Farquard P. Guidry, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana Submitted by Mike Miller ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** ************************************************ Farquard P. Guidry. One of the most important and profitable industries that engage capital, demand astute business management and afford employment for thousands in Southern Louisiana is the production of sugar, and nature has been kind to Terrebonne County in giving this section the loamy soil most favorable for the growing of sugar cane. One of the most important enterprises in this line in this section is the Terrebonne Sugar Company, the able and experienced secretary and treasurer of which is Farquard P. Guidry, a prominent citizen of Bourg, Louisiana, who is also second vice president of the Bank of Terrebonne & Savings Bank of Houma. Farquard P. Guidry was born at Bourg, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, November 20, 1871, son of Ernest Louis and Lucy (Champagne) Guidry, and a grandson of Jerome Guidr y. The grandfather spent the greater part of his long life in Terrebonne Parish, where he owned and for many years operated flatboats and also followed the carpenter trade. He married a member of the Arcemond family of this parish and they lived and reared their families in the Roman Catholic faith,. Jerome Guidry died at Houma in 1878. Ernest Louis Guidry was born in Terrebonne Parish, in 1843, and practically spent his life here, although he died, in 1918, in New Orleans. A mechanical engineer by trade, he was interested to some extent in the flatboating business and also for a the was a farmer near Bourg. When but sixteen years of age he enlisted in the Confederate army, and served throughout the war. A man of sterling character, he was always held in respect by his fellow citizens and for a number of years served in the office of justice of the peace. He married Miss Lucy Champagne, who was born in 1848, in Bayou Lafourche, near Lafourche Crossing, Lafourche Parish, and died at Bourg in 1902. They were members of the Roman Catholic Church and he belonged to the Catholic Benefit Association. They became the parents of the following children: Augusta, who died at Bayou Lafourche at the age of forty-five years, the wife of the late Eugene Dupuy, formerly a large lumber dealer; Ida, who resides at A bbeville, Louisiana, the widow of Franklin E. Chauvin, who was in the meat business at Bayou Little Caillou; Farquard P.; Johnnie L., who assists his older brother on the sugar plantations; and Isaac, who is a farmer near Bourg. Farquard P. Guidry attended school at Bourg, Louisiana, until he was sixteen years of age, and then assisted his father on the farm and practically had charge of it until he was twenty-six years old. He there embarked in lumber manufacturing at Bourg, and so continued until 1917, when he retired in order to give more attention to his banking and sugar interests, with which he hail been identified for some years. In 1912 Mr. Guidry became secretary and treasurer of the Terrebonne Sugar Company, in which relation he has continued ever since. This well organized company owns and operates the Sara Plantation, situated sixteen miles south of Houma, where there are 750 acres under cultivation; the Lache Plantation, situated seventeen miles south of Houma, with 450 acres under cultivation; and the Prequile Plantation, situated six miles south of Houma, with 700 acres under cultivation. This great enterprise, with its modern equipments and scientific refineries, indicates progress and shows able administrative work by its officials, giving another assurance that the cane sugar pro ducers of Louisiana have little to fear in competition with beet sugar producers in other countries. Mr. Guidry has additional business interests, being a director of the Terrebonne Ice Company of Houma, and second vice president of the Bank of Terrebonne & Savings Bank of Houma, an office he has filled since the bank's organization, August 1, 1910. Mr. Guidry married, October 12, 1898, at Bayou Little Caillou, in St. Josephs Church at that place, Miss Grace Chauvin, whose father, the late E. Chauvin, was a substantial farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Guidry have four children: Luby J., who was born July 8, 1900, is foreman of the Arctic Ice Manufacturing Company, Cleveland, Ohio. He was a student in Jefferson College, Convent, Louisiana, during the World war, and was a member of the Students Army Training Corps; Edith, Ray and Loretta are all students in the Houma High School. Mr. Guidry and his family are members of St. Ann Roman Catholic Church at Bourg, and he is a church trustee. The family home is a very fine residence situated on Main Street, Bourg, and he owns also the modern business house which accommodates the leading mercantile establishment of the town, and owns an interest in this enterprise. In political sentiment he is a republican, as was his honored father. Mr. Guidry impresses the stranger as being a capable, frank, outspoken business man of experience, and, like other native sons, proud of Louisiana and hearty in his welcome to the state. He is a member of Bourg Camp No. 714, Woodmen of the World, and of Houma Council No. 1317, Knights of Columbus. During the World war he gave his services freely to the various Patriotic organizations and contributed liberally to all war activities in his parish, in every way setting an example of public spirit and loyal citizenship. A History of Louisiana, (vol. 2), pp. 336-337, by Henry E. Chambers. Published by The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, 1925.