Charles Homer Mouton

Charles Homer Mouton
Portrait of Mouton in a 1912 newspaper
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
In office
1856 – February 26, 1859
GovernorRobert C. Wickliffe
Preceded byRobert C. Wickliffe
Succeeded byWilliam F. Griffin
Personal details
Born(1823-12-08)December 8, 1823
St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedMarch 16, 1912(1912-03-16) (aged 88)
Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Célimène Dupré
​
​
(m. 1850; died 1865)​

Emérenthe Olivier
​
(m. 1867)​
Children15, including Julian
RelativesAlexandre Mouton (uncle)
Alfred Mouton (cousin)
Alma materSt. Charles College
Occupation
  • Politician
  • judge
  • lawyer
Military service
AllegianceConfederate States
Branch/serviceConfederate States Army
Battles/wars

Charles Homer Mouton (December 8, 1823 – March 16, 1912) was an American politician and judge from Louisiana. In 1856, he served as the fifth lieutenant governor of Louisiana.

Early life

Charles Homer Mouton was born on December 8, 1823, in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, to Julie (née Latiolais) and Charles Mouton. He was descended from Acadians who were expelled from their land.[1][2][3] His grandfather Jean Mouton was a founder of Vermilionville (later Lafayette, Louisiana).[3][4] He was a nephew of Alexandre Mouton, governor of Louisiana.[3] He was also related to Fernand Mouton who was Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana between 1916 and 1920.

Mouton was educated at common schools in Lafayette. He was the first to attend and graduated from St. Charles College, a Jesuit institution in Grand Coteau, in 1841.[1][5] He studied law in the office of Cornelius Voorhies in St. Martinville and was admitted to the bar in 1842.[1][6]

Career

Mouton formed the Lafayete law firm Voorhies & Mouton with Voorhies.[6] In 1846, Mouton was appointed by Governor Isaac Johnson as district attorney of a southwest Louisiana district comprising the Lafayette, St. Landry, Acadia, and Calcasieu parishes and other territory.[1]

Mouton was a Democrat. In 1850, he was elected to the Louisiana State Senate and served one term. His constituency included Lafayette and Vermilion Parish.[1][6] In 1855, he was elected as lieutenant governor under Governor Robert C. Wickliffe. The two Democratic candidates were dubbed as "Bluegrass Bob and Creole Pony". Mouton was called the "Creole Pony".[1][6][7] He resigned from the office on February 26, 1859, due to the senate not allowing his appointment of a conference committee and subsequently electing the committee. In his resignation speech, he stated that the senate had no "confidence in [his] impartiality and capacity [as] presiding officer".[6][8][9] After his resignation, he was replaced by William F. Griffin, the president pro tempore of the state senate who completed his unfinished term until 1860.[10][11] He opposed the Louisiana lottery.[1]

Mouton was selected as judge of the District Court of St. Landry and other parishes. He held office until April 1863, when he closed the courtroom following a call from his first cousin General Alfred Mouton for volunteers.[1][5] The following month, he enlisted in the Confederate States Army as aide de camp of General Alfred Mouton. He was present at the Battle of Fort Bisland.[1][6][3][5]

Following the war, Mouton worked as a commission merchant in New Orleans. He was barred from practicing law due to the regulations of the federal government.[1] In 1871, Mouton returned to Lafayette and practiced law.[6] He was a leader of the White League and the White Camelia. He was associated with Alcibiades DeBlanc. In 1874, he organized and became president of the Lafayette White League.[1][12]

In 1878, Mouton moved to St. Martinville. He practiced law there and served as district attorney of St. Martinville and Iberia until 1900.[1][6] He then returned to Lafayette and practiced law.[1] He was elected as parish attorney and legal advisor of Lafayette's police jury. He served in that role until his death.[1][12]

Personal life

Mouton married Célimène Dupré, daughter of Lastie Dupré and granddaughter of Louisiana governor Jacques Dupré, of St. Landry Parish in 1850. They had eight children, including A. Emile, Orther C., Julian, Andrew H., Kossuth, Louise, Josephine Eugenie, and Julie.[1][6][2][5] His wife died in 1865.[2] He married Emérenthe "Emerite" Olivier, daughter of St. Maurice Olivier, of St. Martinville in 1867. They had seven children, including Lucy, Homer J., C. Maurice, Philip S., Jerome, Frank T., and Marie.[1][6][2][5] His son Orther was also a lawyer and district judge.[3][13] His son Julian was a state legislator and judge of the Circuit Court of Appeals.[12] His eldest daughter Louise married judge Conrad Debaillon.[5] His family called him "Homer", but others called him "governor".[5]

In 1848, Mouton built his Shadow Oaks home on his plantation near Lafayette on Sterling Street. A raised cottage of English and French style, the Greek Revival house was designed by architects Paxton and Noillon and it was built using slave labor. The house got its name from surrounding century-old live oak trees.[3][14][15] He owned slaves on his plantation prior to the Civil War.[12] During the Civil War, Union General Nathaniel P. Banks occupied the house while passing through. The house was later purchased by Sterling Mudd, nephew of Samuel Mudd.[14] In 1960, the house was added to the National Register.[3]

Mouton died on March 16, 1912, at his home in Lafayette.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Judge Mouton Dead". The Daily Picayune. 1912-03-18. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-03-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d "Chas. H. Mouton Dies in Lafayette". St. Landry Clarion. 1912-03-23. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-03-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Mamalakis, Mario (1983). If They Could Talk: Acadiana's Buildings and Their Biographies. The Lafayette Centennial Commission. pp. 121, 153–154. Retrieved 2026-03-04 – via Archive.org.
  4. ^ Lafayette: Its Past, People and Progress. Moran Publishing Company. 1980. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 2026-03-08 – via Archive.org.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Arceneaux, William (1999). No Spark of Malice: The Murder of Martin Begnaud. Louisiana. pp. 135–137. Retrieved 2026-03-08 – via Archive.org.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Judge C. H. Mouton". The Lafayette Advertiser. 1912-03-19. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-03-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Fortier, Alcée, ed. (1909). Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedia Form. Vol. 1. Southern Historical Association. p. 531. Retrieved 2026-03-08 – via Archive.org.
  8. ^ "Louisiana Legislature". The Daily Picayune. 1859-02-27. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-03-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Speech of Lieut. Governor Mouton". The New Orleans Crescent. 1859-03-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-03-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Louisiana Legislature". New Orleans Daily Crescent. 1859-03-01. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-03-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Odom, Van D. (October 1943). "The Political Career of Thomas Overton Moore, Secession Governor of Louisiana". The Louisiana Historical Quarterly. 26: 982. Retrieved 2026-03-08 – via Archive.org.
  12. ^ a b c d Chambers, Henry E. (1925). A History of Louisiana. Vol. 3. p. 91. Retrieved 2026-03-08 – via Archive.org.
  13. ^ Perrin, William Henry, ed. (1891). Southwest Louisiana Biographical and Historical. The Gulf Publishing Company. pp. 241–243. Retrieved 2026-03-08 – via Archive.org.
  14. ^ a b Stahls, Paul F. Jr. (1979). Plantation Homes of the Teche Country. Pelican Publishing Company. p. 82. Retrieved 2026-03-08 – via Archive.org.
  15. ^ Guillet, John Curtis; Smith, Robert N.; Pratte, Mary Helen; Stevens, Patricia Land (1982). Louisiana's Architectural and Archaeological Legacies. Northwestern State University Press. p. 92. Retrieved 2026-03-08 – via Archive.org.
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