Johanne Webre
the progenitor of the Webre family in Louisiana

It appears that Johanne Jean Webre remained in Gambhurst until 1720, when he was recruited for Law's settlement in Louisiana. By July 23, 1720 Johanne Jean Webre and a party of immigrants, headed by Mr. Dourner, Commissioner, had reached Phalsbourg, in the present day department of Bas-Rin, France. On that very same day, July 23, 1720, Jean Webre, son of Michel Webre and Madelaine Byerlin, was married to Anne Catherine Strimpfferin, daughter of deceased Jean Martin Strimpffer, of Steinbach. According to records, the bride was assisted by her brother, Andre Strimpffer, who also immigrated to the German Coast of Louisiana. We do not know the circumstances of their meeting. Had they been betrothed prior to leaving Gamburst or had they met on the journey?

It is entirely possible that Johanne was a passenger on one of the earliest ships from France. His name does not appear on any ships roster, but we are absolutely sure, that sometime during the later part of this year, he arrived in his new world. Most probably he arrived on either the "Le Profond" or the "La Marie". The "Le Profond" arrived on the 16th of September, bringing more than 240 people. The "La Marie" arrived on November 9, 1721.

It appears that perhaps Johanne was the only member of the original Webre family to survive either the voyage or the epidemic in the spring of 1721, as no other mention is made of any of the original family members. It is also possible that perhaps his brother and family decided to remain in France. I am certain though, that Johanne lost his wife, Anne Catherine Strimpffer, sometime in the period between 1721 and 1724. It does appear that the Germans who came on the "Le Profond" seem to be the only ones of the new settlers who actually reached the Arkansas River, traveling from Biloxi by way of the inland routes (Lake Borgne, Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, Amite River, Bayou Manchac and the Mississippi River). All other settlers, on all other ships., both before, and after the "Le Profond" were put ashore at Biloxi, on Biloxi Bay and Dauphine Island.

Biloxi was a land of famine and pestilence. It was overwhelmed with growing pains of the departing ships; population sometimes doubling in one day. The early immigrants to Biloxi and Dauphine Island were forced to stay for months, due to lack of organization. Small boats which would have easily taken the immigrants to the concessions inland, had been allowed to fall to pieces due to neglect. Thus the great masses of people crammed together in these small areas spread massive epidemic diseases, and died of starvation.

By September of 1721, when the coast of Louisiana was inundated with water from a "great hurricane", Johanne was living, most likely, in the second Village of Allemande. The two villages lay above New Orleans about 30 miles. The first village, which was settled at least a year or more and was approximately a mile and a half inland from the Mississippi River was well established by the time the second village began to take shape. The second village was perhaps only three quarters of a mile inland from the Mississippi and in the same area, separated from the first by a tract of land estimated at four arpents. This land had been cleared and was serving the communities as cemetery. The establishment of the second village is estimated from reports in the 1724 census which states that the people in the second village had been on their lands for three years. Water from the Mississippi and the Lakes (Lac des Allemandes, Lake Salvador, Bayou des Allemandes) all but washed the villages away. The storm lasted for 5 days, and decimated the area. Over 8000 quarts of rice, which had been ready for harvest, was lost. In New Orleans, homes were blown away, the forts of the Louisiana and Mississippi areas were wiped out. Ships in the Gulf, which had been loaded with supplies, were sunk. Hundreds of people died, others moved closer to the river front, where the land was higher.

On December 1, 1722 Governor Bienville wrote to the Superior Council stating that he intended to place from twelve to fifteen "Germans who lost their subsistence by the great hurricane and are now compelled to seek employment in order to provide for their families." He entered into contracts with these families only with the approval of the Superior Council. Ten days after making the request, Bienville received the answer from the Council for approval "with the Germans who have engaged themselves to begin a new establishment on account of the bad situation and the difficulties they encountered on the lands which they occupied 'aux Tensas' ".

It must be said here, that Bienville was not the benevolent savior as is portrayed in his request to the Superior Council. In 1719 the Superior Council had forbidden high ranking officials to own plantations. They were however, allowed to own only "vegetable gardens". Bienville wangled his way around the new edicts and was granted two new immense grants of land in February of 1720. In order to obey the letter of the law (in his own fashion) he designated fifty-three and a half arpents (out of 213 1/2 arpents, all river front), just above New Orleans, as his personal habitation. The remainder of his lands (which amounts to more than the whole first district of New Orleans in it's present state) were designated as his "vegetable garden"! That is a LOT of squash, folks! He continued to do this type of land grabbing; obtaining land, designating part as his habitation and the rest as "vegetable garden". Not being allowed to work this land as a plantation, because of his standing in the political community, he hit upon the idea of turning the 12 to 15 hurricane victims into slaves, under the guise of a humanitarian gesture. Governor Bienville, in one fell swoop, introduced the system of feudal tenure to Louisiana. Some of Bienville's first victims were the twelve German families whose lives had been decimated by the hurricane. Among these twelve families was the Johanne Webre family, paying a burdensome annual ground rent in money, products, and manual labor. They were ensconced on his "vegetable garden" above new Orleans about the first of January 1723.

Bienville laid down stringent conditions to the storm victims for the land he "gave" them. They had to repay the advances he made to them upon settlement on the lands. Usually, he advanced them provisions for one year, a cow in calf, two hogs an four chickens with a cock, the necessary utensils and farm implements to set up housekeeping and farming. The utensils, provisions and implements had to be paid for in two years. The cow had to be returned within three years, and all of the cattle raised in excess of the first twelve, Bienville was to receive half. In payment for the two hogs he furnished them, they returned a fat hog every second year and of the four chickens and the cock, they repaid six fat hens or capons each year. In addition, they had to repay the land in for form of two fat capons (or hens), two days work "in the form of corvee" and from six to eight livres annual ground rent for each arpent (in 1800 a livre was valued at approximately $.20 American, so it was far less than that in 1723. Even at half that rate, a dime per livre made the rent on an arpent from 60 to 80 cents per year. That was an astronomical amount for the time!) ,. Thus, for Johannes six aprents of land, he was obligated to work for Bienville for twelve days each year, give him 12 capons and from 36 to 48 livres each year. It is no wonder that in the 1726 the Germans are referred to as "Vasseaux allemandes." Vassals they were. It did not take long for the burdensome price of Bienville's benevolent "gift" to the hurricane victims to take it's toll. It took a period of four years, for the families to all pack up and move on, abandoning their land and starting over once again. The last to give up and leave was Jacob Huber, who abandoned his lands in 1727.   By the way, as part of the contract, Bienville had assured these families that he would construct levee's to protect them....he never did.

You must also remember the conditions of the lands.  These were no regular farms as we know them today.  The land was thick with trees and swamps.  They had no farm equipment, save a few homemade hand tools.  They cleared the land with the labor of their backs. often clearing only a few feet a day.  It was months, even years, in some cases, before they were able to plant crops.  Women and children, like the men, worked to clear the land.  At the time, there were only 9 horses in the entire area of New Orleans, this meant that the land was labored by the man and not the animal.

According to the census of 1724 in Louisiana, Johanne was living on the left bank of the Mississippi River with his wife Marie Stadler, who came to Louisiana with her parents Ulrich and Maria Stadler on one of the four pest ships. They were called Pest ships because of the very bad conditions aboard the ships namely, rats, roaches, etc., and a certain percentage of the passengers would die on way and in certain cases all families were wiped out. It is assumed that his first wife, Anne Catherine Strimpfferin, had died aboard of these pest ships. Johanne had 6 arpents of land, near the upper limits of Bienville's land, now Carrollton. Living in the home with Johanne and Maria were his mother-in-law and an orphan girl aged 16. They owned a cow, a heifer, a bull and four pigs. They are listed as having been on the place for one year. Evidently, Bienville had either taken all of the chickens, or they died or were carried off by animals. Whatever the cause, Johanne seems to have been up a proverbial creek, when it came to making his chicken payments to the kind governor.

We know that Johanne had abandoned his Bienville claim prior to 1727. The next mention of him is in an undated census, which is thought to be about 1732. This places him on the left bank of the Mississippi River beginning at "La Providence" (opposite what is now Waggaman). He is shown to own 6 arpents.

This census of 1732 is interesting in it's own right, in that you will see the foundation for what became the Planter Aristocracy of the River. Johanne and the Webre family were certainly among this group of people. Within 10 entries you see the names Verret, Webre, Dubs (Toups), Dubs (Toups), Haydel, Brou, Champagne and Le Borne, Wichner, Hopf.

Johanne seems to have produced only one child who lived to maturity, a son Jean Baptiste Webre. Jean Baptiste was Johanne's son by his third wife Catherine Stein Matherne. The estimated time of his marriage to Catherine was 1726-1727. This date is estimated because Marie Stadler, Johannes second wife, died in January of 1726 in childbirth. The baby, a daughter, also died. A year or so later, we see Jean Baptiste born in 1727 in St John the Baptist Parish, his mother is Catherine Stein Matherne.

We do not have a date of death for Johanne. It is assumed that he was buried at either St Charles Borromeo (The Little Red Church) or at St Johns Catholic Cemetery. Both cemeteries have been decimated by flood waters and the church of St John has been moved several times, farther back from the river. The graves, and their contents have been consumed by the river.