Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Abbadie de St. Germain

ABBADIE de St. Germain (ab-bah-dee'), governor, b. about 1710; d. in New Orleans, 4 Feb., 1765. He was sent to America by Louis XV. of France, to take charge of certain royal business interests in New Orleans, and was granted military authority over the affairs of the province. His administration was marked by great wisdom. Restraining the tendency to brutality on the part of masters toward their slaves, he secured the good will of the best people in the community. In his dealings with the Indians he was equally successful, and his memory is piously cherished in the French parishes. As the result of the sale of Louisiana to Spain in 1762, Gov. Abbadie was ordered in 1764 to resign his command to a Spanish representative, and he died of grief, caused by the necessity of surrendering his charge to those whom he regarded as enemies. There appears to be no record of his Christian name.