Louis Vinconnau

Louis Vinconnau, also recorded as Vinconneau or Vinsonneau, was a master tailor from Périgny en Aunis, France. He married Catherine Doussin at Notre-Dame parish in La Rochelle in 1712. Their known surviving daughter, Marie Catherine, was born in La Rochelle in 1715. Records and family notes indicate that Louis was in Louisiana before his wife and daughter departed La Rochelle for Louisiana in 1719; he died before 1723.

Louis Vinconnau, whose surname appears in records as Vinconneau and Vinsonneau, was associated with Périgny en Aunis, France. A later transcription of his 1712 marriage record identifies him as a native of Périgny en Aunis and the son of Guillaume Vinconneau, a gardener, and Mathurin Pajeau.

Louis was a tailor. On 1 August 1712, he married Catherine Doussin at the parish of Notre-Dame in La Rochelle, France. The marriage record calls him a tailor and describes Catherine as a native of the parish of Anais en Poitou. Her parents were Pierre Doussin, described as a master carpenter, and Marie Minet; Pierre Doussin was deceased by the time of the marriage.

Louis and Catherine had a son, Louis Claude Vinconnau, reportedly born about 1713 in La Rochelle, who died in infancy. Their daughter Marie Catherine Vinconnau was born at La Rochelle on 11 September 1715 and baptized there on 13 September. Her baptismal record identifies Louis as a master tailor and Catherine as Catherine Doucin.

Family notes state that Louis arrived in Louisiana before 1719. A passenger list dated 17 March 1719 records Catherine Toussaint, identified as the wife of Louis Vinsonneau “who is already in Louisiana,” and their child Marie Vinsonneau among private passengers embarking from La Rochelle aboard the Dauphine, bound for Louisiana. The ship sailed on 21 March 1719 and arrived at Pensacola on 26 June, afterward continuing toward New Orleans; the colonists were reportedly sent to Dauphin Island until July.

Louis died before 13 June 1723, when Catherine married the widowed Joseph Simon dit La Pointe. Their daughter Marie Catherine’s 1734 marriage record likewise identifies her as the daughter of the deceased Louis Vinconnau, master tailor of garments, and Catherine Doussin.

Historical context

Louis’s family was part of the early French migration to Louisiana. The 1719 Dauphine passenger list distinguishes Catherine and Marie as private passengers and states that Louis was already in Louisiana. Later records place Catherine and Marie in the Pascagoula area, where Marie married in 1734.

Sources & research

MCH&GS, vol. 23, no. 3 (October 1987), p. 78.
First Families of Louisiana, vol. 1, p. 38.
The New Orleans French, 1720–1733, p. 94.
St. Louis Basilica, New Orleans, Louisiana, Bureau of Archives, p. 28.
New Orleans Genesis, vol. 5, no. 19 (February 1968).
Creole Mobile, p. 43.
Love’s Legacy, p. 29.
Love’s Legacy, p. 123.
SLC, M1, p. 65.
MAA, MB-1, pp. 16a, 17, 34.
MAA, BB1, p. 102.
Mobile Funerals, 1726–1764, p. 30.
Census Tables, 1699–1732.
Graveline Society Publication of 2004, article “New Discovery,” by Eloise Genest.
Family notes, including No. 178, No. 350, No. 358, and No. 716–719.
http://www.teachergenealogist007.com/2010/03/cox-358-359.html