Orleans, Charles A.

Submitted by Mike Miller

Charles A. Orleans is one of the well-known business men of New Orleans, and one who by reason of his ability has won a distinction among her citizens. He is a native of Montreal, Canada, where he was born December 12, 1842. Mr. Orleans is a designer and contractor in monumental, statuary and building works and has made a specialty of cemetery vaults and mausoleums, and three-fourths of the magnificent tombs in Metairie cemetery, which in its beauty more resembles a park, with its spacious avenues and beautiful shrubbery, than a burial place, are samples of his skill and originality. Mr. Orleans was the first to inaugurate the feature of stately mausoleums in Metairie, and may be called the Nestor of the idea here. He has devoted years of careful study to his profession, both in the new and old worlds. During his boyhood he attended the Christian Brothers school in his native city, and when eighteen years of age we find him superintending the erection of a church in St. Johns. Later he went to New York and from there to Chicago, having been sent there by his employers to superintend extensive decorative work. He next visited Paris, where he spent three years carefully inspecting and studying the decorative art in the French capital. Returning to America he remained for a short time in New York and in 1868 went to Chicago. The great fire of 1871, soon followed and in the rebuilding of the city he found ample demands for his talents and soon became prominent among the leading builders of that city.

He entered into a partnership with Mr. William C. Deakman, one of the oldest builders there and together they took contracts for the stone work on several of the important structures there, among which are the Sherman house, the American Express building, the Cook county jail, on the north side, and many of the palatial private residences which grace that city, besides much work in other cities. In 1878 Mr. Orleans came to New Orleans and was so favorably impressed with the "Crescent City" that he decided to locate here. It was at that time that he began his labors in Metairie, and, as before stated, he is the pioneer of that work here. He has also been identified with the erection of many of the public movements and statues to be seen in different parts of the city, while many public and private monuments in the North are specimens of his handiwork. His labors are not limited to New Orleans alone, but he is being constantly called to different sections of the country and has filled many extensive contracts in Pittsburg, where he has made an enviable reputation. He was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Kennedy, a native of Fredericksburg, Va., and he and his estimable wife are well known in social circles. Mr. Orleans takes an active interest in the welfare and advancement of his adopted city. He is a member of the Commercial, the Chess, Checker and Whist clubs and of the Young Men's Gymnastic club. He is pleasant and affable in his manner and a thorough master of his profession.

Biographical and Historical Memoires of Louisiana, (vol. 2), pp. 292-293. Published by the Goodspeed Publishing Company, Chicago, 1892.