Hey everybody, The Laffite Project just did an interview on Bilge Munky Radio (aka Pirate Radio). We are definitely making headlines. You can click the title of this blog or go to www.bilgemunky.com. On the home page click on the link --
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
TLP MAKES NEWS (www.bayareaobserver.com)
Hey friends & family our recent interview with the Bay Area Observer has gone to print and is available online (see link) and news-stands along the Texas Gulf Coast. The interview does a great job of providing a behind the scenes perspective of our story and journey. One thing we didn't touch on was- Laffite's last known vessel he was aboard when he fled Galveston. Many theories, first-hand accounts, and legends have clouded history. And, like most of Laffite's life is subject to interpretation and perspective. We, however do not operate from an academic perspective or allow legend to become our truth. We will find the missing pieces that will complete the picture of the world's most elusive, mysterious, & lucrative pirates ever. After three years of research, we have come to believe that there is more that is unknown than there is known. If we can locate his Pride ship, its contents may reveal more than we already know about him. Based on research of others- many have concluded that he died somewhere in the Yucatan around 1823. Yet, evidence does support that he may have invented this story (or someone else claiming to be Laffite died there). Authors who have written about Laffite all agree on one thing if nothing else- no one knows the whole truth about Laffite. This is half of the reason TLP exists. The other half is to answer the 200 year old question in our family-Was our ancestor really Jean Laffite?
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Theories on the birth of Jean Laffite
How about a general a general discussion of all the theories of Jean Laffite's birth? It seems to be a fitting place to start, plus it is the most controversial subject concernng Laffite. After all the theories are put down, perhaps we should discuss the pros and cons of each. Here are some of the theories:
- Pauillac, France (Bordeaux region); theorized by W.C. Davis The Pirate's Laffite
- Martigues, France; theorized by the Hix brothers
- Conflicting eye witness accounts of Jean Laffite claiming to be from cities Brest and St. Maloe, France, and the Bordeaux region of France
- St. Dominique; claimed by the Journal of Jean Laffite, also independently theorized by Jack Ramsay Laffite, Prince of Pirates
- New York, USA; I have only heard of this and not seen it in writing, also claimed by Jeff Jones
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Where to begin?
The legend of Jean Laffite is shrouded in myths, conflicting evidence, and a general disagreement amongst historians. There are so many angles that we could approach this issue from, and it easily becomes overwhelming. We hope to organize this mess into something understandable, hopefully preventing all of you from having to experience what we have with this subject. First, we will begin with who we are and where we are coming from.
We are brothers Chuck and Cody Hix. Both of us are ARMY war veterans and hold college degrees. If you know us, then you know our character, that we are not after a personal gain, and most certainly would not make any of this up. We only want to resolve a myth (or legend if you will) that has been put in our personal care. It is a story that has been handed down for generations and now rests on us. Here is how it goes...
Our ancestors who lived in New Orleans in the early 1800's operated a large privateering operation. They used the name Laffite as an alias to protect the families true identity.
This is the story we were told as children by the members of our family. At the time, those telling the story had only done a little research on our ancestors. In fact, who they thought may have been Jean and Pierre Laffite turned out to be players in the game, but not the key players. Over the past three years, my brother and I have searched archives, talked with family researchers and experts. We have come up with surprising results. We profiled the key players and found many similarities are suprising. These include birth dates, education, a father who was of the sea faring trade and possibly a privateer himself. Their father was also a delegate and member of the council that created France's version of the Declaration of Independence. This could explain how Laffite obtained his organization, leadership, and diplomatic skills. Instead of just dismissing this part of Laffite's life the way EVERY author ever has, we will embrace it. I say again, we have uncovered all this evidence in the last three years, but we have heard our family story our whole lives. What would you do if you were given something like this?
Well, it was given to us. We promise to see this through and discover the truth.
All authors have tried (and still do to this day) to match the Laffites with people that lived in France and St. Dominique, assuming that Laffite was his real name. And really, they are simply comparing people. Of course that is what we are doing also, just comparing the Laffites to a different name: Autheman. However, we go beyond just comparing, instead we have a family story that we can trace its origin back 200 years. Without that we, us and all authors writing about Laffite, would just be comparing people.
As a final note, we want to clear something up. A critic did not pay attention to what we have said before and made an error. A comment was made that our theory about Laffite followed the theory that the Journal of Jean Laffite seems to propose. This is false and has never been spoken by us. For one, the journal claims that the Laffites are from St. Dominique, which is present day Haiti. Our Autheman ancestors, including the candidates for Jean and Pierre Laffite, were from Martigues, France. It is assumed that this critic was referring to the journal's mention that a privateer should never use his real name. This is a similarity, but it does not mean that we are following the journal. We are of the opinion that the journal is at least partly a fake. This means that we are open to the possibility that the journal was originally written by the true Jean Laffite, but that it was latter altered to fit someone's family profile for monetary gain. This is a theory that has been previously proposed by other researchers. Regardless, the issue is summed up as follows: if the journal was originally authored by the true Jean Laffite and later altered, then what parts can we accept as true?
At this point we can't assume that any of it is true. However, we must keep in mind that a lie (especially one potentially this large) must contain some truth, at least in order for it to be somewhat believable. So, even if the journal is a complete fake, it will contain some facts. The journal says that Laffite was a privateer, that he pirated ships in the Gulf of Mexico, based himself in New Orleans, and that he contributed in the Battle of New Orleans. These are facts that we know to be true, yet the journal could be a fake. And similarly when the journal says a privateer should never use his real name, it still could be that the name Laffite was an alias. The question then is how much of the journal is true?. That is what we plan to find out. In the course of our journey, while researching and/or investigating, we will check out the claims that the journal makes. It may gives us some leads. And lets face it, we are not going to just ignore it just because its a fake. In fact, we currently examine and will continue to examine all of the theories about Laffite.
So, I suppose this is our promise, too. We promise to leave no stone unturned, to give fair consideration to all the Laffite claims, and will try not to be biased. We want to solve the mystery about Jean Laffite, even if it means our family story isn't true. Because then at least the truth will be known and we can stop thinking about it! In this blog we would like to discusses in an understandable way the difficulties and probabilities of each theory, hoping to spur good dialogue and perhaps solve some of the mysteries!!!
Thanks, from the Hix Brothers and the Laffite Project!
We are brothers Chuck and Cody Hix. Both of us are ARMY war veterans and hold college degrees. If you know us, then you know our character, that we are not after a personal gain, and most certainly would not make any of this up. We only want to resolve a myth (or legend if you will) that has been put in our personal care. It is a story that has been handed down for generations and now rests on us. Here is how it goes...
Our ancestors who lived in New Orleans in the early 1800's operated a large privateering operation. They used the name Laffite as an alias to protect the families true identity.
This is the story we were told as children by the members of our family. At the time, those telling the story had only done a little research on our ancestors. In fact, who they thought may have been Jean and Pierre Laffite turned out to be players in the game, but not the key players. Over the past three years, my brother and I have searched archives, talked with family researchers and experts. We have come up with surprising results. We profiled the key players and found many similarities are suprising. These include birth dates, education, a father who was of the sea faring trade and possibly a privateer himself. Their father was also a delegate and member of the council that created France's version of the Declaration of Independence. This could explain how Laffite obtained his organization, leadership, and diplomatic skills. Instead of just dismissing this part of Laffite's life the way EVERY author ever has, we will embrace it. I say again, we have uncovered all this evidence in the last three years, but we have heard our family story our whole lives. What would you do if you were given something like this?
Well, it was given to us. We promise to see this through and discover the truth.
All authors have tried (and still do to this day) to match the Laffites with people that lived in France and St. Dominique, assuming that Laffite was his real name. And really, they are simply comparing people. Of course that is what we are doing also, just comparing the Laffites to a different name: Autheman. However, we go beyond just comparing, instead we have a family story that we can trace its origin back 200 years. Without that we, us and all authors writing about Laffite, would just be comparing people.
As a final note, we want to clear something up. A critic did not pay attention to what we have said before and made an error. A comment was made that our theory about Laffite followed the theory that the Journal of Jean Laffite seems to propose. This is false and has never been spoken by us. For one, the journal claims that the Laffites are from St. Dominique, which is present day Haiti. Our Autheman ancestors, including the candidates for Jean and Pierre Laffite, were from Martigues, France. It is assumed that this critic was referring to the journal's mention that a privateer should never use his real name. This is a similarity, but it does not mean that we are following the journal. We are of the opinion that the journal is at least partly a fake. This means that we are open to the possibility that the journal was originally written by the true Jean Laffite, but that it was latter altered to fit someone's family profile for monetary gain. This is a theory that has been previously proposed by other researchers. Regardless, the issue is summed up as follows: if the journal was originally authored by the true Jean Laffite and later altered, then what parts can we accept as true?
At this point we can't assume that any of it is true. However, we must keep in mind that a lie (especially one potentially this large) must contain some truth, at least in order for it to be somewhat believable. So, even if the journal is a complete fake, it will contain some facts. The journal says that Laffite was a privateer, that he pirated ships in the Gulf of Mexico, based himself in New Orleans, and that he contributed in the Battle of New Orleans. These are facts that we know to be true, yet the journal could be a fake. And similarly when the journal says a privateer should never use his real name, it still could be that the name Laffite was an alias. The question then is how much of the journal is true?. That is what we plan to find out. In the course of our journey, while researching and/or investigating, we will check out the claims that the journal makes. It may gives us some leads. And lets face it, we are not going to just ignore it just because its a fake. In fact, we currently examine and will continue to examine all of the theories about Laffite.
So, I suppose this is our promise, too. We promise to leave no stone unturned, to give fair consideration to all the Laffite claims, and will try not to be biased. We want to solve the mystery about Jean Laffite, even if it means our family story isn't true. Because then at least the truth will be known and we can stop thinking about it! In this blog we would like to discusses in an understandable way the difficulties and probabilities of each theory, hoping to spur good dialogue and perhaps solve some of the mysteries!!!
Thanks, from the Hix Brothers and the Laffite Project!
The Laffite Project Makes World News
Looks like the project is gaining some momentum!! We were featured on the world news website last week!! Check out the link below! - Jay Hix Jones, Creator/Producer
The Laffite Project
The Laffite Project
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
TLP Creates A Blog!
Ahoy There Mateys!
I know.. Its about time TLP created a blog, right? Well, The wait is finally over! If you like Pirates of The Caribbean with Johnny Depp, National Treasure with Nicolas Cage, or The Princess Bride with Inigo Montoya then you're going to love our project and this blog! For videos on our project check out the official TLP youtube channel! - Jay Hix Jones, Creator/Producer
I know.. Its about time TLP created a blog, right? Well, The wait is finally over! If you like Pirates of The Caribbean with Johnny Depp, National Treasure with Nicolas Cage, or The Princess Bride with Inigo Montoya then you're going to love our project and this blog! For videos on our project check out the official TLP youtube channel! - Jay Hix Jones, Creator/Producer
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