Background
Joseph Arsene Breaux was born on February 18, 1838 on the family plantation in Iberville Parish. He was descended from an Acadian family which settled in Louisiana. He was the son of John B. Breaux and Margaret (Walsh) Breaux.
Businessman educator attorney jurist
Joseph Arsene Breaux was born on February 18, 1838 on the family plantation in Iberville Parish. He was descended from an Acadian family which settled in Louisiana. He was the son of John B. Breaux and Margaret (Walsh) Breaux.
Joseph Breaux was educated in Iberville Parish until he prepared for college. Completing his college work at Georgetown (Kentucky), young Breaux studied law in the University of Louisiana (now Tulane) and was graduated in 1859.
Joseph Breaux entered the service first as captain of the 13th Louisiana Infantry, but when this organization was merged with other units upon being mustered into the Confederate army, Breaux transferred to the 8th Louisiana Cavalry as a private. He continued in service, promoted to lieutenant, throughout the war.
Resuming the practise of his profession at Lafayette, and a little later at New Iberia (1866), he became an important factor in rehabilitating the Parishes during the hard period of Reconstruction. Of wide acquaintance, very shrewd and conservative in business affairs, he won the confidence of the Creole population. He was chosen president of the First National Bank of New Iberia; but more important than this, he became president of the local school board, and demonstrated his ability to better the deplorable condition of the schools.
At that time the only tongue known to large numbers of the country folk in Southwest Louisiana was a very imperfect French which had practically no written form. There were serious difficulties (due to mutual suspicion on the part of Creole and English, to sheer ignorance, to political jealousy) in the path of an effective system of schools.
Fortunately for the state, Breaux was elected state superintendent of public schools (1888). Appointed by Governor Nicholls as associate justice of the supreme court in 1890, Breaux served longer than any justice except Martin, becoming chief justice in 1904 and retiring in 1914.
In 1901, he published a Digest of the decisions of the supreme court that was invaluable to the lawyer.
Having no direct heirs, he left the bulk of his estate in trust for the benefit of students of law in Tulane University and in Loyola University, with both of which he had long been connected.
He died in New Orleans on July 23, 1926 and was interred at Metairie Cemetery.
Joseph Arsene Breaux was a Roman Catholic in his faith.
His knowledge of the law was extensive and exact; but his decisions are rarely well written; indeed, Breaux never acquired ease in writing English; but he arrived at substantial justice and gave shrewd judgments.
Breaux was a member of the Louisiana State Museum and of the Louisiana Historical Society.
As a judge, Breaux displayed that sense of fair dealing, that kindliness which had won him friends. He was fond of reading, and was a man of gentle, almost retiring disposition, although physically tall and powerful.
Breaux married Marie Eugenia Mille, daughter of a planter, in 1861, and had established himself near the home of his boyhood when the Civil War began. Unfortunately, at the end of his life he had no direct heirs, so he had to leave left the bulk of his estate in trust for the benefit of students of law in Tulane University and in Loyola University.