Andrea Dimitry
Andrea Dimitry, also known as Andrea Drussakis Dimitry, was a Greek refugee who emigrated to New Orleans and became a merchant. He married Marianne Céleste Dragon, a Louisiana Creole woman of African, French, and Greek ancestry. He fought in the Battle of New Orleans with Major General and future President Andrew Jackson. His son is the author and educator Alexander Dimitry.
Early life
Andrea Dimitry was born on the Greek island of Hydra. He was the son of Nicholas Dimitry and Euphrosine Antonia. The Dimitry family had originally lived on the mainland of Greece. They had fled to Hydra seeking refuge from the Turks. The family name Drussakis is common on the island. Hydra was the victim of heavy tariffs and taxes. The Ottoman government limited free trade. Only Ottoman vessels were permitted in the region. A plague struck the island in 1792. A large portion of the inhabitants were killed and many people moved away. Andrea left the island around this time.After a long voyage traveling the world, Dimitry eventually settled in the Spanish-French New Orleans. He arrived in the 1790s, where he met a prominent Greek man named Lieutenant Michel Dragon. Dragon immigrated to New Orleans around 1760; he was a soldier in the Spanish Colonial Army.
Around 1764, when the Spanish took control of the Louisiana Territory, Dragon received a commission in the Spanish militia. The American Revolution began and under Bernardo de Gálvez, Dragon served Spain and the United States of America in the war against Britain. They defeated the British at the Siege of Pensacola in 1781, and conquered West Florida. For his service, he attained the rank of second lieutenant and received a Royal Appointmen
Dragon had a relationship with a woman who was born to a slave. Her name was Francoise Chauvin Beaulieu de Monpliaisir, and she had dark skin. Their daughter Marianne Celeste was born in 1777. Dimitry, who met Dragon when he arrived in New Orleans, married Dragon's daughter Marianne Celeste Dragon in 1799; she was listed as white on the marriage certificate. The acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from France took place in 1803, making the family officially American.
Life in America
Dimitry and Marianne Celeste had ten children, including educator and author Alexander Dimitry. In the 1805 New Orleans City Directory, Michel Dragon and his wife resided at 60 Rue de Chartres. Dimitry lived next door at 58 Rue de Chartres. The street bordered Jackson Square in the French Quarter.The War of 1812 broke out and Dimitry joined as a private and assisted Captain Frio Delabostris's company, Second Cavaliers, Louisiana Militia. He participated in the Battle of New Orleans assisting General Andrew Jackson, and became an American hero and local legend.
Dimitry owned a store and Marianne Celeste inherited 1,000 acres of land. The land was situated on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Dimitry built a villa there. Andrea's son Alexander Dimitry became highly educated and some of his siblings attended Georgetown University.
By the age of 10, educated by private tutors, Alexander was fluent in classical Greek and Latin. He spoke English, French, Greek, Italian, and Spanish. He eventually mastered eleven languages. At 15 years old, Alexander entered Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He graduated in 1826 with high honors. Dimitry spared no expense in educating his children. His children were elite upper-class.
Alexander married Mary Powell Mills. Mary Powell was the daughter of Robert Mills, a distinguished architect who designed the Washington Monument. Mills eventually became an abolitionist. The couple married in Washington, D.C., on April 5, 1835. They had ten children. Alexander became the first superintendent of schools in Louisiana, making him the first person of color to hold this position.
Dimitry's eldest daughter Euphrosyne Dimitry married Paul Pandely in New Orleans in 1822. Paul was the son of Nicholas Pandeli, a Greek who immigrated to England and married Elizabeth English. Elizabeth was a member of the English royal family, the House of Stuart. They had four children.
Euphrosyne and Paul's son, George Pandely, ran for political office in New Orleans on March 28, 1853. He was elected assistant alderman for the eighth ward in the Third District. Two weeks after his election, a concerned citizen named Victor Wiltz accused Pandelly and his family of having African lineage, starting the Pandely Affair. People of African descent were not allowed to hold public office. After seven months in office, George Pandely resigned because he was pressured by the mayor's office and assistant alderman.
Pandely sued Wiltz for slander in the 1854 court case Pandely v. Wiltz. The case was dismissed in favor of Pandely, but no financial reward was awarded. During the trial, Alexander Dimitry was assailed by racism and his school went from 50 students to two. His family, which was extremely politically connected, won the court case and five years later Alexander became the first person of color to represent the United States as Ambassador to Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Marianne vs. Andrea
Marianne Celeste inherited a sizable fortune from her father, Don Miguel Dragon, who owned 1,000 acres of land and dozens of slaves. He officially married Marianne Celeste's mother Francoise Chauvin Beaulieu de Monplaisir in 1815, seven years before they died.In February 1834, Marianne Celeste took Dimitry to court for mismanaging the family assets. She won a settlement of $27,000, or close to $1 million adjusted for 2021 inflation. By May, she sold off the remaining assets. The lawsuit was remarkable because the court sided with a woman of color.
There is a possibility Dimitry was having an affair with Irene, a 29-year-old slave. She was sold along with her son Gustave, who was 10 years old. The two were sold as part of the legal proceedings. There is no record that Dimitry and Marianne Celeste obtained a divorce. Marianne was 57 and Andrea was 59.
Death and legacy
Dimitry died in 1852; he was 77 years old. He was given a veteran's funeral. A special military detachment of the Washington Artillery appeared at the family's cottage. Several military officers and civilians gathered and many people from New Orleans attended his service. The military fired cannons and muskets, and a band played in his honor. At the time there was a Greek vessel docked in New Orleans and the officers and crew in the port attended the funeral and the flags of the vessel were suspended at half-mast. His wife Marianne Celeste died four years later in 1856. She was about 78 years old.Dimitry and Marianne Celeste had ten children: Euphrosine, Mannella Airnée, Alexander, Constantine Andrea, John Baptiste Miguel Dracos, Clino Angelica, Marie Francesca Athenais, Nicholas Dimitry, Mathilde Elizabeth Theophanie, and Antonie Marie. Most of his children married foreigners. Their ethnicities were Greek, French, and Italian.
Dimitry's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and in-laws were part of what became an elite New Orleans family. They also became a notable politically active Greek-American Creole family.