John Blandin was born on 23 June 1844 to Adolphe Blandin and Celestine Terance. In the 1890s, he began working with the undertaking firm of Labat & Ray, which is now the Charbonnet-Labat Funeral Parlor. In 1909, he partnered with a man nearly thirty years his junior, Mandeville Adrien LeBlanc, to form the Blandin-LeBlanc Company Ltd. Mandeville LeBlanc was born on 19 June 1874 to Montpensier-Louis LeBlanc and Marie Debergue. He died on 4 March 1920 without any heirs. John Blandin died on 7 March 1928. His daughters, Felicia and Julia, inherited the company and reorganized it as the Blandin Undertaking Company, Ltd. Below is a bill for the funeral in 1941 of Fides Elizabeth Justine Jeanbard (1855-1941), the great-great-aunt of Janice Duplantier Smith.
J.C.L.H.
Wow this is my great great grandfather (John blandin) was searching for family and Blandin Funeral Home since going to visit and seeing it on an HBO series and so far came across this!
Bonjour Dania! i’m so glad you found our site and that some of the information was helpful in your research. I enjoyed writing this piece on the Blandin Funeral Parlor. I seem to remember there being a Blandin in the Native Guards? I’m sure it is an interesting family history.
Jari Honora – CreoleGen
Thank you Jari for this article! Not sure about the Native Guards. I really enjoy finding information about my family history. Just found another showing Julia Blandin John’s daughter.
$33.00 for a funeral!!! Thanks for a great story! I have a sign in book from my Great Aunt’s funeral in 1974 held at Blandin. She was 101. I remember going to the parlor and it was very dark. It was my very first funeral. They served pimento cheese sandwiches and some others I’ve forgotten about. I feel in love with pimento cheese as it was my first try. I was very young and knew I missed my Aunt as she had raised my Mother. She taught me a lot about Voodoo and it was her recipes my Mother had been taught that were used in our restaurant and bar, Hank’s at 1443 N. Robertson in the late 50’s-2003.
John Blandin was my great-grand uncle. I remember Felicia and Julia growing up in New Orleans. Their big house (big at the time) is still in the family, owned by my Aunt for decades. As an altar boy at Corpus Christi I served at many funerals from Blandin Funeral home. It seemed kinda normal going in there.
Hi Bill Im just looking at this article again and rereading comments. When you said your aunt did you mean Eloise Simmons? Are you talking about house on London/AP Tureaud?
Hi, I’m in search of info on my mother Olga and my grandfather Joseph Blandin…I welcome any info you can share with me
My father-in-law, Bainbridge Blandin, lived at 3016 Pauger St. in New Orleans. He died in 2013. I think his aunt was Eloise Simmons. Any information, please email Jblandin@aol.com.
Hello,
My husband’s aunt is Joyce Dionne Broyard ,the daughter of Cassie Blandin Demourelle. Cassie was Benjamin’s sister, Banbridge’s father. Would you happen to know the parents of Cassie and Benjamin Blandin?
The parents of Benjamin and Cassie (who was born Cazemba Josephine) were Anthony Albert Blandin and Mary Ophelia Landry.
So interesting seeing posts from people regarding the Blandin Funeral Home. One post could possibly be a relative.
My mother is related somehow to the Blandins. Her father’s people are the Smith and Landry families. Her mother’s people are the Haynes and Paturel families. Maybe you can help her solve the mystery.
I hope you can find where the connection is to Blandin!
Linda Tucker,
I just came across this post because I was looking at one of my ancestors’ death record. His funeral was arranged by the Blandins. I don’t know anything about the Blandins but I do know that many of my people went through that funeral parlor. However, I am writing because my grandfather’s stepmother was a Haynes and his half sister’s mother was a Paturel. My aunt was never considered a half sister in fact I just found out about this later on in life.
I’m trying to find information on my great grandfather and I’ve hit a brick wall. I was told that his arrangements were handled by “Blandin’s Funeral establishment. Hopefully you can help! His name was Henry Charles Davis, born Nov 9, 1922, died June 4th,1964 at the Veterans Hospital in New Orleans and buried June 8th, 1964 in St. Louis Cemetery #2. I’m not sure what information is required at the time of arrangement planning, but something that you may have, just might be the one thing I need to further my search on him.
If you have records that date that far back, I would be MOST appreciative if you would respond to this email. Or call me, 678-982-9182, and I would gladly respond.
In sincere appreciation, Alma Davis
Hi Alma, maybe you can try Charbonnet Funeral Home. I think they own Blandin. The Blandin funeral home is now the Backstreet Cultural Museum. I visited and got one item a (framed picture) from the days when my aunt owned the parlor. I am hoping to get to the museum and see if they have the book of funerals performed when my mom worked there. If I can think of anything else that could help in your search I will let you know. Is that # you provided able to receive texts? My # is 707 342-1148 and I do receive txts.
The Charbonnet-Labat Funeral Home does not own the old Blandin Funeral Home. It is owned by the Rhodes Family (also undertakers) and as you said, it is used as the Backstreet Cultural Museum.
Hello,
I am looking for burial records for south asians from India who immigrated to the US around the early 1900’s. My grandfather, Monibar Rohman, and many other Indians from India were buried in Mt Olivet Cemetery. But the cemetery cannot find the records. They were buried in the Arabian plot they purchased t Mt Olivet and were Muslims. Blandin Funeral Home was the only one at that time that prepared their bodies for burial.
Can you help us locate those burial records so that we can purchase a headstone for my grandfather?.
Thank you!
The old Blandin Funeral Home is owned by the Rhodes Family (also undertakers) and it is used as the Backstreet Cultural Museum (displaying an array of Mardi Gras Indian and second-line memorabilia). They inherited the surviving ledgers of the Blandin parlor and were purportedly entering them into a computer database. Contact the Backstreet Museum for more information. – There is a New Orleans scholar, Professor Fatima Shaik, who is working on the New Orleans-East India connection. There is also a section in the book ‘Bengali Harlem’ about New Orleans.
Monibar Rohman appears in Vivek Bald’s book, Bengali Harlem, on page 76. Misspelled “Monibur Rohfman,” he is listed as the husband of Lillian Rohman, and he was one of several Indian immigrants in New Orleans who were married to African American women.
I don’t suppose you have any photographs or documents related to your grandfather, such as an obituary? I have found an obituary for Lillian Rohman.
Can someone please help me? My grandmother, Valerie Wade, was the wife of Chales Edmund Wade. My mother was Laura Wade Dunn who moved to New York City when she was about 21. My grandmother Valerie Wade was an active church spiritual leader from New Orleans and moved to NYC. She passed away on Aug 28, 1952, and her body was entrusted at that time to the Blandin Funeral Parlor. It was confirmed that she is buried in Holt Cemetery. I called Holt Cemetery but they told me she is in section “A” but they can’t figure where section “A” is. Can someone help me to find the location? They do not know the plot number. Please help me locate her.
Mr. Dunn, several of us at CreoleGen have visited Holt Cemetery and, I can tell you from experience, that individual graves are very difficult to find. Plot locations were not maintained over the years. The best thing to do is to walk around and maybe you can find a marker with your grandmother’s name, although many graves have no markers. Emily Ford with the City Cemeteries is the best one to contact for information, if you have not spoken to her yet.