Although common today in the cities of Alexandria, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans, the surname Mayeux is usually associated with Avoyelles Parish, where nearly 40 percent of the state's households of that name are concentrated. At least two individuals named Mayeux entered Louisiana in the early eighteenth century. One was Nicolas Mayeux de Lormaison (probably of noble birth), a merchant of Cap François in St. Domingue, West Indies, who lived in New Orleans during the 1730s and 1740s; married to Françoise Plaissant of Quebec, he left no male descendants to carry on his name in Louisiana.* The other early colonist was Pierre Mayeux, of humble origin, who came to Louisiana in 1720 as a young worker destined for the Law concession on the Arkansas River.

It is from Pierre and his son Pierre-François that most of the Mayeux families of Louisiana descend. A third individual, Ignace Mailloux of Canada (whose surname is similar in pronunciation to that of Mayeux), settled near Natchitoches Post in the late eighteenth century;3 little is known of his descendants and he appears to have had no connection with the Mayeux family of Louisiana.

A native of Maintenoy, province of Picardy, northwestern France, Pierre Mayeux and his wife Marie Cellier first lived at Arkansas Post (near the site of the defunct Law concession), then for a time in Natchez, before settling permanently in Pointe Coupee in 1731.

There he established a sizable plantation and by 1745 had 36 cattle and 80 arpents in com, beans, and tobacco, worked by a number of slaves.

Regarded as one of the wealthiest planters of the area, Pierre (d. 1747) left his estate to his son Pierre-François (m. 1744 Nicolle Prévost), who sired four sons to carry on the Mayeux name.

Son François (m. 1772 Julie Marioneaux) apparently remained in Pointe Coupee, but sons Joseph (m. 1774 Adrienne Bordelon), Jean-Baptiste (m. 1776 Julienne Bordelon), and Pierre (m. 1779 Marie-Anne Bordelon) by 1785 had migrated northward to settle in the Avoyelles area.

There, these three began the large Mayeux clan of Avoyelles, each rearing from four to six sons.

Initial settlement was made in the prairies near Avoyelles Post, between present Marksville and Mansura, where tobacco was the main crop.

Gradually their descendants occupied other locations in the Avoyelles District, some settling along the Red River, others along Bayou des Glaises near present Bordelonville, still others along Bayou Choupique near present Plaucheville.

Civil records indicate that several Mayeux became respected and prosperous farmers of Avoyelles Parish with sizable land holdings and some with political influence. For example, pioneer settler Jean-Baptiste claimed several tracts in the prairies, owned livestock, and from 1794 to 1806 was chosen as one of the syndics of the area.

Again, in antebellum days Paulin Mayeux (son of Pierre with Marie-Anne Bordelon) and his descendants operated a respectable sugar plantation and mill near Marksville.

Apparently, few Mayeux families left Avoyelles Parish until late in the nineteenth century.

In the 1870s Narcisse Mayeux (probably a descendant of Jean-Baptiste the syndic) and his wife Basilise Jeansonne left their Avoyelles homeland to settle near Ville Platte in the western part of old St. Landry Parish.

Today the several Mayeux families of that area, and perhaps many of those who now live in Lafayette, probably can trace ancestry from Narcisse. Later in the present century probably other Mayeux families left their farms in Avoyelles to enjoy the amenities offered by Alexandria, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. Today one Mayeux family resides in Natchitoches; and about three are found in Shreveport; although documentary proof has not been found, these families may well descend from the Avoyelles branch