Semi-weekly herald., 1913-05-05
ROMANCE OF THE
ORLEANS BALLROOM

/ ROMANCE OF THE
ORLEANS BALLROOM
Unique in historical interest is the
convent of colored nuns in New Or
leans, with but on exception the only
colored convent in the United States.
1t is the Convent of the Holy Family.
an Augustinian order and is located
just back Of the Cathedra of San
Luie, together with the st. John Bech-
man Orphan asylum, on the square
where once stood the old Orleans the
ater and the Orleans ballroom, scene
of the one time famous quadroon balls.
From the early part Of the eigh-
teenth century until few years be
fore the war colored people Of the
quadroon caste, that is, those who
were more than half white held Il
position in Louisiana, particularly in
New Orleans, different from anything
known elsewhere in the United States.
! The chief reason for this was the
! proximity Of New Orleans to the West
| Indies for when the whites fled from
the West Indies during the frightful
slave instructions there were many
/ free colored people who had never
known slavery themselves, but owned
slaves on their own account, fled with
them 1t was against the law of Lou
isiana to admit them, but humanity
forbade their being turned away, so
they entered the city with the whites,
established homes there and became
in short time an integral part Of
the community.
Many of these "gens du couleur," as
they were called by the French inhabi-
tants, were rich, many of them well
educated. The men bought planta-
tions or entered into trade in New
Orleans. The women, those of them
that worked at all, became in many
instances, the finest dressmakers in
the city. The upper tier of boxes at
the opera and the theater were re-
served for the quadroon caste, and
their social position, while infinitely
below that of the whites. was entirely
superior to that Of the blacks. Yet
out Of this apparently satisfactory
state of affairs grew one of the worst
canker sores in the history of slavery
in the United States.
1t was the ambition of every free
quadroon mother to marry her daugh-
ter to a white man. This being against
the law Of the state of Louisiana,
there were two alternatives, either to
establish household without the for
mality of legal marriage or emigrate
to France, where there were no such
prejudices against the quadroons. The
| quadroon women were among the
most beautiful women in the world;
in music and languages, versed in the
art of conversation and with the social
graces at their finger-tips. Small won
der in that period of free and easy
morals that their balls given each
Sunday evening at the Orleans ball
room were patronized not only by the
fops and dandies Of society, but even
| by men in the highest walks of life
and by the scions Of nobility who Wis
| tied our shores. To these quadroon
balls no white woman, of course, ever
came. AS for quadroon man, had he
been seen there his chances for get
ting out alive would have been very
slight. There was no talk Of social
equality between the white and col
ored man.
The trouble grew In vain the
church and the sober minded members
of society protested. New Orleans
bade fair to become notorious for this
plague spot, when in the year 1912
the Able Roussillon, pastor Of the
Cathedral Of San Luis, agreed to help
three colored women, a griffe, mu-
latto and quadroon, all of them
slaves, to found religious order for
the protection of their colored sisters.
The women were given their freedom
by their masters and went to France
for their religious training. Return
ing seven years later they entered
the congregation of the Sisters Of the
Holy Family and founded st. Ber-
nard's home for old and infirm negro
women. The war came. Hundreds Of
4 little colored children were left des-
titute and the sisters took care Of
them as well as they could. Their
first quarters were very primitive, but
in 1881 the Orleans ballroom was put
on the market and the sisters were
enabled to buy it. Later, circus,
started next door, was destroyed by
fire and the sisters purchased that