Last updated on 2024-06-19
Who was Charles Boudousquie who, in June 1858, travelled with Paul Morphy from New York to Liverpool ?
The issue of New York Times of Thursday, June 10th, 1858, indeed contains the list of passengers sailing from New York to Liverpool . Among them, Paul Morphy who is said to travel with Chas. Bondoesquie.
This was probably Charles Boudousquie, who died on August 23th, 1866. He had been the manager of the Orleans Theater and, starting in 1859, of the New Opera House. He became ill when he left the city [New-Orleans] “under military banishment in 1863”. See obituary in
The Findagrave site gives the following information (see Charles Boudousquie (1814-1866) – Mémorial Find a Grave):
BOUDOUSQUIE, Charles, impresario. Born, New Orleans, February 29, 1814 [sic]; son of Norbert Boudousquié and Marie Thérèse Héloïse de Chouriac. Succeeded Pierre Davis as director of the Théâtre d’Orléans (ca. 1853). Instrumental in construction of the new French Opera House, which opened December 1, 1859, and which he managed until the outbreak of the Civil War. Appointed notary public, September 26, 1865. Married, May 29, 1858, soprano Julie Calvé. Children (adopted): Marie (Leduc) and Charles Paul (Leduc) Boudousquié. Died, New Orleans, August 23, 1866; interred St. Louis Cemetery II. J.B.** Sources: Tagliche Deutsche Zeitung, November 2, 1853; New Orleans Daily Picayune, April 17, 1859; New Orleans Times, August 25, 1866; Daily Picayune, August 26, 1866; Daily Southern Star, September 28, 1865; St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans, La., Baptismal Book 7 (1811-1815); Annunciation Church, New Orleans, La., Marriage Register I; St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans, La., Cemetery Records (April 1860-June 1871).
The date of the marriage to Julie Calvé may be wrong according to FamilySearch: Charles Boudousquie (1814–1866) • Person • Family Tree • FamilySearch. They perhaps married in 1840, and adopted two children, Marie-Therese (1843 – 1909) and and Paul Charles (1847 – 1925) (see https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/5481691?cid=mem_copy).
Julie (or Julia) Rose Calvé was born in Rennes, France, in May 1815. She died in New Orleans on December 30th, 1898 (Julia Rose Calve Boudousquie (1815-1898) – Mémorial Find a Grave). There is a place called esplanade Julie-Rose Calvé in Rennes.
Charles Boudousquie had 11 brothers and sisters. His sister Françoise Aimee (1801 – 1886) had married in 1820 Martin Blache, who was the son of Charles Louis Blache (1772 – 1840), one of the brothers of Modeste Blache, one of Paul Morphy’s grand-mothers.
Why did Charles Boudousquie go to Liverpool ? Was he asked to accompany Paul Morphy ? It would be interesting to know when he came back.
Maybe he went to France to hire actors, as several actors arrive from France on the ship Baden as written in the Times-Picayune Saturday, Oct 23, 1858 (https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/116835431?cid=mem_copy)
Le Ménestrel : journal de musique, in its issue of 1859-10-09, contains information about the creation of the théâtre français de La Nouvelle-Orléans, see https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k57827428
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