Succession of Jesse Cowand
Jesse Cowand died in 1852 and left 10 heirs. Property owned at his death included Square 17 in Greenville. The square was subdivided into 10 lots, one for each heir. The heirs drew numbered tickets to determine which parcel they acquired.
Bottom of pg 4 mentions square 17. Also, note the street names have an error - Market st and Foucher streets are switched. The error was corrected in 1884.
Lot 9 to Alfred Cowand (minor)
Lot 10 to Mary Elizabeth Cowand, wife of Francis Leibrook
Sale of Lot 10, square 17 by Heirs of Mrs. F Leibrook to F. Leibrook. Dec 4, 1869. Bk96, Folio425
Sale of rear half of Lot 10, square 17 by F Leibrook to R Brown. June 16, 1871. Bk98, Folio653
Sale of front half of Lot 10, square 17 by F Leibrook to J Baptiste. Jan 9, 1878. Bk110, Folio355
Correction to street names surrounding square 17, May 17, 1884. Previously noted, prior acts had Market Street and Foucher Streets switched.
Who was Jesse Cowand?
Born in Norfolk, VA in 1786, he migrated to New Orleans in the early 1800's. He served at the Battle of New Orleans in 1814. He purchased the land and built Elmwood Plantation which was completed by about 1830. Jesse Cowand died in 1852 and had 10 heirs.
Included in the property owned at his death was Square 17 Greenville.
Another bit of interesting information is the lawsuit between the State of Louisiana vs Hugh Ames which was argued at the Supreme Court of Louisiana in 1871. Apparently, Joseph Field was a long time friend of Jesse Cowand and his family. After Cowand's death in 1852, Field became very close to a number of his children. Field had no children of his own and when he died in 1862, he left no will and no heirs. After several years and a diligent search, a will mysteriously appeared which appointed one of the Cowand children (Amanda M Cowand and married to Hugh Ames) sole heir.
The state objected and the matter escalated to the State Supreme Court which reversed a lower court ruling which found the will spurious and fraudulent. The state's suit was denied and the ruling put Ames in possession as the universal legatee of his late wife, Amanda M. Cowand, and which was denied to her, as the universal legatee of Joseph Field.
The above is unrelated to Square 17. It is only mentioned in passing since it involved Jesse Cowand's heirs.