Jean Laffite actual last known domicile and headquarters on Galveston Island Texas.

[tat2guy]

You are aware of all the alleged of buried LaFitte treasure in Florida and in the other coastal states and that wagon story in a Texas lake.With his Philadelphia connections,I doubt LaFitte would bury his wealth.

If you look at the Laffitte Bros you will find a treasure story in northern Delaware.

 

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[bigscoop]

If you look at the Laffitte Bros you will find a treasure story in northern Delaware.

This is all too true. That's why it's always important to "try" to get down to the truth. I didn't want to see this thread turn into another treasure related conversation, instead I'd much rather see it remain a discussion about the man in question. The more we know about the man then the easier it becomes to separate possible truth from complete fiction. In the case of Laffitte there is so very little to go on. The only real hope we have of learning more about him resides in establishing the authenticity of his memoirs. Since modern science has yet to be applied to those memoirs, and likely won't be for various reasons, then the only remaining choice we have is to try to authenticate as much as we can in regards to what is written in those memoirs. Hopefully during this process we might uncover other avenues we wouldn't find or consider otherwise. So let us forgo all the tales of treasure.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

"Framing" the topic, eh...?

 

[bigscoop]

"Framing" the topic, eh...?

Not framing anything,.........but ECS is absolutely right. Treasure "legends" abound everywhere and they seldom have any substance to the tale.

 

[ECS]

... In the case of Laffitte there is so very little to go on. The only real hope we have of learning more about him resides in establishing the authenticity of his memoirs. Since modern science has yet to be applied to those memoirs, and likely won't be for various reasons, then the only remaining choice we have is to try to authenticate as much as we can in regards to what is written in those memoirs...

Which brings us to John Andrechyne Laflin,who "found" LaFitte's memoirs,and claimed to be a decendent.
Laflin was a known forger,who created letters and documents of Lincoln,Davy Crockett,Andrew Jackson,and others,and his activities does make the Lafitte memoirs suspect.
The Mystery of the Final Years of Jean Lafitte Lafitte's Treasure Links JeanLafitte.net
Booksmith: Genealogy: Lafitte

 

[bigscoop]

"In 1948, John Andrechyne Laflin, who claimed to be a great grandson of Laffite, claimed he inherited a trunk containing a journal written by Laffite himself . According to the journal, Laffite retired in the St. Louis area and changed his name to John Laflin, married a woman named Emma Mortimer, had children and died in 1854 around the age of 70 . The paper of ink were determined to be of the period by the Library of Congress, but is felt to be a forgery by John Laflin himself due to the handwritting and Laflin's connection to other forgeries . It has not definitaly been determined if it is a hoax or not. Perhaps they can obtain some dna from Dominique You tomb above and compare it to relatives of Laflin . Doubt that's going to happen."


I'm not sure about Laflin ever admitting that he felt the memoirs were a forgery. I know I've never seen anything in that regard nor ever heard of it from a reliable/credible source. I do know several different attempts were made to authenticate the memoirs and this proved inconclusive, not due to the test but mostly due to a few key people who had their own reasons for discrediting the memoirs. This prior testing, and the circumstances surrounding those test is fully explained in the beginning of Gene Marshall's translation of that full text. In modern times there are still some forces at work that do not want that testing to be done for various reasons. I wish they would conduct these test but given all the modern day agendas and tug-of-wars, just as the above summary says, I doubt that is going to happen anytime soon. This is why Jay, myself, and a few others have undertaken the task of trying to verify or discredit everything we can in those memoirs.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Hmmm... what I have found is that the FRENCH of New Orleans traveled up-river on "Big Muddy" to enhance the FRENCH colony of St. Loo, Mo. French Trappers from New France (Canada) started it & "French Quarters" of St. Louis, Mo. grew; check it out!

 

[Rebel - KGC]

FURTHER... Look into French Colonial Territory of Illinois; it was known as Upper Louisiana. THEN: "Three Flags Day, March 9-10, 1804.

 

[el padron]

I think it's really very simple, Laffitte practiced on the absolute last threshold of America's early colonial frontier. He was a cunning brutal opportunist who understood well that he could face a firing squad at any moment if he did not put the correct spin on his actions and way of life


By the early 1820s Laffitte was well aware that even his borderline genius and fading charisma was not enough to justify the culture that he created and based his entire life around

Everything he stood for was a young man's game and there is no denying that once he no longer portrayed himself well enough, he resigned to accepting his place and costar credit in the glorified pages of history and to countless Disney movies yet to come.

 

[el padron]

I think it's really very simple, Laffitte practiced on the absolute last threshold of America's early colonial frontier. He was a cunning brutal opportunist who understood well that he could face a firing squad at any moment if he did not put the correct spin on his actions and way of life


By the early 1820s Laffitte was well aware that even his borderline genius and fading charisma was not enough to justify the culture that he created and based his entire life around

Everything he stood for was a young man's game and there is no denying that once he no longer portrayed himself well enough, he resigned to accepting his place and costar credit in the glorified pages of history and to countless Disney movies yet to come.

Man…. that was beautiful, wasn't it?….

 

[bigscoop]

Man…. that was beautiful, wasn't it?….

That was beautiful. And I do agree that he was an opportunist operating on the fringes of the New World that was taking shape all around the globe, especially here in the U.S. I don't know that I would say he was brutal, one has to remember that during his era the law carried an entirely different face depending on where it was enforced. Can you imagine dueling still being legal today, one could hardly take a quick trip to the corner store without seeing two all too proud men preparing to square off. There is also a lot of evidence suggesting that Laffitte and his agenda may have actually been utilized, or manipulated, by the U.S. in an effort to keep the political pressure on Spain in regards to the disputed territory, or "the neutral zone", that was established between the U.S. and Spain prior to the Adams Onis Treaty. Personally, from everything I have seen and researched, I think this is probably the case. However, in the end Laffitte was never able to fulfill his own agenda, just allowed to believe he might until he was no longer needed. There's actually quite a bit of evidence suggesting this.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Evidence...?

 

[tat2guy]

Evidence...?

There are written accounts of Jean working as a double double agent with the Spanish and Americans. And reading between the lines I believe with the British too. A diary of a spy mission for the Spanish written by Jean Laffitte lives in the newberry library of Chicago. Interesting read I recommend checking it out.

 

[bigscoop]

From everything we've researched so far it appears that Laffitte was both, "Opportunist & Operative." I think all of this goes back to the world climate during that era in which he lived. The world was still taking shape and alliances were still largely uncertain from one day to the next. Spain, Britain, the French, all of them were doing all they could to still have a piece of the new Americas and the new Americas were doing anything they could to prevent it.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

THAT is why Vice-Prez A. Burr wanted WEST of Louisiana along the Gulf Coast & Mexico, after Prez T. Jefferson did the Louisiana Purchase; claim it for AMERICA!

 

[bigscoop]

When the Louisiana Purchase was negotiated in 1803 it was negotiated with many uncertainties. Of those extreme concerns were the exact boundaries of that purchase, both Spain and Britain looming upon and contesting the uncertain boundaries of this enormous real estate purchase. These, however, were not blind concerns for the U.S. politicians and diplomats who had negotiated the purchase and in the years preceding the purchase and the years afters after the purchase they continued to apply pressure upon both of these foreign contestants. Finally, in 1818 two critical treaties were signed that established the conclusive borders of the Louisiana Purchase, The Adam's Onis Treaty between Spain and the United States and The Treaty of 1818 between Britain and the United States. Not until 1818 was the Louisiana Purchase firmly in route to being under the full control of the United States. Below is a map of those final treaty boundaries.

What is important to remember in all of this is that prior to the Adam's Onis Treaty the American authorities insisted that Texas had been part of the Louisiana Purchase. However, as a result of the Adam's Onis Treaty the area of Texas was actually lost and the new border now set at what is roughly that border between Texas and Louisiana.


Prior to the Adam's Onis Treaty this disputed border remained a hot and aggressively pursued conflict between Spain and the U.S., however, neither side wanted to go to war over the dispute. In order to avert further armed clashes, U.S. General James Wilkinson and Spanish Lt. Col. Simon de Herrera, the two military commanders in the region, signed an agreement declaring the disputed territory Neutral Ground (November 5, 1806) until the boundary could be formally established by their respective governments. The agreement was not a treaty and was not ratified by either government, although it was largely respected. Even with this agreement, the boundaries of the Neutral Ground were not entirely specified. Below is a map of this agreed neutral zone.

What is interesting in all of this is Texas, this being the area of the original dispute between the United states and Spain. Prior to the Adam's Onis Treaty the United States was claiming that this entire territory had been part of the Louisiana Purchase. It's interesting that in the years leading up to this critical Adam's Onis Treaty that Laffitte and the armed survivors of the failed Napoleon campaign (Camp de Asile) had setup camp in this disputed territory. What is even more interesting is in the manner in which some of these insurgents arrived in the United States and then likewise swiftly arrived fully armed in this disputed territory, the bulk of this financing being largely funneled through a U.S. banking system headed by Steven Girard. From here the many trails taken leave no doubt as to how and why Laffitte and those insurgents were there.


All of this various research and confirmation also leaves no doubt that the Laffitte Memoirs are likely to be the real deal. These many trails then leading us back to the original Louisiana Purchase negotiations and who Maison Rouge was likely built for. But there is still much to be researched and much to be learned.

 

[ECS]

Let it be noted that banker,Stephen Girard,financed the War of 1812 for the US,made his money in the Chinese opium trade,and his niece,Henriette Marie Girard, married Charles Francois Antoine Lallemand,Oct 28,1817 at Philadelphia's St Augustine Roman Catholic Church.In attendence at the wedding were Stephen Girard,Charles Lallemand,Marshall Emanuel Count de Grouci,and Joseph Bonaparte.

 

[bigscoop]

Girard, Lallemand, Grouci, and Joseph Bonaparte were all deeply involved with Champ de Asile, the site of "their" Texas settlement having already been selected prior to their arrival at Galveston Island. It was Laffitte who had arranged their transportation from New Orleans to Galveston Island. It's also been suggested, based on some continuing research, that a second site for a fort had also been selected and possibly even prepared.

 

[el padron]

Girard, Lallemand, Grouci, and Joseph Bonaparte were all deeply involved with Champ de Asile, the site of "their" Texas settlement having already been selected prior to their arrival at Galveston Island. It was Laffitte who had arranged their transportation from New Orleans to Galveston Island. It's also been suggested, based on some continuing research, that a second site for a fort had also been selected and possibly even prepared.

@ bigscoop,

You have been interested in Laffite long before I posted the Maison Rouge home site photos, so I thought you might be interested in this minor lost footnote in history, I certainly never heard of it before….. :

I was at the Rosenberg Library in Galveston today researching the building permit for a corner store / apartment building that the Historical foundation has expressed interest in purchasing from me.

They keep old records there and its halls serve as a museum of Galveston history.

In about 1880 John Sealy, one of Galveston's leading early business men (He later donated a large portion of his fortune in establishing the University of Texas John Sealy medical center,) broke ground for his home at about 25th street and Broadway in Galveston.

Today that home serves as a museum of sorts and has been completely rehabbed.

Its on petty high ground as far as the Island goes,and that may be one of the reasons he chose that particular location.
While breaking ground workmen reported finding a tin with the attached rolled up oil painting and also "a few spanish coins" in the same tin.

They turned the oil painting over to their customer, Mr Sealy and told him that they found it with a few spanish coins in "a tin" that was never addressed. That tin does not exist today, neither do the "few spanish coins".

Mr Sealy restored the painting and determined that it was of Jeane Lafitte, because it resembled his few classic portraits that are known to exist.
It certainly looks a lot like Lafittes existing portraits.
Mr Sealy ultimately framed and hung it in his newly built palatial Estate.

He later donated it to the Rosenburg library where it still hangs today.

The second photo is of the caption that explains the oil painting, but it just doesn't photograph well.
I basically described what it communicates in the paragraph I just wrote above.

The above described circumstance is absolute fact and it describes the origin of the oil painting that hangs in the Rosenberg Library today.

The sealy mansion lies on a relatively high spot on the island, but certainly not the highest.
This not too obvious, but relatively easy to find location is where Lafitte would have left something behind to reteave later,

If this is the case, Lafitte may very well have left the portrait of himself as proof that the cashe was originally his.

If he did bury riches under the site of the current Sealy mansion he may have recovered them later and left his likeness as a momento to whomever might come across it later.
It seems as a relatively ego driven individuals probable course of action.

The other explanation is, that on a spring day in the year 1880, a group of laborrors or Mr Sealy himself came across a buried cash of spanish treasure and simply did not report it.

Sealy went on to be one of the richest men in the United states at that time.
What do you think?

I haven't figured out how to add photo's to a reply
It seems easy enough when starting a thread.

Ill post the oil painting and the caption when I can...

 

[el padron]

Here is the painting and the caption next to it…..