I had created a memorial for Hilaire (my 4th great grandfather) in 2013, but deleted it in July 2021 because findagrave has been transferring management of my memorials to others who created duplicates and then requested the memorials be merged and the "new" person was given management of my memorials. This is wrong of findagrave to do that and violates their own policies.

However, I've decided to add back the over 100 memorials I deleted because I want to honor my ancestors. Here's hoping findagrave quits this ridiculous practice.

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Hilaire Elias Steen is my 4th great grandfather and my sister and I had been searching for this line for many years. Thanks to several people for sharing hints with us, we found him!

Hilaire - or Elias as he was called - was born about 1780 in Pennsylvania and died 'on or about' 15 July 1859 at his plantation on the Bayou Vermilion, St. Martin Parish, Louisiana.

Many people have Elias' death date as 9 August 1859 which was actually a date found on one of his succession (probate) records, but his succession records indicate that he died 'on or about July 15, 1859' at 'his residence on the Bayou Vermilion'.

He was the son of John Steen (c1760- ) and Eugenie 'Jenny' NEAL (c1762- ). John is supposed to 'be of Pennsylvania' as was Jenny.

We found a brother of Elias and that would be John Steen (c1781-1823). This is based on the fact that it appears there was only one family with the surname of Steen in the area of St. Landry and St. Martin Parishes during the time frame that Elias and John start to show up on various records (in the very early 1800's). In addition, in John's granddaughter's succession record, it indicates that her children were cousins of the sons of Elias Steen meaning Elias and John were brothers.

Note that there was a Stine family in the same area, but we know from records that this Stine family descended from a John Stine who came from Germany, stopped over in Pennsylvania and then came to Louisiana. However, we also believe that there may be a connection between the Steen and Stine families and that they are possibly the same family line but with a different spelling.

In addition, Elias' name appeared on a notice of public sale of John's plantation after John's death in 1823.

Elias married Catherine STELLY (1793-1856) on 7 April 1809 in Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana [per the Southwest Louisiana Records]. Elias' name appears in Catherine's succession records after her death in October 1856 which further confirms their marriage.

Elias and Catherine had the following children:

Lucille 'Lucy' (1810-1844), Marie 'Mary' (c1812-1858), Augustine 'Arsene'(1814-1881), Emelie (1816-1817), Elaisa 'Eliza' (1817-1859), Elias (1821-1827), Catherine Minerva (1824-1923), Jean Baptiste 'John' (1827-1862), Felice 'Philise' (1830-bef 1856), Sidney (1832-1913) and Wesley (1832-1906)

*I am descended from Elaisa

Hilaire and Catherine appeared on the following census records:

1810 - Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
1820 - St. Martin Parish, Louisiana
1830 - St. Martin Parish, Louisiana
1840 - St. Martin Parish, Louisiana
1850 - Grand Pointe Twp, St. Martin Parish, Louisiana

In addition, Elias appeared on the following Louisiana Sugar Census Indexes:

1850 - Bayou Teche R Side, St. Martin Parish
1851 - Bayou Fusilier, St. Martin Parish
1852 - Bayou Teche, St. Martin Parish
1854 - Bayou Teche R Side, St. Martin Parish
1856 - Bayou Teche, St. Martin Parish
1857 - Bayou Teche R Side, St. Martin Parish
1858 - Bayou Teche R Side, St. Martin Parish
1859 - Bayou Teche R Side, St. Martin Parish

*the 'R' means Right side which would be the west side of the river

Over the past several years, through diligent research, my sister and I have learned much more information on Hilaire, including the following:

On 28 April 1808, Elias is mentioned in a lawsuit Miale ~vs~ Steen - "Calendar of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, Civil Records, Volume 1, 1803-1819" of case "MIALE (?) vs STEEN," [2] with mention of James Murphy. Elias was being sued for payment, yet he indicated he was owed money by the plaintiff.

Again in Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, on 2 April 1810, Elias finds himself involved in yet another court case. This time it's Benjamin Smith ~vs~ Elias Steen - in "Calendar of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, Civil Records, Volume 1, 1803-1819" of case "Benjamin SMITH vs Elias STEEN, Accounts, petition and order to St. Landry Parish Sheriff to demand judgment from STEEN." [13] owed $63.75.

On 15 February 1811 in St. Landry Parish, Elias decided to go after Benjamin Smith for payment. Elias told the court that Benjamin Smith owed him $478 for sundry work done on Smith's home including framing, windows, etc. A summons was given to Smith in Feb 1811 requesting payment (several requests made).

On 23 April 1811, the Orleans Court demanded payment from Elias to Benjamin Smith. Benjamin Smith apparently won his 1810 court case against Elias and the Commonwealth of Orleans court ordered the sheriff of St. Landry to demand payment of Elias of $21.37 which covered attorney, taxes & ??. The sheriff was told to take Elias' personal effects, except slaves, if Elias didn't pay. Elias extended his payment just a bit, but did pay up on 28 April 1811.

In 1812, Elias joined and served in the War of 1812 as a Corporal in the 16th Regiment of Thompson's Militia, Louisiana. Years later - 1855 - Elias was rewarded for his service in the War of 1812 with land through a land bounty deed. He was given 162 acres of land which was later mentioned in his wife's succession papers. His land bounty record is also found on the Bureau of Land Management (certificate dated 10 September 1850, #41763).

On 15 Feb 1817, Elias purchased 698 superficial arpents (approximately 590 acres) from Seth Lewis and William Turner in St. Martin Parish. The land is located on the east side of the Vermilion with the property's southern border being on the St. Martin/Lafayette Parish lines. This land purchase is found in the Conveyance Records of Attakapas County, 1804-1818. It was on this land that Elias built his home and created his plantation where he died in 1859. At some point, Elias' son-in-law, Sidney Singleton purchased the land directly south of Elias'; Sidney's property was in Lafayette Parish.

On 2 October 1820, Elias found himself back in court, but that time I believe he was a witness. St. Landry Parish: Court Records Minutes, Monday 2 Oct 1820, The court met Present George King Esquire Judge page 81 #932 Knox vs Provost: Final judgment against the defendant for the sum of $130, with 5% interest from 14th Jun 1820 and costs of suit. (Elius Steen sworn).

Although Elias had purchased property in St. Martin Parish on the Bayou Vermilion, it appears that as of 5 October 1823, he was still living on property that bordered the Bayou Fusilier (which is approximately 13 miles due north from his plantation/land on the Bayou Vermilion).

Residence on the Bayou Fusilier was based on the record I mentioned above for John Steen - Elias' brother. After John died, a notice to the public was issued that indicated there would be a sale of John's plantation. The notice stated that 'Elias Steen' had a 'dwelling' on the Bayou Fusilier [per the succession papers of John Steen]. The notice of public sale of John's property indicates something to the effect that 'the dwelling of Mr. Elias Steen on the Bayou Fusilier'. I can't read French so can't read all of it.

The year 1827 gives us a clue to the name of Elias' plantation which I believe was Oak Hill Plantation. I based this on a letter that Elias wrote to John Close in 1827 in which he wrote 'Oak Hill' and the date at the top of his letter. I believe that meant he was sending it from his plantation (Oak Hill) to John Close's plantation which was named Petit Bois Plantation. Elias' letter is in a historical collection of John Close's paperwork.

After 1827, Elias' name appeared on census and sugar index records as well as slave schedules. Yes, he and Catherine owned slaves and they were counted as 'property' in their successions.

When Catherine died in October 1856, there were 50 slaves that were listed as 'community property' meaning 'property' owned by her and Elias together as a result of their marriage.

Also mentioned in the succession record was the location of their plantation, the names of their children (with the exception of the three who died young), and other inventory belonging to the community property.

To give an idea of how wealthy they were, we can first look at the size of their plantation which was listed as approximately 700 arpents. While there were other plantations that exceeded this size, many were much smaller (80 arpents or 160 arpents or a similar size) so a plantation measuring 700 arpents is a very good size plantation.

When Catherine died her estate was valued at $70,557.60, which in 2011 dollars would equal $1,743,478.30.

Because of Louisiana's forced heirship laws (which mandate that half of the deceased's estate go to their children and the other half to the remaining spouse), when Elias died his estate was valued at $34,943.06 (after all debts had been paid). In 2011 dollars, that would equal $863,443.01.

After Elias' death in July 1859, his plantation on the Bayou Vermilion was sold at a public estate sale to his son's-in-law, Sidney and Wesley Singleton who had married his daughters Lucille and Marie, respectively.

Sidney and Wesley purchased Hilaire's plantation at a probate sale on September 1, 1859 at a cost of $24,654.01. It was the sale of this plantation to the Singleton brothers that led to a court case that went all the way to the Louisiana Supreme Court in 1871.

After purchasing the plantation (which was located adjacent to the plantation owned by Sidney Singleton), the brothers wanted to pay the heirs in Confederate money. However, given that Confederate currency was quickly losing value due to the Civil War, the heirs declined Confederate currency and it appears the Singleton's dragged out payment until after the Supreme Court decision ruling against them.

By the time of the court's decision, Wesley Singleton had died on December 9, 1869 so payment fell to the responsibility of Sidney Singleton. Whether he ever made the payment is unknown as we cannot find any records after the Louisiana Supreme Court decision.

When Sidney and Wesley Singleton purchased Hilaire's plantation in September 1859, they were allowed three years to make payments with equal installments for years one, two and three (which would be 1 April 1860, 1 April 1861 and 1 April 1862). They would not have used Confederate money for their payment due in April 1860 as the southern states had not succeeded by that date (succeeded in January 1861), but possibly tried to use Confederate money to make their payment due in April 1861 OR they made a payment in April 1861 with "regular" currency but tried to make their final payment in April 1862 in Confederate money. No matter what, at some point the Singleton brothers attempted to make an installment payment in Confederate currency and it was probably in either 1861 and/or in 1862.

The heirs of Hilaire Elias Steen had the right to refuse payment in Confederate money, which they did. Apparently Sidney and Wesley Singleton refused to make their final payment(s) and a court case ensued. We don't know the date of these initial court cases, but we do know that the case finally ended up before the Louisiana State Supreme Court in 1871 - that's how we know there was an earlier court case because in order to make it to the Louisiana Supreme Court, there had to have been at least one prior court case.

So while we cannot give specifics as to Elias' personality, his life, etc. we do know this - he must have been a hard worker and intelligent as he probably came to Louisiana without much, but when he died he had amassed wealth and land and he provided for his children and grandchildren after his death.

*I cannot add a link to one of his daughters, Elaisa, as I did not add her record, but her Find A Grave Memorial # is 40668228.

We haven't been able to confirm where Elias was buried but more than likely he was buried in the same cemetery as his wife Catherine who was buried in Saint Charles Borromeo Cemetery (I confirmed burial there with the church).