Silvio Broussard, Iberia Parish, Louisiana Submitted by Mike Miller ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Silvio Broussard. After having contributed materially to the growth and development of his part of the state through his work as a builder and engineer of sawmills, electric light plants and other concomitants of progress and public utility for many years, Silvio Broussard has settled down to life as an official, and during the past eleven years has filled, very acceptably, the post of postmaster of New Iberia. His life has been a full and useful one, and in his career he has gained general confidence and in-many sincere friendships. Mr. Broussard was born at New Iberia, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, January 29, 1868, and is a son of Dominique Ulger and Constance (LeBlanc) Broussard. Both the Broussard and LeBlanc families originated in France, as the names would indicate, and went to Nova Scotia, which had been colonized by French settlers as early as 1604, when the country was known as Acadia. The French were subsequently expelled by settlers from Virginia, who claimed the land by right of discovery, and Nova Scotia was ceded to Great Britain in 1763. With many other French families, the Broussards and LeBlancs made their way to Louisiana, and representatives of the names are to be found in every part of the state. The paternal grandfather of Silvio Broussard, Don Louis Broussard, was born in St. Martin Parish, where he spent his entire life as a successful planter. His son, Dominique Ulger Broussard, was born in 1842, in St. Martin (now Iberia) Parish, and died at New Iberia in 1885. He was reared in what is now Iberia Parish, and while he had few advantages in his youth, managed to secure a good education through self-teaching, much reading and close observation. As a youth he became a clerk of steamboats plying the inland waters, and gradually rose to the dignity of captain, continuing in this line of endeavor until 1865, at which the he engaged in the sawmill business. He owned and operated sawmills at New Iberia, and was the founder of the firm of Broussard, Mistrot & Decuir, which later became Broussard & DeCuir, and was generally recognized as one of the substantial business men of his community, conducting the leading lumber business of the parish. He was likewise prominent in community civic affairs, and was president of the police jury for a number of years, being the incumbent of that position at the time of his demise. It was through his efforts that the modern courthouse at New Iberia, completed in 1884, was built, he having drawn up the plans for this structure, and a marble slab has been placed therein to commemorate his unselfish devotion to the interests of the city and parish. He was a faithful member of St. Peters Roman Catholic Church and of the Societé Bienfaissance. His military record consisted of service throughout the war between the states as a soldier of the Confederacy. Mr. Broussard married Miss Constance LeBlanc, who was born in St. Martin (now Iberia) Parish, and died at New Iberia, and they became the parents of the following children: Henry, who died in childhood; a daughter who died in infancy; Edmond L., who died at New Iberia, aged twenty-three years; Silvio, of this review; Louise, the widow of Capt. Charles June, a Steamboat captain, who died in New Iberia, residing with her brother Silvio; Valerie, who is unmarried and resides with her brother Silvio; Emilie, also unmarried and living with her brother; William A., an employe of the Southern Pacific Railway, residing at New Iberia, Louisiana, supervisor of line construction of the company's telephone and telegraph system; Constance, who is unmarried and resides with her brother Silvio; Walter U., an electrical engineer residing at New Iberia; and Henry J., an automobile dealer of New Iberia. Silvio Broussard attended private schools at New Iberia and Springhill College, Mobile, Alabama, for three years, leaving college in 1885, at which the he became clerk in a sawmill yard. From that time forward he filled every position in the lumber and timber business, from filer, sawyer, etc., right up the line until in 1903 he became manager of a sawmill at Patoutville, Iberia Parish. In the meantime, as early as 1888, he had erected a sawmill at New Iberia, in which he was foreman for one year, and in the early '90s bought the electric light plant at this place, which he operated until 1900, when he sold it to the city. He remained at Patoutville, as manager of the mill which he had erected, until 1904, when he became a traveling salesman for the mill supplies firm of Gibbens & Stream of New Iberia, but resigned at the end of one and one-half years to become manager of the Lake Oil Company, in the oil field of St. Martin Parish, retaining this position two years. His next work was the erection of a sugar refinery at Loreauville, Louisiana, namely the Maria Sugar Factory, of which he was chief engineer for one year. He was next chief engineer of the Southwestern Traction and Power Company, near New Iberia, for two years, after having installed the machinery for this company. In January 1, 1914, Mr. Broussard was appointed postmaster of New Iberia, by President Wilson, under whose two administrations he served, as well as under Presidents Harding and Coolidge. He has discharged his duties in an entirely competent and expeditious manner, and has given the people of the community expeditious and accurate service. Mr. Broussard is a democrat in his political allegiance, and his religious Connection is with St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church. He is unmarried and lives with his four sisters in a comfortable residence situated at 436 West Main Street, on a lot 100 by 200 feet, the home being surrounded by a well-kept lawn. A History of Louisiana, (vol. 2), p. 289, by Henry E. Chambers. Published by The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, 1925.