PROVOST, Joseph A., Iberia Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by Mike Miller


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JOSEPH A. PROVOST, JEANNERETTE.--Joseph Alcide Provost comes from an old
family.  His paternal grandfather, Nicholas Provost, was born in one of the
English colonies, and emigrated to Louisiana in 1780.  His wife was Mary
Jeanne Provost, a native of San Domingo, where they were married.  To them ten
children were born, one of whom, Ursin Provost, married Julia Prevost, a
native of Louisiana.  They became the parents of two sons and three daughters: 
Nicholas L.,  Coralie:,  Philenie,  Ursin and  Antoinette.  Ursin married
Josephine Bodin, a native of St. Mary parish.  To them were born a daughter
and two sons,  Joseph A. being the oldest.

The subject of this sketch was born June 6, 1847, in what is now the parish of
Iberia, then a part of St. Mary.  Here he was reared and educated.  In 1865 he
entered the army, enlisting in Company I, Third Louisiana Cavalry, Lidell's
Brigade.  After the war, Mr. Provost began cotton planting, under the
direction of his stepfather, and during the time attended night school, where
he completed his education.  He continued with his stepfather until 1867, when
on November 26, 1868, he married Emily Druilhet, daughter of Alfred and
Celestine (Poche) Druilliet, of St. James parish.  She died the year following
her marriage, July 26, 1869.  After his marriage, Mr. Provost gave his
attention to sugar raising.  Beginning, in 1871, with only sixty-three acres
of land, and that heavily timbered, he, with his own hands, commenced the work
of preparing his place for cultivation.  In 1872, with the aid of his younger
brother, he made his first crop of cane, and to such good purpose had he
labored that his net profit was over twelve hundred dollars.

February 29, 1872, Mr. Provost married Eleanor Lyon, daughter of Joseph and
Hortense (Hebert) Lyon.  In 1873 he purchased one hundred acres of land, and
upon this raised a crop of cane.  The second year, with the aid of two
workmen, he raised a sufficient amount of cane to net him eighteen hundred
dollars.  Since that time he has constantly improved his plantation, clearing
out more land and erecting new buildings.  In 1875 he erected a large sugar
house on his plantation.  Since that time he has been uniformly successful. 
In 1888 he made many improvements in his sugar house, and manufactured four
hundred and ninety thousand pounds of sugar, from which he cleared sixteen
thousand dollars.  Mr. Provost now owns five hundred and fifty acres, of which
he cultivates three hundred and fifty.  His crop this year will amount to
about seven hundred thousand pounds.  Mr. Provost contemplates during the next
year adding a refining apparatus to his already very complete plant.  He takes
a just pride in what he has accomplished, and Right Way plantation stands an
illustration of how an indomitable will may achieve success.  In 1884 Mr.
Provost first employed an overseer, having personally supervised his
plantation prior to this time.  He still assumes general control, and to this
ascribes the fact of his unvarying success in sugar planting.  Mr. Provost
first took an active part in politics in 1869.  In 1874 he was elected justice
of the peace, and in 1877 was appointed Police Juror, succeeding himself in
office for three consecutive times.  He resigned in 1884 to become candidate
to the State Legislature, to which he was elected by an overwhelming majority. 
He is the first Democrat elected to that office from his district since the
reconstruction period.  The popularity of his service is evinced in that his
constituents, in 1888, reëlected him by a majority of fifteen hundred.  Mr.
Provost is the unrelenting foe of monopolists, and in the session of 1890 used
all his influence against the rechartering of the Louisiana State Lottery.  He
is the author of several bills tending to the promotion of the general good,
notably the bill amending the laws regarding the adulteration of sugar and
molasses, the bill for draining the low lands of Iberia, known as the Grand
Marais, and the bill amending the law to more fully protect the fish in the
rivers and lakes.

Mr. Provost resides in the town of Jeannerette, of which place he has twice
served as mayor, refusing a third term in 1886, to accept the office of
councilman.  He was reëlected in 1888.  He is also a member of the board of
commissioners of the Atchafalaya basin levee district.  Mr. Provost's wife
died September 29, 1886, having become the mother of seven children:  Emily
Antoinette,  Hortense Louise,  Antoinette Julia,  Rita Marie,  Joseph Alcide,
Jr.,  Albert Sidney and  Horatio Leo, the fourth and last having died in
infancy.

Southwest Louisiana Biographical and Historical, Biographical Section, pp.
127-129.  Edited by William Henry Perrin.  Published in 1891, by The Gulf
Publishing Company.