Robert Tallon (abt. 1684 - bef. 1746)

Born about 1684 in At Sea during La Salle Expedition

Ancestors

Descendants

Died before 8 Aug 1746 before about age 62 in Mobile, Nouvelle-France

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Laurie Lamb [send private message]

Biography

"When La Salle left the Texas settlement in January 1687, Pierre was taken along. He witnessed La Salle's murder, and was left to live with Hasinai (Tejas) Indians. He was taken from the Hasinai in 1690 by Spanish under Alonso de Leon, and transported to Mexico with his siblings to be servants in the house of Spanish Viceroy Conde de Galve. Before the viceroy left Mexico (in 1696), Pierre, Jean-Baptiste, and Lucien were enrolled as soldiers in the Armada de Barlovento in Veracruz, which was commanded by Andres de Pez y Malzarraga. They took ship on the flagship Santo Cristo de Maracaibo, under Admiral Guillermo Morfi. The French captured the Santo Cristo in the Caribbean Sea near Havana in 1697, and the brothers were taken to France. In 1698, Lucien became a servant at Oléron; no more is known of him.

Pierre and Jean-Baptiste entered French naval service. Eventually, they were interrogated for their stories, and joined the second expedition of Pierre le Moyne d'Iberville to Louisiana as soldiers under the command of Louis Juchereau de St. Denis. They remained in the colony for two years, and then returned to France with Iberville in April 1702 to look for their sister Marie-Madeleine. Two years later, they were in prison in Portugal, but the reason and the duration are not known. No more is known directly of Jean-Baptiste. In 1714, Pierre and Robert were in Texas with St. Denis, where they interpreted with the Indians. Eventually they went to Mobile, and reported to governor Cadillac. Pierre is said to have died in France, and Jean-Baptiste in Louisiana. Robert settled in Mobile." ^[1]

"Love's Legacy: The Mobile Marriages Recorded in French, Transcribed, with Annotated Abstracts in English, 1724-1786 by Jacqueline Olivier Vidrine. University of Southwestern Louisiana: Lafayette, LA, 1985, p. 17. Detail:

Robert was a witness at his sister-in-laws wedding on April 4, 1725 at Fort Conde de la Mobile. Relevant notes as follows:

Robert Tallon (also Talon), identified as a master menusier, had married her sister Jeanne before 1720. (Mob.bb I:25bis. In 1728 he was called a master ebeniste and a church warden of the Mobile parish. Mob.bb I:84. Robert Talon was buried August 8, 1746. Deville, G C C.60."

Sources

1. ↑ University of Illinois - H. George Friedman, Jr., Professor Emeritus, PhD, Florida State University: 'Talon'"

• "'Texas State Historical Association: 'Talon Children'"

• Acadians in Gray