Grandfather of Gayle, Kenneth, Laurence, Frank, and Terry Lamothe
Jules Anthony Lamothe was born on January 19, 1884 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was born at 162 Bourbon Street to Jules Lamothe a native of France and Mary Kabley a native of Germany.[i] In 1900 at age 16, he was a boarder in Oscar Florin’s home at 1934 Cleveland Ave in New Orleans. His occupation was a clerk at a grocery store.[ii] His older sister, Irma, age 22, (listed as Emma) was also a boarder. According to the 1900 City Directory, he was a clerk at A.M. & J. Solari, Ltd.[iii] Jules’ father died in 1893 and mother in 1900. He was listed as a minor in a petition to the Civil District Court for the Parish of New Orleans.[iv] Perhaps this is why he is listed as a boarder with his older sister.
On 11 October 1900 in New Orleans, Jules enlisted in the United States Navy as an Apprentice 3rd Class.[v] His next of kin is listed as his brother Urbain residing at 220 S. Claiborne St., New Orleans. The pension record states he was rated as an Apprentice 2nd Class on 5 April 1902 and Apprentice 1st Class on 20 April 1903, and on 1 September 1903 he was a Gunner’s Mate 3rd class. He was honorably discharged on 31 January 1905 at Mare Island, San Francisco, California.[vi] Throughout his career he served on the following ships: Franklin (1900 and 1902), Constellation (1900), Monongahela (1901), Columbia (1902), Solace (1902), Rainbow (1902 and 1904), Quiros (1903), Pampanga (1904), and the New Orleans (1904).[vii] He served during the Philippine Insurrection which was a conflict between the United States and the Filipino Independence fighters from 1899-1902. According to an interview with his son, Surguies Lamothe, Jules was stationed in China. During the Boxer Rebellion the U.S., Britain, Japan and others sent naval forces into Chinese waters and some ships operated along parts of the Yangtze River to maintain stability and access for continued trade. His main station was China, but he was in the Philippines at some point. He enjoyed his time in the Navy and was a good mechanic as he ended up fixing a new gun that wouldn’t fire. He ended his navy tour at Tinian Island. Jules had a tattoo of three flags on his arm: the American flag, Japanese flag and one other.[viii]
In 1908 he lived at 1717 Lafayette Av. in New Orleans and had an occupation as an oiler where he may have maintained equipment and ensured machinery was oiled.[ix] On 8 September 1909 he married Margaret Crellin.[x] According to his son, Jules Leon, he met Margaret on a hayride and moved to 4129 D’Hemecourt Street after he was married.[xi] In 1910 he was an electrician at the U.S. Naval Station. He lived at 4129 D’Hemecourt Street with his wife Maggie and brother Leon, a waiter at a restaurant.[xii] He remained an electrician through 1911 and in 1912 his occupation was machinist and then he became a welder an occupation he stayed in through 1933.[xiii] According to his son, Jules, he was one of the best welders in the area.[xiv]
By 1920 the family had moved to 4416 S. Carrollton Avenue where he resided with his wife, Margaret (age 29), sons, Jules (age 9) and Surguies (age 2), and daughter Marjorie (age 4). His occupation was welder at an Oil Company.[xv] By 1922 he was employed as a welder at Rittner and Wise and then in 1923 he worked for Rantz Engineering and Machine Works. He worked for Rantz through 1932 where he became a foreman for the company.[xvi]
In 1933 he began working for Mid-City Machine Works a company he ran until his death in 1964. Mid-City Machine Works started at 4120 S. Carrollton Ave and eventually moved to 3627 Pine. His son, Surguies, started working with him in the 1950s.[xvii] In 1954, he was summoned to an airfield to fix the strut of the airplane Chicago. The plane, along with its sister plane, the New Orleans, had stopped in New Orleans on a tour.[xviii] In 1924, four Douglas World Cruiser biplanes, the Seattle, Chicago, Boston and New Orleans, performed the first aerial circumnavigation of the globe. The Chicago and Seattle ultimately made it around the world.
Jules Anthony Lamothe passed away from lung cancer on May 31, 1964, at 1:17 a.m. at the New Orleans Veterans Administration Hospital.[xix] He was 80 years old. His funeral was held at Tharp-Sontheimer-Tharp Funeral Home on South Claiborne Avenue, with Masonic funeral rites conducted by Linn Wood Lodge No. 167. He was entombed at Hope Mausoleum in New Orleans. He was survived by his wife Margaret and his three children.
[i] Birth Certificate for Jules Lamothe Jr., 19 January 1884, personal records of the author.
[ii] 1900 U.S. Census, New Orleans City, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Enumeration District (ED) 26, sheet 6, line 24 house number 1934 Cleveland Ave, Dwelling number 103, Family Number 104, Jules Lamothe in Oscar Florin Household; imaged “United States, Census 1900,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DH49-GLX?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMS5J-SW8&action=view&cc=1325221&lang=en&groupId=M9L8-NLX : accessed 29 March 2026).
[iii] Soards’ New Orleans City Directory, 1900 (New Orleans, LA: Soards Directory Co., Ltd., 1900, Vol XXXV), page 514, image 258, entry for “Lamothe, Jules”, clk. A.M.&J. Solari, Ltd, 1839 St. Philip, imaged in “U.S. City Directories,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/records/1018036573?tid=11044836&pid=-537396351&queryId=1176a282-5d46-4112-99bb-b6bf62d9f675&_phsrc=qCq1482&_phstart=successSource : accessed 28 March 2026).
[iv] Successions of Jules Lamothe and Marie Lamothe, his wife, No. 62113, Civil District Court Division , image 1453; FamilySearch (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9067/records/5753612?tid=11044836&pid=-537396355&queryId=4d7c57b9-e9e4-4fb2-9162-b3fb8bf911fd&_phsrc=qCq1536&_phstart=successSource : accessed 29 March 2026). The petition lists five children, Urbain, Leon, Irma all of age and minors Jules F. and Marie.
[v] Pension Claim (IO 1576753), Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, 4 May 1927, N-642-4-HHB, Lamothe, Jules, 1962870, personal records of the author.
[vi] Ibid
[vii] Ibid
[viii] Author’s personal notes from an interview with Surguies Lamothe in February 2009.
[ix] Soards’ New Orleans City Directory, 1908 (New Orleans, LA: Soards Directory Co., Ltd., 1908, Vol XXXV), page 617, image 303, entry for “Lamothe, Jules”, clk, 1827 Bienville Ave, imaged in “U.S. City Directories,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/records/1018036573?tid=11044836&pid=-537396351&queryId=1176a282-5d46-4112-99bb-b6bf62d9f675&_phsrc=qCq1482&_phstart=successSource : accessed 28 March 2026).
[x] Marriage License, City Hall, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Volume 63, Part 1, 1909, pg 14 (handwritten), Image 347, marriage of Jules Lamothe to Margaret Crellin, 1 September 1909; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-G5YB-GT1?view=index&personArk=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQKJC-H81S&action=view&cc=1807364&lang=en&groupId= : accessed 30 March 2026).
[xi] Author’s personal notes from an interview with Jules Leon Lamothe in 1999.
[xii] 1900 U.S. Census, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Enumeration District (ED) 54,Ward 3, sheet 7A, line 47, 4129 D’Hemecourt St, Dwelling number 143, Family Number 143, Jules Lamothe; Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884/records/9280818?tid=11044836&pid=-537396351&queryId=f3f3ab89-3c65-49cc-a6a8-1ade07d0caf6&_phsrc=qCq1542&_phstart=successSource : accessed 30 March 2026).
[xiii] Soards’ New Orleans City Directory, 1910-1933 (New Orleans, LA: Soards Directory Co., Ltd.) entries for “Lamothe, Jules”, 4129 D’Hemecourt, imaged in “U.S. City Directories,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/records/1018036573?tid=11044836&pid=-537396351&queryId=d098cfea-f324-4c7d-a1ac-42bb0e98d1b0&_phsrc=qCq1546&_phstart=successSource : accessed 29 March 2026).
[xiv] Author’s personal notes from an interview with Jules Leon Lamothe in 1999.
[xv] 1920 U.S. Census, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Enumeration District (ED) 58,Ward 3, sheets 11B-12A, line 47, images 574-575, 4416 Carrollton, Dwelling number 249, Family Number 258, Jules Lamothe; FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRND-BSR?view=index&cc=1488411&lang=en&groupId= : accessed 30 March 2026).
[xvi] Soards’ New Orleans City Directory, 1922-1932 (New Orleans, LA: Soards Directory Co., Ltd.), entry for “Lamothe, Jules”, Welder, 4416 S. Carrollton Av, imaged in “U.S. City Directories,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/records/1018036573?tid=11044836&pid=-537396351&queryId=9aee556d-11be-4194-aabb-a4a1b75adf09&_phsrc=qCq1487&_phstart=successSource : accessed 29 March 2026).
[xvii] Ibid, 1933-1960 (New Orleans, LA: Soards Directory Co., Ltd.), entry for “Lamothe, Jules”, Welder, 4416 S. Carrollton Av.
[xviii] Welder to the Rescue, the Times-Picayune, 25 April 1954, p. 122, col. 2; image copy, Newspapers.com https://www.newspapers.com/image/1250041432/?match=1&terms=Lamothe : accessed on 2 February 2026).
[xix] Certificate of Death, New Orleans, Louisiana, Birth No. 84-369, City File No. 64 03953, Jules Lamothe Jr. died 31 May 1964.
