Last updated: September 3, 2023
Place
Oakland Main House Parents’ Room
NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
Natchez, Louisiana
Amenities
3 listed
Accessible Rooms, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible
The parents' room displays the wealth of Emanuel Prud’homme. Investing in an enslaved labor force and cotton provided the means to build the four-room house completed in 1821; that same year Emanuel and his wife Catherine went to Paris to buy furniture. However, most of the larger pieces, such as the armoire, bed, and chest-of-drawers, were purchased in New Orleans. The bed is from the 1830s and was purchased from prominent furniture merchant Mallard of New Orleans. The armoires were used instead of closets.
The Prud’homme family’s Catholic heritage is reflected throughout the room and includes a picture of St Therese of Lisieux, a prie-dieu (prayer bench), and holy water font. Catholicism was also part of the lives of the enslaved. The French Code Noir (Black code), that provided a framework on how to run the institution of slavery, mandated that enslaved people be baptized into the Catholic faith. It is from these baptismal records that we learn the names and ages of some of the children enslaved on the plantation, including Magdelena, age two months, daughter of Juanna; Marie Therese, age nine months, daughter of Marthe; and Anna, age one year, daughter of Maria Luisa.
Catholicism is a hallmark of Creole culture. Historically, Creole referred to people born in Louisiana during the colonial period, who spoke French, Spanish, and /or creole languages, and practiced the Roman Catholic faith regardless of their ethnicity. Creole goes beyond racial boundaries. It connects people to their colonial roots, be they descendants of European colonists, enslaved or free Africans, or those of mixed heritage. Many define Creole through foodways, music, folklore, family traditions, architecture, the Catholic faith, and genealogy.
The Prud’homme family’s Catholic heritage is reflected throughout the room and includes a picture of St Therese of Lisieux, a prie-dieu (prayer bench), and holy water font. Catholicism was also part of the lives of the enslaved. The French Code Noir (Black code), that provided a framework on how to run the institution of slavery, mandated that enslaved people be baptized into the Catholic faith. It is from these baptismal records that we learn the names and ages of some of the children enslaved on the plantation, including Magdelena, age two months, daughter of Juanna; Marie Therese, age nine months, daughter of Marthe; and Anna, age one year, daughter of Maria Luisa.
Catholicism is a hallmark of Creole culture. Historically, Creole referred to people born in Louisiana during the colonial period, who spoke French, Spanish, and /or creole languages, and practiced the Roman Catholic faith regardless of their ethnicity. Creole goes beyond racial boundaries. It connects people to their colonial roots, be they descendants of European colonists, enslaved or free Africans, or those of mixed heritage. Many define Creole through foodways, music, folklore, family traditions, architecture, the Catholic faith, and genealogy.