Edwin Bienvenu White (1885 - 1941)

Born 5 Dec 1885 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Doretta (Glatt) White — married 5 Feb 1908 in Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Husband of Elizabeth (Barnes) White — married 16 Apr 1938 in Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Died 9 Aug 1941 at age 55 in Louisiana, United States

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Biography

Edwin Bienvenu White was born in December 1885, about six months after the drowning death of his father, Henry White. His mother was Eliza Dancy, who came from a prominent family of physicians and plantation owners in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The White family had lived in Madison parish, Louisiana for many years prior to the health issues and career change of Henry White. The two youngest children in the White family, Rebecca Wood "Wooda" White and Edwin, were born following the family's move to St. Louis, Missouri.

Eliza Dancy died of unknown causes when Edwin was a small child, and arrangements had to be made for the White children. ^[1] The older children were able to go off on their own to work or attend school, but Edwin and Wooda needed caregivers. In 1900, Wooda was living in a boarding house in Decatur, Alabama. In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Edwin was recorded living in New Orleans, in the house of his great uncle Nemours Bienvenu and great aunt Mary Wood Bienvenu. Edwin, listed as their "adopted son," was 15 years old at the time. Others living in the house were the Bienvenus' daughter Stella, son-in-law Paul Waddell, grandson Nemours Waddell, and a servant named Josephine Zeno. ^[2] It is possible that Edwin's middle name of "Bienvenu" was not his name at birth, but rather added to his legal name as a result of his adoption.

The Bienvenu house was on Esplanade Avenue, which has been preserved as a historic street in New Orleans. Nemours Bienvenu worked as a sugar broker, and later served on the New Orleans school board; notably, his obituary, in November 1912, named Stella Waddell as his daughter but did not acknowledge Edwin. ^[3]

Edwin was married to Mary Doretta Glatt in Orleans parish, Louisiana, on February 5, 1908. Edwin was 20 at the time of his marriage, and Doretta was 15.^[4] In the 1910 United States Census, Edwin and Doretta were shown to be living in New Orleans. ^[5]

On June 3, 1910, Edwin and Doretta's daughter was born. ^[6] Irene Edwina White appeared to be their only child.

Edwin registered for the World War I draft in 1917; the draft card serves to confirm his full name, his birthdate of December 5, 1885, and his birthplace of St. Louis, Missouri. ^[7] There is no record of Edwin participating in active military service.

In 1920, the White family was recorded in the U.S. Census as living on Hagan Avenue in New Orleans. Doretta did not work, and Irene, then age 9, attended school. Edwin's occupation was that of a collector. ^[8]

Edwin's wife Doretta died of unknown causes in February of 1929; she was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans. ^[9] In the 1930 Census, Edwin, then 44, was recorded as living with daughter Irene, and working as a clerk for a telephone company. ^[10]

Irene White was married in New Orleans, in 1930, to Clifford Chauvet. ^[11] They had no children, and may have divorced at some point in the 1930s. Irene continued to live in New Orleans, where she worked as a stenographer. Tragically, Irene was hit by a streetcar and died in 1938, at the age of 28. ^[12]

Edwin had a second marriage, to Bessie Barnes Lemaitre, on April 16, 1938.^[13] At the time of this marriage, he was 52 years old, and Bessie was 30. Interestingly, Edwin listed his adoptive parents on the marriage certificate, whereas he had listed his birth parents on the certificate for his marriage to Doretta thirty years earlier.

Edwin died of unknown causes in August 1941. He is buried in a plot with his daughter Irene and first wife Mary Doretta in Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans. ^[14]

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/173723158/e_-m_-white
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MS5K-FS4 : accessed 2 October 2019), Edwin Bienvenue in household of Nemour Bienvenue, 8th Precinct New Orleans city Ward 7, Orleans, Louisiana, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 69, sheet 26A, family 503, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,573.
3. ↑ "Nemours Bienvenu Dies From Heart Attack." The Times-Democrat, New Orleans, Louisiana. 11 November 1912. Accessed via https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36673022/nemours_bienvenu_obituary_1912/
4. ↑ "Louisiana, Parish Marriages, 1837-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJH-CT97 : 12 March 2018), Edwin Bienvenes White and Doretta Glatt, 05 Feb 1908; citing Orleans, Louisiana, United States, various parish courthouses, Louisiana; FHL microfilm 910,378.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPYD-DZP : accessed 5 March 2019), Edwin B White, New Orleans Ward 3, Orleans, Louisiana, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 49, sheet 5B, family 112, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 520; FHL microfilm 1,374,533.
6. ↑ "Louisiana, Orleans Parish Vital Records, 1900-1964," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDV-94DN : 19 October 2018), Irene Edwina White, 3 Jun 1910; citing Birth 3 Jun 1910, Orleans, Louisiana, United States, certificate ; Louisiana State Archives, Baton Rouge
7. ↑ "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZ8N-MW9 : 13 March 2018), Edwin Bienvenu White, 1917-1918; citing New Orleans City no 2, Louisiana, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,684,916.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MV7H-281 : accessed 5 March 2019), Edwin B White, New Orleans Ward 3, Orleans, Louisiana, United States; citing ED 55, sheet 20B, line 87, family 426, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 619; FHL microfilm 1,820,619.
9. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/90067227/mary-d-white
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XMRQ-WXN : accessed 5 March 2019), Edwin B White, New Orleans (Districts 1-250), Orleans, Louisiana, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 52, sheet 22B, line 89, family 234, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 802; FHL microfilm 2,340,537.
11. ↑ "Louisiana, Parish Marriages, 1837-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJC-YT2C : 13 March 2018), Edwin B White in entry for Clifford Alton Chauvet and Irene Edwina White, 02 Jun 1930; citing Orleans, Louisiana, United States, various parish courthouses, Louisiana; FHL microfilm 2,320,119.
12. ↑ "Stenographer Killed." The Town Talk, Alexandria, Louisiana. 8 January 1938. Accessed via https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34377351/irene_edwina_white_death/
13. ↑ "Louisiana, Parish Marriages, 1837-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJZ-SYCX : 13 March 2018), Edwin Bienvenu White and Bessie Barnes Lemaitre, 16 Apr 1938; citing Orleans, Louisiana, United States, various parish courthouses, Louisiana; FHL microfilm 2,320,527.
14. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/90067132/edwin-b-white