Pierre Augustin Charles Bourguignon Derbigny (June 30, 1769 – October 6, 1829) was the sixth Governor of Louisiana. Born in 1769, at Laon near Lille, France, the eldest son of Augustin Bourguignon d'Herbigny who was President of the Directoire de l'Aisne and Mayor of Laon, and Louise Angelique Blondela.
Pierre Derbigny | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 6th Governor of Louisiana | |
| In office December 15, 1828 – October 6, 1829 | |
| Preceded by | Henry S. Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Armand Beauvais |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 30, 1769 Laon, France |
| Died | October 6, 1829 (aged 60) Gretna, Louisiana |
| Political party | National Republican, Whig |
| Spouse | Felicité Odile de Hault de Lassus |
Derbigny studied law at Ste. Genevieve but fled France in 1791 during the French Revolution. He arrived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and married Felicité Odile de Hault de Lassus with whom he would have five daughters and two sons.
He arrived in New Orleans, then a Spanish colony, in 1797 and by 1803 had been appointed Secretary of the Legislative Council. After the United States' annexation of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Derbigny was one of the representatives of the new Americans in Washington seeking self-government for the Orleans Territory. His oration of July 4, 1804 also urges for the reopening of the slave trade.
As the territory was integrated into the United States, Derbigny opposed British common law in Louisiana and defended the retention of civil law practices established during the French and Spanish colonial periods. Following the Governance Act of 1804 that set up Louisiana's territorial government, Derbigny, along with Jean Noël Destrehan and Pierre Sauve, delivered the Remonstrance created by citizens speaking out against this Congressional Act to Washington D.C. This complaint was entitled "Remonstrance of the People of Louisiana against the Political System Adopted by Congress for Them," and was ultimately presented to President Thomas Jefferson by the three delegates from Louisiana.[1] He also led a movement to establish the College of Orleans and served as Regent. In 1812, he was selected as Secretary of the Territorial Senate. He also served in Captain Chauveneau's Company of Cavalry in the Louisiana Militia.
From 1814-1820, Derbigny served as a Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. He was one of the principal drafters of the 1825 Civil Code of Louisiana, along with Edward Livingston, François Xavier Martin and Louis Moreau de Liset.
In 1821, Derbigny resigned from the Supreme Court of Louisiana to run unsuccessfully for Governor against Jean N. Destréhan, Abner Duncan and Thomas B. Robertson. Despite his loss to Robertson, Derbigny was appointed Secretary of State of Louisiana and served from 1821-1828.
In 1828, he ran for Governor again and this time defeated Thomas Butler, his former supporter Bernard de Marigny and Congressman Philemon Thomas. The state Legislature confirmed his election over these 3 opponents. Derbigny was affiliated with the nascent National Republican Party, an anti-Jackson group.
In Derbigny's Inauguration speech, he urged internal improvements which the legislature supported including: incorporation of a gas light company for New Orleans, several navigation companies for New Orleans and important bayous in the state, and the construction and repair of levees. On October 3, 1829, after 10 months in office, Governor Derbigny was thrown from a carriage on the West Bank of the Mississippi and died three days later in Gretna. Governor Derbigny is buried in St. Louis Number 1 Cemetery in New Orleans.
Sources
References
- ^ Kastor, Peter J. (2004). The Nation's Crucible: The Louisiana Purchase and the Creation of America. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 57–59.