Upon emigrating to New Orleans in 1820, Michael Pithon sailed upstream to the Missouri River, and later trapped beavers in the Rocky Mountains for the next 15 years. He became an intimate friend of Jim Bridger and other mountain men, when they discovered Yellowstone Park. When the fur trade declined, he came to Galveston Bay in 1835, where he served 2 enlistments in the Republic of Texas army. In the fall of 1836 Pithon left for Lake Charles, where he lived for the remainder of his life.
Pithon fitted well into Calcasieu Parish social life following his marriage to Denise in 1837. On Aug. 24, 1840, he became a member of the Imperial Calcasieu Police Jury, representing Ward 3. In the 1850 census he was described as a "planter," owning 167 acres of land, worth $1,800. In 1860, he was both a farmer and merchant, with $10,000 worth of personal property, presumed to be about 10 slaves.
In May, 1866, Willard Richarson, editor, published a long article about Pithon in his edition of Galveston Weekly News for May 19, 1866. He noted that Pithon. although 92 years of age, walked 10 miles daily and "goes to every dance in the parish." He added that in 1857, Pithon had sailed back to Paris to collect a large inheritance, at which time Emperor Napoleon II offered him a pension for life.
The parish probate Succession No. 352 reveals that Michel Pithon died of pneumonia in 1873 while on a trip to Opelousas, and his widow died only a few months later in 1873. Their former slave Catalon, who died in 1894, was the source of the "Story of Lafitte in Calcasieu River," published in New York Herald in 1893, and reprinted in Galveston Daily News on April 28, 1895.
Pithon fitted well into Calcasieu Parish social life following his marriage to Denise in 1837. On Aug. 24, 1840, he became a member of the Imperial Calcasieu Police Jury, representing Ward 3. In the 1850 census he was described as a "planter," owning 167 acres of land, worth $1,800. In 1860, he was both a farmer and merchant, with $10,000 worth of personal property, presumed to be about 10 slaves.
In May, 1866, Willard Richarson, editor, published a long article about Pithon in his edition of Galveston Weekly News for May 19, 1866. He noted that Pithon. although 92 years of age, walked 10 miles daily and "goes to every dance in the parish." He added that in 1857, Pithon had sailed back to Paris to collect a large inheritance, at which time Emperor Napoleon II offered him a pension for life.
The parish probate Succession No. 352 reveals that Michel Pithon died of pneumonia in 1873 while on a trip to Opelousas, and his widow died only a few months later in 1873. Their former slave Catalon, who died in 1894, was the source of the "Story of Lafitte in Calcasieu River," published in New York Herald in 1893, and reprinted in Galveston Daily News on April 28, 1895.
Upon emigrating to New Orleans in 1820, Michael Pithon sailed upstream to the Missouri River, and later trapped beavers in the Rocky Mountains for the next 15 years. He became an intimate friend of Jim Bridger and other mountain men, when they discovered Yellowstone Park. When the fur trade declined, he came to Galveston Bay in 1835, where he served 2 enlistments in the Republic of Texas army. In the fall of 1836 Pithon left for Lake Charles, where he lived for the remainder of his life.
Pithon fitted well into Calcasieu Parish social life following his marriage to Denise in 1837. On Aug. 24, 1840, he became a member of the Imperial Calcasieu Police Jury, representing Ward 3. In the 1850 census he was described as a "planter," owning 167 acres of land, worth $1,800. In 1860, he was both a farmer and merchant, with $10,000 worth of personal property, presumed to be about 10 slaves.
In May, 1866, Willard Richarson, editor, published a long article about Pithon in his edition of Galveston Weekly News for May 19, 1866. He noted that Pithon. although 92 years of age, walked 10 miles daily and "goes to every dance in the parish." He added that in 1857, Pithon had sailed back to Paris to collect a large inheritance, at which time Emperor Napoleon II offered him a pension for life.
The parish probate Succession No. 352 reveals that Michel Pithon died of pneumonia in 1873 while on a trip to Opelousas, and his widow died only a few months later in 1873. Their former slave Catalon, who died in 1894, was the source of the "Story of Lafitte in Calcasieu River," published in New York Herald in 1893, and reprinted in Galveston Daily News on April 28, 1895.
Pithon fitted well into Calcasieu Parish social life following his marriage to Denise in 1837. On Aug. 24, 1840, he became a member of the Imperial Calcasieu Police Jury, representing Ward 3. In the 1850 census he was described as a "planter," owning 167 acres of land, worth $1,800. In 1860, he was both a farmer and merchant, with $10,000 worth of personal property, presumed to be about 10 slaves.
In May, 1866, Willard Richarson, editor, published a long article about Pithon in his edition of Galveston Weekly News for May 19, 1866. He noted that Pithon. although 92 years of age, walked 10 miles daily and "goes to every dance in the parish." He added that in 1857, Pithon had sailed back to Paris to collect a large inheritance, at which time Emperor Napoleon II offered him a pension for life.
The parish probate Succession No. 352 reveals that Michel Pithon died of pneumonia in 1873 while on a trip to Opelousas, and his widow died only a few months later in 1873. Their former slave Catalon, who died in 1894, was the source of the "Story of Lafitte in Calcasieu River," published in New York Herald in 1893, and reprinted in Galveston Daily News on April 28, 1895.
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