Oak Alley Investigation

HISTORY:

In the beginning, there were the trees! Sometime in the early
1700's, probably a few years before the 1718 founding of New
Orleans as the colonial seat of government, a settler claimed
land from an original royal grant for his dwelling and defined its
entrance with an alley of live oaks in two rows leading to the
river. Although we do not know how successful he was in his
efforts to adapt in the New World, it is clear that his live oaks had
no problem. Native to the area, they thrived and by 1722, when
the early Capuchin Fathers arrived at St. Jacques de
Cabahanoce to establish the settlement of St. James Parish, the
young trees had already attained a stature which hinted at the
magnificence that was to be theirs.

Into the bustle of development appeared Jacques Joseph
Roman, the first known member of the Roman family in Louisiana.
A native of Grenoble, France, it is thought that he came to
Louisiana to administer the affairs of his noble cousin, Joseph
Paris du Vernay, who had been granted a large concession of
land up-river from New Orleans. Jacques Joseph's presence in
the Colony is mentioned in 1728 when difficulties between him
and the concession managers were brought before the Colony's
governing council. In 1741 Jacques Joseph Roman married Marie
D'Aigle, whose family had moved from Canada, and spent much of
the first years of their marriage buying and selling plantations. Of
their five children only one son, Jacques Etienne, and his two
sisters survived to inherit a sizeable estate.

At the age of 29 Jacques Etienne married Marie Louise Patin, who
enthusiastically presented him with a large family. The youngest,
Jacques Telesphore, and the 19th century arrived together and
found a colony whose fortune was flourishing, due in great part
to successes in the field of sugar planting. Sugar quickly
became the major crop along the Mississippi as far north as
Baton Rouge.

Louisiana, meanwhile, had become a ping pong ball on the
political table of Spain and France. In a few short weeks it
bounced from the Spanish flag, where it had been since the
transfer from French hands by secret treaty in 1763, to the
French Tri-Color, to the Stars and Stripes where it remained,
achieving statehood in 1812. However, in the brief 3
weeks of the post-revolution French regime (November 30 -
December 20, 1803), the Napoleonic Code was introduced,
establishing a precedent that would remain and create a legal
system in Louisiana distinct from the rest of the Nation.

As the Roman children grew up and married, the family achieved
more prominence as leaders of society, and their activities
alternated between their plantations in St. James Parish, large
cattle lands in St. Landry Parish, and elegant dwellings in New
Orleans. Among the latter,was the house now known as Madame
John's Legacy on Rue Dumaine, which was purchased by
Jacques Etienne's widow for her and her bachelor sons
shortly after her husband's death. From here, Jacques
Telesphore Roman began his courtship of Celina Pilie, whose
very prominent family lived around the corner on Rue Royal.
They were married in June, 1834.

Records show that on May 19, 1836, an act of sale before Judge
Louis M. Taney transferred ownership of Oak Alley Plantation
from Valcour Aime, who had purchased it in 1820, to his
brother-in-law, J.T. Roman. This transaction was conditioned so
that Valcour Aime would acquire the nearby Roman family estate
in exchange for Oak Alley plus cancellation of a bank debt.

In addition, this famous plantation has been the sight of many
famous movies such as Interview with the Vampire, Primary
Colors, and North & South.

We arrived at the magnificent plantation early that evening and
from the moment we pulled in, we were in awe at the beauty of
the home, property, and adjacent buildings. As soon as we exited
our vehicles, we were promptly greeted by the caretakers, whom
from the entire night, could not have been more hospitable!
Again, we thank you for that.

We were given a thorough tour of the home as we did an initial
walkthrough, deciding were cameras would be placed. As
interesting as the whole home was, our attention was quickly
drawn to the attic area which was very intimidating. We quickly set
up all our equipment and went "lights out". From there, we
branched off into our respectful groups: some monitoring
cameras, some doing evp work, some taking photos, and some
basically finding a quiet place to sit and relax.

Throughout the night, several of us had experiences we cannot
quite explain. The most common experience were shadows seen
in the attic and brief glimpses of the face of the original owner in
the mirror! One incident that stuck out was when Dustyn claimes
to have been grabbed on his arm, sending an electrical surge
through his arm, causing him to drop his camera. He was visually
shook up from the experience, being his first true "encounter
with the unknown"!

We cannot thank the staff of Oak Alley enough for allowing us to
be the FIRST paranormal investigation team to be allowed into the
beautiful home. We hope that our professional behavior grants us
future visits to the home. There is DEFINITE activity here and we
hope to return to capture and experience more! Thanks again!