Freret, James

Submitted by Mike Miller

James Freret, one of the oldest architects of New Orleans, La., established his business in 1865, beginning with the completion of the well-known Moresque building, originally drawn by him while in the office of his cousin, Will A. Freret, architect of it. The sum of his achievement has been great, so that to-day he occupies a leading place in the profession. He was born in New Orleans in 1838, and is a son of James P. and Livie (D'Arensbourg) Freret, the father a native of New Orleans, born in 1800, and the mother of St. John Baptist parish, La. James P. was a cotton-press owner, and carried on the business from 1826 until 1866, being among the prominent business men of New Orleans. He was interested in political matters and held a number of prominent offices, among which were the following: County sheriff, a member of the state legislature and a member of the city council. He was one of the early movers in the improvement of the American section of the city, then called Second municipality, the city being divided into three municipalities, under separate governments. He was also one of the signers of the secession act and was a member of the constitution. He died in New Orleans in 1869, and his wife died there in 1876. They reared fourteen children, all but one alive at the time of the father's death. Mrs. Freret's ancestors came to this country as early as 1721, and with others settled on what was later known as German Coast. Our subject's paternal grandparents, James and Eugenia (Rillieux) Freret, were natives, respectively, of France and New Orleans, La. The grandfather, who was considered as an Englishman from having lived in England from his infancy, was also the owner of a cotton press and established business on Royal street, New Orleans, about 1810. Subsequently he followed the same business where the St. Charles hotel now stands. Our subject, James Freret, was reared and educated in his native city, and graduated from the Jesuit college in 1858. He began the study of architecture with a cousin, William A. Freret, who was late supervisor of architecture in the United States. In 1860 our subject went to the old world and spent two years in England, France and Italy, studying his profession. In the summer Of 1862 he returned to the United States, ran the blockade at Charleston, and subsequently entered the engineer service of the confederate states. He assisted in defending Port Hudson, was severely wounded and taken prisoner, but was paroled on account of condition. In October, 1862, he wedded Miss Aline D. Allain of West Baton Rouge parish, La. After cessation of hostilities, or in 1865, he opened an office in New Orleans, and some of his first work was in the completion of the Moresque building, which had been erected from his designs while he was in the office of William Freret. Some of the work accomplished by him in the last twenty-five years is as follows: Gas office building; Jesuit college; Criminal Court building; Citizens' bank, House of Good Shepherd; Spring Hill college, Mobile; Louisiana Savings bank, now Germania National bank; church and college in Augusta, Ga.; steeple of Catholic church, Algiers, La.; Sugar Exchange, Produce Exchange, now Board of Trade; Catholic church, New Iberia, La.; courthouse, Donaldsville, La.; Carmelite convent of New Orleans; new Masonic hail now in construction; St. Joseph chapel in New Orleans. Mr. Freret's office is at 28 Union street, and his residence at 394 Constance street, New Orleans.

Biographical and Historical Memoires of Louisiana, (vol. 1), pp. 425-426. Published by the Goodspeed Publishing Company, Chicago, 1892.