The Man in Black Part 2

Can you believe it?!  There’s a part 2 to the Man in Black photo that I posted over eight years ago.  I still am partial to the first photo that I posted.  In fact I have a copy of it hanging in my cubicle at work.  I ‘ve only had the second photo for a few months.  I got it from Box 301 that came from my Aunt Wana’s attic.  I knew I would have to do a Man in Black Part 2 as soon as I saw it.  It’s always interesting to see a second view of an old photo that you really like.

It’s not exactly the same view.  For one thing, the man on the left in this photo is not in the previous photo.  Fortunately for us, the back of this photo was labeled, too.  Though the date given on this one says that it was taken in January of 1912, and the previous one said it was taken in December of 1912.  Knowing how I have confused dates when dating photos at the beginning of the year, I’m thinking that the previous one should have said December 1911.  I’m going to go with the January 1912 for both photos.  They were clearly taken on the same occasion.

The back of this photo says that the guy on the left is a Cambrige.  Some of the text is cut off on the back of the photo.  His first name doesn’t show.  Maybe he was the one that took the first photo.  Estelle Myhand was in his place for the first photo.  She probably took this photo.  The next person is Tom Bird.  His name was clearly written in the previous photo.  He was my grandfather’s cousin.  Their mothers were Leveque half-sisters.  He was also closely related to one of my current coworkers.  My grandfather Robert Joseph Landry Sr. is the next one in the photo.  He was called Rob back then.  He turned 19 on January 9, 1912.  Maybe this was a gathering for his birthday?

The woman standing adjacent to my grandfather was Beulah Myhand.  She was the sister of Estelle. I’m not related to them.  I am related to the little girl sitting on the stump.  I knew her as Manette Bouquet and she was an old woman when I was a kid.  She was my dad’s first cousin.  Her father was Sebastian Landry, the brother of Pee Paw.  Her mother died when she was born, so Sebastien and little Manette went to live with Seb and Rob’s parents Alcide and Celeste Leveque Landry.  So Manette was like a little sister to my grandfather.  She’s got her hand over her eyes in the photo, and she’s looking over to the next group of people.

According to the writing on the back of the photo, the person standing next to the stump is Mrs. Joe Landry.   That’s not how these people would have addressed her.  They would have been calling her Zim.  Her given name was Azema Landry.  She was the great aunt to another one of my coworkers.  Now you can see why I keep a copy of the Man in Black at work.  It shows a group of people together over 100 years ago, and now some of their relatives are working together.  It’s a small world sometimes. 

Azema was married to Joe Landry, obviously.  He is the man standing next to her and he was the brother of Rob and Seb.  Rob, Seb, and Joe were three of the sons of Alcide Landry.  Alcide had a brother named Trasimond Landry.  He had died in 1879 after fathering five children.  His youngest was Marie Manette, who married Seb Landry.  They were the parents of the little girl Manette in this photo.  Trasimond’s son Mose Landry was married to Claire Landry, the sister of Azema from this photo.  The connections can get confusing, especially when a Landry marries a Landry.  Trasimond’s oldest daughter was Marie Therese Landry, who was married to Max Patureau. 

Though I am extremely partial to their daughter Erie, who would later marry Rob Landry, I’m talking about their daughter Emma.  She is the person on the far right in the photo.  She was unmarried at the time.  She married Toby Mouton in 1919 and her first child was Therese Wynhoven Mouton.  I knew her as Tez and some knew her as Therese or Wynie (sounds like whiney).  Tez was renowned among the cousins, or should I say notorious?  Probably something in the middle, but that was later.

The photo, like I said, was taken in January of 1912 – possibly on Rob’s birthday on the 9th.  Both photos say that they were taken at the Landry property/homestead in Westlake, Louisiana.  I suppose the house to the far right might be the Landry home, but I’m not really sure.  It looks more like a neighborhood than a farming area.  That’s usually what I think of when I hear the word homestead.

I think that will be it for the Man in Black.  There is not a third photo from that day, at least none that I know of.  So it’s two and done.  See you next time.