Biography of 	Capdevielle, Paul Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by 	Mike Miller March 1998

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Capdevielle, Paul.--One of the most distinguished citizens of Louisiana is
Hon. Paul Capdevielle, of New Orleans, in which city he was born and
reared, and where he has always resided.  The date of his birth was
recorded Jan. 15, 1842, and he is of French lineage.  His parents were
Augustin and Virginia (Bertrand) Capdevielle.  His father came from his
native land, France, to New Orleans, when he was a young man, at the age of
18, in the year 1825, and in that city became a merchant of prominence.
For many years Augustin Capdevielle held conspicuous place among the
leading business men and citizens of New Orleans.  During the
administrations of Presidents Pierce and Buchanan he held the position of
appraiser general of customs at New Orleans.  He died in 1876, at the age
of 69 years.  In 1836 he married in New Orleans, Virginia Bertrand, who was
born in that city.  She died in 1892.  She bore her husband 3 sons and 2
daughters.  They were Dr. Auguste Capdevielle; Paul Capdevielle; Marie;
Virginia, who married Theodore Buddecke; Armand Capdevielle, who was one of
the proprietors and the editor of the well-known French newspaper, The Bee,
of New Orleans.

Hon. Paul Capdevielle was educated at the Jesuits' college, New Orleans,
whence he was graduated in 1861.  In Nov., 1861, he became a member of the
New Orleans guard regiment of infantry, and in 1862 he joined Boone's
Louisiana battery.  He was captured July 9, 1863, at Port Hudson.  Very
soon afterward he was paroled, and later on joined Legardeur's battery, and
served the Confederacy till the close of the war, when he was paroled, May
2, 1865, at Greensboro, N. C.  He walked in return to his home, and there
took up again the life of the civilian by applying himself to the first
offered employment.  Diligently employing his time and energies and
meanwhile took up the study of law.  April 8, 1868, Mr. Capdevielle
graduated in law from the Tulane university, and thereafter, until 1892, he
was actively and successfully engaged in the practice of law at New
Orleans.  He rose rapidly in his profession and in the business life and
public affairs in New Orleans.  In 1892 he gave up the practice of law to
devote his time to increasing business affairs, especially to his duties as
president of the Merchants' Insurance Co., which did a very large business
for a number of years, but was finally sold and liquidated.  He was its
president for 13 years.  In 1877 Mr. Capdevielle was appointed, by Gov.
Nicholls, a member of the state school board, and while he was a member of
this board the entire school system of the state was organized along lines
of effectual work.  Subsequently Mr. Capdevielle was appointed a member of
the New Orleans levee board.  In 1899 he was elected mayor of New Orleans.
This position he held for 5 years, expiring in December of 1904.  As mayor
he was one of the most popular officials who had ever filled that exalted
and responsible position.  His administration marked an important epoch in
the municipal history of New Orleans.  Aside from labor and other troubles,
which were satisfactorily adjusted, there devolved upon Mayor Capdevielle
the difficult task of steering the drainage and sewerage and water system
of the city through their most important constructive planning, which was
performed with conservative and business like direction.  He broke the
ground for the first excavations for the sewerage and drainage system of
the city.  But there were many other important municipal affairs which
arose during his administration.  Among these were the river front and belt
railroad conservations, and all were handled in sagacious manner.  While he
was mayor he publicly received President McKinley when the president
visited the city at the time of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of
the Louisiana purchase.

In Nov., 1904, Mr. Capdevielle was appointed, by Gov. Blanchard, auditor of
public accounts of the state of Louisiana, and in 1908 he was elected to
succeed himself in this office, and again in 1912.  He is now serving his
third term in this position, in which he has distinguished himself for
careful and painstaking attention to the affairs of the state.

Mr. Capdevielle was decorated, in 1902, by the French government, with the
Cross of the Legion of Honor, and in the same year another high honor came
to him, when King Oscar of Norway and Sweden decorated him, as one of a
very limited few, with the Cross of Commander of the Order of Saint Olaff,
a distinction rarely accorded an American citizen.  Upon him was conferred,
by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Cross of Honor, and in 1904
the St. Louis university conferred upon him the degree of LL. D.  Mr.
Capdevielle is a devout Christian.  His religious faith is that of the
Roman Catholic church.  He is a member of the St. Vincent de Paul society,
of the Sodality of the Virgin, of the Knights of Columbus, of the
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, and other fraternal organizations.
He was at one time president of the Pickwick club.  In 1878 he married
Marie Emma Larue, and they are the parents of the following children:
Paul, Auguste, Yvonne, Christian, Edith and James.  

Source:  Louisiana:  Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events,
Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), pp.
87-89.  Edited by Alcee Fortier, Lit.D.  Published in 1914, by Century
Historical Association.

Note:  Original Sourcebook has a photograph of Mr. Capdevielle in advanced
age.