By Ethan Lauvray
Alphonse Arbour was a formerly enslaved black man living in East Baton Rouge Parish in the 1800s. Early in his life, Alphonse was granted freedom by his owner and father, Frederick Arbour Sr. With his newfound freedom, Alphonse quickly got to work. He started a family, and became an established business owner—eventually becoming a valued and respected member of the community. When faced with adversity, Alphonse refused to stand down. When providence called his name, he answered in full. But by the end of the Civil War, Alphonse needed a fresh start, and he moved his family further south.
The story of Alphonse Arbour provides a glimpse into the often-overlooked world of the formerly enslaved. Free communities, the people who resided within them, and the culture they cultivated occupies very little space in our minds when we think about Antebellum America. But as Alphonse shows us, these communities were filled with unique individuals whose lives are ignored by our history books. While the stories of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth are incredible, they only scratch the surface of the formerly enslaved and free communities that thrived in the United States. By diving into the lives of normal people like Alphonse Arbour, one comes closer to fully understanding American history.
Early Life and Emancipation
Alphonse Arbour was born into slavery on a Louisiana plantation, sometime around the 1820s. He was of mixed race with a very light complexion and was often mistaken for a white man. As with many children born into slavery, Alphonse was fathered by his owner, Frederick Arbour Sr., and an enslaved woman by the name of Mary Frederick. It was there on his father’s plantation, alongside his mother and enslaved brother—Alberic—where Alphonse grew up. At some point, Alphonse was granted his freedom and allowed to set out into the world. It is unclear exactly how Alphonse attained his freedom, but records suggest that his owner and father chose to emancipate him.
Little is known about Alphonse during the initial years of his emancipation, but he likely worked in or around Baton Rouge. One imagines a young Alphonse, presented with a new world of possibilities, wasting no time trying to make the most of his newfound freedom. As future records suggest, at some point Alphonse ventured into the cigar-making industry. By 1847, Alphonse had earned enough money to purchase his brother, Alberic, from their father for the sum of $500 cash—Which translates to over $16,000 today. Having obtained ownership of his brother, Alphonse began the tenuous process of emancipating him. Just over a year later, Alberic joined his brother as a free man.
Family & Business
After petitioning for his brother’s freedom, Alphonse started a family of his own. Around 1850, he married a black woman named Eliza Hendricks from West Feliciana. Whether or not Eliza was ever enslaved is unknown. Records suggest she and Alphonse were similar in age and, together, Alphonse and Eliza had two daughters named Fanny and Mary.
By 1855, Alphonse had become an established businessman with a successful Cigar shop operating in the heart of Baton Rouge. He then sought to expand, and on September 25 of 1855, Alphonse announced his new business venture to the world. Outside his cigar shop on the corner of Third and North Boulevard in downtown Baton Rouge, Alphonse opened a stand selling hot coffee, tea, and chocolate. Today, we can stand on the corner of Third and North in Baton Rouge as a young Alphonse Arbour did over 150 years ago, trying to make his way in the world.
It is safe to assume that by the next year, Alphonse and his businesses were doing well, because just six months after the ad was published, Alphonse tracked down, purchased, and began the process of emancipating his mother, Mary Frederick. How Alphonse came to buy his mother and whether or not she could be freed is unknown. However, with the little information available about Alphonse’s attempts to free his mother and brother, it is still clear that Alphonse cared deeply about his family. Moreover, this is an indication that Alphonse was an incredibly driven man. He was able to emancipate his loved ones, start a family, and become an established business owner, all within fifteen years of attaining his freedom.
Political Activism & Military Service
By the start of the Civil War, Alphonse had become a trusted and respected member of his community. However, in 1863 the Union army’s occupation of Baton Rouge brought tension to Alphonse’s community. Often during the Civil War, the Union Army took advantage of free and enslaved people of color. In this case, Union soldiers were forcibly conscripting people of color into military service. Faced with this issue, the free community of Baton Rouge banded together and wrote a petition to the Provost Marshall of the city. The petition expressed their desires to be treated equally as citizens and subject to the same rules and regulations of the military draft as white citizens. This demonstration of political organization and activism showed the incredible ability of the free community to pursue a common goal. A series of prominent free men of color signed the petition. The sixth to sign was one Alphonse Arbour.
By the start of the Civil War, Alphonse had become a trusted and respected member of his community. However, in 1863 the Union army’s occupation of Baton Rouge brought tension to Alphonse’s community. Often during the Civil War, the Union Army took advantage of free and enslaved people of color. In this case, Union soldiers were forcibly conscripting people of color into military service. Faced with this issue, the free community of Baton Rouge banded together and wrote a petition to the Provost Marshall of the city. The petition expressed their desires to be treated equally as citizens and subject to the same rules and regulations of the military draft as white citizens.
This demonstration of political organization and activism showed the incredible ability of the free community to pursue a common goal. A series of prominent free men of color signed the petition. The sixth to sign was one Alphonse Arbour.
Alphonse was drafted into the Second Louisiana Volunteers regiment less than a year after signing the petition. He was then enrolled in the military and made to serve in the Union army for the remainder of the Civil War. Fighting in one of the bloodiest wars in human history was dangerous enough and serving as a person of color made it even more dangerous. Despite this, Alphonse survived the war and returned home.
Alphonse was drafted into the Second Louisiana Volunteers regiment less than a year after signing the petition. He was then enrolled in the military and made to serve in the Union army for the remainder of the Civil War. Fighting in one of the bloodiest wars in human history was dangerous enough and serving as a person of color made it even more dangerous. Despite this, Alphonse survived the war and returned home.
After the War
Little is known about Alphonse Arbour after he returned from the war. Sometime during the war, Alphonse’s wife, Eliza, passed away. By 1867, Alphonse was remarried to a woman by the name of Alice, who was only a few years older than Alphonse’s eldest daughter. Together, Alphonse and Alice signed a lease for property near the Comite River. They maintained this property for the next three years before moving their family further south to Donaldsonville where it appears Alphonse made a fresh start as a farmer.
Unveiling the often-overlooked parts of American history is vital to understanding the broader culture of the United States. Stories like Alphonse Arbour’s allows one to understand the rich culture that surrounded the free community of Baton Rouge, creating a more detailed image of Antebellum America.
Sources
- 1860; Census Place: Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Page: 472; Family
History Library Film: 803408. - Baton Rouge Free Men of Color to Pardee, 1863.pdf
- Baton-Rouge Gazette (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), Sat, Jun 24, 1848.
- East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Conveyance Record Book A-1, pg. 34. Arbour &
Arbour Senior. - East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Conveyance Record W Pg. 37 Arbour & Bird.
- Daily Gazette and Comet (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), Tue, Sep 25, 1855.
“The Draft at Baton Rouge,” New Orleans Times, published March 8, 1865. - PAR # 20884825. Indexing by Race and Slavery Petitions Project, Subjects: Arbour,
Alphonse (petitioner) (free person of color); Alberic (slave), Jun 12, 1848 – Oct 09, 1848. - “United States Census, 1870”, database with images, FamilySearch
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8QP-WZC: 2 January 2021), Alfonse Arbour, 1870.
Slavery in Baton Rouge 