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hi Folks!! great to find all of you here! i have been reading many of the mesages in the forum -some from quite a long way back-hope i still can post and someone will read it-i saw someone mentioning the "Book' i have the "Book".(i believe it is called "the life and times of Juan deCuevas and Christian Ladnier" i put it away so well(I treasure it and feel it canot be replaced) it is hard to get to now -but both my mother and i have copies of it-we got them from the author, Franklin Cuevas of Gulfport, Mississippi-i am certain he must have passed on by now-
this was about 7 or 8 years ago. he was quite an elderly gentleman when we met him-hard of hearing but mentally very alertand robust- and seemed other wise healthy for man of his age- he was quite a tall fellow-and i believe was actually 93 when we went to his home-He was happy we were interested in his book . he squeezed my hand so hard it hurt-and clpped me on the back as he spoke to my uncle Kenneth Garcia (of Gulfport) he knew Right away who we were re;ated to when we said we were Harry Garcia's relatives. he was very astute about the family and the descendents.
My great Grandfather,Eugenie Garcia,
married Juan de Cuevas Daughter,Celestine, in 1825 (fairly certain-date from memery)this marriage reocrd is shown in the Book-(signed by Fra. Antonio Sedella at St. Louis Cathedral,New Orleans.
My grandfather,Harry F. Garcia, is pictured in the book-as a small boy,standing next to James (?-pretty sure)Cuevas,his uncle, the Civil war veteran,who was blind-my grandfather used to help him get around and my mother,Grace Garcia(maiden name)remembers her dad speaking of "Capi"-this is the account that we grew up with-not "Capete" i may be wrong-but my grandfather never called him anything but "Capi"and talked of how he would use his cane to grab ahold of you when you went by-and how he told of the days on Cat Island.
And of Course,the stories of Cat Island and who really owns it abound....and all in the family who remember the days when my grandfather was living-tell basically the same tale-that Capi was the one who gave it to my grandfather and his first born son Harry Garcia ,Jr.apparently My grandfather was supposed to have gone to a county seat and registered for it and did not and that is how it was "Stolen'... we will never really know-as these folks are all dead.i also remember for years as a child it was referred to as "LITTLE Cat Island". and it seems to STILL be a bone of contention and ALWAYS good for getting a rise out of mother when i mention ANYTHING about a "Boddie" family,hahahah-especially when i recently found out Cat Island sold for 25 million-and that it was supposedly bought in 1911-interesting: My mother says -"keep checking back in those internet stories and you'll see that there is no record of who the Boddie family really ever "Bought" Cat Island from in 1911."in 1911 -my grandfather (the one who helped Capi get around)was a young teen-and had already been very close to his Uncle for many years-...-and supposedly out of his grattiude-HE was the one who gave his favorite nephew Cat Island...one thing is cetain--- one look at the formal picture reveals how close the two were .it is very evident how much the small boy in the photo loves his uncle..there are two photos of Capi in the Book-he is younger in the one with my grandfather-the other was taken when he spent his last dys at Beauvoir...Thank you all and God bless for trying to keep these folks alive in memory and writing...we all come from brave and tough folk who tamed the Gulf coast.
i really enjoy when i return to the Gulf coast -seeing all the names i know are connected ,Garcias, Lotts, Ladners,Necaises,Johnstons,Fayards-such a wonderful "gumbo"
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