Pictured left to right: Thelma Epps Dejoie (daughter); Emilie “Millie” Patin Pittman (Mrs. Epps’ sister); Sheila Badon (great-niece); Harold Epps (son); Mrs. Norma Patin Epps; Mr. Edward J. Epps; Ella Dejoie Jenkins (granddaughter); Lucille Badon (niece); Eoline Epps Bergeron (daughter); Paulette Dejoie Johnson (granddaughter).
“There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.” – Martin Luther.
Pictured above are Mr. and Mrs. Edward Joseph and Norma Epps, who in March 1951 celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. To mark the occasion, the doors of their home at 2878 Maurepas Street (near the Fairgrounds) were thrown open to an endless stream and family members and friends. This picture was published in The Louisiana Weekly on 7 April 1951. The Weekly featured many such important occasions in the histories of families and institutions in New Orleans and south Louisiana.
Marriage License, 19 March 1901.
At the tender ages of twenty-three and nineteen, respectively, Mr. and Mrs. Epps were married a half-century earlier on 19 March 1901 at Saint Rose de Lima Church on Bayou Road. Mr. Epps worked as iron grader for nearly all of his adult life, early on, with the Sherman Brothers Company and later with the Southern Scrap Metal Company. He died just a few months after this photograph was taken, on 5 July 1951. The Epps’ long marriage was blessed with six children: Mrs. Eoline Epps Bergeron; Mrs. Thelma Epps Dejoie; Mrs. Isabelle Epps Jones; Edward Epps, Jr.; Earl Epps; and Harold Epps.
Edward Joseph Epps was born on 31 January 1878 to William Edmond Epps (12 March 1853-10 November 1899), a jeweler, and his wife, Emilie Gilbert (ca. 1854-31 December 1930). His grandparents were William Epps and Justine Pierre and Charles-Felix Gilbert and Felicité Brulard.
Mrs. Epps, who prior to her marriage was Miss Norma Patin, was the daughter of Francis “Frank” Patin, a freight handler, (ca. 1852-12 July 1918) and Eugenie Fornerette (20 January 1856-16 September 1908). Her grandparents were Francis Patin and Marie-Olympe Laloire and Joseph and Madeleine Fornerette.
Several other members of the Epps family have been noted in other articles on CreoleGen. Their son Harold Epps’ wedding in 1934 was a feature of the article “Society Wedding of the 1930s.” Their popular daughter, Isabelle Epps Jones, was a member of her brother’s wedding party and the Haydel-Brown Nuptials, in 1930. Another daughter, Thelma Epps, married Paul H. V. Dejoie, whose family was profiled in a two-part article last year. An attractive niece, Wanda Epps Lacabe, was one of two bold young women featured in “The Gay Divorcées.”
Source: The Louisiana Weekly, 7 April 1951, page 4; New Orleans Marriage Records, Louisiana State Archives, Volume 22, Page 891.
Jari Honora
Lovely family
So nice to see photos of family members, I miss them all and the wonderful closeness we all shared. Since Thelma (T.T.) and Uncle Paul Dejoie and their daughters lived in the house just next to ours we were always in and out of each other’s homes. I see Ella and Paulette in the photo but I wonder where Pamaleah, Paulette’s twin was at the time. I lost touch with the three of them years ago. Ella was my favorite, she was the youngest and a very funny young lady!
Writing this in hopes that I might get an answer to this inquiry, I am writing this for the granddaughter of Mrs. Norma Patin Epps, Norma Dennis, now Norma Weldon of Virginia Beach VA. We are trying to get in contact with someone from the family. Is there a clearer picture of the above item or any other family photographs available?
Please contact:: NORMA WELDON, 4409 Revere Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23456
norma.weldon2@aol.com
We do not have any information on the living family members beyond any of them who might have commented on this article. The picture was the best available from the newspaper on microfilm.