 joseph h bellande 18131907  joseph h bellande 18131907 osarep tue 3232010 1555 joseph bellande was born in france probably marseille in october 1813 he arrived in this country in 1835 according to his statement on the census of 1900 he is believed to have come first to new orleans it is not known when or why he arrived in ocean springs mississippi where he lived out the rest of his life he married rosaline lafauce  daughter of jacques lafauce and marie eveline lafontaine on may 26 1842 in 1846 as husband of one of the heirs of the widow lafontaine property he received title to approximately 20 acres of land in the heart of present day ocean springs his tract was about 260 feet wide and 3300 feet in length running from the front beach on the bay of biloxi to county road now government street in claim section 37 township 7srange 8 west the present day city hall public library police station a portion of little children s park bellande avenue dewey avenue and the bellande cemetery are located on the bellande tract in 1859 he warranted a deed to bishop william h elder measuring 192 x 100 feet for the site of st alphonsus catholic church on porter avenue for 100 from 1883 to 1892 he sold much of his land some to his children some to local residents gregoir weider and george and es davis and some to albert g tedo of new orleans as far as can be determined none of the original holdings belong to any family members now he made his livelihood as a fisherman and sailor and later was a captain of a trading schooner  the three brothers  according to census records during the storm of august 1901  the three brothers  beat itself to pieces and sank at schmidt s wharf on the front beach the day of august 14th he was the father of eleven children they are cherie marcellus  b 3 march 1843  odile delphine  b 2 july 1844  honnorais noah   b 29 november 1846  joseph  b 13 december 1848  clement  b 31 december 1850  antoine  b 24 november 1852  rosalie azalie   b 22 october 1854  john nestor  b 29 august 1856  laura evelina  b 15 january 1859  adolphe  b 8 january 1861 and zoe wilhemina  b 6 june 1863 not much is yet known about the personal life of joseph bellande his family bible in french was recently discovered in the home of one of his descendants as well as some legal documents and personal papers in the form of a journal all of these were handwritten in french the legal documents would seem to indicate he was related to a later french immigrant seaman named bellande antoine bellande the captain who arrived in this country in 1851 it appears they were brothers or half brothers sons of jean joseph marie antoine bellande of marseille a caulker in the shipbuilding business an aspect about joseph s personal life that makes him a particularly intriguing figure was handed down through the family lore of one of his descendants but has not yet been substantiated geneva eliska the eldest daughter of joseph s youngest child zoe knew her grandfather to be a former priest excommunicated on the event of his marriage to rosaline lafauce she recalled that he had gotten into some political difficulties with the church and upon the advice of his friends who feared for his life he fled france his writing would indicate that joseph remained a deeply religious man his journals consisting of many prayers for the hours of the day the stations of the cross and the like one can only speculate on the inner torment of this man who despite his excommunication raised his family in the catholic church was denied admission to the funeral mass on the occasion of the death of his wife rosalie of asthma in january of 1893 he sat sobbing outside st alphonsus church on that tuesday afternoon this was witnessed by his eleven year old granddaughter geneva eliska he lived in his house on lafontaine avenue for another 13 years outliving seven of his children he provided a home for his daughter azalie reus and her two children after she was deserted by her husband on june 16 1907 he was on his deathbed father peter de gruyter the belgian pastor of st alphonsus who was apparently disliked by the entire congregation came to joseph presumably to administer the last rites and hear his confession according to church records the dying man cursed the priest out of his house joseph is buried in the bellande cemetery his grave marked by a cedar cross now gone the history of joseph and rosaline s children can be deduced from census records wills and other legal documents church records newspaper obituaries notes found in the family bibles and remembrances of descendants that have thus far been located a document from the jackson county chancery court cause no 4636 dated 14 august 1926 a case involving a land dispute between all the surviving heirs of joseph gives a good lead on the fates and whereabouts of his children it is not clear why this land on lafontaine avenue at ocean springs was contested but the end result was that it was sold at auction to josephine friar for 1200 the profits were divided up proportionately among the heirs each one receiving an amount somewhere between 25 and 130 the legal action will be referred to again in relation to each of the children 116 views  