Francois Gabriel Aime (abt. 1798 - 1867)

Born about 1798 in St. Charles, Louisiana, New Spain

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1 Jan 1867 at about age 69 in St. James Plantation, St. James, Louisiana, United States

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Biography

Valcour Aime is Notable.

Valcour Aime has French origins.

Francois Gabriel "Valcour" Aime was born in 1797 or '98 at Aime Plantation in St. Charles, Louisiana, New Spain, a son of first-generation Louisianans Francois Gabriel Aime (1768 - 1799) and Marie Félicité Julie Fortier (1780 - 1806). Named for his father, who died when Valcour was very young, his nurse called him "Valcour," and the name stayed with him.^[1][2]

His known siblings were:

1. Michel Aime (1795 - 1860)

In the War of 1812, both he and his brother served as privates in Captain Trudeau's Troop of Horse in the Louisiana Militia.^[3]

A few years after the war, Francois Valcour married Josephine Roman (1797 - 1856) in 1819.^[1]

Their known children were:

1. Marie Edwige (Aime) Fortier (1819 - 1860)
2. Joséphine Aime (1821 - )
3. Félicité Emma (Aime) Fortier (1823 - 1905)
4. Félicie (Aime) Roman (1825 - 1859)
5. Gabriel Aime (1826 - 1854)

He inherited a small fortune and a share of his father's plantation when he came of age; he sold his share and bought several plantations, most notably the St. James Plantation, also known as the St. James Sugar Refinery, and Oak Alley. Twenty years after his marriage, he obtained his wife's childhood home, and rebuilt with slave labor a new grand mansion on the property, with fabulous, renowned gardens called le Petite Versailles. Initially called Bon Séjour, the plantation became known as Oak Alley Plantation.^[1]

Slaves

Over his lifetime, this man who lived the life of a "feudal lord" came to own 233 slaves, whose births and assignments he documented in his plantation diary, along with their cause of death and purported value.^[4]

In 1850, Valcour Aimee owned 231 slaves.^[5] See Oak Alley Slavery Database.

Francois Valcour died on 31 December 1867 at St. James Plantation in St. James, Louisiana, aged about 69. Valcour Aime's and his wife's remains were moved to St Louis Cemetery No. 3 in New Orleans, Louisiana, along with his wife's brother, Governor André Bienvenue Roman.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Wikipedia contributors, "Valcour Aime," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Valcour_Aime&oldid=1092972812 (accessed January 11, 2023).
2. ↑ "Louisiana's Golden Age: Valcour Aime in St. James Parish," Lousiana History, Vol.10, No. 3, (https://login.aclibproxy.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4231074 accessed January 18, 2023), (Lousiana Historical Association: Summer, 1969) pp. 211-24.
3. ↑ Index to Louisiana Soldiers During the War of 1812, http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/state/military/war1812/index.txt, compiled by John Bennett Pierson (Louisiana Genealogical and Historical Society).
4. ↑ Wikipedia, citing Valcour Aime, Plantation diary of the late Mr. Valcour Aime: formerly proprietor of the plantation known as the St. James sugar refinery, situated in the parish of St. James, and now owned by Mr. John Burnside, (New Orleans, LA: Clark & Hofeline, 1878), pdf available for download at https://www.loc.gov/item/46029052/.
5. ↑ "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVZJ-26X : 7 November 2014), Valcour Aime, St. James parish, St. James, Louisiana, United States; citing line number 1, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 443489.
6. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6679407/fran%C3%A7oi%CC%87s-gabriel-aime: accessed 11 January 2023), memorial page for Françoi̇s Gabriel “Valcour” Aime (1798–1 Jan 1867), Find A Grave: Memorial #6679407, citing Saint Louis Cemetery Number 3, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by Kris 'Peterborough K' Peterson (contributor 46537737).