Historical Figure: Karl Frederick d’Aresnbourg
By Bear Gruzen
Karl Frederick d’Arensbourg was the defining figure in the growth of the German population in New Orleans. D'Arensbourg was born in January of 1693. Although he was ethnically and linguistically German, he lived under the rule of the Swedish Empire. The exact date of his birth is unknown; however he was baptized on January 25th of 1694 in Pomerania, which at the time was part of the Swedish empire, but today would be considered Poland.
Originally, d'Arensbourg was born into a family of great prominence: his father served as the Master of the Royal Mint, which dealt with the issue of currency production; along with that, d’Arensbourg’s paternal uncles also had great political power at the time. This all came crashing down however, when in 1698 the three brothers were arrested and removed from their positions. The exact charges at the time are unknown, but it is likely speculated to deal with embezzlement. This arrest devastated the family, overnight they transitioned from a family with a large political family to poverty. This moment had a profound impact on d’Arensbourg’s life as it prevented him from exploring the world in a meaningful way, since he consistently lacked the funds to do so growing up. On October 10th, 1710, his mother passed away, and his father wasn’t released from prison until 1710. d’Arensbourg dealt with constant family crises. He later found stability when in 1711, he enlisted in the Swedish military as a soldier. While there were many ups and downs, imprisonments and injuries, he had an accomplished military career. One very notable moment in his military career, however, was that at one point he requested to be released from his service, so that he could explore the German states for employment. The only caveat was that it required the approval of Queen Ulrika Eleonora, the queen of Sweden at the time. The request was denied and he continued his military service. His military career would reach a peak when on May 25th, 1719, at just 26 years old, he was promoted to the rank of captain–only to resign 4 days later.
D’Arensbourg knew his future in Sweden looked dim, and he believed that this rank would benefit him in his employment search, so he used it to his advantage to find better work. When traveling the German states searching for work, he came across a letter promoting the French Companies of the Indies–and it inspired him to join. D'Arensbourg always sought adventure– and this was the exact type of adventure he needed. The Company of the Indies, despite being a French company, sent waves of German and Swiss immigrants to settle New France (which is today Louisiana and the surrounding area around the Mississippi River). They sought to populate the settlements and develop the industry.
In early June 1721, d’Arensbourg and 300 other German-speaking settlers arrived at Biloxi to establish a settlement– only to discover what was waiting for them wasn't what they expected. The party was incredibly underprepared, since they hadn't possessed nearly enough food or supplies to last long enough. Between March and October 1721, over 700 people arrived at the colony, and over half perished in the following months.
Fed up and furious, d’Arensbourg and his party continued on to New Orleans, looking to travel home to tell the news of failure. However, upon arriving in New Orleans, d’Arensbourg gained the favor of Governor Bienville, the governor of New Orleans at the time. The governor gave permission to d’Arensbourg and his men to settle 25 miles upriver, in what is present day St. Charles Parish, which was considered some of the best land in the area–it had just not been settled yet. There, a German community was established, and it was one of the many coming German settlements that would eventually lead to a large influx of German immigrants arriving in the coming decades.
After the settlement was established, d’Arensbourg set up his life there. He had five children, three girls and two boys, with his wife Marguerite Metzen. He was later instated as the Chief Civilian Officer of the German Coast. This position was mostly in civic nature, as there are very few records of him actually doing his job; for example, part of his position is dealing with translation and scribe issues for German-speaking immigrants adapting to French life, and there are very few records of his name on the proper documents.
The Spanish rule of New Orleans did have some impact on the German way of life. When the Spanish took over in 1763, the Germans had yet not experienced the beneficial aspects of their new leadership until much later into the occupation. In 1768, d’Arensbourg approved an uprising by the German militia and other Creole populations against the Spanish leadership, the rebellion was ultimately a failure, quenched by Spanish rule quite quickly. Despite this, German settlers fared better under new Spanish rule– they were given more economic control over their development, and the new regime lifted restrictions and passed legislation to make the German way of life better.
D'Arensbourg’s influence had a profound impact on the waves of German settlers entering the greater New Orleans area. His trek into the unknown in 1723 led to large amounts of German immigrants settling in New Orleans in the 19th century. On November 18th, d’Arensbourg passed away at 83 years old, only 11 months after the death of his wife, who passed away previously on December 13th, 1776. D’Arenbourg led a long legacy, spanning two continents – and his contributions to Louisiana should never be understated.
Map of early villages of the German Coast. (Map by Norman Marmillion) “With the help of perhaps 80 lumberjacks, carpenters, and other workers provided by the Company of the Indes, these Germans (Swiss and Alsations) built three villages modeled upon European towns in which houses were stretched out along the only road running through the village… Probaby with the help of the 80 individuals who had assisted in the construction of the villages, the Germans began to clear, cultivate, and sew the lands around them with the grains and vegetables.” – Reinhart Kondert, The Germans of Colonial Louisiana: 1720-1803 In 2003, the St. Charles Historical Foundation, with funding from a Dow grant, conducted an aerial search for these early villages using thermal imaging photography to register temperature differences that might indicate where cultural activity took place centuries ago. “Hot spots” were discovered in the area of the Nelson Coleman Correction Center. Citation: https://scphistory.org/darensbourg/
