Dracos Anthony Dimitry
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Dracos Anthony Dimitry | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Carencro Councilman | |
| In office May 4, 1891 – May 1, 1893 | |
| Preceded by | G. H. Guilbeau |
| Succeeded by | Dr. F. W. Courtney |
| Mayor of Carencro | |
| In office May 1, 1893 – May 1, 1899 | |
| Preceded by | Dr. F. W. Courtney |
| Succeeded by | Hon, E. L. Estilette |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 17, 1858 New Orleans, Louisiana, US |
| Died | October 24, 1918 (aged 60) New Iberia, Louisiana |
| Resting place | Saint Peter's Cemetery |
| Spouse |
Lizzie D. Ruth (m. 1882–1918) |
| Parents |
|
| Profession | Politician Railroad Station Agent |
| Relatives | Alexander Dimitry Marianne Celeste Dragon Michel Dragon Charles Patton Dimitry John Bull Smith Dimitry Ernest Lagarde Theodore John Dimitry Jr. George Pandely Elizabeth Virginia Dimitry Ruth |
| Family | Dimitry Family (Creoles) |
Dracos Anthony Dimitry (September 17, 1858 - October 24, 1918) was a mixed race Louisiana Creole councilman, mayor, solicitor, and railroad station agent. His grandmother was Marianne Celeste Dragon and his first cousin was George Pandely. He was a member of the prominent New Orleans mixed Greek Creole family known as the Dimitry Family. The family underwent countless hardships of racism throughout the 19th century two major incidents involving the family were documented in court entitled Forstall, f.p.c. v. Dimitry (1833) and Pandelly v. Wiltz (1854). The Creole family was heavily pressured to pass as white because during the Jim Crow era laws became more severe including segregation and eventually the one-drop rule was adopted in Louisiana by 1910.[1][2][3]
Dracos was born in New Orleans to Creole educator Jean Baptiste Michael Dracos Dimitry and Sophia Powers. Jean Baptiste was the fifth child of Marianne Celeste Dragon and Andrea Dimitry. Both Dracos' parents and grandparents were involved in interracial marriages.[4] Dracos' uncle was Creole author and diplomate Alexander Dimitry and the family was extremely educated six members attended Georgetown between 1820 and 1870 including Dracos' father and older brother Theodore John Dimitry.[5] Dracos was the mayor of Carencro from 1893 to 1899 and the railroad station agent of Carencro, Jeanerette, and New Iberia.[6][7][8][9]
Dracos participated in countless organizations in his local town most of the fraternal organizations were for whites only some included: New Iberia Lodge No. 554, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 39, and the Knights of Honor Lodge No. 3155.[10][11][12][13][14] Dracos won several awards for maintaining his railroad station to the highest standard. He died in New Iberia, Louisiana at 60 years of age and his wife, Lizzie lived another twenty years.[15]
Dracos was born in New Orleans to Creole educator Jean Baptiste Michael Dracos Dimitry and Sophia Powers.[16] He was their fifth child and his mother Sophia was around 41 years old when he was born.[6] His parents were involved in an interracial marriage and Dracos' grandmother was Marianne Celeste Dragon.[17] His father was called Michael Dracos Dimitry and finished Georgetown University in 1856. Both his parents had a successful women's school entitled the Orleans Female Academy (1842-1871) and his uncle Alexander Dimitry was the first superintendent of education in Louisiana.
Dracos' uncle Alexander was also the first person of color to hold that position and the first person of color to be the United States Ambassador to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. From an early age, Dracos was educated by his parents. Due to their African heritage, the Dimitry family underwent countless hardships of racism during the 19th century.[18][19] The family chose to pass as white as a legal solution and for their safety specifically during the Jim Crow era. Two major court cases were filed dealing with the family's racial ethnicity entitled Forstall, f.p.c. v. Dimitry (1833) and Pandelly v. Wiltz (1854).[20]
Dracos' first cousin was George Pandely. On March 28, 1853, Pandely ran for the position of assistant alderman in New Orleans, a role similar to a city council member. He won the election but he was removed from office when several members of the city of New Orleans presented evidence of his African heritage in a local Newspaper which eventually reached national headlines.[21] It was illegal for people of African descent to hold political office. Pandely sued his accusers soon after and was able to pretend he was descended from a Native American chief's daughter of the Alibamu tribe named Malanta Talla to maintain his social status. The incident became known as the Pandelly Affair. During the Jim Crow era, the family was further forced to appease the growing pressures of racial segregation.[22]
They denounced their African heritage and passed as white. Most of the notable members of the family fought for the Confederacy including his older brother Theodore John Dimitry, Alexander Dimitry, Charles Patton Dimitry, John Bull Smith Dimitry, and George Pandely. Alexander's wife's first cousin Robert Mills Lusher was a proponent of racial segregation in schools. During the final year of Republican occupation in the South in 1877, Dracos was listed as a private in the Louisiana National Guard Company C of the First Crescent City Regiment which was formerly known as the White League.[23]
The painting entitled Marianne Celeste Dragon Dimitry completed between 1790 and 1800 by José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza was donated by Dracos' sister Mary Celeste to the Louisiana State Museum regrettably the subject their grandmother was whitened. Luckily historians were able to recompose the original image and show her true characteristics and complexion.[6]
Dracos married his first cousin Virginia Ruth Dimitry's daughter Lizzie D. Ruth who was his second cousin.[24][25] His first cousin George Pandely also married his first cousin. Pandelly was also the superintendent of the Pontchartrain Railroad and by the 1880s Dracos was listed as the railroad station agent for Carencro and eventually also managed the stations at Jeanerette, and New Iberia, he was a station agent for most of his life. His older brother Theodore John Dimitry was also affiliated with railroad companies.[26][27]