My Name is Martin Duralde.
Je m’appelle Martin Duralde
The purpose of this blog is give you insight into what it took for you to be able to enjoy Maison Stéphanie in 2021.
I arrived in Louisiana at the behest of the Spanish Governor Bernardo de Galvez. With the promise of a 1450 acre land grant in an area called the Attakapas, my wife Marie Josephe and I settled into a small cabin while construction of a larger house could be built.
There was much to do _ bricks, lumber, roofing materials, mortar were required. There was also sugar cane to be planted, cattle to be purchased and raised and of course welcome our children as they came into the world.
Of course documenting my experience in this new world was of necessity. As a learned man I was passionate about language, cultural and legal affairs and of life in general. Thus I began to discover the habits and languages of the people who were here before anyone else arrived.
The Attakapas and Chitimacha people were wonderous to me: see below the first of my writings on them. These are my original hand written documents.
Follow me here as I document my experiences. Better yet visit Maison Stéphanie and see for yourself what a beautiful home she became.