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Coignet and Gaudet Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS-00227

Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials relating to the Coignet and Gaudet (Gaude) families, primarily the descendants of Guillaume Alfred Coignet and his two wives, sisters Charlotte and Stephanie Gaudet. The bulk of the collection consists of original correspondence (with translations) and printed sheet music. In addition, there are report cards, school assignments, poems, cards, notes, obituaries and death notices, genealogical research materials, certificates, newspaper clippings, photographs, volumes, and other printed materials. The collection is divided into seven series: Family Correspondence, Financial Materials, Genealogy and Family History, Other Papers, Printed Materials, Volumes, and Photographs. Series 1 (Family Correspondence) consists letters written by and to Coignet and Gaudet family members between 1872 and 1937. Topics include family news, illness, birthdays and holidays, education and school life, music, the Spanish-American War, Octave Coignet’s trip to Paris, and World War I. Series 2 (Financial Papers) contains correspondence, receipts, and other materials written by and to members of the Coignet and Gaudet family relating to the operation of plantations and additional business ventures, banking, and taxes. Series 3 (Other Papers) includes report cards, school assignments, calling cards, postcards, prayer cards, poems, recipes, and notes reflecting the activities of Coignet family members. Series 4 (Genealogy and Family History) includes obituaries, remembrances, clippings, lineage charts, certificates, and various research materials relating to Gaudet and Coignet families. Series 5 (Volumes) consists of account books and ledgers, booklets, guides, a scrapbook, and a recipe book. Series 6 (Printed Materials) includes newspaper clippings of poetry, obituaries, graduation announcements, and an editorial, along with workbooks of music lessons and published sheet music. Series 7 (Photographs) consists of photographs of the Coignet family.

All translations included in this collection were created and added by Ellender Memorial Library volunteers and staff.

Dates

  • 1838-2010

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Physical rights are retained by Nicholls State University. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. copyright laws.

Biographical Note

Guillaume Alfred Coignet was married to Charlotte Emerante Gaude, with whom he had two daughters, Marie Octavie Catherine (1864-1951) and Adele Hortense (1867-1889). After the death of Charlotte, Coignet married her sister Stephanie, with whom he had three children: Marie Blanche (1874-1952), Marie Amelie (1882-1958), and Joseph Alfred Octave (1878-1944). The family initially lived on Morning Star Plantation, about one mile south of Thibodaux, La., before moving to Octavia Plantation in 1895. All four Coignet daughters attended school at the Mount Carmel Convent in Thibodaux. Hortense Coignet married William Tipton Seely in 1895 and lived on Forest Grove Plantation, about five miles north of Thibodaux, until her death less than one year later (possibly due to complications from pregnancy). After the death of their father, Octavie managed the Octavia Plantation with her sisters Blanche and Amelie. After losing the plantation due to financial difficulties, the family moved to Thibodaux in 1913, where the three sisters operated a custom dress and hat-making business for many years. Octave Coignet attended high school at Thibodaux College and Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, before studying law at Tulane University. He married Marie-Antoinette Ducrocq of St. Omer, France in 1904, and the couple moved to a cottage on Octavia Plantation. Their children were Marie-Antoinette (b. 1906), Alfred Louis (b. 1908), Gerard Octave (b. 1910) and Henri Marcel (b. 1912). Coignet served as a lawyer, district attorney, and Louisiana state senator (1904-1908), and was known for his love of music.

Biographical information taken from The Lafourche Country Volume III: Annals and Onwardness (Lafourche Heritage Society, 2010).

Extent

30 Linear Feet (Two document boxes, nineteen flat boxes, and one map folder.)

Language of Materials

Multiple languages

Sensitive Materials Statement

This collection may contain material(s) with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which Ellender Memorial Library and Nicholls State University assume no responsibility.

Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Nicholls State University Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Ellender Memorial Library
Nicholls State University
906 E 1st St.
Thibodaux Louisiana 70310 USA
985-448-4621