Mary Bennett Cane, Shreveport's first important businesswoman as well as founder of Cane City, later Bossier City

Mary Bennett Cane: a representation of the founder of Cane City, later Bossier City
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Most people would consider Henry Shreve "the father of Shreveport," writes Gary Joiner, historian. But, who was its mother? It was not, as you might infer, Mrs. Shreve, but Mary Bennett Cane.

Mrs. Cane was the mother of of both Shreveport and Bossier City. One of the early names for Bossier City was "Cane City."

She and her first two husbands were business partners of Henry Shreve. They were here when Shreve arrived.

She survived both husbands, married a third and divorced him.

She was the area's the most successful businesswoman during the 19th century. Mary Bennett Cane is buried in Shreveport's Oakland Cemetery.

Bossier got its name from Pierre Evariste Jean-Baptiste Bossier (1797 – 1844). He was a soldier, planter, and politician born in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

He was a general in the state militia. Bossier was also a member of the Louisiana state Senate from 1833 to 1843. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from north Louisiana from 1843 until his death in Washington, D.C.


vocab of the day -

onomatopoeia - a word that imitates or suggests the source of the sound that it describes.

sympatico - one who gets along well with or goes well with another or others; compatible or congenial.

matriarchal (from mater, Latin for "mother") - society, in which the leading role is taken by the women.
Caddo lifestyle was matrilineal, says ehow.com, with descent and heritage traced through the female line. Every Caddo belonged to a clan named for an animal that was associated with the female line.