Frederick Baconnais

Frederick Baconnais was born at Evergreen Plantation on December 12, 1852. He took his first breath at 5:00 in the morning when the plantation’s slaves were already hard at work, picking sugar cane and hauling it to the mill. It was the peak of harvest season.

Frederick’s mother was Victorine, a domestic slave of Lezin Becnel, owner of Evergreen Plantation. She was 18 years old when she held her first baby in her arms. Victorine was Creole. She was born in Louisiana, spoke French, and was Catholic. She was also called a mulatresse, a term indicating that she was of mixed race. Her father’s exact identity remains unknown, but he was a white man. Her mother, Maria, was the personal slave of Josephine Becnel, dressing her, bathing her, tidying her rooms, and caring for all her needs.

 After Josephine’s death, Lezin Becnel married a woman named Fanny Baconnais. Her brother, Charles Baconnais, came with her to the plantation. He became the plantation’s overseer, in charge of the enslaved workers. Charles Baconnais was also Frederick’s father. This meant that Frederick was in fact Lezin Becnel’s nephew. The man who owned the baby born that chilly December morning was also his uncle.

 Frederick was brought to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church to be baptized on April 7, 1853. At his baptism, Lezin Becnel declared Frederick free. He would do the same for Frederick’s sister Catherine two years later.

 Tragedy struck early in Frederick’s life. When he was not even two years old, his mother Victorine died. She had not lived to see her twenty-first birthday. It was in the middle of July 1855, when a cholera outbreak was decimating the enslaved population of St. John the Baptist parish. It is likely Victorine fell victim to this disease.

 When Frederick reached adulthood, he adopted his father’s surname as his own. He would always be known as Frederick Baconnais. After the Civil War, he remained at Evergreen, working as the stablekeeper, caring for the horses. He also made harnesses. Frederick had at some point received an education, for he could read, write, and sign his name. He and his wife Caroline had many children. He named one of his daughters Victoria in honor of his mother who had died young.

 When the census taker came through in 1880, he recorded Frederick and his family’s race as white. The census taker also wrote that Frederick had been born in France. While the plantation community certainly knew Frederick’s origins, in the eyes of an outsider, he appeared to be a white Frenchman. He would have been known as a quadroon, the racial term for someone who was one-quarter African, three-quarters European. He would have seemed very similar to his cousin Michel Becnel who occupied the plantation’s big house. They would have appeared physically similar, spoke the same language (French), and practiced the same religion (Catholicism)

 In 1891, Michel Becnel died, and his family sold the plantation. Frederick and his family moved to a neighboring plantation, where he labored in the cane fields. When his friend Ned Edwards, a former slave and Union army veteran, applied for a pension in 1910, Frederick served as a witness. He told the pension agent:

 I am a field laborer and have resided in this vicinity all my life. I was born on Evergreen plantation in St. John the Baptist Parish, La. I knew the soldier Edward Edmonds, all my life up to his death. We belonged to the same owner in slavery, Lezin Becnel, and I lived on said plantation until 1891.

 Many of Frederick’s children sought opportunities away from the cane fields of St. John parish. His son Edward moved his wife and nine children to New Orleans in 1920. He worked as a longshoreman at the port. Several of Edward’s sons attended McDonough 35 Senior High School, at the time the only public four year high school for African Americans in New Orleans. They received a caliber of education that would not have been possible if they had remained on the plantation. Their surname Baconnais evolved from the French pronunciation into a more Americanized Barconey. All of Frederick’s descendants would be known as Barconeys.

 Frederick Baconnais died in 1941, the same year his grandson Earl Barconey enlisted in the United States army to serve his country in World War II. Earl was a graduate of Xavier University, a prominent African American school of higher learning. He was the first college graduate in his family. Earl was one of the first Black soldiers to graduate from Quartermaster school, enabling him to serve as an officer. Lt Earl Barconey reported to the prestigious Tuskegee Army Flying School in autumn of 1942. He ultimately attained the rank of captain.

 Another grandson, Whitney Barconey, was the first Black foreman for the Mississippi Barge Lines and a member of Dock Loaders and Unloaders of Freight Cars and Barges International Longshoreman’s Association. He was also the pastor of St. Peter Baptist Church. His daughter, the Reverend Wilhelmina Barconey Cole, followed in her father’s foosteps. She was a minister, a community activist, and participated in many political organizations, including the Black Women Caucus. Known as “Mother Cole,” she was a recipient of the key to the city of New Orleans. Her famous St. Patrick/St. Joseph altar was celebrated for over fifty years, providing both spiritual and actual food to many New Orleans residents. The creativity and the faith displayed in her altar embody the Creole heritage the Barconeys can trace back to their origins at Evergreen Plantation.