Catherine Louise Doussin

Catherine Louise Doussin, also recorded as Doucin or Doussaint, lived from 1695 to 30 March 1752. She married Louis Vinconneau, a tailor, at La Rochelle in 1712 and was the mother of Louis Claude and Marie Catherine Vinconneau. After Louis's death before 1723, she married the widower Joseph Simon dit La Pointe. She lived in the French colonial Gulf Coast region, was present in Pascagoula records, and died at Mobile in 1752.

Catherine Louise Doussin was born in 1695, according to the supplied life dates. Her parents were Pierre Doussin, described in her marriage record as a deceased master carpenter of large works, and Marie Minet. She was a native of the parish of Anais en Poitou, France. Her surname appears in records and notes as Doussin, Doucin, and Doussaint.

On 1 August 1712, Catherine married Louis Vinconneau at Notre Dame parish in La Rochelle, France. Louis was a tailor, a native of Perigny en Aunix, and the son of Guillaume Vinconneau and Mathurin Pajeau. The marriage record states that the required banns had been published and that the couple received the nuptial blessing in the presence of relatives and friends. The record identifies Catherine's father as already deceased.

Catherine and Louis had at least two children. Their son, Louis Claude Vinconnau, was reportedly born about 1713 at La Rochelle and died in infancy. Their daughter, Marie Catherine Vinconneau, was born 11 September 1715 and baptized two days later. Her baptismal record names Louis Vinconneau, master tailor, and Catherine Doucin as her parents.

Louis had arrived in Louisiana from France before 1719, according to the family notes. On 17 March 1719, Catherine and her daughter Marie were listed among private passengers bound for Louisiana aboard the Dauphine. The passenger list described Catherine as the wife of Louis Vinsonneau, already in Louisiana. The notes state that the Dauphine sailed from La Rochelle on 21 March in company with the St. Louis, carrying colonists, prisoners intended to become colonists, and soldiers. The ships reportedly reached Pensacola on 26 June; after supplies were unloaded, the Dauphine continued to New Orleans, while the colonists were sent to Dauphin Island until July.

A later note gives a date of 1 July 1720 for a marriage of Louis and Catherine after her arrival in France, but the same compilation expressly identifies that statement as untrue because their documented marriage took place at La Rochelle on 1 August 1712. Louis died before 1723.

On 13 June 1723, Catherine married Joseph Simon dit La Pointe, a widower. On 1 March 1734, Catherine and Joseph hosted the marriage of her daughter Marie at their home in Pascagoula. Catherine was named godmother to her granddaughter Mary on 3 November 1736 and was present at the baptism of her grandson Jean on the same date. On 4 December 1736, she served as godmother to Simon Pierre Millon at Pascagoula. The baptismal entry recorded that she declared that she did not know how to sign; her husband Joseph Simon de la Pointe was the godfather.

Catherine, recorded as Catherine Doussaint, was present at the marriage of Francois Barbet and Jeanne Simon on 21 February 1747. On 7 February 1750, she gave 21 cows to the grandchildren descended from her daughter Marie, according to family notes described as a separation agreement.

Catherine died at Mobile, Alabama, on 30 March 1752. Her burial record states that she was the wife of the late Joseph Simon dit La Pointe, that she died the same day, and that she had received the sacraments of the Church. On 22 April 1752, her property was divided among her children, according to the family notes.

Historical context

Catherine's recorded passage on the Dauphine places her among French passengers sent from La Rochelle to Louisiana in 1719. The passenger list distinguished workers for the Company, private passengers, officers, soldiers, and prisoners. Her later appearances in records at Pascagoula and Mobile reflect the movement of her family within the French colonial Gulf Coast region.

Sources & research

MCH&GS, vol. 23, no. 3 (October 1987), p. 78.
Family notes.
Love's Legacy, p. 29.
SLC, M1, p. 65.
Love's Legacy, p. 123.
MAA, MB1, p. 16a.
MAA, MB-1, p. 17.
MAA, MB-1, p. 34.
No. 178 Family notes, described as a separation agreement.
Mobile Funerals, 1726-1764, p. 30.
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.
First Families of Louisiana, vol. 1, p. 38.
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