 antoine victor bellande jr 18691924  antoine victor bellande jr 18691924 osarep tue 3232010 1829 antoine v bellande jr  18691924 was known as  newt  in later years he signed official documents using newton rather than victor as his middle name newt was born at back bay on harvey hill the 10th day of october 1869 newt bellande was a bon vivant he appears to have led a carefree bachelor life his chosen occupation was bartender he probably learned this trade from his older brother arbo at the depot saloon lr unknown  antoine v bellande jr 18691924   a few anecdotes about newt bellande have been passed down through the years but most pertain to his life in new york while researching other subjects in  the biloxi herald  i found numerous articles in the time period 18921901 concerning his life from the journalistic works of this era i will give you a picture of newt s life as portrayed by them in january 1892 newt bellande and ao bourdon went hunting north of biloxi bay they shot quail rabbits and other small game  the biloxi herald january 30 1892 p 1   in december 1892 newt bellande left biloxi for new orleans where he took a position with george hodgins  the biloxi herald december 10 1892 p 4   in august 1897 newt bellande acquired one of the finest bred pointers in mississippi from george j williams of mccomb  the biloxi herald august 14 1897 p 8   in september 1898 newt left the charm saloon on the beach where he was the barkeeper to the same position at the depot saloon  the biloxi herald september 10 1898 p 8   in january 1899 newt bellande bagged a fine lot of birds yesterday newt is one of the best wing shots on the coast and always brings a good showing from a hunt the biloxi daily herald january 6 1899 p 8 n october 1899 he was working at the pelican bar located at the corner of pass christian now howard avenue and croesus street the proprietor of the pelican was m perez the following article appeared in  the biloxi daily herald  on october 6 1899    newt bellande one of the best mixologist in this section of the country has taken charge of the pelican bar and will be pleased to serve his friends with the choicest liquid refreshment  an innuendo about the character of newt bellande appeared in  the biloxi daily herald  of february 27 1900    newt bellande the genial and handsome manager of the pelican is enjoying carnival sights in new orleans today and seeing the elephants generally  newt must have been a gregarious and sporting fellow one of his friends was ao bourdon jr who was in the retail liquor business they would hunt quail and travel to new orleans on occasions newt bellande was enamored with hunting dogs on one occasion he acquired a catch dog which was described as being a most valuable animal and he delighted in relating to friends and acquaintances of the canine s acute intelligence  the biloxi daily herald october 30 1900 p 8   although he remained single he must have enjoyed children as the following excerpt from  the biloxi daily herald  would indicate    newt bellande says he is particularly happy this week the circus is coming and he is going to take two or three small boys there to give them an opportunity to see the sights and he wants to see them enjoy themselves he doesn t care for circuses himself  the biloxi daily herald october 31 1900 p 8   newt bellande left the pelican bar as the local journal reported  our handsome young friend mr newt bellande who has for some time been managing the business of oj brule in this city is now taking a wellearned vacation at the expiration of which we understand he will go into business for himself at the corner of delauney street and howard avenue what ever he enters into he will make a success of and his friends will all wish him a full measure of it  the biloxi daily herald june 10 1900 p 8   the june 1900 federal census for harrison county mississippi indicates that newt bellande a bar tender was living at no 20 front street now beach blvd with og baulie 18361900 sic oj brule a norwegian native 1900 harrison county mississippi federal census t623 808 p 1b ed 30  opera saloon newt bellande went into business with a man biloxi merchant sam levy 18641900 in august 1900 they opened a bar called the opera saloon   in the new and handsome building at the corner of howard avenue and delauney street  now ge ohr boulevard it was advertised as stocked with the   finest and purest imported and domestic wines liquors cigars etc   his partner sam levy was a traveling salesman who resided at 222 magnolia street the opera saloon was in spaced leased from lopez dukate  the biloxi daily herald november 7 1900 p 4 and  harrison county mississippi chancery court cause no 1359february 1901    as demonstrated by the following reports from the march 27 1901  the biloxi daily herald  newt must have been a pioneer in the marketing field    we are indebted to our genial friend newt bellande of the firm of levy bellande proprietors of the opera saloon for one of the handsome glass penholders with case that are being distributed amongst the patrons of that establishment it is a very neat and clever advertising scheme yet something worth having    messrs levy bellande have just added a most pleasing attraction to their opera saloon in the shape of a magnificent electric piano which plays many selections including some of the very latest and most popular airs of the day as well as others of a classical character it is a late invention and under the manipulations of newt bellande we will predict in advance that it is going to be a drawing card newt knows all about it or if he doesn t he will make you believe so anyhow go and hear it play on july 13 1901 the following petition appeared in  the biloxi herald     we sam levy and antoine bellande jr white male persons over the age of 21 years and residents of said city do hereby apply to your honorable body mayor and aldermen of biloxi to grant us a license in our names to sell and retail in less quantities than one gallon vinous malt spirituous alcoholic and intoxicating liquors in the property known as the opera saloon  the license was granted august 21 1901 and was probably renewed annually unfortunately the business relationship between newt and sam levy soured mr levy filed litigation in 1901 in the chancery court of harrison county mississippi alleging that newt bellande was failing to perform on his contractual obligations to him their agreement called for newt bellande to make a monthly salary of 50 and receive 2 of the gross revenues of levy s saloon business the first year s gross sales were 17000 but had fallen to about 1000 per month mr levy accuse newt bellande of hunting too much and not managing the saloon business he also claim that mr bellande did not have an accurate accounting system and that he spurned all offers from levy to withdraw from the enterprise in early february 1902 sam levy withdrew his action against newt bellande at his own expense in june 1905 william baltar owned the opera saloon harrison county mississippi chancery court cause no 1359february 1901  new orleans it appears that as the direct result of his falling out of favor with sam levy newt bellande left biloxi for the crescent city in the fall of 1902 he was the night mixologist at the crescent saloon dispensing fire water over the thanksgiving holiday in 1902 newt bellande visited at biloxi with john reynoir 18741931   the biloxi daily news november 12 1902 p 6 and november 17 1902 p 6    new york city on february 3 1903 the city news of  the biloxi daily herald  stated that newt bellande had departed the mississippi coast for new york city newt joined a fellow biloxian and long time friend ao bourdin jr 18681959 mr bourdin was the proprietor of the charm saloon at biloxi and also operated a small bar at 1225 broadway in the big apple newt bellande was going to be bourdin s bar tender in new york aj bourdin 18731912 was managing his brother s biloxi establishment during his tenure at new york city  the biloxi daily herald february 3 1903 p 6   in the spring of 1908 ulysses desporte 18611927 a leading biloxi seafood dealer while on the east coast seeking new markets met newt bellande in new york city and reported that he was managing a fine cafe and doing well  the biloxi daily herald june 4 1908 p 1   in may 1911 newt bellande received attention for his mixology skills in the big apple he was the bartender at louis martin s hotel and began serving southern drinks newt introduced new yorkers to such regional favorites as the new orleans fizz sazerac cocktail ojean cocktail new orleans sour and the mint julep   locally newt bellande was remembered as     a favorite mixologist here for many years one of the best natural chaps in the world and has a lot of friends and acquaintances here who are glad to hear of his success   the daily herald may 23 1911 p 1    1920 cuba  1920 us passport image in november 1920 newt bellande applied for a us passport to travel to cuba his address was 636 west 138 street in nyc surprisingly his height was listed as 5 feet 10 inches newt made it to havana cuba and returned to the united states in 1921 landing at jacksonville florida  anecdotal newt bellande family lore relates that newt may have run a concession at a horse race track in new york city or saratoga springs david bellande of kirkland washington remembers a letter from newt to his grandmother florence requesting money for some of his ventures he told her that he owned an interest in madison square garden ruth bellande ragusin remembers that upon his death in 1924 his body was sent to biloxi by rail newt s brothers had to pay for his burial in the biloxi cemetery   regardless of the anecdotal stories antoine v bellande expired at manhattan on may 19 1924 his corporal remains were brought to biloxi on the l n railroad train no 37 by mr and mrs hf richardson george wagatha remembers that newt bellande was so large that a special coffin was built to accommodate his body mass it is believed that he neither married nor had any progeny at the l n depot newt s corporal remains were met by members of the biloxi elks lodge and relatives and escorted to the ben o keefe funeral parlor funeral services for newt bellande were held on may 22 1924 at the church of the nativity of the blessed virgin mary by reverend keenan his corporal remains were entered in the bellande plot in the old biloxi cemetery he had been ill in new york for about six months and failed to respond to medical treatment victor ougatte came from mobile to attend the funeral  the daily herald may 22 1924 p 2   pallbearers for antoine v bellande s funeral were adolph abbley of pass christian louis staehling hugh latimer george purcell john b reynoir and jr meunier a large contingent from the elks club were in attendance to honor the memory of their fallen brother the richardsons expected to return to their home in new york on may 24 1924  the daily herald may 23 1924 p 3  104 views  