Samuel A. LeBlanc, I

Samuel Albert LeBlanc, I
Louisiana State Representative from Assumption Parish
In office 1912–1916
Preceded by	Henry A. LeBlanc
Succeeded by	Clay J. Dugas Charles H. Munson
Personal details
Born	August 29, 1886 Paincourtville Assumption Parish Louisiana, USA
Died	July 8, 1955 (aged 68)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Elmire Lafaye (married 1912-1955, his death)
Relations	Sam A. LeBlanc, III (grandson)
Children	Samuel A. LeBlanc, II Henry LeBlanc Richard LeBlanc Elmire and Cecile
Parents	Camille Dugas and Joseph E. LeBlanc
Residence	Napoleonville, Louisiana
Alma mater	Tulane University Tulane University School of Law
Occupation	Lawyer and Judge
Religion	Roman Catholic

Samuel Albert LeBlanc, I (August 29, 1886–July 8, 1955), was a lawyer from Napoleonville in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, who was a Democratic former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1912 to 1916.^[1]

Career

LeBlanc was born in Paincourtville in Assumption Parish to the former Camille Dugas and Joseph E. LeBlanc. His father was a parish official, a state senator, and a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 1908, LeBlanc received his law degree from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans. In 1910, he was appointed for two years to the Louisiana State Board of Education. He practiced law in Napoleonville until 1920, when he began service as judge of the Louisiana 23rd Judicial District Court, which then served Assumption, Ascension, and St. James parishes. In 1929, LeBlanc was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Justice Paul Leche of the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal. He was subsequently elected to the position and remained in the office until 1949, when he was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court to complete the unexpired term of a chief justice. He left the court on December 31, 1954.^[2]

In civic activities, LeBlanc was chairman of his local American Red Cross and a trustee of his alma mater, Tulane University. He was a member of the Roman Catholic men's organization, the Knights of Columbus. Shortly before his death, he was named a Knight of St. Gregory.^[2]

Family

On August 7, 1912, LeBlanc married the former Elmire Lafaye (1889-1972). The couple had five children, Samuel, II, Henry, Richard, Elmire, and Cecile.^[2] Samuel, II, later married the former Marcelle Reese and had two children, Sam A. LeBlanc, III, of St. Francisville in West Feliciana Parish, and Marcelle L. Hickey (born 1940), who resides in New Orleans. Samuel, II, was killed during World War II,^[3] and Marcelle married Robert Emmet Couhig, Sr. (1916-2014), a businessman from New Orleans and later Baton Rouge by whom she bore three other sons, including Rob Couhig, and a daughter.^[4] Like his grandfather, Sam LeBlanc, III, was a Tulane Law School graduate^[5] and a member of the state House of Representatives, having served two terms from 1972 to 1980 from Jefferson and Orleans parishes.^[1]

Other LeBlanc family members who held public office included his maternal grandfather, Eloi F. X. Dugas, and a brother, Henry LeBlanc, who were both U.S. representatives from Assumption Parish. Another brother, Robert LeBlanc, and a nephew, George Etienne LeBlanc, were members of the Assumption Parish School Board. Another nephew, Henry Arthur Folse, was a mayor of Donaldsonville in Ascension Parish.^[2]

References

1. "Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2016" (PDF). house.louisiana.gov. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
2. "LeBlanc, Samuel, I" (PDF). Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
3. "Louisiana WW2 NMCG Casualty List – L Surnames". accessgenealogy.com. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
4. "Robert E. "Bob" Couhig, Sr. Obituary". Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
5. "Two 50-year graduates honored with Outstanding Alumni Awards, October 4, 2013". Tulane.edu. Retrieved May 31, 2014.