By Jessica Gorman
George R. Remer was a steamboat clerk and captain, serving aboard a number of boats that ran between New Orleans and North Louisiana. The primary mention of Captain Remer in relation to our local history stems from the fact that his seven-year-old daughter, Cordelia, is buried in the Overton Cemetery along the banks of Bayou Dorcheat.
The story that has been told of little Cordelia’s death is that after her mother’s death, Cordelia, his only daughter, traveled with her father on his boat and upon a trip up Dorcheat, to what would have then been known as the Minden Landing, Cordelia fell ill and died. It is presumed she had contracted yellow fever. The implication has mostly been that the family lived in New Orleans and that Captain Remer’s association with Claiborne Parish was strictly via the steamboat trade. However, that is not the case.
The Remer family were, in fact, residents of Claiborne Parish for a number of years. Cordelia and her siblings were most likely born here. Both George Remer and his wife, Jane Ann, were born in New York. The 1840 U.S. Census records their residence as Claiborne Parish. Land purchased by Captain Remer was located a short distance southeast of Overton.
Other members of the Remer family also lived in Claiborne Parish. In 1850, 66-year-old Elizabeth Remer is recorded in the household. She is believed to have been Captain Remer’s mother. Margaret Remer, who may have been his sister, was the wife of Philo Alden, a member of one of the area’s old and prominent families, and who served as sheriff of Bossier Parish. Evidence points to the Remers having been part of a group who migrated from Pennsylvania to Claiborne Parish in the 1830s.
In contrast to claims that Cordelia was an only child, George and Jane Ann had seven children: Margaret, Cynthia, Georgiana, William Henry, Eliza, Cordelia, and George Edward. So far, I have no evidence to suggest whether the family may have moved to New Orleans or if they were only visiting when tragedy struck. Multiple members of the family fell ill with yellow fever. Their deaths are recorded in the Times-Picayune. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia was first to die on 16 July 1853. Her mother, Jane Ann, died a week later on the 23rd. Three days later, just short of his fourth birthday, George Edward died. The final death, that of nine-year-old William Henry, occurred on 9 September.
Captain Remer was left widowed with four daughters. His oldest daughter, Margaret, had married James M. Jones. It would seem logical that the other three daughters, Georgiana, Eliza, and Cordelia, lived with their older sister Margaret, then a resident of Bossier Parish, while their father continued in the steamboat trade.
We can’t be exactly sure of the circumstances of the death of little Cordelia. She may have very well been on the boat with her father or maybe in the home of her sister, but we do know that she died on 14 December 1856 and was buried in the Overton cemetery amongst others who had made the journey here from Pennsylvania. In spite of the stories of her father being forced to bury her so far from home, this was her home.
Georgiana Remer married John A. Inabnett in 1859. Her great-grandson is Mr. Joe Inabnett, son of Mrs. Roy Miller. Eliza Remer is recorded in the household of her sister, Margaret, in 1860. I’m not yet sure what happened to her after that.
In 1869, tragedy struck for Captain George R. Remer once again. You have likely heard the story of the Mittie Stephens, a steamboat that burned on Caddo Lake in February 1869. Captain Remer was aboard the Mittie Stephens that night. He was serving as first clerk in place of Mr. C.F. Hayes who had fallen ill before the boat left New Orleans. It was reported that Captain Remer jumped overboard never to be seen again.
(Jessica Gorman is Executive Director of the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, Webster Parish Historian, and an avid genealogist.)