Burthe, J. [Joseph] Leo

Submitted by Mike Miller

Burthe, J. Leo, M. D., 5133 St. Charles avenue, New Orleans, was born at New Orleans, La., Dec. 22, 1875, son of L. Andre and Nathalie (Chalard) Burthe, both of whom were born in New Orleans, the father March 22, 1844, and the mother July 7, 1854. Gen. Andre Burthe participated in the Napoleonic campaigns, and, following these, for gallant conduct, loyalty, and conspicuous bravery, was decorated with the Cross of the Legion of Honor, the Grand Cross, and the Iron Cross. He also served as a member of the commission entrusted with arranging the details of the Louisiana Purchase. The paternal great-grandfather, D. F. Burthe, took part in the French revolution, at which time he held a lieutenant's commission. The paternal grandfather, Victor Burthe, was born in Paris, France, and was decorated with the ''Croix de Juillet,'' for leading law school students in the coup d'etat of Louis Phillipe of France. After having come to the United States and located at New Orleans, he was no less active in his services to the public than he previously had been in the land of his birth. During the Civil war he served as a captain of the Orleans Guard, a body of men to whom fell the duty of protecting property and the homes and lives of the people of New Orleans during the troublous times of civil strife that afflicted the American Republic throughout 4 harrowing years.

After the war he occupied the bench, as a judge of district court. In his social connections he served as president of the Boston club. L. Andre Burthe, though born in New Orleans, was educated chiefly in France, where he attended the Saint Cyr Military school, from which he graduated, and afterward served in the French army, holding the rank of lieutenant. He was with his command and participated in the Mexican campaign. Later he returned to fire United States and, like his eminent father, bore a prominent part in public affairs throughout the remainder of an unusually active and highly useful life. He died in New York in the year 1893, but is survived by his wife, who is at this time residing in New Orleans. She is descended from a prominent family of French and Spanish origin. Dr. J. Leo Burthe, the subject of this sketch, was the first of 2 sons born to his parents, his younger brother being Charles A. Burthe, elsewhere referred to in this work, now a stockholder in the wholesale grocery firm of H. T. Cottam & Co.,Ltd., New Orleans, and prominently identified with the management of that large business. The elder of the brothers received a finished academic education, and following this was afforded every advantage in acquiring his professional education, after completing which, with the degree of M. D., he began medical practice in the city of New Orleans, where he has remained in practice since, and with largely gratifying results, now occupying a most prominent position in the profession. Dr. Burthe is a member of the Catholic church and is affiliated with the democratic party, taking an active part in both these connections. He also is a member of various fraternal organizations, and participates in the proceedings and deliberations of all associated bodies within his professional field. Among these may be mentioned the American Medical, Orleans Parish Medical, Southern Surgical and Gynecological, and the Louisiana State Medical associations; also, the Boston club, the Round Table club, and the Alumni association of the University of New York. Jan. 4, 1898, Dr. Burthe was married to Miss Rosa G. Cottam, a daughter of H. T. and Rosa (Glennon) Cottam, of New Orleans. Mrs. Burthe's father was president of the well-known wholesale grocery firm of H. T. Cottam & Co., Ltd., of New Orleans, a large property owner, and numbered among the most prominent of the city's active business men.

Source: Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form, volume 3,pp. 749-750. Edited by Alcee Fortier, Lit. D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association.