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Dauphine Street has had previous names, including Rue des Grandes Hommes, or "Greatmen Street."
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Photo by Eileen Loh Harrist
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Hey Blake,
When
were Casa Calvo and Greatmen streets changed to Dauphine and Royal streets?
Ami
Dear Ami,
Actually,
my friend, you have it backward. Greatmen Street -- also known as Rue des
Grandes Hommes -- became Dauphine Street, and Rue Casa Calvo was
changed to Royal on Nov. 20, 1852.
Casa Calvo had been named in honor of the
eighth Spanish governor of Louisiana, whose full name and title was Sebastian
de la Puerta y O'Farril, Marquis de Casa Calvo. He had come to the province
with Gov. Alejandro O'Reilly in 1769 at the age of 18. After the death of Gov.
Manuel Gayoso de Lemos y Amorin in 1799, Casa Calvo took possession of the military
government of Louisiana. Succeeded by Gov. Juan Manuel de Salcedo in June 1801,
he left immediately for Havana, but he didn't stay gone. When he returned to
New Orleans, he was present in 1803 for the transfer of Louisiana to the United
States before moving to Natchitoches. Fearing that he might stir up dissension
among the Spanish people in the territory, Gov. William C.C. Claiborne asked
him to leave the territory in 1806. Claiborne sent him a passport with "best
wishes for his health and happiness," basically telling him to "get out of Dodge."
Casa Calvo left angry, but he never returned to Louisiana again.
Legend has it that wealthy Creole landowner
Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville named Greatmen Street to mock
another Frenchman who bored everyone bragging about the great men he knew. Marigny
was not impressed, since he knew a few great men himself -- including a king.
In addition to these two streets, practically
every other street in this suburb named by Bernard Marigny -- streets such as
Union, Bagatelle, Peace, History, Victory, Love, Good Children and Craps --
has had its name changed.
Hey Blake,
My great-great-grandfather
Ebenezer Patterson settled in New Orleans from New York in 1840. He went into
the printing business, bought numerous pieces of land around Louisiana, owned
a steamboat, and was a city councilman and a state senator. Is it possible that
Patterson Road in Algiers was named in his honor?
Horace J. Patterson
Dear Horace,
Your
ancestor must have been an industrious and well-known man, considering his extensive
involvement in both business and politics. However, the street on the West Bank
of the Mississippi was not named in his honor. The road in question was originally
called the Public Road, and the man for whom it is now named is Commodore Daniel
Patterson.
Commodore Patterson distinguished himself
in the final battle of the War of 1812. It was he who correctly predicted that
the British would strike at New Orleans and not at Mobile. General Andrew Jackson
had established his base of operations in New Orleans in late November 1814
to concentrate United States military efforts on the Mississippi River after
discovering that British Vice-Admiral Alexander Cochrane intended to direct
the Gulf Coast campaign against New Orleans. The advancing British were harassed
and delayed by Patterson's small naval squadron that fired on the enemy ships.
Because of this intervention, General Jackson was better able to prepare his
defenses against Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and emerge the winner in
the Battle of New Orleans.
Hey Blake,
Whether I'm at Rocky
and Carlo's in the parish or at Delmonico on the Avenue, I ask for a check when
I'm finished eating. But for everything else I buy, I ask for a bill. Will you
please "check" the origin of this?
Angelle Doucet
Dear Angelle,
Even
though this is not strictly a New Orleans question, I have an answer for you.
The use of "bill" as a note of charges for
goods delivered or services rendered, in which the cost of each item is separately
listed has been in the English language since the early 15th century. Today
it implies a demand for payment.
However, "check," meaning a restaurant bill,
is used chiefly in the United States. The first recorded use was by Adeline
Dutton Whitney, an immensely popular writer for almost half a century of books
for girls. From her novel Patience Strong's Outings, 1869, comes the
first use of the word "check": "I let her settle for the dinner checks."
Hey, Angelle, I'll bet I know where your restaurant
check is bigger!
