José Escarpentier was born in Cañete, a village in the province of Catalonia, Spain. His parents were Gaetano Escarpentier and Marie Jover.
Catalonia is on the western side of Spain, and includes the cities of Valencia and Barcelonia. The province reaches to the French border and includes the Baleric Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
The language of the area is Catalans, a romance language more akin to French than to Castellano or Castillian Spanish. It developed in the middle ages and was the official language of the kingdoms of Catalonia and Aragon. Early in the eighteenth century, the government in Madrid removed the official status of the language and it was not restored until 1930.
When Franco came to power, after the Civil War, he again tried to stamp out Catalans. After Franco's death in 1975, Catalonia signed a statute of autonomy with the central government that allowed the region to use Catalans as an official language alongside Spanish. Since that time a concerted effort has been made to teach and revive the use of the language. 1
In 1992, it was an official language at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
José Escarpentier was born circa 1794 and arrived in New Orleans around 1816. He cohabited with Eulalie Jacinthe, a free woman of color, who was born in this country of parents who were refugees from St. Domingue. They had six children:
José owned and operated a grocery store on Moreau and Spain Streets. After his death on 8 Oct 1848, Joseph, Jr. continued the service.
After José's death, his children dropped the initial "E" from the name and all references after that date listed the name as Scarpenter. It is possible that the "s" may also have been dropped at a later date. Jacinta Carmelite dropped the use of her first name. All references to her use the middle name.
Carmelite bore Jean Ferdinand at least six children.
Many more Monteguts are listed in the death index, but they give no indication of family connections. Some may have been children of Jean Ferdinand Montegut and Carmelite Scarpenter.
Ferdinand Joseph Montégut, pére, was born 4 May, 1868. He became a shoemaker.
Carmelite died 7 Jan 1892. Ferdinand died 14 Jul 1904.