Hello to all - It's been a quiet week for this bunch. I just finished reading a great little history of St.Tammany parish - "St. Tammany Parish - L'Autre Cote Du Lac" by Frederick Ellis. (I must learn a way to include the French, Spanish accent marks in emails) For those of you who do not live in New Orleans, or the area anymore, and have forgotten, and those who have never lived in the area - St.Tammany Parish is across Lake Pontchartrain (the north side of the lake) from New Orleans. It includes places like Covington, Mandeville, etc. So, here is a brief but interesting "story" to add to one's notes about our wonderfully interesting family. My grandmother, Irene Francois Verloin de Gruy, was born in 1895, on her father's (Francois Verloin de Gruy) plantation in Covington, St. Tammany Parish, LA. (Her birth date and those of her siblings are incorrect on the Woods - de Gruy family website) Anyway, Ellis writes of the devastation of St. Tammany Parish as a whole, as a result of the Civil War. In Chapter 17, page 156, he writes: "The most telling statistic on the economic condition of the parish is the wealth of its more affluent citizens. In 1860, there were 27 men in the parish who reported owning property valued at $10,000 or more, including two who were worth $100,000. In 1870, the wealthiest citizen in St. Tammany Parish was F.V. De Gruy, who owned a sawmill, and who was worth only $8,000." Francois Verloin de Gruy was in his 50s when my grandmother and her sister and brother were born. So I have to believe that F.V. De Gruy was indeed the same person. There were several references to familiar family names, including one about the Foucher family, noting on page 63, the names of some of the settlers who came into the area during the Spanish regime. Among them was Antoine Foucher in 1787. One of the earliest settlers of the area was a member of the Aufere family. I think these are the kinds of "history" that add so much to the richness of our family, the entire, expanded family that includes all of us. Now, Renee, I can focus on finding that info about the New Orleans plantation which included parts of Audubon Park. Shelley (Michele)