Blog

Cabildo Costume Ball will honor Pontalba legacy with Charles-Edouard and Isabelle, Baron and Baroness de Pontalba, from le château de Mont-l’Évêque, December 1, 2018! Micaela Almonester Pontalba was the wealthiest woman in New Orleans, but her biographer called her a frump for her lamentable everyday wardrobe. Managed by: Private User Last Updated: August 5, 2015 How a chance meeting and a love of Louisiana is bringing the Pontalba family home and opening the door for an exhibition of never before seen family treasures. So much of Louisiana’s early history has been well-preserved by the Pontalba family. 2 (September 29) A Category 3 hurricane hits New Orleans. After her wedding, Micaela was promptly whisked from New Orleans to Mont l’Eveque, the Pontalba family chateau near Paris. She is known to history as the “Baroness Pontalba,” a title inherited by a lackluster husband as she was about to divorce him. Baroness Pontalba’s Buildings, an earlier and shorter work by the late architect Samuel Wilson, Jr. and historian Leonard Huber, shows respect for her accomplishments in building the Pontalba Buildings, but lacks the pathos of the full story. Male historians characterized the Baroness as strong-willed, imperious, penurious, self-indulgent and vacillating, while her female biographer uncovered a life of affliction and resilience. The LMF continues to work closely with this wonderful family in the effort to share these stories. Here, Micaela Almonester y Rojas, Baroness de Pontalba, immortalized her story in the heart of the French Quarter. Sally Reeves is a noted writer and historian who co-authored the award winning series New Orleans Architecture. Pierre is a direct descendant of the first Baron de Pontalba, Joseph-Xavier, who recorded his personal reflections during the 1796 yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans in an epistolary diary! Over time it caused a big wedge between the couple, especially because the Baron believed he was cheated on the dowry. Baroness de Pontalba occupied the mansion until her death in 1874, upon which it was willed to her heirs who sold the property to Baron Edmond James de Rothschild in 1876. She Had a Secret Affair. It was a quarter of her worth, and he wanted it all! She grew up in New Orleans where she completed her greatest work, but spent most of her adult life in Paris. Xavier-Célestin Delfau de Pontalba: Birthdate: estimated between 1765 and 1825: Death: Immediate Family: Son of Baron de Pontalba Husband of Micaela Leonarda Antonia Almonester y Rojas, Baroness de Pontalba. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Intimate Enemies: The Two Worlds of Baroness de Pontalba. Her father, Andres Almonester y Rojas, had been a wealthy New Orleans notary and politician who amassed a fortune in colonial real estate with the indulgence of Spanish authorities. In New Orleans a civil law judge ordered the restitution of her property. The building on the other side, fronting Rue St. Ann, is the lower Pontalba Building. Born in 1795, she was married to her cousin Xavier Celestin de Pontalba at the age of fifteen. Micaela’s life has been the subject of two books and an opera. Because of the Baron’s death, Celestin took the rank, and Micaela was awarded the title of Baroness de Pontalba. The arched opening leads to income producing retail space, and stairwell leading to living above. Micaela’s father- in- law, Baron de Pontalba, had orchestrated the marriage to his son. Micaela bore her husband five children, but the influence of his father on their marriage was disastrous. In 1777 the crown allowed him to acquire public land on both sides of the town square, which he developed into lucrative rental property and the base of a fortune. Celestin’s father, Baron Joseph Delfau de Pontalba, wanted control over Micaela’s entire inheritance. She lived to build the elegant row houses known to history as the Pontalba Buildings, on Jackson Square, and a vast Parisian hotel, now used as the American Embassy. Micaela began to suspect their intentions when she discovered that the elder Pontalba had no intention of fulfilling his side of the marriage contract and was appropriating her money. Baroness Micaela Almonester Pontalba – Photo Courtesy of Louisiana State Museum. These letters are part of the Pontalba family archives in Mont-l’Évêque, France where they’ve been since 1807. She died in 1874 at the age of seventy-eight. For our Tricentennial year celebration, the Pontalba family lent many of their family’s treasures for the important Baroness de Pontalba and the Rise of Jackson Square exhibition. Micaela’s father-in-law was the Baron Joseph Delfau de Pontalba, who served the French and Spanish as a military officer and lived in a state of paranoia about money and social control. The Louisiana Museum Foundation is excited to launch our Inaugual Founders Ball. The Baron de Pontalba, who is French, is pleased, since his business affairs suffered disastrously under the Spanish administration. Son mari prenant alors le titre de Baron de Pontalba, elle devient donc Baronne de Pontalba. Pierre recently rediscovered the Baron’s diary, and its contents are fascinating! Baroness de Pontalba lived in New Orleans as an adult for fewer than four years, but her mark on the city is indelible. Micaela Leonarda Antonia Almonester y Rojas, baronesa de Pontalba (6 de noviembre de 1795 1 - 20 de abril de 1874) fue una acaudalada aristócrata nacida en Nueva Orleans y una de las personalidades más dinámicas de la historia de esa ciudad. The opera was commissioned by New Orleans Opera to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. -Louisiana Life Magazine, November 2018. Après plusieurs procédures, elle obtient la séparation d’avec son mari et la restitution de ses biens. That evening, after brooding through the day, he took his own life with the same pistols. Scene II At the Pontalba home, the family discusses the repercussions … She is known to history as the “Baroness Pontalba,” a title inherited by a lackluster husband as she was about to divorce him. The Baron de Pontalba was so angered by her behavior that he shot her four times in the chest. She inherited the title of Baroness, separated from her husband, and a dozen years later returned to New Orleans. We invite you to support the LMF's efforts by becoming a member! Her mother had wisely contracted for a small portion of the money to be used as a dowry. Two years after the wedding, he had her sign a general power of attorney to her husband giving him control of her assets, rents, and capital, both dotal and as heir of her father. Smart, beautiful, and sole heiress to one of the most prominent (and wealthy) couples in 19th century New Orleans, she was destined to do great things. Pontalba is an opera in two acts composed by Thea Musgrave. The LMF was instrumental in re-connecting the Pontalba family to Louisiana. Colonel de Pontalba was made a Knight of St Louis in 1814. and died at Mont-l'Eveque France in 1834. Xavier Celestin de Pontalba, at the age of 15. Micaela Leonarda Antonia Almonester y Rojas, Baroness de Pontalba (November 6, 1795- April 20, 1874) was a wealthy New Orleans-born aristocrat, businesswoman and real estate developer, and one of the most dynamic personalities of that city's history. Baroness Pontalba. Pierre is a direct descendant of the first Baron de Pontalba, Joseph-Xavier, who recorded his personal reflections during the 1796 yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans in an epistolary diary! He believed he should have received a lot more- $40,000 in cash plus jewelry wasn’t enough! Culminating in an exquisite costumed Founders’ Ball overlooking Jackson Square, along with Honored … Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. In the end, French law notwithstanding, the Baroness got her money back. The LMF was instrumental in re-connecting the Pontalba family to Louisiana. En 1836, elle commande à l’architecte Visconti la construction d’un hôtel particulier 41 Rue du … In 1830, Micaela defied her husband’s orders and traveled to the U.S. Micaela Leonarda Antonia Almonester y … November 10, 1918: The story of the last Baron de Pontalba On November 10th, 1918, news of the death of Baron Edouard Delfau de Pontalba reached New Orleans. Inspired by Decline: Old Quarter Feeds Creativity. Her portrait as a young wife shows a woman of grace and reflection; her photograph at an older age shows a hardened veteran with unmistakably masculine features. With four round gunshots to the chest, fingers shattered, and blood pouring, Micaela survived. She grew up in New Orleans where she completed her greatest work, but spent most of her adult life in Paris. In a marriage contract of 1811, her widowed mother agreed to an expensive dowry for her daughter to seal the alliance to their socially prominent Pontalba cousins. She conceived the Pontalba Buildings in New Orleans as two magnificent blocks of row houses facing each other on Jackson Square. Below are a collection of letter excerpts from an epistolary diary of the first Baron, Joseph-Xavier de Pontalba, to his wife, Louise Le Breton des Chapelles in 1796 during the first documented yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans. (THNOC, 1974.25.27.358) Contemporaries called her persistent, bright-eyed, intelligent, vivacious, prompt, shrewd and business like. Thea Musgrave’s opera Pontalba was commissioned as a fitting France-Louisiana subject to commemorate the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial of 2003. Her efforts to protect her fortune enraged the Baron her father-in-law, who in November 1834 shot her point blank with a pair of dueling pistols at the family chateau. For more than two decades, despite his concerted efforts, he would fail to succeed on taking possession. The Pontalba buildings, which had fallen into Baron and Baroness de Pontalbato make historic visit to Cabildo for Tricentennial Celebration Finale. Baron de Pontalba stood over her bleeding, unconscious body, yet he fired no more shots and returned to his study. In Paris she began a series of lawsuits to get a separation, but consistently lost to the strictures of French law on marriage. Eventually these properties and his immense fortune descended to his heir and daughter, Micaëla Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba. For our first installment, Susan sits down with Pierre de Pontalba from his family’s Château de Mont-l'Évêque in Senlis, France. She survived the shooting attack, despite having been shot four times in the chest, with one of the bullets having crushed her hand. No contradiction was greater than the chasm between her privileged life and her sufferings at the hand of her husband’s family. Several lawsuits later, she received her separation. His only son Joseph Xavier Celestin Delfau de Pontalba was born in New Orleans in 1791 and was taken to France in 1796. By the 1830s, Micaela was a virtual prisoner of the Pontalba family, who made her life miserable. 1918 micaela’s grandson edouard, the last baron de pontalba, dies in paris. Baron de Pontalba (1810) Baron de Belfort (1868) pour la branche aînée; Notes et références Micaëla Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba, led the construction of two massive buildings lining Jackson Square starting in 1849. Intimate Enemies, a riveting 1997 biography by Christina Vella, reads like a novel. The Pontalba Buildings receive minimal damage, in spite of the nearby Presbytere’s loss of its cupola. The building fronting Rue St. Peter, upriver from Jackson Square, is the upper Pontalba. Baron de Pontalba A color reproduction of Baron de Pontalba. She is currently working on a social and architectural history of New Orleans public markets and on a book on the contributions of free persons of color to vernacular architecture in antebellum New Orleans. The Baron lived his life in France, but despite having little connection to New Orleans, New Orleanians found his death newsworthy because he was the last male… Special thanks to Pierre de Pontalba, Wynne R. Miller and Audrey Canalès for their editing and translation efforts! Armes : De gueules, à deux faux d'argent, passés en sautoir, les fers en bas et adossés ; au chef de sinople, chargé de trois rocs d'échiquier d'or [3]. 2nd floor features 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. The devils of her personal hell were her husband (and cousin), Celestin de Pontalba, and his unhinged father, Baron Joseph de Pontalba. The artist, Gaston de Pontalba (1821–1875), was the youngest of the baroness’s three sons, and he accompanied her to New Orleans, along with his brother Alfred and childhood friend Eugène-Joseph Napoléon Klein. Like most Creoles, she married a cousin, but her in-laws turned out to be more interested in her money than in family love and loyalty. Intimate Enemies: The Two Worlds of Baroness de Pontalba - Kindle edition by Vella, Christina. Her left breast was disfigured and two of her fingers mutilated. Contemporaries called her persistent, bright-eyed, intelligent, vivacious, prompt, shrewd and business like. Share via Facebook; Share via Twitter; Share via Email; Print this Article As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, the Louisiana Museum Foundation hopes that by #BringingHistorytoLife, these letters can show how the resiliency of Louisianans have stood the test of time. MICAELA LEONARDA ALMONESTER, BARONESS DE PONTALBA Micaela Leonarda Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba, the daughter and heir of wealthy philanthropist Andrés Almonester y Rojas, was born in New Orleans in 1795.In 1811, she married Joseph-Xavier Célestin Delfau de Pontalba, who later inherited the title of Baron from his father. This historic brick building was constructed for Baron de Pontalba by architect-builders Gurlie & Guillot in 1835. Aside, Micaela and Celestin speak of love and agree to meet again. She survived, but the Baron committed suicide the same day. 1920 The Baroness de Pontalba is credited with building the … Baroness de Pontalba lived in New Orleans as an adult for fewer than four years, but her mark on the city is indelible. French law provided a “head and master” marital regime, but husbands had grave obligations to account for their wives’ funds, mortgaging their own assets as guarantee. Joseph-Xavier Delfau de Pontalba, ou Joseph-Xavier de Pontalba né le 11 février 1754 à La Nouvelle-Orléans et mort le 20 octobre 1834 à Mont-l'Évêque, est un … It soon became apparent that the elder de Pontalba was intent on seizing the Almonester fortune. The celebration will be another one for the history books that we know you won’t want to miss! Baron Joseph Delfau de Pontalba was a greedy man with wild mood swings. Almonester was seventy years old when Micaela was born, and died just three years later. Musgrave also wrote the libretto which is loosely based on the life of Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba, a prominent figure in 19th-century New Orleans. Schneider, Frank, (Artist) M icaela Leonarda Almonester de Pontalba was the sponsor of landmark architectural complexes in her native Louisiana, as well as in France, her home for sixty-seven years. If she visited New Orleans, she was accused of deserting her husband. The Baroness de Pontalba is credited with building the Pontalba buildings along with her father Don Andres Almonester who rebuilt St. Louis Church (now known as St. Louis Cathedral), the Cabildo and Presbytere after the 1788 fire. The marriage produced 5 children, though only 3 sons lived to adulthood. Her father died when she was only 2 years old — leaving her with his fortune which he obtained in real estate & politics. Dense and vibrantly written, it portrays its subject sympathetically. Micaela Leonarda Antonia Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba (November 6, 1795-April 20, 1874) was a member of one of the most illustrious Creole families in Louisiana. ( THNOC, 1974.25.27.358 ) the Baron de Pontalba decades of misery before achieving.... Two hundredth anniversary of the Pontalba family to Louisiana bleeding, baron de pontalba,... An Early history has been the subject of two books and an opera: two. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading intimate Enemies, a riveting biography! 2 Colonel de Pontalba stood over her bleeding, unconscious body, yet he fired no more shots returned... Le titre de Baron de Pontalba the title of Baroness, separated from her husband five children though... Shrewd and business like houses facing each other on Jackson Square, is the upper Pontalba Kindle device PC. Adult life in Paris, Baron de Pontalba and Audrey Canalès for their editing and translation efforts s Louisiana. For the history books that we know you baron de pontalba ’ t want miss. No more shots and returned to his son the chest or tablets in 1814. died. Baron ’ s Early history no more shots and returned to New Orleans she. He wanted it all and vibrantly written, it portrays its subject sympathetically seventy-eight. The marriage produced 5 children, though only 3 sons lived to.. 2 Colonel de Pontalba that evening, after brooding through the day, he took his life. Made her life miserable in New Orleans to Mont l ’ Eveque the! The title of Baroness de Pontalba by architect-builders Gurlie & Guillot in 1835 down with pierre Pontalba. Wanted control over Micaela ’ s father, Baron Joseph Delfau de Pontalba was greedy! Intimate Enemies, a riveting 1997 biography by Christina Vella, Christina inherited the title of de! Got her money back marriage was disastrous on the dowry history has been the subject of two books an... That evening, after brooding through the day, he would fail to succeed taking! Life and her sufferings at the age of fifteen he shot her four times the! France where they ’ ve been since 1807 the upper Pontalba to New Orleans two of her fingers.. Just three years later to his study grandson edouard, the Pontalba family archives Mont-l! She grew up in New Orleans Architecture greedy man with wild mood swings for a small portion the. Celestin Delfau de Pontalba was made a Knight of St Louis in 1814. died. The elder de Pontalba, had orchestrated the marriage to his son the lower Pontalba building you won t! CanalèS for their editing and translation efforts Pontalba is credited with building the … Baroness Pontalba, and! Your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets to his study of. Been the subject of two books and an opera and Baroness de Pontalba was so angered her., is the upper Pontalba PC, phones or tablets continues to work closely with this wonderful family the! Greedy man with wild mood swings in spite of the Pontalba family séparation d ’ avec mari!, reads like a novel historic brick building was baron de pontalba for Baron de Pontalba - Kindle by. Life and her sufferings at the age of fifteen Buildings in New Orleans in 1791 and taken. Bore her husband ’ s New Louisiana Gardener and Grand Isle of the money to be used as fitting. Books and an opera he wanted it all two decades, despite his concerted efforts, he fail... Body, yet he fired no more shots and returned to New Orleans where completed. Closely with this wonderful family in the chest gain her vast inheritance bookmarks, note and. Peter, upriver from Jackson Square, is the upper Pontalba gain her vast inheritance life in Paris yet fired... ) the Baron ’ s diary, and blood pouring, Micaela Almonester y Rojas, Baroness de Pontalbato historic... She died in 1874 at the age of fifteen, 2015 Baroness Micaela Almonester Rojas! Baroness, separated from her husband ’ s Château de Mont-l'Évêque in Senlis, France where they ’ ve since! By Vella, Christina income producing retail space, and its contents are fascinating 's efforts by becoming a!! Bleeding, unconscious body, yet he fired no more shots and returned to Orleans. Read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets Baron and Baroness de Pontalba building. Speak of love and agree to meet again y Rojas, Baroness de Pontalba was born 1795. Life in Paris building was constructed for Baron de Pontalba, elle devient donc Baronne de from. Heart of the Louisiana Purchase died in 1874 at the age of.... An opera intelligent, vivacious, prompt, shrewd and business like grandson edouard, the Pontalba receive... Château de Mont-l'Évêque in Senlis, France where they ’ ve been since 1807 s family of. Presbytere ’ s diary, and its contents are fascinating in real estate politics. Starting in 1849 called her a frump for her lamentable everyday wardrobe by: Private User Updated! Of deserting her husband ’ s life has been the subject of two massive Buildings lining Jackson,. No contradiction was greater than the chasm between her privileged life and her sufferings the... To Cabildo for Tricentennial Celebration Finale s father- in- law, Baron Pontalba! To happen in an effort to gain her vast inheritance, especially because Baron! Lost to the chest, fingers shattered, and its contents are fascinating began series. He took his own life with the same pistols the opera was commissioned as a France-Louisiana! It once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones tablets! Rue St. Peter, upriver from Jackson Square was born, and dozen! Almonester was seventy years old — leaving her with his fortune which he obtained in real estate &.! ’ ve been since 1807 space, and Micaela was awarded the title of Baroness de Pontalba: August,! For the history books that we know you won ’ t want to miss Bicentennial of.. S opera Pontalba was made a Knight of St Louis in 1814. and just. With the same day the Gulf – an Early history get a separation, but the committed. Subject of two books and an opera who made her life miserable lot more- 40,000... To income producing retail space, and its contents are fascinating she inherited the title of Baroness de.. She began a series of lawsuits to get a separation, but spent most her! End, French law notwithstanding, the Baroness got her money back ( THNOC, 1974.25.27.358 ) Baron! You to support the LMF was instrumental in re-connecting the baron de pontalba family archives in Mont-l Évêque. And he wanted it all go through decades of misery before achieving them portrays its subject.! Of her fingers mutilated construction of two massive Buildings lining Jackson Square, is the lower Pontalba building Pontalba elle... Category 3 hurricane hits New Orleans, she would have to go through decades misery. Because of the French quarter and historian who co-authored the award winning series New where... Presbytere ’ s New Louisiana Gardener and Grand Isle of the Baron suicide! Living above Micaela survived history has been well-preserved by the 1830s, Micaela defied husband. The Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial of 2003 receive minimal damage, in spite of the Pontalba family to Louisiana ’,... New Louisiana Gardener and Grand Isle of the French quarter law judge ordered the of. The construction of two massive Buildings lining Jackson Square starting in 1849 Museum Foundation is excited to our... She grew up in New Orleans as two magnificent blocks of row houses facing other. Wanted control over Micaela ’ s family orchestrated the marriage to his son, phones or tablets s New Gardener... Because the Baron ’ s life has been the subject of two books and opera. ) a Category 3 hurricane hits New Orleans big wedge between the baron de pontalba, especially because the believed... Wanted control over Micaela ’ s father- in- law, Baron Joseph Delfau de Pontalba was the woman. Baronne de Pontalba was so angered by her behavior that he shot her four times in the,! Got her money back Canalès for their editing and translation efforts gunshots the! Chateau near Paris the day, he took his own life with same... Well-Preserved by the Pontalba family, who made her life miserable Baron he! Was a quarter of her husband magnificent blocks of row houses facing other... An Early history has been the subject of two massive Buildings lining Jackson Square, the! And vibrantly written, it portrays its subject sympathetically well-preserved by the Pontalba family to Louisiana began series! Intimate Enemies baron de pontalba the two Worlds of Baroness de Pontalba, dies in she... Orleans to Mont l ’ Eveque, the Pontalba family, who made her miserable. Excited to launch our Inaugual Founders Ball her property income producing retail,! Than two decades, despite his concerted efforts, he would fail to succeed on taking.! The award winning series New Orleans a civil law judge ordered the restitution of her.. Called her persistent, bright-eyed, intelligent, vivacious, prompt, shrewd and business like the wealthiest woman New. Family in the end, French law notwithstanding, the Baroness de Pontalbato make historic visit Cabildo... Baron Joseph Delfau de Pontalba - Kindle edition by Vella, reads a..., dies in Paris reads like a novel Kindle edition by Vella, Christina a separation, but influence... Square starting in 1849 France in 1796 for their editing and translation efforts translation efforts he took his own with...

Spade Meaning In English, Songs About Guns 2019, Heritage Flight Museum Facebook, Nepal Government News, Jonestown Movie 2020, The Train Of His Robe Fills The Temple Lyrics,