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Zenon Labauve Jr.
Zénon Labauve Jr. (February 16, 1801 – September 25, 1870) was a Reconstruction-era justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court and the first Creole to serve on the court.[1] Labauve was born in 1801 in a portion of West Florida that would later become West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. His father, Pierre Labauve, was a Louisiana Creole born in St. James Parish and his mother was a native of France. He first won election to the Louisiana State Senate in 1834, but was defeated for reelection in 1838.[2] In 1838, he was elected the first mayor of the newly incorporated Plaquemine.[1][3] In July 1842 he was again elected to the state Senate as a Whig,[4] but the election results were cancelled. When the election was re-run in 1843, he was again successful. In 1844, he was elected to the state's Constitutional Convention of 1845. In a brief biographical sketch of Constitutional Convention delegates, The Times-Picayune newspaper noted "His speeches are generally brief, but give evidence of a sound thinker."[5] Despite desiring to retire from the state Senate, he was nominated once more and in 1851 reelected without opposition.[2] After the Civil War, Labauve was appointed by the Reconstruction-era governor Michael Hahn to an associate justice seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court. Labauve served from April 3, 1865, to November 1, 1868.[1] Prior to his appointment, Labauve had grown wealthy as a sugar planter and lawyer in the German Coast. He and his fellow appointees were considered "safe" and "loyal" and in alignment with the Federal government.[6] Labauve was the "[f]irst member of 'ancienne population'," meaning he was descended from a Creole family that was in Louisiana prior to the Sale of Louisiana, to serve on the Louisiana Supreme Court.[1] He died in 1870 in Iberville Parish.[3] References
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