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Felix Limongi Collection of Louisiana Slavery and Civil War Materials
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Felix Limongi (1865-1929) was a merchant and stamp collector who lived in New Orleans and Covington, Louisiana. His father was Francis Limongi (1838–1914), an Italian immigrant and grocer who settled in New Orleans, and his mother was Louisa Saillard (1846–1909).
The collection consists of several small groups of papers regarding slavery, the American Civil War, and related legal matters in New Orleans, Louisiana, primarily in the 19th century. Assembled by collector Felix Limongi, many of the papers originate from the law firm Durant & Hornor during the time it was based on Carondelet Street in New Orleans. The collection sheds light on black families and black familial enslavement in 19th century Louisiana, as well as on Reconstruction-era legal cases over property seized by the Union Army during the Civil War.
One group of papers (1805-1864) consists of the estate records of Marie Claire Chabert (1769-1847). Chabert was an African American woman who was enslaved by Don Bartolomeo Le Breton and later purchased and manumitted by Jacques Tisserand (a free black man who was formerly enslaved on the same plantation), and went on to own property in the Faubourg Ste. Marie neighborhood of New Orleans from the 1810s to the 1840s. The records, which include deeds of manumission, bills of sale, purchase and tax receipts, wills, and other legal and financial documents, pertain to Chabert's own manumission, her activities managing the estate of Tisserand which he bequeathed to her, her acquisition of land, and her efforts to purchase and manumit her own family members, including several nieces and her husband Michel Bouligny.
Durant & Hornor papers (1854-1872) consist of correspondence and documents of Philadelphia-born attorneys Thomas Jefferson Durant (1817-1882) and Charles West Hornor (1813-1905) that date to the early Reconstruction period. Most of this material regards various Civil War claims and cases of civilians against the Union Army to recover property or receive damages. Of note is a group of correspondence pertaining to a case brought by James Cosgrove against Benjamin F. Butler (1818-1893) over the seizure of property from his store.
There are also some miscellaneous correspondence and documents about early Louisiana history collected by Limonge, including letters from William C. C. Claiborne (1775-1817), Edmund Pendleton Gaines (1777–1849), Henry Clay (1777-1852), and Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), as well as manuscripts by Charles René Bougués (1722) and General V. Beaufort (1802), broadsides, and printed documents reporting on events in Louisiana.
This collection was formerly referred to as the "Louisiana Slavery and Civil War Collection."
The collection has been organized into four primary groupings, each of which is mostly arranged chronologically.
The following sources were consulted during preparation of the finding aid and biographical note for Marie Claire Chabert: Inventories of Estates, C Surnames, Cabouret, 1846 - Cornu, 1849. Louisiana, Orleans Parish Estate Files. New Orleans (Louisiana) City Archives. Sharafi, Mitra. "The Slaves and Slavery of Marie Claire Chabert: Familial Black Slaveholding in Antebellum Louisiana." Journal of Civil Law Studies 4.1 (2011): 187-215.
Mr. Gest acquired the collection from Felix Limongi. Limongi acquired many of the papers from the offices of the New Orleans law firm Durant & Hornor, though he may have added some material from other sources. A note left by Limongi states that he came across the Marie Claire Chabert records sometime before March 1926 while collecting postage stamps, though it is unclear from available documentation if he also acquired them via Durant & Hornor.
The collection was purchased from Mr. Gest in August 1948 (AM 13719).
This collection was processed by Karla J. Vecchia in 2004. Finding aid written by Karla J. Vecchia in 2004.
This collection was reprocessed and the description was enhanced by Kelly Bolding in October 2018. A biographical note about Marie Claire Chabert was added at this time.
No materials were separated from the collection during 2018 reprocessing.
People
- Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893.
- Chabert, Marie Claire, 1769-1847
- Durant, Thomas J. (Thomas Jefferson), 1817-1882
- Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885.
- Hornor, Charles West, 1813-1905
- Tisserand, Jacques, -1808
Organization
Subject
- African American families -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- 19th century
- African American slaveholders -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- 19th century
- African American women -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- History -- 19th century
- Decedents' estates -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- 19th century
- Free African Americans -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
- Law firms -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- 19th century -- Records and correspondence
- Legal correspondence -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- 19th century
- Military law -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- 19th century
- Military occupation damages -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- 19th century
- Slave bills of sale -- Louisiana -- 19th century
- Slavery -- Louisiana -- Emancipation -- 19th century
- Slavery -- Social aspects -- Louisiana -- History -- 19th century
- Taxation -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- 19th century
Place
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Author
- Karla J. Vecchia
- Finding Aid Date
- 2004
- Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
-
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. No further photoduplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Inquiries regarding publishing material from the collection should be directed to RBSC Public Services staff through the Ask Us! form. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.
Collection Inventory
Consists of estate records of Marie Claire Chabert (1769-1847), a free African American woman and property owner living in 19th century New Orleans prior to the Civil War. The earliest materials consist of records of Jacques Tisserand documenting his purchase and manumission of Chabert, as well as her management of his estate, which he bequeathed to her. Documents related to Chabert's own property in New Orleans include an act of sale and survey of two lots of land she purchased from Joseph Bocage in 1810, a certificate regarding a sidewalk survey conducted in 1841, as well as her tax receipts from 1811 to 1845. There are also a number of legal records, including bills of sale, manumission papers, and wills documenting her efforts to purchase and manumit her own family members, including several nieces (Marie Jeanne, Martine, Adélaïde, and Louise), a woman named Rosalie, and Michel Bouligny, a man whom she later married. There are also bills for funeral expenses Chabert paid following the deaths of Rosalie and her husband. The two separate versions of Chabert's will present in the collection document her efforts to manumit and bequeath her property to her remaining family members while navigating legal prohibitions on enslaved persons' ability to inherit.
There is also a narrative account of Chabert's life and description of the papers, which was written and inserted later by collector Felix Limongi.
Limongi's account is followed by papers of Marie Claire Chabert arranged chronologically. Tax receipts are filed together at the end of the chronological run.
Physical Description1 box
Consists of an handwritten manuscript (21 pages) containing collector Felix Limongi's detailed description of the records, as well as his account and interpretation of Marie Claire Chabert's life. There is also a typed transcription of the manuscript, as well as a handwritten note from Limongi regarding his evaluation of the papers. Although Limongi's notes are undated, they must have been written before March 1926.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript copy in Spanish of an act of sale of Marie Claire for the sum of 930 pesos, passed before Carlos Ximenes, N.P., on February 7. The document describes Santiago Tisserand, who is referred to as Jacques Tisserand in the accompanying French document, as a free Black man ("negro libre") and Marie Claire as 26 years old and belonging to the succession of Don Bartolomeo Le Breton, who died in 1799. The reverse side of the document has a crossed-out receipt, dated February 11, signed by Daniel Clark, Charge d'Affaires for the United States. There is also an act of declaration of the sale and its payment in French, passed before Narcisse Broutin, N.P. on February 23.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript copy of the last will and testament of Jacques Tisserand taken at the St. Pé Plantation on Tehapitoulas Road, made July 18, 1808, certified by Philip L. Jones, register of wills, with the seal of the Territory of Orleans. In the will, Tisserand bequeaths to Marie Claire, who was enslaved to him, her liberty for life and institutes her as his universal legatee. He declares that he is unmarried, but has a daughter, Manon, who was then enslaved to Mr. G. Derrea and his wife, Constance Tisserand, the sister of Jacques Tisserand, to whom Marie Claire is to give the sum total of $200.00 out of his estate, of which he gives a list amounting to $810.00.
Physical Description1 folder
Copy of an order of court (printed document completed by hand) appointing Pierre Ambroise Cuvillier executor pro tempore of the last will and testament of Jacques Tisserand, signed by Philip L. Jones, register of wills, with the seal of the Territory of Orleans.
Physical Description1 folder
Notice in French by Pierre Ambroise Cuvillier, executor pro tempore for the estate of Jacques Tisserand, signed by B. Cenas, Sherriff on October 7. On the reverse side, there is a certification in English that no opposition had been made to the demand, signed by Thomas S. Kennedy on November 18.
Physical Description1 folder
Receipt handwritten on a scrap of paper for $12 worth of tools, signed by Guinault, an auctioneer.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript document passed before Narcisse Broutin.
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Manuscript bill totaling $50 for services as executor pro tempore for the estate of Jacques Tisserand, listing "consultations diverses au sujet de la negresse Manon" as gratis.
Physical Description1 folder
Cuvillier's account as executor pro tempore for estate of Jacques Tisserand. This account shows receipts (assets) of $661.50 and expenses amounting to $111.75, leaving a net cash balance of $15.25 (notes due not included).
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript copy of an inventory of assets amounting to $661.40, certified before Philip L. Jones, register.
Physical Description1 folder
Receipt for $150.00 for purchases made by Jacques Tisserand between 1807 and 1808, signed by J. Mercier.
Physical Description1 folder
Two bills for court expenses regarding the estate of Jacques Tisserand for services totaling $11.75 and $12.00, signed by Philip L. Jones, register.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript act of payment to Mr. G. Derrea and wife, Constance Tisserand (sister of Jean Tisserand), passed before P. S. F. Godefroy, N.P., along with a manuscript receipt for payment of the act signed by Godefroy. The Derreas were both free persons of color who owned Manon, the enslaved daughter of the deceased Jacques Tisserand, to whom Marie Claire was entrusted to leave money. This act recites the refusal to permit Manon to inherit and the remittal of the legacy to Mrs. Derrea (Constance Tisserand).
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript copy of an act of sale (August 11, 1810) for two lots of land in Faubourg Ste. Marie, New Orleans, sold to Marie Claire by Joseph Bocage for the sum of $650.00, of which amount $50 was paid in cash, passed before Michael de Armas, N.P. There is also a document (November 14, 1810) containing a survey and examination of title of the two lots signed by B. Lafon, surveyor.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript receipt for a $50 payment towards Marie Claire's purchase of her enslaved niece Marie Joseph (Jeanne) from Jean Francois Laville.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript act regarding the sale of enslaved woman Marie Jeanne (Marie Claire's niece, age 55) for $180.00, passed before Felix de Armas, N.P.
Physical Description1 folder
Handwritten permit allowing Nicholas, who was enslaved by Mrs. O Pollock, to stay at Marie Claire's house.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript receipt regarding materials bought from J. B. Black, auctioneer, for $3.90.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript document regarding the manumission of Michel (age 63) who was then enslaved to her. The document is signed by her attorney, Louis La Caire, and countersigned by John Garnier and George Strawbridge, free holders.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript document granting Marie Claire's request for the manumission of Michel, signed A. Cruzat, clerk of the Police Jury.
Physical Description1 folder
Granted by Marie Claire before Louis La Caire.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript permit requesting the night watch to "allow the colored woman, Marie Claire, to have a few friends at her house, to sit up with the dead corpse of her husband [Michel]," signed J. Freret, alderman.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of a bill from Fernández (November 28, 1836) for expenses for the burial of Michel, who was then Marie Claire's husband, on November 18 amounting to $30.25, which also indicates the receipt for payment of the bill on August 4, 1837.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript bill amounting to $35.75, signed by A. Cruzat. The bill is made out to Madame Veuve Michel Bouligney née Le Breton (Marie Claire) and indicates that the remainder had been paid by M. Isidore Honoré.
Physical Description1 folder
Signed by Marie Claire, June 10, 1836, as the recipient of the loan; payment verified by Felix de Armas, N. P., July 7, 1837. The Honorés loaned money to Marie Claire at 10% per annum.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript settlement of account. Discount and interest at 10% is charged on each account, and there is a credit for work done by Rosalie, who was then enslaved to Marie Claire.
Physical Description1 folder
Signed by Louis La Caire, June 1, 1839.
Physical Description1 folder
Granted by Marie Claire, before Louis La Caire, N.P., March 18, 1839.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript certificate that a survey of the sidewalk in front of Marie Claire's property on the east side of St. Peter street was made on March 31, 1841.
Physical Description1 folder
Bill for $12 made out to Madame Veuve Michel (Marie Claire) for Rosalie's funeral.
Physical Description1 folder
This manuscript copy of Marie Claire's last will and testament, passed before Théodore F. Thienémann, N.P., states that Marie Claire is a free black woman ("négresse libre"), legitimate daughter of Stanislas and Marie-Louise, both deceased, and married legitimately to Michel, a free black man. In the will, Marie Claire institutes as her universal legatee her niece Louise, a free black woman, under the exact conditions that she shall buy and manumit Marie Claire's other two nieces, Martine and Adélaïde, who were enslaved to Mr. Gabriel Villeré and Madame Veuve Hugues Lavergne, respectively. She also names Mr. Philippe Lacoste as the executor of her estate. The will is accompanied by a bill from Thienémann in the amount of $10.00 for the copy.
Physical Description1 folder
Handwritten receipt for a payment of $10.68 for a partition fence between their properties.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript and printed copy of an act of sale of Marie Claire's niece Martine for the sum of $600, passed before Amédeé Ducatel, N.P., along with a bill of $6.50 from Ducatel for the deed.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript copy of a document passed before Amédeé Ducatel, on November 12, 1846, with a note that the copy was verified by Felix McCullogh, Ducatel's successor, on January 13, 1864. In the document, Marie Claire declares her age as about 75 (though she was likely 72). She states that she wishes to free Martine, whom she had recently purchased from Gabriel Villeré, and demands of her testamentary executor to employ half of the lots she owns on St. John Street, between Perdido and Poydras, to buy and manumit Adélaïde, her niece who was still enslaved to Mrs. Lavergene. She institutes her two nieces, Martine and Adélaïde, as her universal legatees, but in the event that half the lots would not be sufficient to purchase Adélaïde, then Martine was to be sole universal legatee. She then gives to Louise Jarreau (the universal legatee under the first will passed before Thienémann) one third of the remaining half lot in usufruct only, the ownership to revert to Martine and Adélaïde upon the death of Louise or to Martine alone, if Adélaïde could not be bought on account of insufficiency of money or the refusal of Mme. Lavergene to sell her. Finally she names Antoine Remy, a free man of color, as testamentary executor. The will is accompanied by a bill from Ducatel in the amount of $10.00 for the copy.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of Marie Claire's tax receipts for taxes paid to the Territory of Orleans (1811-1812), the Parish of Orleans (1820-1822, 1824-1845), the City of New Orleans (1824-1845), and the State of Louisiana (1825).
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of correspondence of Benjamin F. Butler (1818-1893), who was a Brigadier General in military command of New Orleans from May to November 1862. The correspondence pertains to the claim of Cosgrove vs. Butler, which New Orleans resident James Cosgrove brought against Butler for seizing property from his store. Some of the letters are to Durant & Hornor, attorneys at law, who appear to have represented Butler in the case.
Arranged chronologically.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
Regarding a memorial to General Butler.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
The second page of the letter includes another letter from Shepley to Colonel Shaffer.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Manuscript petition (5 pages) filed by James Cosgrove, a resident who attests to be a "loyal citizen of the United States of America" against Benjamin F. Butler, Jonas H. French, and D.N.C. Farrington for unlawful seizure of the contents of his store in New Orleans, along with a list of property seized and a summons for Butler to appear.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Five-page letter that appears to be to Durant & Hornor.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Three letters that appear to be to Durant & Hornor regarding payment for legal services.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of documents and correspondence regarding various claims and cases brought by civilians against the Union Army to recover property or receive damages from events occurring during the Civil War. Materials relate to cases litigated by Durant & Hornor.
Arranged chronologically.
Physical Description1 box
4 items.
Physical Description1 folder
19 items.
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26 items.
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16 items.
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39 items.
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7 items.
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5 items.
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5 items.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of additional manuscripts, correspondence, and printed material collected by Limonge, some of which have been annotated by him.
Arranged chronologically.
Physical Description1 box
Bound manuscript account of occurrences at Fort Louis, New Orleans, and other places in Louisiana, made by Charles René Bougués, Secrétaire du Conseil de la Louisiane. The journal also contains markings made by Felix Limongi at a later date, as well as an accompanying note about the markings.
Physical Description1 folder
Manuscript document (4 pages) describing French and Spanish military forces in Louisiana and Florida, as well as notes on the population, importations, clergy, commerce, production, civil employment, clergy, and the "public spirit" in Louisiana.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Printed broadside containing a political appeal for the election of Governor William C. C. Claiborne (1775-1817), attributed to "Un Louisianais."
Physical Description1 folder
Regarding a post offered to him.
Physical Description1 folder
Thanking Watkins for sending information about the Whig defeat in New Orleans.
Physical Description1 folder
Poyet was an apostolic missionary in New Orleans. The materials regard conflicts over clergy positions in Louisiana.
Physical Description1 box
Printed leaflet.
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Printed broadside.
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1 folder
Printed circular.
Physical Description1 folder
Letter sent from Vicksburg, Mississippi, several days after arriving from New Orleans discussing a letter from General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), the potential for sympathy with the Union in Louisiana, and Grant's health. There is also a note written at a later date, presumably by Felix Limongi, noting that Grant had been recently been thrown by a horse.
Physical Description1 folder
Printed leaflet from E. D. Townsend, Assistant Adjutant General, at the Headquarters of the Army circulating Act of Congress Public-No. 68. by command of General Ulysses S. Grant.
Physical Description1 folder
A printed broadside containing a ballad, which employs racist language and stereotypes, disparaging Anthony Paul Dostie (1821–1866), a dentist and civil rights advocate who was killed in the New Orleans massacre of 1866.
Physical Description1 folder