Sections History The Real First Filipino Settlers in Louisiana
| The Real First Filipino Settlers in Louisiana |
“JGL Eye” Column
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CHICAGO, Illinois (JGLi) – In the early 19th century, Filipinos, who hailed from Manila, Philippines, were entered in the United States Census records as “Provencia Manila, Spain” as their place of origin.
On the other hand a Filipino immigrant in the United States, whose loyalty was divided between the United States and Spain, before the Spanish American War and would rather remain neutral to evade going to war, had opted to change his family name by assuming his mother’s maiden name.
(Editor's Note: Mr. Lariosa is the Chicago-based representative of the National Press Club of the Philippines. He is also the correspondent of the Manila Bulletin and Tempo newspapers of the Philippines.)
To preserve the Filipino identity and culture like Catholic religion, Filipino
women had to marry from among their own fellow Filipino descendants, not
another race. These are some of the nuggets of information a family historian, who descended
from the “Manilamen of Louisiana,” told this columnist.
Rhonda Lee Richoux may have a French name but she prides herself as a Filipino.
She sent me an email two weeks ago after reading my column floating on the
Internet during the last two years that discussed the sloppy account of Ms.
Marina E. Espina about the “Manilamen of Louisiana” in her book, “The Filipinos
of Louisiana” (1988, A.F. La Borde, New Orleans).
Editor’s Note: Many historians and the MabuhayRadio editorial staff have
concluded that the book about the supposed “Manilamen of Louisiana” is a hoax.
We have said that Ms. Espina is one of the more-infamous “hoaxbalahaps” in the
Filipino-American historical circles. This article validates the critics' claim that Ms. Espina antedated the arrival of Filipinos in Louisiana by at least one century.Ms. Espina’s inclusion of “Bernard Ducusen (sic), the American boxer, who nearly
defeated Sugar Ray Robinson,” as a descendant of the Manilamen, drew fire from
NaFFAA regional director Ed Navarra of Michigan, who happened to interview Mr.
Docusen, himself, who provided him a copy of a 100-page journal. Mr. Docusen
turned out to be a son of a Philippine Scout, who arrived much later than the
Manilamen, and a French mother, who raised him in New Orleans.
Although, the Manilamen were said to have arrived in Louisiana in 1763, Ms. Richoux, a free lance writer and amateur
genealogist, was only able to document the arrival of her Filipino ancestor only as
early as 1860 while her French/Irish ancestor dates back before 1400.
While Ms. Espina claimed that the Manilamen were said to have arrived in Louisiana in 1763, Ms. Richoux, a free lance writer and amateur genealogist, was only able to document the arrival of her Filipino ancestor as early as 1860
When super typhoon Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005, she said, it “changed our lives forever. Most of us lived
in the St. Bernard community, outside New Orleans, the entire community was destroyed by the floodwaters of Katrina
that rushed in through failed levees.
CAMPS ARE NOW GONE
“The camps on the lake where we spent our summers together are now gone, lonely
stilts jutting through the water are the only evidence that they ever existed.
“We are no longer living in our small community together. Most of us are
relocated to other towns and states. Things will never be the same again.”
Ms. Richoux, whose family was extensively cited by Ms. Espina in her book, said
in the family tree she is building since 2005, her main sources of her family
research are interviews with the family members, the family oral history and
the existing government records, like the U.S. Census.
According to the records in her possession, she is a descendant of Felipe
Madriaga of the Philippine Island and Bridgett Nugent of Ireland.
Felipe and Bridgett started their family in Southeast Louisiana back in the (late) 1800’s, but because they have no sons, she traced
a matriarchal family line.
She said many “people in the 19th and early 20th centuries were
illiterates, and records clerks, priests and census takers spelled the names
phonetically.”
In her genealogy, she listed more than 600 names as part of her family tree. According to her findings, her ancestor, Felipe Madriaga, was born about 1815
in Ilocos Norte in the Philippines, and died in Louisiana. He married Brigette Nugent, who was born about 1832 in Ireland and died in Louisiana.
She said although her great grandmother pronounced the family name of Felipe as
“Madrigal,” documents show that it is spelled “Madriaga.”
U.S. CENSUS RECORDS
According to family elders, Felipe and Brigett were likely buried near one of
the fishing villages, where they stayed. They remembered a great storm that
flooded the area, and that the coffins were dislodged from the ground and
floated away.
According to the 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Parish of St. Bernard, State of Louisiana, Felipe was listed as “Philippe Madriaga Age 45 Occup
Fisher Origin Provencia Manila Spain.” (Manila was actually a province
of Mexico, or “New Spain.”)
“Brigett Nogant Age 27 relationship not shown Origin Ireland;
“Elizabeth Madriaga Age 2 Origin Louisiana.”
Rhonda Lee Richoux was born in New Orleans in 1952. Her father is Joseph Dudley Richoux, a Cajun
(Canadian Indian), and her mother is Lilian Mae Burtanog Richoux, a fifth-generation Filipino descendant.
Rhonda Lee said her grandmother, Rosalie Borabod Martinez, told her about her
husband, Benito Yabut. She said that Benito was a crewman when he was just 18
or 19 years old. When he learned that war between Spain and America was imminent, he decided to jump ship. He changed his name
to Martinez, his mother’s maiden name, and found his way to the
Filipino community in Louisiana. He became a fisherman, met her great grandmother and
started a family.
She said the women in her family line married Filipino men up to her mother’s
generation so the Filipino identity is evident and the descendants easy to
recognize.
The next challenge Rhonda is facing is how to find out how her ancestor, Felipe
Madriaga, managed to come to America.
She said the present generation has now become a “melting pot.” Yet her
blue-eyed niece, Brooke Faxon, will proudly tell people, “I’m a Filipino.”
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ORIGINAL ANCESTORS:
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| ORIGINAL ANCESTORS: |
FAMILY HISTORIAN:
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| FAMILY HISTORIAN |
LATEST GENERATION:
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| LATEST GENERATION: |
JOSEPH G. LARIOSA
Journal Group Link International
P. O. BOX 805072
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