Ancestry Born near
Mobile, then a part of French
Louisiana, on May 31, 1760, Simon Favre was the son of Jean Claude Favre (1721–1782) and Marguerite Wiltz (1740–1805). His grandfather, Jean Baptiste Favre, came from
Royan, France, and by tradition was a cabin boy when
Pierre D'Iberville placed him on shore near
Biloxi to make contact with the natives. His father was a government interpreter who was commissioned to explain the terms of the
Treaty of Paris to the natives upon the conclusion of the
French and Indian War. Favre's mother was the daughter of a Swiss soldier.
Early life Learning from his father, Favre became fluent in the languages of French, English, Spanish, and the
Muskogean languages including Choctaw and Chickasaw. The lands along the Gulf coast were held by the British for nearly two decades following the 1763 Treaty of Paris, but their ability to maintain control diminished during that time. On September 3, 1783, the British ceded their lands in both East and West Florida to Spain under the
Treaty of Versailles. Favre's father had just died the year before this treaty, and Simon Favre followed his father's career, also inheriting his father's plantation on the
Pearl River, though continuing to reside in Mobile near his mother. Favre spent his early adult years among the natives along the
Tombigbee River, being initially employed by the French as an interpreter of the Choctaw language, but soon coming into the employ of the British and later the Spanish. Favre also understood the
Chickasaw language, but at one point his translation was challenged by James Colbert (grandfather of
Holmes Colbert), who had married into the Chickasaw tribe, replaced Favre as interpreter. which was not a problem earlier for Spain during the Treaty of Natchez in 1793, nor at any other time in the long history of his duties for France. Favre was said to be a confidant and personal friend of the celebrated Choctaw Indian chief
Pushmataha. Genealogist Heitzmann relates that at one point Favre acted as the interpreter between Pushmataha and the military commanders
Andrew Jackson and General
Thomas Hinds. In 1792 Juan De la Villebeuvre, who worked among the Indians on behalf of the Spanish government, was named a special commissioner to the Choctaws and Chickasaws. Favre's reputation as a competent and valuable interpreter grew quickly, and in an undated letter to
Governor Baron Francisco Carondelet, De la Villebeuvre wrote, "...I am going to reside with Favre, who is employed by the king [of Spain] and who will serve me as interpreter. He is the best one of the province, with a great influence over the minds of the Indians, and he knows how to lead them firmly whenever necessary." Favre built a house for De la Villebeuvre about from the village of the Eastern Division Choctaw Chief Franchimastvbe' with whom Favre had become friendly. Favre was present at Fort Natchez, located in Choctaw territory near the mouth of the
Yazoo River, when the Treaty of Natchez was signed on October 28, 1793; a treaty between Spain (and signed by the king) and the
Alibamon,
Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw,
Creek and Tallapoosa nations. Representing the Eastern Div. Choctaws were chiefs Franchimastvbe' and 6 Towns Chief Pushmataha (later MS Choctaw Nation Chief), while Favre signed as a witness. In January 1794 Favre wrote a letter to Don Manuel Lanzos, Spanish commander at
Natchez, warning of a great rumor among the Choctaws that the Americans were coming to destroy them. The Choctaws were in difficult straits at the time, from both the consumption of alcohol and from a corn crop failure brought on by an earlier drought. They were stealing horses from other tribes as well as from the Europeans, and Favre himself had three horses stolen while staying near the Tombigbee. De la Villebeuvre felt that these actions were being instigated by the Americans, and Favre was sent to the Choctaw villages to assess the feelings of the natives. from Favre's former plantation, now Pearlington, Mississippi Following the Treaty of Boukfouka on May 10, 1793, the Spaniards built a fort on the location where the French had earlier built
Fort Tombecbe, and named it
Confederacion in honor of the alliance between the Spanish and Indians. In the late 1700s, Favre was living near Fort Confederation, but sometime after 1797 moved to
St. Stephens. He moved into a house across the road from Augustin Rochon, his future father-in-law. After spending time there and at various other locations along the Tombigbee, Favre returned to Mobile before 1800 where he occupied a house on Loyal Street. While there, he associated with other interpreters including J. B. Roussere and Simon Andry. Favre also maintained very close ties with New Orleans and he called himself of that city in the 1800 baptismal record for his son Simon.
Pearl River After having seven children with two other women, Favre was legally married in Mobile in 1801 to Celeste Rochon. Sometime between 1804 and 1806, following the birth of two children in Mobile, he moved with his new family to one of his plantations on the
Pearl River, near what became
Pearlington, Mississippi. This was shortly following the
Louisiana Purchase of 1803, when the Americans were showing a great interest in West Florida, still governed by Spain. Favre then became an important interpreter in the service of the Americans, as well as continuing to work for the Spanish who were eventually compelled to give up control of their Florida lands. While Favre's importance had initially sprung from his influence with the native tribes, particularly the Choctaws, as the power of these people declined he became much more important as an intermediary during the turbulent times of transition from Spanish to American rule in West Florida. During this period early in the 19th century, the Spanish authorities were losing their hold on West Florida for a variety of reasons. One such reason was piracy, while another was American encroachment following the Louisiana Purchase. Many Americans felt that West Florida should have been included in the purchase. One means used by Spain to attempt to hold on to this region was to commission several important settlers to work for their government. In this regard, Favre was assigned to confirm land deeds that the Spanish were doling out at an accelerated rate, to attempt to stem the tide of American encroachment. Favre also provided intelligence and military maps to the Spanish concerning the activities of not only the Americans, who were applying pressure from outside the jurisdiction, but also rebels along the Pearl River and nearby coast. The rebels, led by
Reuben Kemper and his brothers, were causing difficulties from within, and had been attempting to pull West Florida from Spanish control for several years. Under the Spanish, Favre became known as the commander of the District of
Bay St. Louis. Many of the land titles that were awarded by Favre were later reviewed by the United States government and appear in the collection of American state papers. With Americans in control of New Orleans, mail from
Fort Stoddard, near Mobile, had to pass through Spanish territory to get there. In 1808 the United States Postmaster wrote to the Secretary of the Treasury that Favre, who was still a Spanish subject, served as an agent for the post office, forwarding the mail passing through Spanish lands. Though West Florida was not officially ceded to the United States until 1819 under the provisions of the
Adams–Onis Treaty, in November 1810 Spanish governor Folach, demanding secrecy, essentially delivered both East and West Florida to the United States in trust. This was done in hopes that the "robberies and depredations" upon the citizens would cease, and under the realization that the transfer was inevitable. Soon thereafter American officials began managing the Florida lands, setting up administrative regions within them, and the western part of West Florida (the part in present-day Louisiana) was absorbed into the United States under the proclamation of President
James Madison. When Louisiana became a state in 1812, the remainder of West Florida (the panhandles of Mississippi and Alabama) was absorbed by the United States. The western part of this newly annexed
Mobile District was organized into
Hancock and
Harrison Counties (soon a part of the
Mississippi Territory), and in 1813 American federal troops were stationed there to formalize the transition.
Late career and death Just as his father had made the transition from French to British rule, Favre likewise had little difficulty changing his allegiance from the Spanish to the Americans, and he continued to hold a prominent position in the region. In January 1811 Favre was chosen by the
Orleans territorial governor
William C. C. Claiborne as a magistrate of the "Parish of Biloxi" which was within the territory. When Claiborne became the Louisiana governor following statehood in 1812, he commissioned Favre as a justice of the peace, and clearly admired him, calling him in a letter an educated and very agreeable man who would make an energetic officer. At the outset of the
War of 1812, the Americans were interested in assessing the alignment of the native tribes in regards to their loyalty to Britain. In August 1812 Claiborne sent Favre to present a talk to the native tribes of West Florida. Favre's carefully crafted words, presented under Claiborne's name, provide an example of the diplomatic skill with which Favre was able to address the language and culture of the Muskogean tribes. While the goal of Favre and the governor was to keep the Choctaws and other tribes out of the "white man's war", ultimately the Creeks aligned themselves with the British, and the Americans requested assistance from the Choctaws. In a letter to
Secretary of War John Armstrong, Claiborne recommended that "Colonel Simon Favre" become a United States agent for the Choctaws. Favre held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the
Hancock County militia, and early in the War of 1812 he was able to negotiate with the Choctaws to provide assistance against Britain's Creek allies. Favre died in the summer of 1813, and though he was living along the Pearl River, court testimony by Peter Moran in 1845 stated that he died in Mobile, and had not been there long before his death. A letter by Mississippi governor
David Holmes, dated August 1, 1813, mentions the "absence of Colonel Favre at Mobile" and "his subsequent death". Favre's daughter Mary stated that he died on July 21, but an obituary that appeared in a New Orleans newspaper on July 20 gives his death date as July 3. Several years after his death, in 1817 or 1818, his widow married Isaac Graves, with whom she had one additional child, and they lived in
Pearlington, Mississippi. Graves had been the operator of Favre's schooner,
Pearl, and had very little estate, but following his marriage to Favre's widow, he utilized Favre's estate as his own, much to the disadvantage of Favre's heirs. == Favre's "wives" ==