More Vitter Histories …

Click on the following titles for more histories about the Vitter Family:

• Exploring Clerval in 2022: Jeff Vitter had been wanting to visit Clerval in the Doubs department of France near northern Switzerland ever since his Aha! Moment 23 years ago described above. He and Sharon Vitter finally got the chance 22 years later during a Fall 2022 trip to France full of wonderful family history visits, photos, and videos.
• How the Vitters Got to Clerval: As highlighted above in The Aha! Moment That Led to This Website, Jeff Vitter made a big breakthrough in December 2000: He discovered when, where, and how his Vitter ancestors came from Clerval, France to the USA. But the mystery remained about where the Vitter family came from originally and how they got to Clerval, France in 1799. Jean-Pierre Vitter, Jeff's 4th cousin 1x removed and a fellow genealogist, resolved that mystery 19 years later!
• Avant et après le « Aha! moment »: Before Jeff Vitter's Aha! moment described above, Jeff and his dad did not know much at all about where the Vitter line came from. Much correspondence behind the scenes — both electronic as well as old-fashioned hardcopy letters — led up to and beyond the big discovery. This history gives an inside look at the correspondences that genealogists engage in, the friendships that develop, and how what we understand grows (we hope!) with time.
• Exploring Mimi's Ancestors near the Pyrénées of Southwest France: Unlike Jeff's dad's side, where we knew very little of his lineage, Jeff's mom had a fair amount of knowledge about her ancestors, who came from around Uzan (pronounced "u-ZHANG" in the local patois) and Anères in extreme southwest France near the Pyrénées mountains. She and her mom, grandmother, aunt, and siblings visited southwest France when she was 13 1/2 years old in 1934, shortly after her great grandmother passed away. With that information as a base — along with more trips to southwest France in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2020s — we were able to greatly expand our genealogy horizons of Mimi's lineage through the same kind of letters described in the prior history that we sent to Jeff's dad's paternal Vitter ancestors. In this history, we show more "inside genealogy baseball" about how connections are discovered, along with plenty photos of visits.
• Artigues Family History and Open Questions: A. L. Vitter Jr. had Artigues connections on both sides of his family: His mother (Marie) Berthe (née Artigues) Vitter was the daughter of immigrant Ferréol Jean Marie Artigues, and A. L.'s 1st cousin 2x removed Marie Louise Cathalongne (daughter of 1843 Clerval immigrant Marie Louise Vitter) married immigrant Jean Ferréol "John" Artigues. Ferréol and John were 1st cousins. This history includes records and photos about the Artigues, who came from Salies-du-Salat in the Haute-Garonne region of southwest France, with several tantalizing open questions.
• "Take 'Er Down!": The Story of Commander Gilmore: Commander Gilmore was a bona fide hero of World War II. His fateful words as he made the ultimate sacrifice are uttered still today by every submarine commander in the U. S. Navy.
• A. L. & Audrey Vitter: Role Models Extraordinaires: Jeff Vitter's parents A. L. Jr. & Audrey (née St. Raymond) Vitter (grandparent names Père and Mimi) led accomplished lives of extraordinary service and caring for others — a legacy for generations to follow (including many Domers and a killer cookbook!).
• Photos from Mimi's Homecoming Weekend, June 2006: We couldn't bury Audrey "Mimi" (née St. Raymond) Vitter in New Orleans at the time of her death because of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. When her body was brought back home for reburial eight months later, it was a time for several family events and to celebrate her life.
• Vitter Holiday Cards Through the Years: 'Tis the Season to be jolly! Welcome to a 78-year-old Vitter tradition of annual Christmas greeting cards, augmented from time to time with cards for other occasions.
• Our Loyal Guardians Rex & Queenie: Rex and Queenie — half-ton cast-iron Newfoundland dogs — have stood guard over Vitter-Artigues homes in New Orleans for about 113 years and have a fascinating (and still mysterious) genealogy of their own.
• Albert Artigues Jr. & All That Jazz: For the middle part of the 20th century, Albert Artigues Jr. and his cornet were mainstays in the New Orleans jazz scene at night, while he worked at the family fisherman sporting supply business during the day.
• Uriah Hayden: Colonial Shipbuilder: Building a strong and vital navy helped win independence in the late 1700s and launch the U. S. A. as an independent country. Connecticut shipbuilder Uriah Hayden and his wife Ann (née Starkey) Hayden played a key role — right in their own backyard.
• What Might Have Altered the Start of World War II: French foreign minister (Jean) Louis Barthou, the "grand old man of European diplomacy," played an important role in Europe in garnering opposition to the rising Adolph Hitler … until he got shot in 1934, as shown in the video.
• Three Vitters of the French Résistance: World War II saw France divided and conquered by Hitler's Third Reich, so brothers Louis and Roger Vitter and their 2nd cousin Pierre Vitter went underground in their native Franche-Comté region to fight for France as part of the infamous Résistance.
• Alcée Fortier and the Creole Culture of New Orleans: One of New Orleans's outstanding educators (and well-known names) was a Baldwin family relative and a leading advocate for the many languages and cultures that formed the city's renowned melting pot.
• Baldwin Wood: The Inventor Who Keeps New Orleans Dry: Much of New Orleans lies under sea level, and flooding is always a major concern. One of the greatest infrastructure feats in New Orleans history is the elaborate system of pumps and canals that move water from the city up to the surrounding lakes — though its Achilles heel is the electrical power supply (and the politicians who don't fix the problem!). This history spotlights the inventor and administrator who 110 years ago pioneered the pumping technology that is still in use today in New Orleans and around the world.
• Baldwin Family Feud: While we're on the topic of the Baldwin family, here're some videos from 41 years ago when the Baldwin siblings took on the world in the well-known TV game show Family Feud, hosted by the kissing Richard Dawson. They appeared five times on the show, winning four times until their luck eventually ran out.
• Academic Genealogy: Jeff Vitter has another kind of family tree: the academic generations created by a teacher who teaches a student how to learn, who in turn becomes a teacher and passes on that knowledge to another student, etc. The cycle continues, as it has since the days of Socrates, his student Plato, and Plato's student Aristotle.
• On Databases, Deanships, and the South: This Vitter-Weaver website is built upon a relational database. When you go to the page of someone in our family tree, the page is dynamically created for you on the spot by querying the database to get the up-to-date info you want about that person in the form you want it. In this 2008 interview of your co-host Jeff Vitter, Jeff talks about his work in the field of databases, being a dean, and growing up in the Deep South. The interview was conducted by ACM SIGMOD, the world's leading database professional organization.
• Jeff Vitter Reflects on Being a Dean at Purdue: This interview was conducted by the late Ms. Katherine Markee 15 years ago as part of the Purdue Oral History Archives when your co-host Jeff Vitter was the Frederick L. Hovde Dean of the College of Science at Purdue University. It gives insights on the importance of education and the productive interplay of academics and administration.
• When Jeff & Audrey Vitter Lost and Her Siblings in the Woods: Some fun interviews with the kids when their dad Jeff was being inaugurated in 2016 as 17th Chancellor of the University of Mississippi, including a vivid description of their Fathers' Day hike in the woods 29 years ago when Jeff & Audrey lost her siblings. Fortunately all turned out well!
• Jeff Vitter's Investiture as 17th Chancellor: Jeff's formal inauguration 7 years ago as the 17th chancellor of the University of Mississippi included some great music and an opportunity to talk about the transformative power of higher education.