NORMAN, John R., St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana
Submitted for the LA GenWeb Archives by Mike Miller, Nov 1998


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Louisiana:  Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and
Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), pp. 555-556.  Edited by Alcée
Fortier, Lit.D.  Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association.

Norman, John Robert, a planter, was born in St. John the Baptist parish, Aug.
3, 1855, the son of Thomas Henderson Norman, a native of North Carolina, of
Scotch-Irish ancestry, and Elida Meurice (Tregre) Norman, a native of St. John
the Baptist parish, La.  Thomas Henderson Norman was born in 1805 in North
Carolina, near the Virginia line.  Elida Meurice Tregre was the daughter of
Louis and Marie (Charleville) Tregre.  Louis Tregre was a descendant of Andres
Tregre, who came with the early coast settlers to Louisiana.  Mr. & Mrs.
Thomas H. Normand had the following children:   John Robert, the subject of
this sketch:  Marie Louise, now the widow of Charles H. Byrne, and  Thomas
Louis Norman.  John R. Norman spent his youth in St. John the Baptist parish
and in New Orleans, having been reared largely by his grandmother.  He
attended both public and private schools in his youth and afterwards went to
St. Stanislaus college at Bay St. Louis, Miss., for 2 years, after which he
was taught by the celebrated De La Montluzin, who was a very learned man and
kept an excellent school in New Orleans.  This De La Montluzin was formerly a
member of the French academy, but was expelled by Napoleon III for writing in
opposition to him.  John R. Norman spent 2 years in the school of De La
Montluzin, leaving in 1874 to go to work.  He was first employed in the office
of Wallace & Co., a large dry goods house in New Orleans, afterwards going to
Mississippi, where he bought land and remained until 1896, in which year he
removed to Opelousas and purchased a large interest m a cotton seed oil mill
at that place.  In this Mr. Norman continued until 1900, when he removed to
New Orleans, where he has since resided.  Mr. Norman is a member of the
Catholic church.  In 1883 he married Miss Clementina Henderson of New Orleans,
a daughter of William and Philomene (Briant) Henderson.  Philomene Briant was
a granddaughter of Judge Briant of St. Martinville, La., who came to Louisiana
from St. Domingo after the revolution in that island.  Judge Briant before
coming to Louisiana was a captain in the French army and also held a similar
commission under George III.  He was appointed judge for the parish of St.
Mary by Gov. Claiborne, and held this office for some 30 years.  He was also
member of the constitutional convention.  Mr. and Mrs. Norman have the
following children:  Mary Marguerite,  John Robert, Jr.,  Ernest Briant,
Anita Jeane,  William Henderson,  Sylvia Agnes and  Alexander Wilson Norman.
Mr. Norman continues his interest in planting in the parish of Orleans and
conducts a plantation a few miles below Algiers on the Mississippi river.

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