Details

Owner

Louisiana State University Library [Browse]

FaST Subject(s)

• Cotton trade
• Plantation owners
• Plantations
• Slavery
• Louisiana

Summary note

Jacob Bieller (c. 1770-1843), a native of the Newberry District of South Carolina, moved his family from the vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina, to Concordia Parish, Louisiana, in about 1809. The Bieller family acquired and operated cotton plantations in Catahoula, Tensas and Franklin parishes. Jacob Bieller's son and daughter-in-law, Joseph and Peggy Bieller, managed Bayou Macon plantation in Catahoula Parish. Upon the death of Joseph and Peggy Bieller in 1835, their children became Jacob Bieller's wards.</p><p>Jacob Bieller's marital life was complicated and led to significant legal proceedings upon his own death in 1843. He married his first wife, Mary Nueffer, in South Carolina in 1790; he later had the marriage annulled in Georgia, as South Carolina law prohibited divorce under any circumstances. Joseph Bieller appears to have been the sole surviving child of this marriage. Jacob Bieller then married Nancy Lester in South Carolina, and the couple produced one child after moving to Louisiana, Elizabeth Lester Bieller (1819-1852). When, in 1834, Elizabeth Bieller eloped against her father's wishes and married Felix Bosworth (1809-1847), first judge of Carroll Parish, Jacob Bieller disinherited her; soon afterwards, Nancy Bieller charged Jacob with adultery and violence against her, fled to the Bosworth household and began legal proceedings to recover property from her estranged husband. Felix Bosworth was apparently shot on the Bieller plantation in 1843 and lost a hand.</p><p>On Jacob Bieller's death, both Elizabeth Bieller Bosworth and the children of Joseph Bieller brought suit claiming to be the lawful heirs of Jacob Bieller. As the only surviving child of Jacob, Elizabeth Bosworth claimed to be the sole rightful heir; the grandchildren of Jacob Bieller claimed to be the rightful heirs as the intended beneficiaries of Jacob's will and further asserted that his marriage to Nancy was illegal.</p><p>The material consists of correspondence between Jacob Bieller and his son, Joseph, and provides details of family life, the educational progress of Joseph's children and the management of the Bayou Macon plantation. Letters, primarily addressed from Joseph to his father Jacob, mention the productivity of livestock and crops, and describe the health, medical treatment and physical punishment of slaves. The Bieller papers include additional items and correspondence related to Jacob Bieller's personal legal matters and finances and the management of his plantation.</p><p>Please note that, due to fragility, some of the items in this folder have been scanned in the plastic wallets in which they are stored.

Location of originals

Special Collections, Louisiana State University Libraries

Copyright note

Material sourced from the Louisiana State University Libraries Special Collections

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