628-632 Dumaine St.

"Madame John's Legacy:

Madame John's Legacy, located at 632 Dumaine Street, one of eight buildings in the Louisiana State Museum Complex, has been designated a National Historic Landmark."

Madame John's Legacy

Madame John's Legacy is one of the most architecturally significant houses in New Orleans and it is one of the few surviving examples of this type [of] residence built during the French Colonial period. Although built during the Spanish regime, it is in the French style built for a Spanish officer by an American builder.

Nothing in the Quarter resembles it today, yet once there were many houses of this type in the older parts of town. Early maps like the Gonichon indicated, by roof lines, that such dwellings dotted the area by 1731. Indeed, on this plot of ground, measuring 60' by 120' F.M. at the corner of Royal and Dumaine Streets, the Gonichon Map features just such a house and of about the same proportions. Yet it is doubtful that this is the same structure; for the house drawn on this map was closer to Royal Street and was set deeper in the lot. Flanking it on either side was a smaller building, one located precisely at the corner - as appeared on the earlier maps - and another equidistant from the house on the farther property line. The de La Tour Map of 1722 and the Broutin Map of 1728 do not indicate that a big house had yet been built on this lot. Yet by 1731 the Gonichon Map shows a house is here. One can conclude then that a larger dwelling was built here sometime between 1728 and 1731.

Madame John's Legacy was one of the first houses to be rebuilt after the fire of 1788. A contract for its construction was signed in 1788 by its owner, Don Manuel de Lanzos, a Spanish officer, and Robert Jones, an American builder who had come into the Spanish province from the new United States a year or two before. Its style, however, is exactly the same as had been used before by the French. The basement walls, built above the ground level, are of solid brick, but the upper story is of brick between posts covered on the outside with wide, beaded, horizontal boards. The details of its doors, windows, shutters and hardware are quite similar to those of the Usuline Convent, but slightly finer in scale. The frames of the openings are formed from the structural timbers of the wall, with a plan board forming the simplest type of exterior casing, finished flush with the beaded siding of the wall, the heads cut in the form of a low segmented arch. The windows do not have transoms. The roof framing consists of tr[i]angular roof trusses resting directly on the main exterior walls of the house with additional rafters, having a lower pitch, extending the roof out over the galleries in front and rear, resulting in a double-pitch in the hipped roof, a characteristic roof form of the colonial period. This form appears in Broutin's design of a proposed Intendance in 1749, and had probably developed when galleries were added to French colonial buildings like the house of the Directors of the Company of the Indies before 1730.

The building is completely documented from original land grants including a building contract of 1788 and inventories of 1812 and 1819. Maps, census data, the report of an Indian massacre at the Natchez Post, a marriage contract, letters granting power of attorney, and two mortgages serve as a record of the this property from 1722 to the 1770s. During this entire time, it was in the possession of one woman, Elizabeth Real, the wife of Captain Jean Pascal, from Provence, to whom the land had been granted by 1728.

After M[adam]e. Pascal-Martin, the ownership of the property was as follows:

1777: 1. Don Francisco Gaudeau, 2nd Lt. in Battalion of L[ouisiana]
1777: 2. Santiago Lemelle
1778: 3. Rene Beluche, sea captain
1788: 4. Manuel de Lanzos, Captain of the Fixed Regiment
1813: 5. Dominique Seghers, well known attorney
1813: 6. Maurice Prevost
1813: 7. Marie Louise Patin Roman, widow of Jacques Etienne Roman
1831: 8. Sosthène Roman, youngest son of Marie Louise Roman
1836: 9. Barthelemy Jourdain
1836: 10. Jean Martial Dupierris
1836: 11. Monette Trudeau Kerr, daughter of prominent Trudeau family and wife of well-known physician
1836: 12. William C.C. Claiborne, II, son of famous statesman
1925. 13. Mrs. Isaac Ivan Lemann, donor of building to Louisiana State Museum

Madame John's Legacy received its name from a reference in one of George Washington Cable's creole stories, Tite Poulette.

Madame John's, a National Historic monument is now on the National Registry. For a year plans towards securing restoration funds have been sought. The Louisiana State Museum Board, Mrs. Peggy Richards, Museum Director and the Friends of the Cabildo as a member of the Louisiana Council fo the Vieux Carre (26 organization conglomerate) have laid the ground work for a matching funds application to HUD. Within the next few weeks this application will be on file.

"Vieux Carre Students are Researching, Writing
Biographies of 100 Blocks:

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Scholar-architect-author Sam Wilson Jr., rummaging through a pile of old maps buried in Washington's Library of Congress, spotted something that caught his eye---a folder entitled 'Plan of Nouvelle Orleans.' Opening it, he found a rectangular chart which proved to be the first map ever made of New Orleans."

"Mme. John's Legacy Is Not Oldest Building:

A reader who prefers to be nameless because he doesn't want 'to start any controversy,' has challenged a statement in a recent column that the Ursuline Convent on Chartres [S]t. is 'the oldest building in the Mississippi Valley.'"

628-632 Dumaine Street
Mme. John's Legacy

Erected: 1788
Architect: unknown
Builder: Roberto Jones

This is the oldest and one of the most important dwellings in the Vieux Carre---and in fact, in the entire Mississippi Valley. The date of its building has been widely debated, but its type is pure Creole colonial of the earliest vintage.

Known by the fictional name of Mme. John's Legacy, this house has a history to match its architectural importance. Its name came from the story-teller, George Washington Cable, and while the tale of Mme. John---the pretty quadroon who inherited and lost this home of her patron and protector---is colorful, it bears no relationship to the true story of this house and the fabled people who lived here. These ancient walls have echoed to the family affairs of some of the most distinguished Creoles in this community.

Nothing in the Quarter looks quite like this today, yet once there were many houses of this type in the older parts of town. Built up on a brick wall, like a raised cottage, this house is of brick-between-posts---the local version of the half-timber house of Europe. Sheathing this friable surface is sturdy ship-lap siding.

The steep roof is hipped all around, with that peculiar pitch seen only on eighteenth-century buildings and now chiefly in the country. Its line descends swiftly from the ridgepole, [and] then it kicks out at a slower angled until it extends over the entire gallery below. This broad gallery, appearing here on the front and rear, is enclosed by a wooden railing with wooden colonettes and balusters. The rather small windows are many-paned with broad muntins to hold the glazing, and all are finished with heavy batten shutters.

This is the kind of house that prospering colonists built after they progressed from the first rude little cabin-type dwellings. It was up off the ground and safe from frequent floodings. The broad galleries gave protection from sun and rain. It was snug with its thick walls, shuttered windows, and the enclosed basement area. And it was spacious enough to permit a comfortable, even luxurious way of life. While this is not a building of particular refinement of detail, the roof line has an elegant sweep, there is an air of amplitude and hospitality, a certain grace and charm that give distinction. This is folklore architecture of a degree of sophistication that bespeaks the end, rather than the beginning of a phase.

Early maps like the Gonichon indicate, by roof lines, that such dwellings dotted the area by 1731. Indeed, on this plot of ground, measuring 60' by 120' F.M. at the corner of Royal and Dumaine Streets, the Gonichon Map features just such a house and of about the same proportions. Yet it is doubtful that this is the same structure; for the house drawn on this map was closer to Royal Street and was set deeper in the lot. Flanking it on either side was a smaller building, one located precisely at the corner---as appeared on the earlier maps---and another equidistant from the house on the farther property line. The de La Tour Map of 1722 and the Broutin Map of 1728 do not indicate that a big house had yet been built on this lot. Yet by 1731 the Gonichon Map shows a house is here. One can conclude then that a larger dwelling was built here sometime between 1728 and 1731.

Few properties in the Vieux Carre are as well documented as this. The record of its ownership descends in a clear true line. To whom this land was given when the engineer de Pauger laid out the town in 1721 is not clear. Perhaps to no one. But by 1728 the Broutin Map lists Pascal at this site. Since Jean Pascal was a ship's captain for the Company of the Indies, and the development company passed out parcels of land like this freely to its own people, he may well have been the original owner of this plot.

Maps, census data, the report of an Indian massacre at the Natchez Post, a marriage contract, letters granting power of attorney, and two mortgages serve as a record of this property from 1722 to the 1770s. During this entire time it was in the possession of one woman.

This woman, Elizabeth Real, was the wife of Captain Jean Pascal, from Provence, to whom the land had been granted by 1728. According to a general census, Jean Pascal was living with his wife and child on Royal Street by 1726. He was killed by Indians [on] November 28, 1729 at Natchez, and his widow later married her next door neighbor, an inn-keeper named Francois Marin. Undoubtedly the house appearing on the Gonichon Map served as an inn for some time. Francois Marin died before 1744, for in a document of that date Mme. Pascal-Marin was again listed as a widow.

Mme. Elizabeth Pascal-Marin was still living and was described as "ill in body because of her great age, but sound in spirit" when she made her will in 1769. In 1771 another will was drawn up for her in which she corroborated her marriages to Jean Pascal and Francois Marin, and mentioned "...I declare for my goods the house of my residence and the other house contiguous to it placed in Dumaine Street and making corner with Royal Street."

Evidently there were two substantial houses on this property by that time, for in 1776, when she sold off the Royal Street corner portion of her plot to Juan Bautista Laporte, she described it as "a house composed of 72' frontage with 227 of width, a little more or less, which house forms a raised pavilion on a brick wall, that comprises one half, and the other half forms a low house, constructed on a plot of 72161, frontage, on 32' of depth, situated at and making the corner of Royal Street and the street of the warehouses...the same belongs to me for having had it constructed." This may have been a completely new house built by Mme. Pascal-Marin, or an extension may have been made to the little corner building appearing on the very earliest maps.

Some time before October 16, 1777 Mme. Elizabeth Real Pascal-Marin died, and the property was inherited by her grandson, Don Francisco Goudeau, 2nd Lieutenant in the Battalion of Louisiana. His father, who had been the King's Surgeon General at the Matchitoches post, had married Marie Pascal, daughter of Elizabeth Real by Jean Pascal. In a short while the grandson sold the property to Santiago Lemelle, and from this point documents on the house and lot are plentiful in the Notarial Archives.

On July 30, 1778 the property was sold once more, this time -to Rene Beluche, a sea captain whose corsair "The Spy" was said to ply the waters around Barataria before the Lafitte brothers began plundering there. At any rate, legend has always said there was pirate treasure stashed away in the cavernous depths under the house, or to be more accurate, under the house that existed originally on this lot. When Captain Beluche bought this house it was described as "a lot of ground with an old house and kitchen."

Mme. Pascal-Marin, it will be remembered, in 1776 sold off the corner lot, measuring F.M. 72'6" on Royal by 32' on Dumaine, to Juan Bautista Laporte. This Laporte was the father-in-law of Captain Rene Beluche, and according to the last will and testament of Mme. Dominica Joly, widow of Laporte, Rene Beluche ceded her 187 along the line that divided their properties as payment for work done by her husband, Laporte, "on the house owned by Beluche which he later sold to Lanzos."

This statement poses a problem. The 18' ceded to Mme. Laporte brings the corner lot up to its present dimensions. However, the original house that appeared on the Gonichon Map lay right athwart this 18'. Beluche would not have ceded land containing a portion of a house; so the old dwelling must have disappeared by this time. Mme. Laporte mentioned that the house her husband helped Beluche with was later sold to Lanzos. Had another house already been built in a different spot on this lot? To confound the problem there is in existence a building contract, dated April 1, 1788, between Manuel de Lanzos and the Master Carpenter, Roberto Jones, for a building that answers the description of the present structure known as Mme. Johns.

This Manuel de Lanzos, Captain of the Fixed Regiment at the Plaza, was a man of consequence who had been considered for the post of civil and military commandant at Mobile. Since it was also mentioned in a dispatch that he suffered from gout, he may have been disqualified, but he was, nonetheless, a man who conducted himself and his military service with valor. In 1783 de Lanzos purchased this property from Rene Beluche. On March 21, 1788 a great fire destroyed much of the Old Square, and according to record this property would have been on the fringe of the fire. At any rate, a few weeks later we find de Lanzos contracting for a new house, and in this document de Lanzos agrees to give Don Roberto Jones "...all the ironwork which he has salvaged from his burned houses."

Certain it is that if de Lanzos did rebuild this house after the fire he did it in the old-fashioned way, undoubtedly rescuing as much as he could from the ruins and recreating the kind of house his family had known before the fire. For twenty-five more years the de Lanzos family enjoyed this house, described in an inventory as "a house of 50' of length by about 50' of width, of six chambers and a small cabinet with gallery in front and rear and three warehouses underneath; a kitchen of two chambers, a small cabinet, latrines, etc."

When de Lanzos died the estate was purchased in 1813 by the well-known attorney, Dominique Seghers who, in addition, bought all the neighboring land from the widow of Don Andres Armesto to make into a spacious garden. Here the Seghers lived with a degree of luxury remarkable for its day. An inventory, made on Mme. Segher's death in 1819, described in detail the contents of this charming home. The great furniture maker, Francois Seignouret, acted as an appraiser, and the list of possessions indicate cultivated people of means.

Among the elegant things listed were porcelain tea sets, gilded pier glass mirrors, a piano-forte, French clocks, sofas, tables, and chairs, a tea table, a Chinese laquer gaming box, armoirs and vast canopied beds. Each room was inventoried giving a picture of comfort and convenience scarcely expected at this time.

Clothes listed in the armoir[e]s are fine and fashionable, including corsets and silk stockings, dozens of linen handkerchiefs, cartons of laces, kid gloves, shoes and dresses aplenty. Household furnishings include fine draperies, damask tablecloths and dozens of napkins, trimmed pillow cases and sheets. There were musical instruments, backgammon sets, matched liqueur bottles, cases of French soap, hogsheads and cases of fine wines.

But the ultimate in elegance lay in Mme's jewel box. Here was a gold comb set in diamonds valued at $2,500; a crescent shaped pin with diamonds valued at $1,800; a necklace of fine pearls with a plate of diamonds mounted in openwork at $1,200; pearl and diamond bracelets, diamond earrings, diamond rings and medallions---the whole valued at $6,690.

Not to be outdone by the splendor of Mme's jewel box, the library of Dominique Seghers was remarkable for its day. The inventory lists around 1,250 volumes to say nothing of pamphlets, charts, maps, etc. Contained here was an excellent law library as well as an erudite collection of other books bespeaking a man whose interests ranged far and wide.

In this inventory a description of the house is given as "a principal house composed of six large apartments, galleries front and rear, and an uncovered gallery on the South side giving on the garden with two closets on the rear gallery; an attic which extends over the whole house, and a store under the house; plus a kitchen in the yard with a chamber adjoining and a gallery; plus in the back yard a wooden building serving as a wash house, and which principal house is built of colombage as well as the kitchen building." From the inventoried contents of each room it is possible to reconstruct this house as it was in 1819, with a parlor, library, and bedroom on the front gallery, and a dining room and two other bedrooms off the rear gallery.

It is a sad commentary on all this pleasant living that, within a year after Mme's death, Dominique Seghers lost his property, and it was picked up in a sheriff's sale by Maurice Prevost. Two months later it was bought as a townhouse by Mme. Marie Louise Patin Roman, widow of Jacques Etienne Roman, early cattle rancher from the Opelousas country who also owned a big sugar plantation in St. James Parish. Mme's oldest children were already grown, but undoubtedly these halls saw their frequent visits, and the younger ones were reared here. One son, Andre Bienvenue Roman, served twice as Governor of Louisiana. Another, Jacques Telesphore Roman, married the daughter of a neighbor, Joseph Pilie, who lived around the corner. It was for Marie Therese Celina Josephine Pilie that he built the beautiful Oak Alley Plantation house. The only daughter of Mme. Roman, Josephine, married Valcour Aime, who owned the princely plantation, Le Petit Trianon.

Here Mme. Roman lived until her death in 1831 when the property was inherited by her youngest son, Sosthene Roman. In 1836 it was sold to Barthelemy Jourdain who owned other property in the square, and when he suffered reversals it was picked up by Jean Martial Dupierris. Three years later Mrs. Manette Trudeau Kerr, daughter of the prominent Trudeau family and wife of the well-known doctor, Josias Elliott Kerr, bought the old house, and shortly afterwards it was purchased by William C. C. Claiborne, II, son of the famous statesman. This property remained in Claiborne hands until 1892, growing more legendary with the passing years.


In 1925 it was acquired by Mrs. Isaac Ivan Lemann, who with wisdom and generosity gave this venerable building to the Louisiana State Museum to be cherished, protected and enjoyed by all the people.

"Restoration Funds Cut:
'Legacy' Dwelling Doom Is Feared:

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'Closed for Restoration' announces the sign in front of Madame John's Legacy, historic French Quarter home whose origin dates back almost to the beginning of New Orleans."

"Historic 'Legacy' House Feared Doomed:
Restoration Funds Are Lopped Off:

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'Closed for Restoration' announces the sign in front of Madame John's Legacy, historic French Quarter home whose origin dates back almost to the beginning of New Orleans.

But chances that such restoration actually will come about seem slim at the moment."

"'Will Be Restored':
Quarter Landmark Safe, Dupuy Vows:

City Councilman Clarence O. Dupuy vowed today that Madame John's Legacy, legendary French Quarter dwelling, 'is not doomed and most definitely will be restored.'"

"Old Home Lacks Repair Funds:
Madame John's Legacy Not in Allocation:

The sign on Madame John's Legacy, the historic French Quarter home whose origin dates back to almost the beginning of New Orleans, says 'Closed for restoration'---but there are no funds to restore it."

"'Mme. John's Legacy' dates from 1788:
House needs preservation:

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When New Orleans was a young town there was a curious kind of raised dwelling in the islets that has all but disappeared by now. Only two remain in the Vieux Carre---the best known being the house at 628-632 Dumaine called 'Mme. John's Legacy.'"

"Madame John's Legacy, a raised-cottage example of the usually rural single-story cottage abuts its urban neighbor - the two and three-storied house, complete with balcony, single gables and jalousies."

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"'Legacy' falling apart:

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A national heritage, a building which could rank among the nation's showplaces, lies in disrespect and neglect, rotting in the 600 block of Dumaine.

The building, known as Madame John's Legacy, 632 Dumaine, is owned by the State of Louisiana."

"Seek Funds to Restore Historic Quarter Home:

Gov. John J. McKeithen has agreed to meet with a group of New Orleans civic leaders to consider a request for emergency funds to restore the historic Madame John's Legacy, 632 Dumaine St."

"Madame John's Legacy
632 Dumaine St., New Orleans, La.

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Built in 1722 and rebuilt after the fire of 1788 this state property is one of the most architecturally and historically important Colonial structures in the entire State of Louisiana."

"4 Buildings in French Quarter Designated U.S. Landmarks:

Four French Quarter buildings and two Louisiana plantations have been designated national historical landmarks by Interior Secretary Walter J. Hickel....[t]hese locations are:

...Madame John's Legacy, 632 Dumaine, was originally built about 1722. The building is described as an outstanding example of a French Colonial town house of the 'raised cottage' type."

"Committee Seeks Funds for 'Legacy' Restoration:
$300,000 is Needed for Quarter Building:

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Madame John may get her 'legacy' back, intact.

This time it would be a present from Uncle Sam."

"Urgent Request:

Madame John's Legacy---an irreplaceable Louisiana Landmark---needs your help....[a] bill in the state legislature's present fiscal session will provide funds for restoration. Since the building is state-owned, statewide support is needed."

[Louisiana Council for the Vieux Carre]

"Madame John's Legacy Restoration Plan Pushed:
Museum Board Tells of Extensive Campaign:

The extensive campaign to get the public and legislators to support the restoration of Madame John's Legacy was reported at a meeting of the board of the Louisiana State Museum Wednesday."

Letter to the Editor: "Help Madame John's:

This is an appeal from the Louisiana Council for the Vieux Carre...for help in preserving Madame John's Legacy, the oldest residence in the Mississippi Valley."

"Historic House Needs Rescue:

For the fifth time in as many years the Legislature is being asked to rescue the 18th-Century Madame John's Legacy from imminent collapse and consequent possible disappearance."

"Madame John: her Legacy is intact:

One of New Orleans' most previous landmarks has been saved.

It is best known, romantically, as Madame John's Legacy, located a half-block off Royal street at 632 Dumaine."

"Exploratory Excavation Started at Quarter Site:
Madame John's Legacy to Give Up Secrets?:

The mysterious Madame John's Legacy, reportedly the oldest residence in the Mississippi Valley, may soon be giving up some of its long-held secrets."

"'Trash' Studied:
Madame John's Legacy Sought:

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....Dr. [J. Richard] Shenkel, assistant professor anthropology at Louisiana State University in New Orleans four LSUNO students have begun an archeological study of Madame John's, one of the oldest buildings in the Mississippi Valley."

"Diligently Digging in Madame John's Dirt:

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Discussing their project in the patio of historic Madame John's Legacy in the French Quarter Friday are participants in an archeological survey prior to restoration of the house."

"Work on Legacy to Labouisse:
Is Named by Museum Unit to Replace Others:

Architect Monroe Labouisse, Jr. was named Tuesday by the Louisiana State Museum Board to replace two other architects for the restoration of the historic Madame John's Legacy."