Hancock History: Edward and Louise Livingston

The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 was an important turning point in the history of Hancock County and the port of New Orleans. An era of unbridled optimism about the potential opportunities for fortune and fame attracted many fortune seekers within the United States and the French and Spanish Islands in the Caribbean Sea such as Cuba and Santo Domingo.

One such optimist was a New York attorney, Edward Livingston (1764-1836), who came to New Orleans in 1804 and subsequently built a large law practice. Edward was a brilliant lawyer who graduated from Princeton University and was admitted to the bar in New York State in 1785. He possessed remarkable skill in writing legal letters, legal documents, and law. Later in life he served in the US Congress with such distinguished public speakers as Henry Clay and Danial Webster. Both orators, who were frequent guests in the drawing room of his wife, Louise, complimented his writing as superior to their own written word. His life and accomplishments bear witness to this valuable gift for an attorney and a public official.

Another émigré to New Orleans at this same time was a French Creole refugee from Santo Domingo, Louise D’Avczac. Edward was a widower but was totally smitten by this nineteen-year-old woman of extraordinary beauty and uncommon intellect. Edward spoke fluent French, Louise spoke only French. They married in 1805. Her father was a wealthy landowner and Louise was described as “majestic in her person and elegant in her manners with a long purse.” She greatly influenced her husband’s public career.

The story of Edward and Louise is a story of New Orleans society in this time frame. After the Louisiana Purchase, English-speaking Americans poured in to the city to make a fast buck. The original French Creoles in New Orleans did not speak English, and the Americans did not speak French. Edward and Louise were able to build bridges or bonds between these two groups for commercial, political, and social benefit for the entire community. Louise was well-educated probably by private tutors and she quickly became fluent in English. Louise was an accomplished letter-writer and her letters to her sister-in-law written every week for many decades are well-preserved and have been a treasure trove of information about New Orleans and Washington DC society.

In 1814 General Andrew Jackson came to New Orleans to defend the city from attack by the British Army. Jackson cobbled together an army of approximately four thousand Kentucky soldiers, Choctaw Indians, Navy gunners, and local Creole militia. Yet, he needed flints, cannon, ammunition, and intelligence about the local landscape. Edward Livingston was quickly recruited by Jackson to be his aide-de-camp, military secretary, and confidential advisor. Edward suggested to Jackson that the local pirate and prominent French Quarter merchant, Jean Lafitte, would make a valuable ally and be as source of men and materiel. Jackson instructed Edward to negotiate a deal and write up a pardon for Jean Lafitte. The rest is history. The Battle of New Orleans ended the War of 1812.

In later life Edward served in the Louisiana Legislature and the US Congress. His old friend President Jackson asked him to be Secretary of State from 1831-1833.

After 1815, French Quarter society would gather in Louise’s salon in their house on Chartres Street where the local “movers and shakers” would visit and discuss the important issues of the day much like in Paris, France. Louise’s salon became the center of New Orleans society from 1805-1823 as would her salon in Washington DC be from 1823-1836. Southern women exerted immense influence on political affairs in these times. She never lost her accent, but preferred English for purpose of earnest expression. She was Edward’s most trusted counselor at every step in life. Edward was Andrew Jackson’s most trusted counselor.

Edward was sent to Paris as a minister plenipotentiary for President Jackson. He was deemed an excellent choice for this post not only because of his own talents. In Europe, the character of the minister’s wife is almost as important as his own. Jackson and the other Washington power brokers knew that Paris was the very place for Louise. There she would dazzle and charm in the salons of Paris as a valuable diplomat of good will for the young United States.

In 1814, Louise and Edward purchased a large tract of land (14,500 acres) in the Pass Christian peninsula which was part of Hancock County at that time. Edward died in 1936 and Louise sold the land in 1937 to a local developer, John Henderson (1797-1857). Henderson Point is named after this developer.