Welcome to the
Official Homepage
of Les Familles Bodin.
A Poem
For All Bodin Descendants
TRIBUTE TO MY ANCESTORS
By
Sylvia David Morel
I want to know you
all by name,
And when and where
you lived.
It matters not if
you won fame;
Because of you, I
live.
The dreams you cherished in your heart
Are alive and well
in mine.
Years that divide
cannot tear apart
That bond untouched
by time.
Your blood flows in my veins;
Your spirit keeps me
strong;
Your gift to me with
your name,
So I know where I
belong.
And
In French, the Language of our Ancestors
MES
ANCETRES
Je voudrais connaître tous vos noms,
Où vous
restiez, et quand.
Fameux ou
pas, me fait rien;
C’est de
vous que ma vie devient.
Ils sont
toujours dans mon coeur,
Les rêves
que vous aviez,
Pour nous
tenir toujours ensemble,
Pas touchés
par les années.
Votre sang
passe dans mes veines
Pour me
tenir forte;
Votre
cadeau avec votre nom,
Le nom que
j’apporte.
January 29, 1997 (le 17
janvier, 1997)
Sylvia David Morel
Copyright c 2000 by Sylvia David Morel.
All rights reserved by the author. No
part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic ormechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any
information storage orretrieval system, without written permission of the
author.
Sylvia
is the daughter of Julia Bodin David, the granddaughter of Isador Bodin, the
great granddaughter of Belizaire Bodin and the Great Great Granddaughter of Simon Bodin, son of Jean Louis
Bodin, of Noirmoutier, France.
Family
News
Southern Louisiana continues
to rebuild after two major hurricanes hit the area last year. Many family
members were affected, but they continue to forge ahead to return to a normal
life. The Bodin work ethic is as strong as
ever.
Our President, Larry D.
Bodin, has had medical problems recently with two surgeries of the spine. We
wish Larry a speedy recovery.
Our
Family Reunion was held April 1, 2006 in Franklin, Louisiana at the
American Legion Hall. Many people came from distant states, See our link to the
Bodin newsletter at the bottom of this page for more details.
About Our
Logo
The official logo of our
association was designed By Allen Dale Belaire and features an outline of the
Island of Noirmoutier France, birthplace of Jean Louis Bodin, over a flag of
France, and the initial B representing our family.
Looking
back on The Early Days
Forming the
Corporation
The association held
it's first reunion on October 30, 1999 in the town of Franklin Louisiana. There
were three hundred attendees with representatives from several different states,
including New Jersey , California, Montana , and Texas, and a large number from
Louisiana. This initial reunion was for the purpose of meeting other Bodin
descendants, developing a database of
Bodin descendants and to acquire information for the family tree that will be
included here. Paul J. Breaux , Lafayette Attorney, and Bodin descendant is our
legal counsel and is drawing up the documents to incorporate our association as
a non-profit organization, the purpose of which is to research our history and
educate our children and generations to come , so that we never forget where we
came from, and who we are.
Bodin Family Members on the banks of the Bayou Teche
The American Legion Hall , Franklin, LA reunion day.
John Bodin , our cousin from New Jersey on the left ,and
our president Larry Bodin on the right . Two reasons why our reunion was such a
success.
More Early Days
News
It's Official, Les Familles
Bodin is now a non-profit corporation. The documents were signed at Baton Rouge
, Louisiana on December 13, 1999 by Secretary of State Fox McKeithen. Many
thanks to Attorney Paul J. Breaux who performed all the legal duties at no
charge to the association.
Travis Callahan , left , and Larry Bodin sign the required
forms to incorporate the association at Duffy's Diner in New Iberia, Louisiana.
The diner was chosen because it stands on the exact spot where Callahan
was born in the home of his grandfather Boniface Bodin. Photo by Paul J. Breaux.
The Officers
& Board of Directors
President
Larry Bodin, Franklin Louisiana
Vice President
Travis J. Callahan , Abbeville, LA
Director
Beverly Richard LeBlanc , Erath, LA
Director/ Treasurer
Gaynell Bodin Barras, Loreauville, LA
Director Luella
Bodin Broussard, Vidor, TX
Director
Larson
"Cap" Bodin, Erath, LA
Director Irma G. Bodin,
New Iberia, LA
The Board of
Trustees
The board includes
the above officers and the following trustees
Wayne Bodin,
Lafayette, LA
Debra Hardy Bodin,
Lafayette, lA
Nordine P. Broussard,
Secretary Paul J. Breaux,
Lafayette, LA
Noelie Bodin, Country
of Belgium
Ivy Bodin Jr., Vista,
Ca
History of
Our Family
Jean Louis Bodin was
born on the island of Noirmoutier, France in 1761. He was the son of Pierre
Bodin and Jeanne Massonet and the grandson of Pierre Bodin and Jeanne Guibeaux.
This takes our Bodin family research back to 1715, the year of the birth of the
first Pierre Bodin. We will concentrate here on Jean Louis Bodin who was a
crewman on the sailing vessel La Bon PaPa , the first and smallest of the seven
ships that sailed from France to the Louisiana Territories bringing the first
French immigrants .
Jean Louis married
one of the immigrants, Francoise Jose Doirn (Doiron) on February 28, 1787 at St.
Gabriel Church.
This is a recent photo of the church which still stands today
near the banks of the Mississippi River in the community of Saint Gabriel,
LA. I was fortunate to be able to tour the church and it is in remarkable
condition. The church has been moved two times to escape the encroaching Bayou
Manchac and later the Mississippi River before the present Levee system was
developed . It is now about 100 yards from the Mississippi. A group is being
formed to preserve this wonderful remnant of the early settlers life .
The Family Of Jean Louis
Bodin
The marriage of Jean
Louis Bodin and Marie Francoise Doiron produced six children. Of the six
our research has only found descendants of two sons, Gregoire and Simon
Bodin, and one daughter Marie Rose Bodin
Gregoire Bodin
Gregoire was born
December 12, 1795 , in Saint Gabriel , LA the first child of Jean Louis Bodin
and Marie Doiron. Gregoire married Pelagie LeBlanc on November 11, 1816 and from
this marriage ten children were born. After the death of Pelagie in 1840,
Gregoire married Natalie Bourg ( Bourque ) and five children were born of that
union. Later Gregoire took over the duties of under tutor for the eight
minor children of his deceased brother , Simon when he died at 48 years of age.
Gregoire was a very
successful plantation owner with 2000 acres of land tilled by slaves engaged in
the production of sugar cane. He was a respected business man in Saint Mary
Parish even though he could not read and write. The home that he built near
Charenton was a lavish structure even in those days .
Gregoire Bodin's Cypremort Prairie
Plantation built in 1841 still stands today and was re-named Vacherie by later
owners.
Both Gregoire and his
brother were men of large stature, and stories were told that when they
were together they did not need a ladder. A pair of Gregoire's pants is still
owned by a family member and the waist of those pants , when held up by an
average sized man, reach the neck of the holder. A story has been told for
generations that when Gregoire died on the upper floor of his home , he was too
large to bring down the spiral staircase and the slaves cut a hole in the
ceiling and lowered the body with ropes. A recent renovation of the home covered
the hole that was still visible up until that time. The pants held a special
meaning for the older descendants of Gregoire , as the last tie to their
ancestor . One elderly family member told
Larry Bodin that when the elder members of the family were near death they would
call for someone to bring the pants to their bedside so that they " could
see them one more time". The person recounting this story would cry
each time he told it. He passed away two years ago at the age of 96 years.
Remember that family information was passed down through the generations by word
of mouth beginning with those members who could not read or write.
When Gregoire died he
was buried in the family tomb shown below. On August 26, 1992 Hurricane Andrew severely
damaged the tomb when one of the large pieces of marble fell off and was broken.
On October 25, 1993 Gregoire's great great great
grandson, Larry Bodin , undertook the task of restoring the tomb . The
renovation began and lasted until April 8, 1994 . The renovators stated that it
would be too costly to build a tomb with marble today, and that the cost would
run to more than $20,000.00. The cost of the renovation was over $4,000.00 and
was paid with contributions from members of the Bodin Family Larry is probably one
of the few people who has seen the remains of his great great grandfather.
In Larry's own words " a giant of a man, over seven feet".
Family Tomb Charenton, LA
Order of burial in the Bodin Tomb
Aurelia Bodin, born July 23, 1829
died October 22, 1832 (3)
Joseph Bodin , born November 4, 1817
died September 22, 1839 (22)
Pelagie Leblanc Bodin , born April
15, 1797 died April 6, 1840 (43)
Gregoire Bodin Jr. , born March 30,
1845 died October 10, 1852 (7)
Felicite Bodin , born February 21,
1852 died September 15, 1861 (9)
Gregoire Bodin Sr. , Born December
12, 1794 died June 25, 1865 (71)
Simon
Bodin
The value of
the succession as a true record.
Simon and his twin sister Genevive
were born April 12, 1800 in Opelousas, Louisiana the children of Jean
Louis Bodin and Marie Doiron. At age 24, Simon married Pelagie Landry in Saint
Martinville, Louisiana. In reading the succession of Simon which is dated June
28, 1848 , and on file in the Franklin, Louisiana courthouse, one gains insight
to the life of this man after his death.
In this record, Simon's wife Pelagie
Landry requests that an inventory of the assets of Simon be
inventoried and that an " under tutor " be appointed for
her children now without a father. The early settlers of this area were very
concerned that children have a female and a male guidance in their lives so that
they could be taught how to survive and grow to decent adults. Many times a
family meeting was held which was very formal and of a legal nature and tutors
were appointed. This was the case here and the document shows the attendance of
Uncle Gregoire , and cousins Therence, Emile, Norbert Bodin and Henry Penn (
son-in-law of Gregoire ), all of the age of majority. As a result of the family
meeting Gregoire was appointed under tutor to his nieces and nephews shown by
name in the document. They were ; Belizare, Adrien, Doralize, Uranie, Numa,
Alcee, the twins Joseph and Josephine, and Alcide. No reference is made to the
tenth child, Marie Belzire who had died at the age of thirteen days, since the
document only shows heirs to the estate. There is a reference to the fact that
Belizare has reached the age of majority.
The Estate
of Simon Bodin in 1848
A description of the
family farm located in Saint Mary Parish includes the notation that the land
deed was recorded in the town of Washington and that the property was 80 acres
in size. The value of this property was listed as $4,000.00 and had previously
been purchased in 1831.
The growing crop of
45 arpents of sugar cane and 19 arpents of corn is valued at $1,000.00 along
with 100 barrels of corn valued at $62.50 and 64 cords of firewood valued at
$96.00 .
The document lists
three male slaves and one boy 16 years of age as well as three women slaves ,
one of which was the mother of two small children valued at a total of
$4,000.00.
Editors comment
One must know that
slaves of planters of this era , and this area ,were more tenant farmers than slaves and that the
" slave owners" usually worked in the fields alongside the slaves. The
slaves of " less wealthy " planters usually owned some land on the
farm and many were self employed on their time off. Only the very wealthy slave
owners had plantations with large numbers of slaves and lived the extravagant
lifestyles portrayed in the movies . As I continue my research of the family and
slavery in Saint Mary Parish I will update this section.
The succession of
Simon continues
There were ten oxen,
twenty horses, several cows and calves, and thirty-three sheep, as well as 30
hogs. There are listed saddles ,bridles, household furniture , a cistern,
flatboats and a pirogue, and other items considered of value in those days. The
total estate of Simon Bodin was valued at $13,387.00
Also included in the
Saint Mary Courthouse records are legal documents naming Pelagie Landry as
administrator of the estate and a second legal document naming Pelagie as the
"natural " tutor of the minor children and Gregoire Bodin as the
" under" tutor.
I continue to
research the life and death of Simon Bodin and at present I am searching
for his final resting place and the actual location of his former plantation.
A true treasure would be to find a picture of Simon.
Marie Rose
Bodin
The family of Rose
Marie is being researched at this time. One of the factors that make this
research interesting, is that Belisaire, son
of Simon married Francoise
Orezille Stevens , daughter of
Rose Marie Bodin and her husband
Louis Stevens. Children of brother and sister (first cousins) were married and
shared the same grandparents, Jean Louis Bodin and Francoise Doiron.
If you are a
descendant of Rose Marie Bodin Stevens, please contact us.
A Link to the home place of
Jean Louis Bodin
(open the page and click on the
flag for English version)
The
Island Of Noirmoutier, France
Send e-mail to Travis
Callahan
Travis J. Callahan , webmaster
This page updated December 8, 2008
Links
Current
Issue of the Bodin Family Newsletter
Our Basic
Bodin Family Tree
Return
to Callahan Homepage
The
Web Site of the Associations of Families Acadian
