MARKS
The MARKS (MARX) family of Louisiana can trace its' ancestory back to Balthasar Marx . He was apparently one of many Germans engaged by John Law's "Company of the West" to help settle the Louisiana territory. In a census taken of November 12, 1724, he is shown at the German village of Hoffen, 10 leiues above New Orleans. The census shows him to be of Wullenberg, Catholic, age 27, and a nailsmith by occupation. He is shown to have sailed on one of four ships from L'Orient, France, on January 24, 1721. In the census, he shows a wife of 22 years of age.
In 1753, he shows to have made land transactions in St. John the Baptiste Parish.
Records show a succession in 1770.
Like so many other Acadian refugees coming to Louisiana, Balthasar's descendants choose to resettle in the Attakapas District of Louisiana.
*NOTE...The four ships mentioned in the above were referred to as "pest ships". They were the
- Les Deux Freres,
- LaGararonne,
- LaSonne, and
- the LaCharante.
Aboard these ships were 875 Germans and 66 Swiss emigrants. Of the original numbers setting out, only a small group arrived due to disease, famine, and poor conditions on the ships.