Opelousas Prairie Settlers, St. Landry parish, Louisiana
Submitted by: Debbie Carpenter 


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SOME NOTES ABOUT "PRAIRIE" SETTLERS(Bayou Chicot Area)
SOURCE:OPELOUSAS 1720 - 1970
Opelousas 250th Anniversary Edition
June 1970 Daily World

Editor's Note: Along with the article on cirumstances surrounding the coming
to the "Opelousas Prairie" of Louisiana of a large group of settlers from
around old Fort Pitt (earlier, Fort Ducayne) in Pennsylvania

Having land grants approved in 1811 just before Louisiana became a state.
Having land grants showing on the map as researched in the St. Landry Court
House, St. Landry Church, Lafayette and St. Martinville courthouses.

Bundicks-William, Robert, Phillip (three families) from Connought County,
Ireland.

Corkrans or Cockrans (one became the second wife to Old John McDaniels)

Nathaniel West family (whose land grant was issued to him because his
Grandfather earned it by serving in the American Revolution.)


Joseph LeJeune Family

Mark Lee family of Maryland (earlier of Virginia)

William Tier and John Tier families (also spelled Teer)

Zacharias Martin family (He was Commandante of Poste de Natchitoches:
his sons James and Edward received land at Chicot.)

Christopher Thiel (now Teel) were originally German mercenaries, professional
soldiers, who helped train our young men for the American Revolution.

John Tier's son Ignatius who married a Lee and their sons James and William.

Jacob Bhim (as it was then spelled: now Bihm, mostly) He received a land grant
on Bayou Mallet.

John Hay and Eugenia Jackson, his wife. Later, Gilbert Hay, the father of
John, came on from Williamsburg, VA.  They were saddle makers in Williamsburg.

Left behind in County Claire, Ireland, were old Dennis McDaniel and Marie
Celly or Calais.



The following names were Spanish and intermarried with the Scotch Irish:

Franco Zeidrich and daughter Rosa of Natchitoches Post.

Manuel Quinteras family, whose daughter, Anna, was mother to Joseph Lejeune.

Ysebella Zehr.

John Teer was representative of Abram Martin on Bayou Bouef

The Mather family appears to have come south with others after Fort Ducayne.

Washington Snoddy a near and respected neighbor

Robert McKim an Irishman on Bayou Des Cannes.  He sold his 640 acres to John
McDaniel for fifty dollars and moved elsewhere.

Other Irish having grants were Roger McPike, William McLaughlin and his
brother John, Nicholas Drawyer, Thomas Dunford, John Clark, Gilbert Sweat.