One of my most interesting finds in my many years of research on my family ancestry has to be my family connection to Donato BELLO. Donato was born about 1740 in Corand, Naples, Italy to Victor BELLO and Marie De La MARO. By the time he was a teenager he was making trips from Italy to North America. In New Orleans he would take interest in a quateronne libre named Marie Jeanne TALLIEFERT and have 3 children with her, to wit, Martin, Celeste and Catherine. He would later marry Suzanne MOREAU of Alabama on 15 Jan 1765. From this union the following were born: Catherine Josette, Maximillien, Judith, Valerie, Sophia and Don Louis BELLO. Shortly after he was married to Suzanne Donato his family relocated to the Opelousas Post under a Spanish land grant. There he became head of the Opelousas Militia. Donato died on 13 Dec 1787 in Opelousas, Louisiana.

It’s a common belief in this age that the White families didn’t associate with the Black families. An example of this was shown in the movie “Feast of all Saints” based on Anne Rice’s novel. The main character Marcel, played by Robert Ri’card, was forbidden to go to his father’s plantation by his father’s legitimate family who may have not known of his parentage. However, this was not the case for Donato BELLO’s two families.

MARTIN DONATO BELLO

Martin Donato BELLO, Donato’s son with Marie Jeanne later became the head of the family ensuring that all of his siblings would live a secure and prosperous life. With the assistance of his father’s network of associates and his position within the family, began establishing himself by purchasing slaves and property. It wouldn’t take long for him to be recognized as one of the area’s more prominent men of color, even owning more than the average White man at that time.

Martin and his siblings of color held close ties with their father’s legitimate heirs. Martin was even close with his father’s wife’s family. On 19 Oct 1797, he purchased property from Suzanne MOREAU’s brother Celestin. After the death of Suzanne MOREAU, Martin acted as curator for his late brother Maximillien’s children. This in itself would show how closely associated the siblings from the different women were.

Martin acting as curator for Maximillien BELLO’s children

Jan. 1818

Through Martin’s hard work ethic and social connections, he was able to become one of the wealthier of his siblings. In fact, he owned nearly quadruple the number of slaves and property than all of his father’s legitimate heirs. Martin’s heirs benefited greatly from this wealth, also becoming large land owners. One example is his son Francois Auguste DONATO. (At some point, Martin and his heirs adopted DONATO as their surname.)

AUGUSTE DONATO AND CARLOS SONNIER

 

1860 Census of Francois Auguste DONATO

In the 1860 census Auguste was living with his wife Marie Denise MEUILLON along with Carlos SOIGNIER [SONNIER], a manger on Auguste’s estate. Denise was the child of Jean Baptiste MEUILLON, a wealthy cotton planter, and Celeste Donato BELLO, Auguste’s paternal aunt. Carlos SONNIER, Martin’s White nephew, was the son of Auguste's first cousin Josephine POIRET.  Josephine POIRET was the daughter of Judith BELLO, Martin’s half-sister. This census not only shows how well-established Auguste was as a planter but it also shows the family relationships between Donato BELLO’s legitimate descendants through his wife Suzanne MOREAU and his line of descent through Marie Jeanne TALLIEFERT, femme de couleur libre [free woman of color], both women being natives of New Orleans.

Another illustration of the close ties between the two branches of the family is that after the Civil War, Carlos married Auguste’s slave child Eugenie. They were married on 28 Sep 1886: SONNIER, Charles m. 28 Sept. 1886 Eugenie DONATO (Opel. Ct. Hse.: Mar. #14182). Carlos and Eugenie lived and raised their family in Mallet, Louisiana where they intermarried into the extended family of Donato BELLO. Carlos and Eugenie’s daughter, Lucia SONNIER, married Jean Baptiste GUILLORY, another descendant of Donato BELLO.

Jean Baptiste GUILLORY and wife Lucia SONNIER

BELIZAIRE MEUILLON AND ELOI SONNIER

Another example of the close relationships between Donato BELLO’s two families is this 1860 census record showing Belizaire MEUILLON and Eloi SONNIER, Carlos’s brother, as a manager on her plantation. Belizaire was another daughter of Jean Baptiste MEUILLON and Celeste Donato BELLO, Martin Donato BELLO’s sister. This also made her another first cousin of Josephine POIRET, Martin’s niece through his half-sister Judith BELLO, mentioned above. While serving as a manager on Belizaire’s plantation, Eloi had a son named Antoine SONNIER with Belizaire’s slave Eulalie who took the surname ALCENDOR after slavery.

1860 census of Belizaire MEUILLON

A FAMILY AFFAIR

These are just some of the connections between Donato BELLO’s two families. I guess you can say it was definitely a family affair between Donato BELLO’s descendants. As a researcher I constantly explain that it’s in everyone’s best interest to not assume that the people of the past lived or thought of race relations in the same way as today. This can be seen in the relationships between Donato BELLO’s two families.