1940 US Census:
U.S. Census records are included in the Bayou Pigeon book, but stop at 1930. That is, because when the Bayou Pigeon book was published the US Census data was only public up to 1930. Census records are created every decade by the federal government in order to determine the number of delegates each state may send to the U S Congress. Due to the sensitive nature of census information, the U.S. adopted a 72-year privacy rule (other countries use a 100-year restriction).
The 1940 U.S. Federal Census was conducted using an official census date of April 1, 1940. Therefore all census data specific to an individual was restricted until April 1, 2012. Once the 72-year privacy restriction is met, population schedules are released to the National Archives and Records Administration.
The 1940 US census has been available for about 2 years now and I have spent some time researching it.
I believe the 1940 census is important to Bayou Pigeon, because in 1940 Pigeon was a pure unadulterated Cajun Fishing community, not influenced by outsiders and modern society. The cultural / folklife traditions that the authors of the Bayou Pigeon Book are trying to document and preserve were at their peak. After WWII the French / Cajun Culture & folklife began to be Americanized
1940 census is also personal to me because my wife’s paternal and maternal side of her family ( the Solar's 1933_ Gaudet's 1936) came to Bayou Pigeon. And this is the first official recording of their move to Pigeon and I wanted to document that..
A word about Cajun names in the Census records;
I had to search awhile to find the Solar’s in the actual census records, because their names were misspelled. I have determined that was quite common at / for the Bayou Pigeon census. Not that the names from Pigeon, should be that hard to spell, but because of our Cajun French language and the way pure Cajuns pronounce names, they were frequently misunderstood and therefore misspelled by the census takers who did not speak French and thus did not understand what the people were saying. For example Solar, you would think that should be easy… but in the old days when my Mother in Law would pronounce it; it sounded like ‘So_laa” , which I suppose would sound like ‘Saurage’ to an Anglo, which was the way it was spelled in the 1940 census record.
Another example, Mr. Felician Berthelot, the English version would be Felix. But that is not close to how the old folks at Pigeon say it 'fa les e ain.'
If you have an interest , I have tried to provide this data in high resolution, so you can enlarge and read the actual index page. I know a lot of folks may not be interested if they cannot read the names easy.
But to me looking at the actual census index page gives the reader a real sense… yes that is my Grandparents and Parents. They are gone, but I feel like I can still touch them !
Keep in mind,
The census workers worked there way down Hwy 75 from Plaquemine house to house, so the order of the families that were recorded does provide some indication of who lived next to who and where eg., it is easy to determine someone who lived at Indigo Bayou… because well known, several families were known to live there and only there, ie., the Blanchard's, almost the entire family lived within eyesight of each other at Indigo, thus if you lived close to the Blanchard's you must have lived at Indigo at one time..
Example, Diane’s (my wife) maternal side of the family, The Gaudet’s are listed right next to the Blanchard's. Corroborating that the Gaudet’s lived at Indigo at one time. Whereas most people remember them only living above the current Grand River_/ Pigeon bridge, where the Gaudet store was located.
If you have access to Ancestry.com and want to look up the information yourself.The actual census records are under...1940_ LA. -Iberville Parish _Police Jury Ward 8_ outside Plaquemine town_ Crescent Enumeration District 24-21_ pages #49 - 60
The 1940 US Census recorded approximately 100 Heads of Household and 390 souls at Bayou Pigeon.
Page 49
I start My Census review On Page 49( below), I find two names, I can recognize, Orillion Berthelot and Alger Simoneaux. I surmise that Mr. Orillion Berthelot (house number 474) and Alger Simoneaux, house number 480, lived somewhere between the Bayou Sorrel Lock and Bayou Choctaw.
Can any one help explain and / or verify where they might have been located by these numbers… they are 6 numbers apart.
Page 50
On Page 50, I pick up names of Bayou Pigeon I can recognize, Mr. Claiborne Landry, in house # 487. Now assume that Mr. Claiborne was living at his farm at Choctaw and Grand River. That would put Mr. Orillion Berthelot and Alger Simoneaux above that residence, since they were at 374 and 480 .
Earnest Hebert at #488. I am told That Earnest Hebert and family lived just above where the current Hwy 75 Bayou Pigeon fire station is located now.
Note all the people from line 44 to 72, have occupations other than fishing. I wonder where this group was actually located. Anyone got any clues ? I think they were located between the Bayou Sorrel Locks and Choctaw Bayou.
All interesting questions ?
Page 51
On Page 51, all recognizable Bayou Pigeon Families, most long time residents can recognize. The order seems to match where people remembering everyone living.However, there is one family with surname of Case. Is this family related to Case family we know of in Plaquemine?
Page 52
Note Line 42, the first entry is actually Mr. Clement Landry, the Census taker recorded it Claymore Landry. The Pigeon pronunciation s would have sounded 'Clay_Mon' to an Anglo.The census taker at the time was a Mr Warren Hebert from Plaquemine. It seems to me with a name like Hebert, he would have got ' Clement' right. L.O.L.
Page 53
On Page 53, all recognizable Bayou Pigeon Families. The order seems to match where people remembering everyone living. On the very last entry the census recorder , Mr. Warren Hebert was confused he listed Clement Landry a second time, what / who he really meant was Leo Landry.
Page 54
On Page 54, all recognizable Bayou Pigeon Families. The order seems to match where people remembering everyone living. The Census taker must have left the Pigeon area and went back to Plaquemine or White Castle, the last two names are Black people.
Page 58
Pages 55 - 58 of the census is of another area, the Census recorder returns to the Bayou Pigeon part of the 1940 census picks back up on page 58. Bayou Pigeon Families start again on line 49.
The last line# 80 we go toward Indigo Bayou… How do i know that? Because that’s the listing is Mr. Archie Settoon... everyone knows he lived half way from current bridge and Indigo Bayou. You see… you can connects the dots…it all makes sense
Page 59
On Page 59, we are the Indigo Bayou area, eg., the Blanchard's , and the Gaudet's and others. My mother in law, Ms Beulah Gaudet Solar, 92 years young is on line 37.
Page 60
On Page 60, we are still the Indigo Bayou area, eg., the first name on the list is a carry over from page 59 Ms. Shirley Gaudet, who recently passed this year. She was the pillar of the Gaudet store. This is where the Solar family name is misspelled, line 42. It is Solar, not Saurage, how could the census taker mess up that bad, maybe old Man Casamire and his wife Lucy did not talk any English.
The census taker must have left Indigo Bayou and went to across Grand river at the confluence with little Bayou Pigeon. The last two names on the page are Devillier Daigle and Evelyn Vaughn, who were know to live near Ms. Clementine Michel.
Page 61
On Page 61, the census taker is still on the west side Grand River going in order toward the current Bayou Pigeon bridge. By recognizing the sequence of recording you can connect the dots on where people lived. Line # 26 is Mr. Felix Berthelot 14 years old.
Page 62
On Page 62, The Bayou Pigeon Census ends. The census taker is still on the west side Grand River, and he butchers more names. I am not quite sure of who some of the names are. If anyone can figure our who is talking about on lines 57 to 60, please let me know.
The last name on that page must not be from Pigeon, because the occupation is listed as a farmer.
Preserve the Heritage !
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