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The Case:
A History Detectives fan from Chicago recently unearthed a French manuscript rolled in a cardboard tube.
The surname "Duplessis," the name of his great-grandmother's mother-in-law, is jotted in a margin and "Rouzan,” his grandmother's maiden name, appears at the bottom of another page.
No one in the family knows anything about it, but our contributor, who reads a little French, thinks he has a collection of love poems, possibly written to one of his relatives. What is this? And why has his family kept it for 160 years?
History Detectives ventures into the little known world of the Creoles of Color to unlock a family mystery.
Creole Poem Manuscript
The contributor’s manuscript contained many poems written by the Creoles of Color. This poem “Jalousie” by the Creole of Color, Armand Lanusse, also appears in Les Cenelles, although the order of the second and third couplets are reversed and numbered incorrectly. The transcription contains a few careless mistakes, suggesting the work was done in haste.
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- Latest CommentIt turns out that this collage was sold last fall: http://www.worthpoint.com/wort... I wonder if it would be possible to contact the buyer by way of the auction house about getting a print made. (9 months ago)
- Twitterremember this investigation with @TukufuZuberi @elyseluray Tonight they reunite! Let us know your thoughts! @PBS http://t.co/4KMnc27K (1 year ago)
- FacebookCongrats on your exhibit, TZ! Here's a Washington Post article about the exhibit, everyone, and the great story TZ and Elyse did on his "Our Colored Heroes" story. http://tinyurl.com/mzpuyo8 http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigation/our-colored-heroes/ (9 months ago)