| Notes |
- Family legend states that William Joseph Bassett died after being the victim of a mugging. He was confronted by a man with a gun and instructed to hand over his money. Armed with a pocket knife, he decided, in true Bassett stubborness, to stand his ground. The mugger was severly wounded, caught, and sent to jail. William Bassett was shot during the attack and died several days later.
Copy of letter from Joseph William Bassett to his daughter, Eleanor Bassett Waltz:
New Orleans, Louisiana - September 5, 1935
My dear Eleanor,
I hasten to answer your request for data of your grandfather's life history. You say you wrote to the war department for certain information relating to his service in the Confederate Army.
When I was born your grandfather was 52 years old, consequently when I had grown to an age where I began to take a lively interest in such matters as family history, he was so old and approaching his end that there was little time for him to communicate to me that which I afterwards so much wished to learn. What little I did learn, however, is about all that is available.
Joseph Carter Bassett was born December 31, 1823 in Winchester, Virginia. He was the oldest son of William Henry Bassett and Eleanor O'Neill. There were four other children born of this union: Benjamin (Henry), Thomas Jefferson, William Henry Jr., and one girl, Virginia. Eleanor O'Neill, wife of William Henry Bassett, died and he remarried. The second wife was Caroline Toon of Memphis, Tennessee and of this marriage, one son, Lewis Bassett, was born. He later became Dr. Lewis Bassett and settled in Texas, where his children still live.
Joseph Carter Bassett was given a first class college and university education. His two brothers, Benjamin (Harrison) and Thomas Jefferson, were graduates of Yale University and later were laywers in Brenham and Dallas, Texas. All of the boys received their pre-college education at St. Charles College, Jesuit school, Grand Coteau, Louisiana, which is now a seminary for Jesuit priests. Joseph Carter Bassett was absolutely the best posted and generally informed man I have ever known. His father, William Henry Bassett, was a sea-faring man, owner of sea-going vessels, and at the age of 23, his oldest son, Joseph Carter went to sea with him. Ill fortune came, during just such a hurricane as the one which recently harried the Florida Keys, and they were shipwrecked and lost everything. Father and son were saved by lashing themselves to a spar and being later picked up after days exposure. This tale I heard him tell many times.
During their voyage in search of cargoes they had many times made the port of New Orleans and knew of the fertile land to be had in Louisiana for the entry fee. When they found themselves ruined financially they decided to move to Louisiana from Virginia and did so. In a few years they had reformed their lives.....
Reconstruction days and the reign of the carpetbaggers followed. A long story and a gruesome one. Dark days for the whites that had survived the war. Father accepted an appointment as professor of history and mathematics at St. Charles College, Grand Coteau, Louisiana. In 1868 he met and married Eugenie Richard. She was only 23 years old, he was 44. Mother was a graduate of the convent of the Sacred Heart at Grand Coteau. Shortly after their marriage they moved to St. Martinville, Louisiana. There your grandfather was elected District Judge in which capacity he served for many years. To this union were born seven children: Amelia, Eleanor, Coralie, Eugenie, Virginia, William and Alice. Judge Carter Bassett died December 6, 1897 and was buried in the graveyard behind the Catholic Church, Grand Coteau, Louisiana. His wife survived him and died in 1906 and is buried in St. Martinville, Louisiana. in the Catholic graveyard there.
Now, my dear, I regret that I am unable to give you more explicit and correct data. I sincerely trust this will serve your purpose.
Lovingly, Dad
Footnote from Aunt Pecey.
William Henry Bassett, Sr. (father of Judge Carter Bassett) was born at Charles City County, Virginia in 1796. The date of his birth is verified by his death certificate at the Jesuit Seminary (or Parish Church), Grand Coteau, Louisiana.
1880 Federal Census of Election District 33, First Ward, St. Martin County, Louisiana
Carter Bassett - 57 - M - DC-VA-VA - Head - Farmer
Eugenie - 35 - F - LA-LA-LA - Wife - Keeping House
Amelie - 10 - F - LA-DC-LA - Daughter - At Home
Eleanore - 8 - F - LA-DC-LA - Daughter - At Home
Coralie - 7 - F - LA-DC-LA - Daughter - At Home
Eugenie - 5 - F - LA-DC-LA - Daughter - At Home
Virginia - 4 - F - LA-DC-LA - Daughter
William - 6/12 - M - LA-DC-LA - Son
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Bassett Family Association Database
1879 - 1954 (74 years)