| Andres Almonaster Y Rojas |
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| spanish philanthropists | |
| history of louisiana | |
| 1728 births | |
| 1798 deaths | |
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Born of a noble Andalusian family, he came to Louisiana in the early days of the Spanish rule there, and was appointed ''escribano publico'' or notary public. As Grace King puts it, it was "an office rich in salary, perquisites, and business opportunities. He soon acquired wealth in it, or through it." Among his investments was a large tract of land downtown, purchased from Governor O'Reilly on perpetual lease. He became an ''alcalde'' or municipal counsellor, and afterwards bought the office of ''alferez real'' or royal standard bearer. He was an old man when he married Louise de Laronde, a young Creole girl, in the parish church of New Orleans, in 1787, the year before it was destroyed by fire. He provided the funds for building its first cathedral, in which he was buried soon afterwards. This first cathedral was pulled down in 1850, but Don Andres' tomb has been preserved in the new building. After the fire of 1788, he built at his own expense a public school for the city, as well as the house for the use of the clergy and the charity hospital at the then very considerable cost of $114,000. He rebuilt the town hall and the Cabildo, the buildings on either side of the cathedral, the hospital, the boys' school, a chapel for the Ursulines, and he founded the Leper Hospital. EXTERNAL LINKS
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