Hon. Philip H. Gilbert, Assumption Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by Mike Miller



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Hon. Philip H. Gilbert.  The history of Louisiana teems with
interesting records that connect the present with the highly developed
civilization of long ago when another flag floated over this domain of
a Louis of the Court of France, as well as to that bygone period when
gallants of the Spanish Main ruffled their tempestuous way along the
water courses and in the centers of population.  The warring elements
have gradually mingled to make a people unique in ancestry, traditions
and temperament, but staunchly loyal to the country all are proud to
own.  There are some of the proudest families represented in this
state that this and other countries have known, and one of them is
that of Gilbert, which traces back to Pierre J. Gilbert, the American
ancestor who, coming to this country from the north of France, found
in the Parish of Assumption the freedom and opportunity he sought.  In
return for which he gave lavishly of his energies, abilities and
enthusiasms, founding in this locality a family whose present
distinguished representative, Senator Philip H. Gilbert of
Napoleonville, is the person whose name heads this brief review.

Senator Gilbert, successful planter, bank president, lawyer and state
senator, was born in the Parish of Assumption, October 25, 1870, a son
of Pierre J. Gilbert.  The latter was also born in the Parish of
Assumption, in 1840, and died at Napoleonville June 8, 1899, having
resided in this little city the greater portion of his life.  His
money was largely invested in his magnificent sugar plantation, in the
development and operation of which he found congenial employment for
his abilities of a high order.  Firmly believing in the principles of
the democratic party, he ever gave to them his zealous support, and
when called upon he did not shirk the duties of public office, serving
acceptably as deputy clerk of the court of the Parish of Assumption
for a number of years, and as a justice of the peace for a long
period.  As a notary public he had a large clientele, and his name is
affixed to many of the important documents of his times.  From his
youth up he was a faithful son of the Roman Catholic Church, and did
much for its support.  For four years he served in the Confederate
army, and was a first lieutenant of the Trans-Mississippi Division of
the service.  He married first a Miss Landry, who was born in the
Parish of Assumption, where she later died.  They had the following
children: Edward P., who was manager of a plantation in the Parish of
West Baton Rouge and died in that parish; Alice, who died at
Alexandria, Louisiana, the wife of Paul S. Lauve, a sugar boiler now
residing at Alexandria; and Lillie who is unmarried and resides at
Alexandria.  As his second wife Pierre J. Gilbert married Miss
Ernestine Blanchard, who was born in the Parish of Assumption, and
died at Napoleonville.  Their children were as follows: Senator
Gilbert, who was the first born; James W., who is a planter and
merchant, resides at Napoleonville; Charles A., who is manager of a
plantation, lives in the Parish of Assumption; Joseph W., who died at
Napoleonville when twenty-five years old, was a clerk in a store;
Robert, who is a store manager, resides at Napoleonville; Bella, who
married Edward D. Gianelloni, of Napoleonville, an attorney and a
member of the Louisiana House of Representatives; Samuel F., who is
assistant cashier of the Bank of Assumption at Napoleonville; and
Marie, who married Theophile P. Talbot, postmaster of Napoleonville.

Until he was sixteen years old Senator Gilbert attended the public and
private schools of the Parish of Assumption and Napoleonville, but at
that the left school to go into a store at Napoleonville as a clerk,
and there he remained for the succeeding four years.  Leaving the
marts of trade, for the next four years he served as principal of the
schools of Assumption Parish, and then was made a justice of the peace
and parish treasurer of Assumption, the duties of these offices
keeping him occupied until 1904.  By this the he began to be a
well-known figure in politics, and during 1904 and 1905 he was
secretary of the Louisiana State Senate.  During 1905 he matriculated
in the law department of Tulane University, and was graduated
therefrom with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.  Admitted to the bar,
he entered upon a general practice at Napoleonville, and from 1908 to
1916 was district attorney of the Twenty-seventh Judicial District of
Louisiana, comprising the parishes of Assumption, Ascension and Saint
James.  From 1916 to 1920 he was district judge of the Twenty-seventh
Judicial District.  Both by inheritance and conviction he is a
democrat, and has always taken a determining part in the deliberations
of his party, and in 1921 was a member of the Constitutional
Convention.  The last political honors bestowed upon him were those
connected with his election to the Louisiana State Senate in 1924, as
a representative of the Twelfth Senatorial District, including the
parishes of Assumption, Lafourche and Terrebonne, his term being for
four years.  In this broader field opening up to him Senator Gilbert
will have additional opportunities for public service, and it is
needless to say that he will discharge these added duties just as
capably as he has done those in the past.

Senator Gilbert is a member of Saint Anne's Roman Catholic Church of
Napoleonville, and is one of the church trustees.  He belongs to
Assumption Council No. 1099, K. of C., of Napoleonville, of which he
is a past grand knight.  Professionally he belongs to the Louisiana
State Bar Association and, to the Twenty-seventh Congressional
District of Louisiana Bar Association.  Extensively interested in~
agricultural matters, he is president of the Lula Company,
Incorporated, which operates the Lula Plantation, situated ten miles
north of Napoleonville, comprising 720 acres.  This company operates
its own sugar refinery.  Senator Gilbert is president of the Avon
Planting Company, Ltd., which operates the Avon Plantation, situated
ten miles north of Napoleonville, comprising 1,150 acres.  In addition
to his handsome residence on Franklin Street, Napoleonville, he owns
other real estate in the Parish of Assumption.  Since 1921 Senator
Gilbert has been president of the Bank of Assumption, Napoleonville,
which opened its doors for business in 1901, with a capital stock of
$25,000.  This capital has since been increased to $50,000, and the
stockholders have been paid a 10 per cent dividend each year since the
bank has been established, which dividends have been declared
semi-annually.  Senator Gilbert's associates are: Sol Klotz, vice
president; Paul Rodrigue, vice president; Leo Guiliot, cashier; and
Eugene Rogers, assistant cashier.  The present condition of the bank
is as follows: Capital, $50,000; surplus and profits, $35,000; and
deposits, $325,000.  During the late war Senator Gilbert was chairman
of the Legal Advisory Board of the Parish of Assumption, and devoted
much of his time to war work of all kinds.

On January 24, 1894, Senator Gilbert married at Paincoutville,
Louisiana, Miss Ella Savoie, a daughter of Sabin and Ella (Le Blanc)
Savoie, both of whom are now deceased.  He was a sugar planter.
Mrs. Gilbert attended Nazareth Academy, Bardstown, Kentucky.  Senator
and Mrs. Gilbert have had the following children born to them: Eloise,
who married Risley C. Triche, a planter and merchant of Napoleonville;
Thomas Bryan, who was a musician in the United States service during
the World war, serving for eighteen months in France, and with the
Army of Occupation in Germany for four mouths, and is now in Cuba,
where he is employed as a sugar chemist, but he resides at
Napoleonville; Camille, who is unmarried and resides at home; Savoie
S., who is a surveyor, and resides with his parents; Philip H., who is
a student in the University of Louisiana, taking the academic course;
Edna, who is a student of the Louisiana State Normal School at
Natchitoches; and Laurence and Leroy Percy both of whom are students
of the Napoleonville High School.

A History of Louisiana, (vol. 2), pp. 326-327, by Henry E. Chambers.
Published by The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New
York, 1925.