Jacques Phillipe Villere 1816-1820

Born: April 28, 1761 in "German Coast" most probably in St. John the Baptist Parish
Political Affiliation: Democrat-Republican and later National Republican
Religious Affiliation: Catholic
Education: Trained as a page in the court of Louis XVI of France; short period in a military academy in France.
Career Prior to Term: French Army; Justice of the Peace; Major General in the Territorial Militia.
How He Became Governor: Elected on July 1, 1816
Career after Term: Devoted his later life to his estate, wife and children and grand-children; unsuccessful bid for re-election in 1824.
Died: March 7, 1830 at Conseil Plantation, St. Bernard Parish. Interred in St. Louis Cemetery, New Orleans.

Jacques Philippe Villere, elected Governor in 1816, was the first native-born governor of Louisiana. He presided over a tremendous increase in population and in the strength of its economy.

Now free of the British fleet at the mouth of the river and the Spanish control of the Florida parishes, Louisiana could enjoy unhampered trade down the Mississippi. Prosperity brought conflict between the Anglo-Americans and the Creoles whose families had been in Louisiana for generations. Villere had to mediate those disputes while administering state government.

The legislature attempted to bridge the two cultures by publishing laws in both languages. The Creole-Anglo conflict dominated state politics until more "partisan" battles became the focal point after the rise of the Whig Party in 1834.

Following his term, Villere retired to his plantation in St. Bernard Parish where he died in 1830.

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