Join me on the definitive free tour of St. Louis Cemetery No. 3. We will dispel some myths, explore the commonly toured graves and dive into the deep of some lesser known tombs whose occupants deserve our time and attention. Let’s explore the final resting places of the first Black congressman from Louisiana, a Storyville staple, prominent free people of color including the richest man of color in the South, the man responsible for our tradition of above ground tombs, four chefs including one associated with the origin of brunch, the namesakes for a popular restaurant along with architects, immigrants, lawyers, and many victims of yellow fever.
Research for this tour included scouring newspaper archives both on newspapers.com and NewsBank (via New Orleans Public Library database collection) and visiting the Free People of Color Museum, the Gallier House, and the City Archives and Special Collections at the New Orleans Public Library.
This Google map marks all the graves in the tour in case you get lost in the City of the Dead.
SOURCES
St. Louis Cemetery No. 3
- Google Map of Tombs
- Stories from the St. Louis Cemeteries of New Orleans by Sally Asher. The History Press. Charleston, SC. 2015.
- https://nolacatholiccemeteries.org/st-louis-cemetery-3
- https://acloserwalknola.com/places/st-louis-cemetery-no-3/
- https://gonola.com/things-to-do-in-new-orleans/things-to-do/nola-history-exploring-st-louis-cemetery-no-3
- https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/10/31/415535913/how-yellow-fever-turned-new-orleans-into-the-city-of-the-dead
- https://www.wwno.org/podcast/tripod-new-orleans-at-300/2016-10-06/the-cemetery-under-the-french-quarter‘
- D. Ryan Gray, “Archaeology of the St. Peter Street Cemetery,” New Orleans Historical, accessed October 4, 2023, https://neworleanshistorical.org/items/show/1591.
- https://whatssospecialaboutneworleans.blogspot.com/2011/08/free-people-of-color-flourished-in.html
- https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2084&context=pvamu-theses
Paul Prudhomme
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/153419166/paul-prudhomme
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Prudhomme
- https://youtu.be/j-58gm9zjkQ?si=fb1ebhIcfsuUOnE4
- https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/10/08/446923185/in-the-pot-or-the-pan-chef-paul-prudhomme-was-always-making-magic
- https://nola.eater.com/2020/7/13/21323126/k-pauls-famed-cajun-restaurant-new-orleans-closes-covid-restrictions
Jean Galatoire
United Slavonian Benevolent Society
Florville Foy
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131004384/prosper-florville-foy
- https://64parishes.org/entry/florville-foy
- http://www.oakandlaurel.com/blog/florvilles-flowers-floral-iconography-in-new-orleans-cemeteries
- Patricia Brady, “Florville Foy, F. M. C.: Master Marble Cutter and Tomb Builder, “ Southern Quarterly, Vol. XXXI, No. 2 (Winter 1993), 10.
- Carol Mills-Nichol, The Aubrey’s – Free People of Color in Early New Orleans. ©2021. Janaway Publishing, Inc. Santa Maria, California.
E. J. Bellocq
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65425294/ernest-joseph-bellocq
- EJ Bellocq, Storyville Portraits: Photographcs from the New Orleans Red Light District, Circa 1912. ©1970. The Museum of Modern Art. New York, NY. https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_2678_300299020.pdf
- Matthew Griffis, New Orleans in Golden Age Postcards. ©2020. The University Press of Mississippi. Korea.
The Parlongue Sisters
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63608473/emma-musso
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63608515/bertha-noblet
- https://www.courtoftwosisters.com/about-us/our-history
- The Ghosts of the Court of Two Sisters
- https://www.hnoc.org/vcs/property_info.php?lot=18479
- https://www.hnoc.org/court-two-sisters
- Experience Over 250 Years Of History When You Visit The Court Of Two Sisters In New Orleans
- New Orleans (NOLA) is famous for its deep roots in jazz and outstanding food. If you are planning a visit to NOLA immerse yourself in both the jazz and the food with brunch at Court of Two Sisters.
- https://www.myneworleans.com/julia-street-20/
- https://beacon.schneidercorp.com/Application.aspx?AppID=979&LayerID=19792&PageTypeID=4&PageID=8663&Q=68770305&KeyValue=613-ROYALST
- Blake Pontchartrain: Court of Two Sisters and Pavilion of Two Sisters — any connection?
- https://www.myneworleans.com/julia%E2%80%88street-with-poydras-the%E2%80%88parrot-2/
The Galliers
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/94570013/james-gallier
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28422606/james-gallierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallier_House
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gallier_Jr.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gallier
- https://midcitymessenger.com/2016/05/12/historian-to-lecture-about-1866-sinking-of-the-ship-the-evening-star/
- https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~wynkoop/genealogy/webdocs/staridx.htm
Leah Chase
- https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2023/7/23/wayne-reese-greater-nola-sports-hall-of-fame.aspx
- Welcome New Orleans: A Guide for Black Tourists in New Orleans “The Culture of Cooking: Dookie Chase” © 2023 p. 17
- https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/06/02/729120487/remembering-leah-chase-queen-of-creole-cuisine
- https://africanamericanchefshalloffame.org/the-inductees/leah-chase/
- https://youtu.be/HkSxY6aDiYc?si=itG943iXrYTSYQXZ
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leah_Chase
- https://www.wdsu.com/article/dooky-chase-s-restaurant-played-key-role-in-civil-rights-movement/3371606#
Guillaume Tujague
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134945602/guillaume-tujague
- https://tujaguesrestaurant.com/history/
Charles E. Nash
- https://www.nps.gov/guis/learn/historyculture/charles-edmund-nash.htm
- https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/18846
- https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Nash-10968V
- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8068410/charles-edmund-nash
- https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_E._Nash
- https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-of-louisiana-biography-n/
A. P. Tureaud
