Biography of 	BURTHE, J. Leo, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by 	Mike Miller August 1998

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Burthe, J. Leo, M. D., 5133 St. Charles avenue, New Orleans, was born 
at New Orleans, La., Dec. 22, 1875, son of L. Andre and Nathalie 
(Chalard) Burthe, both of whom were horn in New Orleans, the father 
March 22, 1844, and the mother July 7, 1854.  Gen. Andre Burthe 
participated in the Napoleonic campaigns, and, following these, for 
gallant conduct, loyalty, and conspicuous bravery, was decorated with 
the Cross of the Legion of Honor, the Grand Cross, and the Iron Cross.  
He also served as a member of the commission entrusted with arranging 
the details of the Louisiana Purchase.  The paternal great-grandfather, 
D. F. Burthe, took part in the French revolution, at which time he held 
a lieutenant's commission.  The paternal grandfather, Victor Burthe, 
was born in Paris, France, and was decorated with the ''Croix de 
Juillet,'' for leading law school students in the coup d'etat of Louis 
Phillipe of France.  After having come to the United States and located 
at New Orleans, he was no less active in his services to the public 
than he previously had been in the land of his birth.  During the Civil 
war he served as a captain of the Orleans Guard, a body of men to whom 
fell the duty of protecting property and the homes and lives of the 
people of New Orleans during the troublous times of civil strife that 
afflicted the American Republic throughout 4 harrowing years.

After the war he occupied the bench, as a judge of district court. In 
his social connections he served as president of the Boston club.  L. 
Andre Burthe, though born in New Orleans, was educated chiefly in 
France, where he attended the Saint Cyr Military school, from which he 
graduated, and afterward served in the French army, holding the rank of 
lieutenant.  He was with his command and participated in the Mexican 
campaign.  Later he returned to fire United States and, like his 
eminent father, bore a prominent part in public affairs throughout the 
remainder of an unusually active and highly useful life.  He died in 
New York in the year 1893, but is survived by his wife, who is at this 
time residing in New Orleans.  She is descended from a prominent family 
of French and Spanish origin.  Dr. J. Leo Burthe, the subject of this 
sketch, was the first of 2 sons born to his parents, his younger 
brother being Charles A. Burthe, elsewhere referred to in this work, 
now a stockholder in the wholesale grocery firm of H. T. Cottam & Co.,
 Ltd., New Orleans, and prominently identified with the management of 
that large business.  The elder of the brothers received a finished 
academic education, and following this was afforded every advantage in 
acquiring his professional education, after completing which, with the 
degree of M. D., he began medical practice in the city of New Orleans, 
where he has remained in practice since, and with largely gratifying 
results, now occupying a most prominent position in the profession.  
Dr. Burthe is a member of the Catholic church and is affiliated with 
the democratic party, taking an active part in both these connections.  
He also is a member of various fraternal organizations, and 
participates in the proceedings and deliberations of all associated 
bodies within his professional field.  Among these may be mentioned the 
American Medical, Orleans Parish Medical, Southern Surgical and 
Gynecological, and the Louisiana State Medical associations; also, the 
Boston club, the Round Table club, and the Alumni association of the 
University of New York.  Jan. 4, 1898, Dr. Burthe was married to Miss 
Rosa G. Cottam, a daughter of H. T. and Rosa (Glennon) Cottam, of New 
Orleans.  Mrs. Burthe's father was president of the well-known 
wholesale grocery firm of H. T. Cottam & Co., Ltd., of New Orleans, a 
large property owner, and numbered among the most prominent of the 
city's active business men.

Source:  Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events,
Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form, volume 3,
pp. 749-750.  Edited by Alc e Fortier, Lit. D.  Published in 1914, by 
Century Historical Association.