Gabriel Fuselier De La Claire

Born at Lyons in 1722, Gabriel Fuselier s paternal ancestry is traced to the small town of Vignory in the Lorraine/Champagne region of France. There, evidence of the Fuselier family presence is found as early as 1598. Having arrived in colonial Louisiana in the mid eighteenth century, by 1763, Fuselier was a well-established businessman in New Orleans. After the death of his first wife, Jeanne Roman, he married Hélène Elizabeth Soileau at Attakapas Post today s Saint Martinville in 1771. He was the father of fourteen children by his two wives. Gabriel Fuselier s descendants are legion today. By 1760, he had purchased a very large tract of land from the Attakapas Indians of southwest Louisiana. Within a decade, he was appointed to the dual-posts of Attakapas and Opelousas as civil and military commandant. Having served the Spanish king four years, he retired to his plantation on Bayou Teche the estate was still the most elegant in the region, reported federal land commissioners, as late as 1814. Although a great deal had been known concerning Fuselier genealogy, and for many years, it was not until 1986 that the date and place of the patriarch s death was discovered 1789 at Bordeaux. The focus of this publication, the Fuselier succession papers, provides ample details on Louisiana s men of wealth. The papers cover a fascinating inventory of moveable property and a residence in Baton Rouge. Over twenty slaves are named, as well as their ages, their value, and in most cases, the names of the nations in Africa where they were born.