Jean Laffite actual last known domicile and headquarters on Galveston Island Texas.

bigscoop

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el padron,

That's an interesting event, for sure. Thanks for posting that painting and info. Personally, in several areas, I don't know what to believe in regards to Laffitte. From what we have researched it appears that his life/business was eventually run/arranged very much like a corporation, or syndication, of sorts. For the few events we can directly tie him too there always appears to be a fair amount of distance kept between himself and the others involved. We see this same thing in the Champ de Asile events, Laffitte always remaining on just the outer fringes, or just within the shadows of those affairs.


I have no doubt that Laffitte had access to money/wealth but just exactly where and how that funding was maintained and how it was funneled is still largely uncertain. “If” his memoirs are real, which I feel they likely are, then we can be fairly certain that sometime around 1815 - 1816 a type of corporation was formed, this corporation we believe was called, The Saint Louis Corporation. When we set out to confirm this possibility what we found was an entire host of possible/likely shell companies that would have made tracking the flow of revenues and monies all but impossible even if we knew exactly what we were looking for and even if all of the records had survived.


Per example, in regards to two ships mentioned in those memoirs there was enough surviving documentation to trace the funding of these two vessels back to some of the very people mentioned in those memoirs. There are several such examples of this same type thing. What isn't quite clear in all of this is just exactly what all of these various activities were actually pursuing, if indeed this was all part of a formed and functioning corporation or syndication? I might also mention that it appears as though there was a very strong Bonapartist theme attached to a great deal of what we have researched in regards to Laffitte and this possible corporation.


As for “a large treasure” being kept on or near Galveston Island during Laffitte's time there,.....from what we have researched there are as many as three or four very possible sources of such wealth but nothing we can conclusively confirm. But such was the world climate back then, a great deal of uncertainty abounding everywhere.
 

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Evening all ,
Found an old news article , which may interest yourselves, weather it be true or not , well that`s for whoever if they wish to follow up with. It is indirectly linked to Lafitte , as he was ment to be the recipient.

Basically , an expedition was sent out of Mersy , Liverpool. Sailing yacht "Catherine" command by Cpt Small , they left in early 1907 , following the North Atlantic steamer tracks calling at Queenstown then for New York onto the Caribbean Sea.
28 years prior a doctor name Davidson while attending an old salt between hawaii and San Francisco , was made a confident of the old sea salt. His story goes along the lines of .....In 1808 he was captured by pirate Latrobe and who was persued by a man of war and a yankee corvette. In haste Latrobe got rid of his gains on an island of the caribbean sea. (articles value 1.3 million in gold and jewels. )
Latrob was eventually caught and executed in Jamaica , but he gave documents to a young lad who was with him , and had been not commited to execution , and his orders were to pass the documents to Lafitte , chief of the pirates , the boy never managed to get them to Lafitte for lack of means , but he was now the old sea salt passing the information on to his new confident Dr Davidson.
In 1887 a New York pary went in search for it , but lost the documents which where in a box which sank in quick sand.

Oct 12th 1906
Aberdeen Daily Journal.
 

bigscoop

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Evening all ,
Found an old news article , which may interest yourselves, weather it be true or not , well that`s for whoever if they wish to follow up with. It is indirectly linked to Lafitte , as he was ment to be the recipient.

Basically , an expedition was sent out of Mersy , Liverpool. Sailing yacht "Catherine" command by Cpt Small , they left in early 1907 , following the North Atlantic steamer tracks calling at Queenstown then for New York onto the Caribbean Sea.
28 years prior a doctor name Davidson while attending an old salt between hawaii and San Francisco , was made a confident of the old sea salt. His story goes along the lines of .....In 1808 he was captured by pirate Latrobe and who was persued by a man of war and a yankee corvette. In haste Latrobe got rid of his gains on an island of the caribbean sea. (articles value 1.3 million in gold and jewels. )
Latrob was eventually caught and executed in Jamaica , but he gave documents to a young lad who was with him , and had been not commited to execution , and his orders were to pass the documents to Lafitte , chief of the pirates , the boy never managed to get them to Lafitte for lack of means , but he was now the old sea salt passing the information on to his new confident Dr Davidson.
In 1887 a New York pary went in search for it , but lost the documents which where in a box which sank in quick sand.

Oct 12th 1906
Aberdeen Daily Journal.

There are "many" tales of Laffitte. If only we knew which ones were/are true? Thanks for sharing that. :thumbsup:
 

tat2guy

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Let it be noted that banker,Stephen Girard,financed the War of 1812 for the US,made his money in the Chinese opium trade,and his niece,Henriette Marie Girard, married Charles Francois Antoine Lallemand,Oct 28,1817 at Philadelphia's St Augustine Roman Catholic Church.In attendence at the wedding were Stephen Girard,Charles Lallemand,Marshall Emanuel Count de Grouci,and Joseph Bonaparte.

Just as a correction. Henri Lallamende married Girards niece and Stephen Girard is buried between husband and wife. Henri died in the Indian wars out west. Charles went back to Corsica with the bonapartes and lived out the rest of his life.

Sorry for the slow response I've been busy lol
 

bigscoop

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Just as a correction. Henri Lallamende married Girards niece and Stephen Girard is buried between husband and wife. Henri died in the Indian wars out west. Charles went back to Corsica with the bonapartes and lived out the rest of his life.

Sorry for the slow response I've been busy lol

Dead on, as usual, Tat. :thumbsup:

"After Louis Fillippe restored the old imperial military grades after the Revolution of 1830, Charles Lallemand returned to France. From 1837-1838, he served as military governor of Corsica. Charles Lallemand died in Paris in 1839."

The is no doubt that Laffitte "had access" to wealth during his time at Galveston Island, be it directly or indirectly. Question is, just how much wealth did he have direct access to "while at Galveston Island" and what possibly became of it? And the other big question resides in just exactly what role Laffitte played in all of the events in the region during the period in question?
 

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Robot

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Like the Drug Barons of today the Pirates of yester year (Jean Laffite) did not need to bury their treasure on some romantic island as Hollywood likes to portray.
There was more than enough clearing houses in New England to launder their booty and supply them with a letter of credit to access.
 

Rebel - KGC

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Also Henri Lallemande went to some minerals springs in the Bedford area during 1817

Bedford area in Virginia or Pennsylvania; Pierre Lafitte was a Freemason, who spent LOTS of time in Philly (PA)... had a Lodge in Philly.
 

bigscoop

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There is some evidence to suggest that the older brother, Alexander,was a Freemason. As for Pierre, I'm not sure where or how the whole Freemason thing got started with him? Nothing that I'm aware of to conclusively establish this claim. But even if these claims were true, so what? By this period just about anyone who was anyone was invited to join the popular organization.

As far as "pirates" burying their booty according to classic tale, not likely. However, the burying of valuables and merchandise did take place. In the case of Laffitte, we know there was gold on the island and in the surrounding region, we just don't know to what extent? We know this from the survivor accounts regarding traders who ventured into the region to, "trade their goods for gold." We also know that at least a limited amount of gold and silver had to be kept on hand as might be needed when conducting business beyond what could be conducted within the usual lines of credit. Was this just petty cash? Who can say for sure.
 

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Rebel - KGC

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Yes, Alex (aka Dom, Youx...) was a Freemason; his crypt is in New Orleans, FRENCH Quarter & has a Square & Compass on it
("pic" is "on-line"). Why does it matter...? Swift of Silver Mines ALSO had Square & Compass carving on trees (HE was ALSO a Pirate). Jean & Bros were FRENCH, Sephardi JEWISH pirates in their younger days; LATER, Jean became a PRIVATEER who gave his stolen "bounties" to America. When it is just a Square & Compass, it was PROBABLY "chartered" by the Grand Orient de France... THEY did not focus on a belief in a Supreme being; THAT is the "French Connection".
 

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tat2guy

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Bedford area in Virginia or Pennsylvania; Pierre Lafitte was a Freemason, who spent LOTS of time in Philly (PA)... had a Lodge in Philly.

That was Bedford cty va. I can dig thru my notes at some point and give you a source. But he was taken there by other French aristocrats that were here after the war of 1812. He came wounded after Waterloo and was taken to the springs of Va to help the healing. I believe Joseph or Jerome Bonaparte took him there.

HH Tat
 

tat2guy

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Bedford area in Virginia or Pennsylvania; Pierre Lafitte was a Freemason, who spent LOTS of time in Philly (PA)... had a Lodge in Philly.

Alex AKA Dom Youx was a member at the Washington lodge #2 in Philly. I have records of that. He left that lodge about 4 yrs before his death. He also for a short period worked for Girard. There are records of that too. I've been going thru Girards collection and finding some good info.

HH Tat
 

Rebel - KGC

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Alex AKA Dom Youx was a member at the Washington lodge #2 in Philly. I have records of that. He left that lodge about 4 yrs before his death. He also for a short period worked for Girard. There are records of that too. I've been going thru Girards collection and finding some good info.

HH Tat

GREAT info! Continue ON!
 

Rebel - KGC

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That was Bedford cty va. I can dig thru my notes at some point and give you a source. But he was taken there by other French aristocrats that were here after the war of 1812. He came wounded after Waterloo and was taken to the springs of Va to help the healing. I believe Joseph or Jerome Bonaparte took him there.

HH Tat

There ARE/were SEVERAL l "Minerals Springs" near-by, that I am researching (NOT related to "Beale Story"); one was in my family (by "blood")... currently owned by Parks & Recreation, wanna make it part of "Walking Trail", near-by. One was in New London, Va.; BUFFALO Springs is in Amherst County, Va. on BUFFALO Road (Rt. 60, going WEST to Lexington... passing the FORKS OF THE BUFFALO (River) Community), near George Washington NATIONAL Forest; ALL great areas to "explore"!
 

Rebel - KGC

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War of 1812: Paschal Buford (of "Beale Story") was in charge of an American Artillery unit during the Battle of New Orleans; HE spent time in the FRENCH Quarter, PROBABLY visited Jean Lafitte at his "Temple" there; MAY have even known Thomas Beale, Sr. and even Thomas Beale, Jr. PB was "HUGE" in Bedford County, VIRGINIA history. Was even a GOOD friend of CSA Gen. Robert E. Lee; Lee & his daughter spent a night with PB (Locust Level), after the CONFEDERATE WAR (before Lee died in 1869 or so). MAN! This area is ALIVE with history... Lynchburg, Bedford County, New London, Campbell County, Peaks of Otter, Amherst County, Thomas Jefferson (Poplar Forest), Andrew Jackson (passing through), etc.
 

bigscoop

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The Buford's are an interesting study, a portion of that family apparently having rather strong French sympathies/appreciations. i.e., Algernon Sydney Buford, Napoleon Bonaparte Buford, and even the spelling of the name Paschal maintains a measure of French influence. But let us not turn this Laffitte thread into another Beale mystery affair, enough of that in the Beale forums already. Instead, let's keep exploring the possibilities within Laffitte himself.
 

Rebel - KGC

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The Buford's are an interesting study, a portion of that family apparently having rather strong French sympathies/appreciations. i.e., Algernon Sydney Buford, Napoleon Bonaparte Buford, and even the spelling of the name Paschal maintains a measure of French influence. But let us not turn this Laffitte thread into another Beale mystery affair, enough of that in the Beale forums already. Instead, let's keep exploring the possibilities within Laffitte himself.

LOL! The TOPIC of "interest" was HEALING/MINERALS Springs "of" Bedford, VIRGINIA; MANY H/M Springs near-by within @ 100 miles that "tat" alluded to... WASN'T a Beale Treasure "thing". Carry on, "tat"... BTW, Bro. Pierre was Secretary of Washington Lodge in Philly; was a charter/founding member, I think.
 

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Rebel - KGC

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AND! All I can find is Bedford Healing Springs in Pennsylvania, near Philly. That DOES make sense, in that FRENCH "influence" would be there; Philly (Pierre Lafitte's Washington Lodge with STRONG French "influence"); Ben Franklin, Freemason of the 9 Sisters Lodge in France... etc.

Bedford Healing Springs in PA is now a RESORT... must be GOOD "stuff" up there!
 

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Rebel - KGC

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1804; Medicinal/Curative Springs of Bedford PA (Pennsylvania)... with MANY hotels built near-by, LATER. Mineral Springs, Chalybeate Springs, Limestone Springs, Sulfur Springs, etc... HEALING Springs! "Google" Bedford, PA (Pennsylvania)
 

tat2guy

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LOL! The TOPIC of "interest" was HEALING/MINERALS Springs "of" Bedford, VIRGINIA; MANY H/M Springs near-by within @ 100 miles that "tat" alluded to... WASN'T a Beale Treasure "thing". Carry on, "tat"... BTW, Bro. Pierre was Secretary of Washington Lodge in Philly; was a charter/founding member, I think.

the meeting minutes show Alexander lafitte as secretary of that lodge from 1819 to about 1826. Then he gets hard to track.
 

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