Jean Baptiste Toulme (1790 - 1860)

Born 1790 in St. Domingue

Husband of Victoire Uranie (Saucier) Toulme — married 20 Dec 1820 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Descendants

Died 17 Aug 1860 at about age 70 in Hancock County, MS

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Michelle Ladner [send private message] and Craig Fleener [send private message]

Biography

A native of Bordeaux, France, Jean Baptiste Toulme became a wealthy coffee plantation owner in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. During a native uprising there, Toulme was warned by a faithful servant that the water supply had been poisoned. Toulme and his family, along with the faithful servant, set sail to America and landed in the area of Mobile, AL. The Toulme family moved to this area around 1800, settling in Bay St. Louis, which was then known as Shieldsborough. Toulme soon became one of the areas wealthiest land owners. In 1812 Toulme’s son John B. Toulme became the city’s first merchant and continued his accumulation of his fortune and recognition in the community. As Mayor during the Battle of Bay St. Louis in 1814, John B. Toulme and a group of citizens gathered on the bluff at the foot of what is now Ulman Ave. As they watched one of the British war ships passing on its way to New Orleans, a lady from Natchez shouted, “Will no one fire a shot in defense of our country?” Mayor Toulme then took his cigar and lighted a nearby cannon, sending a cannon ball which landed near the passing ship deterring it from landing here, beginning the Battle of Bay St. Louis.

Mayor John B. Toulme would later build the Crescent Hotel on the beach near the railroad tracks. The Crescent Hotel was considered a “first rate” hotel with accommodations for 100 guests offering the “finest artesian well water in the area” which was said to have had medicinal qualities. The Crescent also offered tennis, croquet, swings, and walking paths for its guests to enjoy. Toulme donated a section of land to the city during the creation of Cedar Rest Cemetery. He and several family members, including his father Jean Baptiste Toulme who passed away in 1834, are now buried there. He also donated the land on Main Street where the Masonic Temple and the Hancock County Court House now are built. John B. Toulme passed away on August 17, 1860 and is buried in an unknown grave in Cedar Rest Cemetery.

Sources

• Burial-Cedar Rest Cemetery, Bay St. Louis, MS
• City of Bay St. Louis History

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Michelle Ladner for starting this profile.

Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Michelle and others.