Judge Émile Édouard (Edward) Simon, 1824 - 1914
St. Martinville, Saint Martin Parish, Louisiana
Marker Inscription
Judge Émile Édouard (Edward) Simon, 1824 - 1914. A native of St. Martinville, Simon studied law at Harvard under the Honorable Joseph Story and Simon Greenleaf, earning his degree in 1846. As 14th Judicial District Judge from 1853 to 1865, Simon was to become the second of four generations of judges. While Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was writing the epic poem Evangeline and teaching at Harvard, Simon was a student there. Family tradition holds that Simon told Longfellow about the establishment of Acadian exiles here in 1765 and described for him the geography and local color of the Teche country. May this plaque forever honor our distinguished native son!
Erected by City of St. Martinville
The Story
A St. Martinville native, Émile Édouard Simon studied law at Harvard under the celebrated jurists Joseph Story and Simon Greenleaf, earning his degree in 1846, and went on to serve as 14th Judicial District Judge — the second of four generations of judges in his family. Family tradition holds that while both were at Harvard, Simon described the Acadian exiles' 1765 settlement of the Teche country to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was then composing his epic poem Evangeline. The plaque honors him as a distinguished son of the Acadian community.
Why it matters
Simon links a small Louisiana town to both the nation's legal traditions and one of America's most beloved poems about the Acadian diaspora.
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Related people
- · Émile Édouard Simon
- · Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- · Joseph Story
- · Simon Greenleaf
Themes & tags
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