Southern Bean Association
This is a genealogy association
studying all of the Bean/Beane/Been/Beene
lineages (any spelling).

Southern Bean Association
Annual Meeting Report

The Southern Bean Association held its 2007 annual meeting in Nachitoches, Louisiana on June 14, 15, and 16, 2007 at the Samuel Guy House. Betty Beene hosted.

This small historic city was filled with beautiful blooms of crepe myrtle, hydrangea, impatiens, gardenias, columbine, hibiscus and many other blooming shrubs and flowers. From the huge old oaks, to the sturdy, red brick streets, to the genealogy library located in the old courthouse museum, to the historic recreation of Fort Jean Baptiste on the Cane River, we enjoyed every minute of our visit. We only scratched the surface, traveling through tree lined streets, home of many fine old structures that are now bed and breakfast inns. In the evenings we saw many visitors enjoying pleasant strolls.

Our speaker was Robert B. "Bobby" DeBlieux. He gave a riveting talk about the history of Nachitoches, which was first settled in 1714. (His ancestor was among those first settlers.)

From "About the Author" at http://www.tantehuppe.com/ (Click on The Garden Club.)

Robert B. DeBlieux is known to his friends as "Bobby." He is a native of Louisiana. Mr. DeBlieux received an MS degree from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and a BS degree from LSU in Baton Rouge.

He currently resides in Natchitoches, his place of birth, and operates his ancestral home, The Tante Huppe House, as a bed and breakfast. During his spare time he writes historical treatises, serves on numerous state and local historical boards and committees, teaches Louisiana history, and is unsurpassed as a walking encyclopedia of Southern lore.

He has written many articles about Louisiana, including two widely acclaimed tour guidebooks. He is a nationally known authority on Louisiana architecture, and is also an accomplished landscape painter.

Mr. DeBlieux is a past president of the Natchitoches Historic Foundation and is currently co-chairman of the Cane River National Heritage Area Commission of the National Park Service.

He is also a collector of historic documents, and as such has amassed the largest collection of documents regarding "free persons of color" ever assembled.

During his tenure as Louisiana State Historic Preservation Officer, he created forty-two National Register Districts in the State of Louisiana.

One can tour the South and visit every nook and cranny, but is not likely to encounter a more colorful or a more interesting character than Bobby.

Southern Bean Association Annual Meeting Report

Southern Bean Association
Annual Meeting Report