267:, Dragon served Spain and the United States of America in the war against Britain. They defeated the British at the siege of Pensacola in 1781, and conquered West Florida. For his service, he attained the rank of second lieutenant and received a Royal Appointment in 1792. Dragon had a relationship with a woman who was born to a slave. Her name was Francoise Chauvin Beaulieu de Monpliaisir, and she had dark skin. Their daughter Marianne Celeste was born in 1777. Dimitry, who met Dragon when he arrived in New Orleans, married Dragon's daughter Marianne Celeste in 1799; she was listed as white on the marriage certificate. The acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from France took place in 1803, making the family officially American.
241:. He was the son of Nicholas Dimitry and Euphrosine Antonia. The Dimitry family had originally lived on the mainland of Greece. They had fled to Hydra seeking refuge from the Turks. The family name Drussakis is common on the island. Hydra was the victim of heavy tariffs and taxes. The Ottoman government limited free trade. Only Ottoman vessels were permitted in the region. A plague struck the island in 1792. A large portion of the inhabitants were killed and many people moved away. Andrea left the island around this time.
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the family assets. She won a settlement of $ 27,000, or close to $ 1 million adjusted for 2021 inflation. By May, she sold off the remaining assets. This lawsuit is remarkable because the court sided with a woman of color. There is a possibility
Dimitry was having an affair with Irene, a 29-year-old slave. She was sold along with her mulatto son Gustave, who was 10 years old. The two were sold as part of the legal proceedings. There is no record that Dimitry and Marianne obtained a divorce. Marianne was 57 and Andrea was 59.
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354:. The case was dismissed in favor of Pandely, but no financial reward was awarded. During the trial, Alexander Dimitry was assailed by various racist slander and his school went from 50 students to 2. The family, which was extremely politically connected, won the court case and five years later Alexander became the first person of color to represent the United States as Ambassador to Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
331:, a distinguished architect. He was from Charleston, South Carolina, and the designer of the Washington Monument. His father-in-law eventually became an abolitionist. The couple married in Washington, D.C., on April 5, 1835. They had ten children. Alexander became the first superintendent of schools in Louisiana, the first person of color to hold this position.
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and muskets, and a band played in his honor. At the time there was a Greek vessel docked in New
Orleans and the officers and crew in the port attended the funeral and the flags of the vessel were suspended at half-mast. His wife and soul mate Marianne died four years later in 1856; she was about 78 years old.
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Dimitry died in 1852; he was 77 years old. He was given a veteran's funeral. A special military detachment of the
Washington Artillery appeared at the family's cottage. Several military officers and civilians gathered and many people from New Orleans attended his service. The military fired cannons
372:
Marianne
Celeste inherited a sizable fortune from her father. Don Miguel Dragon owned 1,000 acres and dozens of slaves. He officially married her mother Francoise Chauvin Beaulieu de Monplaisir in 1815, seven years before they died. In February 1834, Marianne took Dimitry to court for mismanaging
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By the age of ten, educated by private tutors, Alexander was fluent in classical Greek and Latin. He spoke
English, French, Greek, Italian, and Spanish. He eventually mastered eleven languages. At fifteen years old, Alexander entered Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., he graduated in 1826
385:
Andrea and
Marianne Céleste had ten children: Euphrosine, Mannella Airnée, Alexander, Constantine Andrea, John Baptiste Miguel Dracos, Clino Angelica, Marie Francesca Athenais, Nicholas Dimitry, Mathilde Elizabeth Theophanie, and Antonie Marie. Most of his children married foreigners. Their
350:. People of African descent were not allowed to hold public office. After seven months in office, George Pandely resigned because he was pressured by the mayor's office and assistant alderman. Pandely took his opponent to court for slander; the incident led to the court case entitled
346:, ran for political office in New Orleans on March 28, 1853. He was elected assistant alderman for the eighth ward in the Third District. Two weeks after his election, a concerned citizen named Victor Wiltz accused Pandelly and his family of having African lineage, starting the
334:
Dimitry's eldest daughter
Euphrosyne Dimitry married Paul Pandely in New Orleans in 1822. Paul was the son of Nicholas Pandeli, a Greek who immigrated to England and married Elizabeth English. Elizabeth was a member of the English royal family, the
259:. Dragon immigrated to New Orleans around 1760; he was a soldier in the Spanish Colonial Army. Around 1764, when the Spanish took control of the Louisiana Territory, Dragon received a commission in the Spanish militia. The
289:. In the 1805 New Orleans City Directory, Michel Dragon and his wife resided at 60 Rue de Chartres. Andrea Dimitry lived next door at 58 Rue de Chartres. The street bordered Jackson Square in the French Quarter. The
254:
After a long voyage and traveling all over the world, Dimitry eventually settled in the
Spanish-French New Orleans. He arrived in New Orleans in the 1790s, where he met a prominent Greek man named Lieutenant
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Dimitry's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and in-laws, were part of what became an elite New
Orleans family. They also became a notable politically active Greek-American Creole family.
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119:, Euphrosine, Mannella Airnée, Constantine Andrea, John Baptiste Miguel Dracos, Clino Angelica, Marie Francesca Athenais, Nicholas Dimitry, Mathilde Elizabeth Theophainie, and Antonie Marie
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broke out and Andrea joined as a private and assisted
Captain Frio Delabostris's company, Second Cavaliers, Louisiana Militia. He participated in the
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Louisiana State Museum Collections José Francisco Xavier de Salazar Y Mendoza Louisiana Department of Culture Recreation and Tourism 2019
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with high honors. Dimitry spared no expense in educating his children. His children were elite upper-class.
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462:"First Greek Couple of North America: Andrea Dimitry and Marianne Celeste Dragon"
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Dimitry and Marianne Celeste had ten children including educator and author
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863:. New Orleans, Louisiana: New Orleans Daily Crescent. p. 3, col. 2.
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became highly educated; Alexander and some of his siblings attended
449:. Chicago And New York: The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 1104.
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New Albany Daily Ledger Vol. 5 No. 1378 (New Albany Indiana), p. 2
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Alexander married Mary Powell Mills. Mills was the daughter of
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woman of African, French, and Greek ancestry. He fought in the
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Weekly Ohio State Journal Vol. 49 No. 24 (Columbus Ohio), p. 2
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Frangos, Steve (2005) The Dimitry Family of Fabled New Orleans
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of Mississippi and Dimitry built a villa there. Andrea's son
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inherited 1,000 acres of land. The land was situated on the
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Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854: p. 357
713:. Digital Academic Research Archives. September 26, 1859
804:. Digital Academic Research Archives. February 25, 1834
684:. Digital Academic Research Archives. February 23, 1875
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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2021
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581:. Digital Academic Research Archives. April 3, 1834
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Lynchburg, VA: J.P. Bell Company Inc. 1907: p. 188
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301:, and became an American hero and local legend.
614:Afro Louisiana History and Genealogy 1719-1820
193:(January 1775 – March 1, 1852), also known as
861:New Orleans Daily Crescent, Volume 6, No. 129
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386:ethnicities were Greek, French, and Italian.
399:Anti-miscegenation laws in the United States
802:The Courier (New Orleans, Louisiana ), p. 3
579:The Courier (New Orleans, Louisiana ), p. 3
105: 1799; died in 1852)
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916:Interracial marriage in the United States
237:Andrea Dimitry was born on the island of
906:19th-century American military personnel
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221:with Major General and future President
704:"Buchanan Scrubbing the Ohio Democracy"
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431:Some Prominent Virginia Families Vol. 4
921:American militiamen in the War of 1812
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464:. Ethinkos Kirikas The National Herald
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16:Greek American hero in the War of 1812
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225:. His son is the author and educator
870:from the original on August 25, 2023
851:Maddox, Joseph H. (August 4, 1853).
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209:) and became a merchant. He married
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460:Steve Frangos (June 12, 2018).
446:History of New Orleans Volume 3
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835:Pecquet du Bellet,Louise, 1907
823:Pecquet du Bellet,Louise, 1907
782:Cour De Paroisse April 3, 1834
759:Pecquet du Bellet,Louise, 1907
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747:Things as They are in America
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249:Lieutenant Michel Dragon 1810
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951:18th-century Greek Americans
941:19th-century Greek Americans
443:Kendall, John Smith (1922).
280:Marianne Celeste Dragon 1795
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675:"End of A Remarkable Trial"
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339:. They had four children.
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428:"Louise Pecquet du Bellet"
367:Portrait of Andrea Dimitry
304:Dimitry owned a store and
207:Spanish colonial Louisiana
63:New Orleans, Louisiana, US
732:Kendall, John Smith, 1922
638:Kendall, John Smith, 1922
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352:Pandelly v. Wiltz (1854)
195:Andrea Drussakis Dimitry
127:Dimitry Family (Creoles)
946:People from New Orleans
936:Immigrants to New Spain
306:Marianne Celeste Dragon
211:Marianne CĂ©leste Dragon
91:Marianne Celeste Dragon
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911:American slave owners
853:"Evidence of Lineage
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318:Georgetown University
295:Battle of New Orleans
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219:Battle of New Orleans
159:Years of service
880:The Pandelly Affair
855:The Pandelly Affair
358:Marianne vs. Andrea
261:American Revolution
795:"Cour De Paroisse"
744:"William Chambers"
572:"Cour De Paroisse"
404:Zephaniah Kingsley
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297:assisting General
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265:Bernardo de Gálvez
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314:Alexander Dimitry
287:Alexander Dimitry
227:Alexander Dimitry
201:who emigrated to
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56:1 March 1852
44:January 1775
901:1852 deaths
896:1775 births
771:Fragos 2018
662:Maddox 1853
600:Fragos 2018
533:Fragos 2018
291:War of 1812
203:New Orleans
179:War of 1812
69:Nationality
890:Categories
874:August 25,
546:. pp. 1103
415:References
310:Gulf Coast
233:Early life
141:Allegiance
77:Occupation
808:April 19,
717:April 19,
688:April 19,
585:April 19,
468:April 17,
162:1812–1815
154:U.S. Navy
865:Archived
393:See also
197:, was a
149:Service/
113:Children
72:American
170:private
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784:. p. 2
151:branch
124:Family
85:Spouse
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205:(in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
