower and the upper towns chasing his friends and causing mischief or perhaps it was they who chased him. Eventually the playing came to an end and the young Mancelle (as the inhabitants of Le Mans are called) grew up to be a man who was a maker of stained glass windows for churches. In fact, it is believed that he made several stained glass windows for Notre Dame de la Courture, but since none of them are signed it is impossible to identify which ones.
 
Like many young men in France at the time, working men without much of a future in the mother country, it is believed that Louis went to the New World with the military where he served perhaps as a soldier in the famed regiment de Carrignan. In 1663, New France had gone from being a proprietary colony of the One Hundred Associates to being a Royal Colony, administered directly by the crown. Among the colonists, there was some hope as a result of this change of administrative structure that the colony would at last receive the attention it deserved and experience growth.
 
We do not know when Louis came to Canada. On the 20th of May 1668, the bishop of Quebec, the famed Monseigneur Laval, came to Fort St-Louis (at the present day city of Chambly) to preach to the soldier and to administer the sacrament of confirmation. A document was drawn up of the men who were confirmed and the name of Louis Doux is on the 16th line of 66. At the time, the famed Carrignan-Sallieres Regiment had been disbanded for at least a year – so Louis was either a former Carrignan soldier who had stayed on or a new recruit at the fort.
 
Fort St-Louis was strategically located on the Richelieu River, the major waterway between Lake Champlain, the British colonies and their treacherous Iroquois allies to the South and, to the North, the Saint Lawrence River and the French settlements. It is not known how long Louis served at Fort St-Louis but we do know that, like many French soldiers, he chose to remain in New France after his service was over. We do not have any record of his whereabouts until 1671.
 
On February 2, 1671, however, Louis bought 20 arpents of land located on Cote St-Francois. This first attempt at farming apparently did not suit him, or he was not good at it, because he sold his land on December 9, 1671, just ten months after acquiring it. He is next listed in Trois-Rivieres in the 1674 census. That year, on May 1, he served as godfather to Adrien Senecal, son of the colonist of the same name, and of Jeanne Lecomte. The godmother who stood with Louis LeDoux was Marie-Antoinette Chouart dit Desgrosseillers, the 13-year-old daughter of the famous explorer Medard Chouart dit Desgrosseillers.
 
Louis soon went on to Quebec City where, on June 14, 1674, he signed an agreement to serve as a carpenter and navigator to Jacques Cachelievre and Guullaume Boissel. They were to pay him 18 livres a month in salary and to feed, house and support him “humanely as is fitting.”
 
Surprisingly, that same summer, Louis obtained a concession of 2 arpents by 30, in the seigneurie of Varennes – which is at the Montreal end of the Saint Lawrence. That the seigneur, Rene Gauthier, had likely been LeDoux’s commanding officer at Fort St-Louis explains perhaps why Louis chose to situate himself in the Montreal region.
 
He does not seem to have prospered since the next year, on October 25, 1675, before a royal notary in Montreal, Louis promised to furnish wheat in payment for a debt he had accumulated.
 
Louis spent the 1670s as a single man. This is most unusual in New France where men were taxed for not being married. On February 18, 1679, however, he entered into a marriage contract with Marie-Nicole Valiquet. Born on December 20, 1662, Marie was the daughter of Jean Valiquet and Renee Loppe witnesses to the marriage contract were his friend Adrien Senecal (for whose son Louis was godfather). Witnesses on Marie’s side included Mathurin Langevin her father’s cousin.
 
On March 20, 1679, Father Gilles Perot married the two in Montreal at the church of Notre Dame. At the time of the wedding contract, the notary had written of Louis that he was “banished from the Seighneurie of Cap de Varennes.” We do not know anything of this banishment. We do know that Louis and Marie’s first child, Mathurin, (named after Marthurin Langevin) was born in Varennes on April 9, 1680, so the banishment did not last long. Unfortunaltely, Mathurin died six day later, on the fifteenth of April. The following year, the census of 1681 notes that the family had 6 arpents under cultivation but had no cattle. In 1681, too, a second LeDoux son was born but, on January 19, he too died. A Third son, Louis was born in 1682 but died in 1684. A fourth son Jacques, was to be born in 1683 and live to adulthood. He was followed by Nicolas in 1684.
 
In 1686, our ancestor Louis-Gabriel [the progenitor of many Louisiana LeDoux’s]  was born in Varennes and baptized in Boucherville on April 12. (This indicates that Varennes did not yet have its own church but went to the nearby seigneurie of Boucherville for church functions. It was only in 1698 that a LeDoux child was to be baptized in Varennes.)
 
In 1689, the Iroquois launched a fierce offensive on the French, an offensive that centered around the town of Lachine.
 
After the 1689 Iroquois massacre of Lachine, to protect themselves from marauding Indians, the citizens of Varennes decided to build a fort and construct a road leading to it. Land which the Louis LeDoux had settled on was chosen on which to build a redoubt. On June 12, 1690, Louis LeDoux settled on a contract with the people of Varennes. They would pay him for the damages which would be incurred for the time that the road to the fort would last and for the time a part of the farm would be occupied. From that time on, Louis LeDoux’s land was known by the name “Le petit fort.”
 
            Louis LeDoux died on October 3, 1708.
 
            Of Marie and Louis’ children, Christorphe LeDoux (born December 21, 1701) became a coureur des bois between 1723 and 1726. He died on January 5, 1728 – one wonders if his early death could have been attributed to the rigors of his life in the woods. Another son, Jean Baptiste, made a trading voyage to the West in 1715.
 
Marie Valiquet married Isaac Brien about 1713. It is not known when she died.
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The LeDoux Family of Louisiana is being written. If you have LeDoux family history, now is the time to send me your family information; murphymillerjr@gmail.com

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Beverly Veillon Burnham (1930 - 2017)

8/13/2017

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Beverly is the daughter of Lindsey Veillon (1903-1983) and Gladys Miller (1910-1992) and the granddaughter of Gus Miller (1884-1944) and Anata Vidrine (1889-1949). Lindsey Veillon was a Chevrolet dealer in Ville Platte. Gladys Miller was described in the Clarion News in 1929 as "a young lady of charming personality and popular among the younger set. She is a graduate of the Industrial Institute of Lafayette and is a member of the faculty of the Vidrine High School." Gladys is the daughter of the late Gus Miller who constructed the lake which bears his name and covers several thousand acres of land. The lake, which is an engineering feat, is filled with sac-a-lait and other fish. 
------------------------------Obituary---------------------
​VILLE PLATTE - Funeral services for Beverly Veillon Burnham, 87, Will be held at 10AM Saturday, August 12, 2017 at our Lady Queen of all Saints Catholic Church, with burial to follow in the Sacred Heart Cemetery. Father Mitch Guidry will officiate.
Mrs. Burnham a resident of Ville Platte passed away Sunday, August 6, 2017 at Heritage Manor nursing home.Beverly was a life-long teacher having taught in both Calcasieu and Evangeline Parish Schools. She retired from Evangeline Parish after being instrumental in setting up and teaching in the local Reading Lab. Reading was an avid passion and love of hers. Her lawn and flower gardens were well known in the area for their plushness, color, and beauty. Complete strangers would stop by requesting a clipping or a bulb. Of course,the inevitable questions on ‘how to’ would follow. Bev was an incredible cook who was able to make a hot dog jambalaya taste like a gourmet treat! But, her biggest passion was the love she had for the six children she raised as a single parent. The pinnacle came when she threw herself a graduation party after her youngest graduated from LSU. She had achieved her lifelong education goal of having all six of her ‘chicks’ earn a university degree. She was as kind as she was generous as her many friends would attest to. All those who knew her loved and respected her. A life that was well lived as an inspiration and mentor. Her sage wisdom and loving guidance will be missed. Beverly was the consummate host and a true Southern Belle.
She will be missed by her son James B. Shipp and wife Brenda of Ville Platte; daughters Martha S. Miller and husband Keith of Ville Platte, Paula S. DeShetler and husband Scott of Colorado, Juliana S. Darbonne and husband Randy of Texas, Rosemary S. Benoit and husband Ben of Lafayette, stepdaughter Annette Aucoin; brother Michael Veillon of Ville Platte; sister Barbara Friedman of Bunkie; 15 grandchildren Daniel Shipp, Hope Shipp Fontenot, Kevin Shipp, Heather Shipp Dupre, James Miller, Jeremy Miller, Zachary DeShetler, Katherine DeShetler, Anne DeShetler, Justin Lafleur, Dr. Elizabeth L. Pritchett, Lia Soileau, Amy Murphy, Sarah Mowery, Tyler Stephens II, 7 step grandchildren; 31 great grandchildren, five step great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents Lindsey and Gladys Miller Veillon, husband Gerald Burnham Sr., daughter Susan Lafleur, stepson Gerald Burnham Jr., brother Charles Veillon, grandchild Christopher Shipp, step grandchild John Burnham.
Visitation will be held Friday, August 11, 2017 from 5 PM to 8 PM, with a rosary being recited at 6:30, and will resume again Saturday, August 12, 2017 from 8 AM until the time of services.
The guestbook can be signed online at www.lavillefuneralhome.net
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Evangeline Parish library or the Sacred Heart Foundation.

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Printed in a local newspaper and written by Bernice Ardoin, Lifestyles Editor; printed in May 1997
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Being a Mom:  The most important job Beverly Burnham ever had
The most important job Beverly Burnham has had in her entire life is being a mother.

Beverly will tell anyone that her family is the center of her life.

"I felt that being a mother was the most important job in the world. Mothers mold their children and have so much influence on what they become," Beverly says with a big smile on her face.

"My mother always told me it was so hard to be a good mother. After I had my children, I realized that was so true," she adds. "Ville Platte is a good place to raise a family," the retired school teacher continues. "People helped me so much. I believe that it takes a village to raise a child." "We have a close family," she said. When one is injured, they all hurt."

Beverly loves family get-togethers. "We do that often," she grinned with excitement. "My family is so supportive." 

The Ville Platte native is the former Beverly Veillon. She left her hometown at the age of 16 to attend college in Natchitoches and finished her studies at Grand Coteau. With her degree in elementary education, Beverly went to work in Calcasieu Parish and later taught in Pine Prairie, at James Stephens and Ville Platte Lower. "I loved working in the reading lab." she smiled as she reminisced back to those teaching days. "It was beautiful teaching in there," she adds.

At the age of 20, Beverly married Blake Shipp and the couple had six children: Jim Shipp, who resides in Ville Platte; Martha Miller of Slidell; Paula DeShetler of Denver, Colorado; Susan LaFleur of Ville Platte; Julie Darbonne of Kingwood, Texas; and Rosemary Benoit of Lafayette.

She has 16 grandchildren and eight step-grandchildren. Next month, Beverly will become a great-grandmother.
In 1965, after Beverly and Blake were divorced, she moved back to Ville Platte with her children. "We were living in Maplewood, near Lake Charles," she explains. "I was teaching there."

Ten years later, in 1975, Beverly married Gerald Burnham. He had two children: Junior Burnham and Annette Aucoin. "We had to add a big room onto the house, so there would be enough room for everyone," Beverly grins. "I have no regrets about having a big family," she emphasizes. "I'd do it again tomorrow if I had the chance."

Beverly's second husband passed away five years ago. "The only description I can give you is that he was a true gentleman. I just can't say enough about him." "I was blessed to have him." "There's so many rewards in being a mother," Beverly admits. "It's just wonderful."

Since her retirement from the school system, Beverly says she has two loves loves. "My kids are older now and I have plenty of time to do all the things I always wanted to do. But, I'll never enjoy anything more than being their mother," she says seriously.
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    Murphy Miller, born in Durald, LA in 1943, and lives near Gainesville, FL.

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