Pierre and Jean Laffite were Frenchmen and their nationality is always given as such in contemporary records. When asked, they claimed to be French citizens, and neither made any attempt to become naturalized after they came to live in the United States. When they applied to the French consul in New Orleans for a privateer commission in March, 1813, Jean gave Bordeaux as his place of birth. In 1816, his fellow conspirator Dr. Juan Mariano Picornell informed the Spanish secret service that Pierre Laffite’s mother was a Spaniard from Orduna–which makes Bordeaux a plausible birthplace for the brothers–[Vogel.] [Ramsay, in Jean Laffite, Prince of Pirates, takes the position that Pierre and Jean were born at St. Dominique and came to Louisiana as children in the 1780s with their widowed mother.

     This he believes accounts for Jean’s superior knowledge of the swamps and bayous at an early age; knowledge that prepared him for leadership of the Baratarians and the Battle of New Orleans. According to this account his mother married a New Orleans merchant and this assured him of acceptance among the clannish inhabitants of the city. This acceptance would have been denied a newcomer–[Ed.]

     Until conclusive proof of the Laffite brothers’ nativity is produced the identities of their parents and siblings cannot be determined. French genealogists have, however, found documents which suggest that Pierre and Jean may have been born in Bordeaux (in 1772 and 1782, respectively), the sons of Antoine Laffite, a rope maker, and Guillemette Chataigne. Unfortunately, their names are common in that part of the world and researchers are still busy sorting out the various Pierre and Jean Laffites– [Vogel.] The names of the children born to this couple, in whom we are interested, are:

     A. Pierre Laffite born 12 April, 1772 B. Alexandre Laffite born 6 May, 1774 C. Jean Laffite born 15 August, 1782 (This information is presented and discussed in: Suduiraut, Bertrand Guillot, “Laffite, Brothers & Co., Buccaneers, or the Impossible Quest” Généalogie et Historie de la Caraibe. No. 82 (May, 1996), pp., 1618-1620. Also published in The Laffite Society Chronicles, Vol. III, Number 1(January, 1997). The presence of Alexandre raises the interesting possibility that this person may be Dominique (aka Frederic) You- Youx.–Ed.]

Probably, but no record of a marriage has been found either in France or America. None of Laffite’s contemporaries mentioned him having a wife or family in Louisiana–[Vogel.]

Possibly, but we do not have documentary proof of any children, legitimate or natural. An 1818 document in the Papeles de Cuba contains an allusion to Eugene, the teenaged son of Pierre Laffite– [Vogel.]

     The Laffite brothers signed their names Laffite, using a variant of the common French spelling. Their surname is commonly rendered Lafitte in documents written in English; Spanish documents sometimes use Lafit or Lafita. The Laffite brothers of Barataria are occasionally confused with members of the Laffitte family who were colonial-period pioneers in the area around Natchitoches, Louisiana–[Vogel.]

     Laffite (Laffitte, Lafitte, Lafit) is an old French word. According to etymologists, it originated as the name of a locality in Gascony (see Davzat’s Dictionaire Etymologique). The surname is quite common in southwestern France–[Vogel.] [An old definition–Fit /Fit/, n. AS fitt a song. In Old English, a song; a strain; a canto or portion of a ballad; a passus. Written also fitte, fytte, etc. To play some pleasant fit.–Spenser.–Ed.]

     No–and one shudders to think what would happen if such a thing were to happen–[Vogel.] [A name cannot be copyrighted. In some instances a name can be registered as a Trademark–Ed.]

     Very few of those who knew him wrote down their impressions of the man’s character or personality traits–much of what was “remembered” about him later on was embellished, distorted, or wholly fabricated. Nowadays, we would probably call someone like him a “gangster” or “soldier of fortune” –[Vogel,] [He has been described as tall with regular features–one person said he had small hands and feet.

     He was almost always described as a gracious host, polite and gentlemanly. He was basically a businessman and not a blood-thirsty pirate as he is portrayed in movies and pulp literature. He may have engaged in piracy after his sojourn at Galveston, but before he left there he was basically a privateer-businessman who seldom went to sea. He was apparently a strict disciplinarian.–Ed.]

     Many years after the fact, the merchant Vincent Nolte wrote in his memoirs Fifty Years in Both Hemispheres [New York, 1854]) that the Laffites and You were brothers, a claim that cannot be substantiated. When Nolte wrote his book, Laffite and You had recently become celebrities. Dominique You (a.k.a. Frederick Youx) was an important corsair in his own right. He was born in France around 1772 and died in New Orleans in 1830. He was in St. Dominique (modern Haiti) in 1800 and emigrated from that place to Santo Domingo (the Spanish side of the island) in 1803–he was probably a member of the unsuccessful French military expedition to Haiti in 1802-1804.

     His name first appears as a privateer in 1804 and he lived in Baracoa, Cuba, for some time before coming to Louisiana circa 1810. Court documents strongly suggest that he was an independent operator rather than a follower of the Laffite brothers–[Vogel.] [See answer to question 3 above.

     Some members of the Laffite Society believe he was a brother and was involved in the Laffite operations at least at certain times. John Oliver, who was present when the Patterson-Ross raid took place, gave testimony in court that Dominique was present, that he was not in charge of a vessel but was a commander under Laffite. Laffite commissioned him to take charge of Barataria whereupon Laffite left the scene. More research is needed to arrive at a definitive answer– Ed.]

     There is no credible evidence that a familial link existed between Jean Laffite and Napoleon Bonaparte. This legend appears to have originated in southern Louisiana during the late nineteenth century and eventually found its way into the public domain through the writings of Lyle Saxon and others–[Vogel.]

     There are persistent rumors that Jean Laffite was known by several aliases including the surnames Billot and Boutte. Members of these families have received royalty payments and some of them believe they receive them because their ancestor was Jean Laffite. No hard evidence to back up these claims has been presented.–[R. Dale Olson.]