Biography of 	PARDUE, Charles A., Perry County, MS., then Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by 	Mike Miller April 1998

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Pardue, Charles A., general agent Southern Express Co., New Orleans--was 
born in Perry county, state of Mississippi, and is a son of Morris A. and 
Emily (Stevens) Pardue, both of whom were born and reared at the birthplace 
of the son, the father having been one of the early pioneers in that part 
of Mississippi.  He was a large planter, and previous to the time of the 
emancipation owned many slaves. At the beginning of the Civil war he 
volunteered at once and enlisted in the Confederate army, following his 
colors with gallantry throughout the dark days of that great conflict.  
At the close of the war he returned to the supervision of his plantation, 
but the hardships of the life of a Confederate soldier had undermined his 
constitution, and his life ended peacefully in 1866.  His father was a 
native of France, while his mother was born in the state of Georgia, and 
came of an old-settled family of that state.  Charles A. Pardue's maternal 
grandfather was a native of Ohio, and his maternal grandmother, Miss 
Farrell was Irish; the paternal grandfather of English parentage.  Morris 
A., the father, was one of 6 sons and 3 daughters born to his parents. 
 His mother was one of 4 daughters and 6 sons born to her parents.  Her 
family-Stevens--has long been prominent in the state of Mississippi, and 
a representative of the family is at this time judge of the District 
court at Hattiesburg, that state.  Another son of the family married a 
daughter of U. S. Sen. McLaurin, while still another was long a well-known 
jurist.  Only 2 children were born to the parents of Charles A., the other 
being Claria, a sister.  His childhood and youth were passed at the family 
home in Perry county, Miss.  At the close of the Civil war he entered 
Spring Hill college at Mobile, Ala., and there remained until his classical
education had been completed.  In 1869 he entered the service of the 
Southern Express Co., at Mobile, Ala., as a helper in the freight handling 
department, and has continued in the employ of this corporation from the 
latter date to the present time, having, within the span of this unusual 
term of service, occupied practically every position within the range of 
the operations of this extensive business organization.  In 1884 he became 
general agent of the Southern Express Co., at New Orleans, and has remained 
in that position to the present time.  Mr. Pardue is also serving as a 
member of the New Orleans police commission, and has so served for 7 years 
past, having been appointed to that post in 1905 and since reappointed.  
He was elected under the new commission charter of the city in 1912 for a 
term of 4 years.  He is a director in the U. S. Safe Deposit & Trust Co., 
and one of the founders and a director from the beginning of the Bank of 
Orleans.  He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, a Master Mason; Noble 
of the Mystic Shrine, Knight Templar, and affiliates with the carnival 
organizations.  He is also a member of the Royal Host, and secretary-
treasurer of the "Club-on-Wheels," a social organization owning a private 
car that is run on frequent trips over the L. & N. R. R. along the Gulf 
Coast as far as Ocean Springs, Miss.  Mr. Pardue owns a delightful summer 
home at Pass Christian, Miss., where the family spends the summer season.  
Mrs. Pardue died at Pass Christian in 1902.  She was a Miss Sherman, and 
a member of the Sherman family of Ohio.  Mr. and Mrs. Pardue reared 5 
children, 2 sons and 3 daughters, viz.:  Charles A., Jr., now associated 
with his father in the express business;  Sherman P., cashier for the 
United Fruit Co., on the Isthmus of Panama;  Mabel, wife of Oscar Geren, 
secretary-treasurer of the Putnam-Norman Co., of New Orleans;  Frances 
and  Emily.  The two last named daughters are graduates of Nazereth 
academy, near Louisville, Ky., and reside at the family home with their 
father.  Politically, Mr. Pardue has always been identified with the 
regular democratic party.


Source:  Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, 
Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), 
pp. 343-344.  Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D.  Published in 1914, by 
Century Historical Association.