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Captain John W Poitevent

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Captain John W Poitevent

Birth
Gainesville, Hancock County, Mississippi, USA
Death
27 Mar 1899 (aged 58)
Abita Springs, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, USA
Burial
Pearlington, Hancock County, Mississippi, USA
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Born Gainesville, Mississippi; son of captain William J. Poitevent, who operated vessels on the Pearl River; originally followed his father into the riverboat business, and earned his license as a pilot and master, before the war; served on or commanded several vessels, including the RUBY, A.G. BROWN, W.J. POITEVENT (named after his father), VIRGINIA PEARL, W.G. HANCOCK, EARL and a number of others; at the outbreak of the war he was in the steamboat business, navigating the Pearl River and other tributaries of the Mississippi, and also on Lake Pontchartrain; volunteered for Confederate Naval service, and served as acting master, Jackson station, 1862; commanded the gunboat CARONDELET on Lake Pontchartrain, also at the naval action in defense of Forts Jackson and St. Phillip, April, 1862; after the fall of New Orleans he was assigned to shore duty in the artillery service; participated in the battle of Mansfield, Louisiana, and other engagements in the region; after the war he resumed steamboat service, and later extended his business enterprises; branched out into the lumber business, and was a member of the firm of Poitevent and Favre; later appointed president of the company; known as the "lumber king of the South"; his company supplied the lumber for the structures of the World's Fair and Cotton Exposition, at New Orleans, in 1884; also extensive exports to foreign countries.

Married 3 times, first to Emily Toomer, then to Mary Handsboro (whom he married on October 3, 1874, at New Orleans), and finally to a Miss Cenas, who survived him; died at Abita Springs, St. Tammany parish, Louisiana; remains sent to Pearlington, Mississippi, for interrment; aged 58 years at the time of his death.
Born Gainesville, Mississippi; son of captain William J. Poitevent, who operated vessels on the Pearl River; originally followed his father into the riverboat business, and earned his license as a pilot and master, before the war; served on or commanded several vessels, including the RUBY, A.G. BROWN, W.J. POITEVENT (named after his father), VIRGINIA PEARL, W.G. HANCOCK, EARL and a number of others; at the outbreak of the war he was in the steamboat business, navigating the Pearl River and other tributaries of the Mississippi, and also on Lake Pontchartrain; volunteered for Confederate Naval service, and served as acting master, Jackson station, 1862; commanded the gunboat CARONDELET on Lake Pontchartrain, also at the naval action in defense of Forts Jackson and St. Phillip, April, 1862; after the fall of New Orleans he was assigned to shore duty in the artillery service; participated in the battle of Mansfield, Louisiana, and other engagements in the region; after the war he resumed steamboat service, and later extended his business enterprises; branched out into the lumber business, and was a member of the firm of Poitevent and Favre; later appointed president of the company; known as the "lumber king of the South"; his company supplied the lumber for the structures of the World's Fair and Cotton Exposition, at New Orleans, in 1884; also extensive exports to foreign countries.

Married 3 times, first to Emily Toomer, then to Mary Handsboro (whom he married on October 3, 1874, at New Orleans), and finally to a Miss Cenas, who survived him; died at Abita Springs, St. Tammany parish, Louisiana; remains sent to Pearlington, Mississippi, for interrment; aged 58 years at the time of his death.

Inscription


John Poitevent
BORN
JUNE 4, 1840
DIED
MAR 27, 1899

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