An enslaved woman in the household of Victoire Le Sassier, widow of Lt. Col. Jose Noriega.
Born around 1794. Race is recorded as mulata.
Confirmed in Pensacola on May 7, 1798, by the Bishop of Louisiana and the Floridas, Rev. Luis Peñalver y Cardenas, where she is listed as the the negra slave of Don Jose Noriega. Because the Bishop visited the area so infrequently, young people and converts of all ages were confirmed whenever the opportunity arose; thus there is no way to estimate her age just from this record. Mother was listed as Esther, a negra woman enslaved in the same household. Father is not mentioned.
Appears in the Bill of Complaint for Divorce between Madame Victoire and her second husband, Don Pedro de Alba, Sr. She was listed among the property Mme. Le Sassier owned before her marriage to him in 1813, described as being 17 years old. It was reported in the court papers that in the years between 1813 and 1819, Don Pedro used to send a servant named Amy over to his wife when she requested Charlotte, her favorite servant, to wait upon her, saying Charlotte was busy. This fact was presented as a strike against Don Pedro in the divorce.
In these same proceedings, Charlotte is also described by a witness as the one who milked the cows and brought the milk to Mme. Le Sassier’s household in the mornings; then, later, a girl named Adele is referred to as the daughter of the servant who brought the milk. This makes Charlotte a good candidate to be Adele’s mother.
Mentioned in the 1833 will of Victoire Le Sassier; Charlotte is described as the daughter of the negra woman Esther and Mme. Le Sassier grants both mother and daughter their freedom upon her death.
Deed of Manumission: 28 February 1834 – Loring C. Hubbell and Ferdinand Christin, as Executors of the estate of Victoire Le Sassier, freed Charlotte, described as a mulatresse of about 35 years of age. (Escambia Co. [FL] Deeds, B/543[2])
FAMILY:
Mother: Esther Noriega*
Brothers: Manuel Noriega* and Leandro Noriega*
Daughter: Adele Noriega
SOURCES:
Coker, William S. and G. Douglas Inglis, “Confirmation Lists for Pensacola and Fort Barrancas, 1798,” The Spanish Censuses of Pensacola, 1784-1820: A Genealogical Guide to Spanish Pensacola. The Perdido Bay Press, 1980, pp. 61-76
Victoire Le Sassier v. Pedro de Alba, Florida State Supreme Court, 11 November 1831. In custody of Special Collections, John C. Pace Library, University of West Florida, Coker Film 102-2. [Transcription by Deborah Beagle Baldock, www.wfgs.org, 1 February 2021.]
Will of Victoire LeSassier, 10? APR 1833. Ancestry.com. Florida, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1827-1950 [accessed 27 FEB 2021]