The St. Augustine Historical Society (SAHS) announces the selection of Theresa Delphin Morgan to serve as its representative on the Board of the Natchitoches Historical Foundation (NHF). For many years, Morgan has generously given her time, treasures, and talents to SAHS, and she was a major contributor to its project to restore and historically mark the tomb of her ancestor and community Founder, Augustin Metoyer.

“Aunt Tee is the Cammie Henry of Isle Brevelle,” said SAHS President Dr. Mark Guidry. “She has preserved and created volumes of scrapbooks and memoirs that chronicle the life and heritage of the community. And the apple didn’t fall far from the tree! Her mother and her sibling have made legendary contributions to preserving our culture and our heritage.”

NHF President, Cathy Seymour is very pleased at the selection. Foundation meetings will resume in July.

Marie Theresa Delphin Morgan, daughter of Terrel Delphin Sr. & Bernardine Conant Delphin, is a resident of Natchitoches and a native of Isle Brevelle. She and her husband Dennis have a daughter Ashley and a son Damon. Theresa majored in business administration at Northwestern State University and retired after 21 years of service as a Lab Technician with Williamette Industries. Her organizational and professional affiliations are numerous and includes membership in the following: St. Augustine Catholic Church; St. Augustine Historical Society; Confraternity of Christian Mothers/St. Augustine Chapter; Louisiana Creole Heritage Center and Foundation; Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches (APHN); Natchitoches Historical Foundation; and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She is also a charter member of the Krew of Dionysos and serves as President of the Isle Brevelle Garden Club.

In 2003, Theresa received a certificate of completion from the Cane River Creole National Historical Park for documenting oral histories and ethnographic studies. By collecting and organizing photographs and artifacts in affiliation with the community, she was able to preserve oral as well as written histories of the community. This enabled her to provide interested parties with information on how to gather family history stories from within their own communities.

In a span of over seven generations, preserving information about the individuals within the community of Isle Brevelle has been part of her family tradition. Many individuals have gained beneficial information through her research on family history documentation. With the assistance of the staff at the NSU Cammie Henry Research Library, Theresa was able to preserve important family genealogical documents. Many of these articles were written in French and later transcribed into English by NSU Professor Dr. Susan Dollar.

Theresa represented the Louisiana Creole Heritage Center/Foundation at the 2013 Louisiana Creole Research Association Conference in New Orleans and the 2014 Louisiana Annual Preservation Conference in Natchitoches. She also attended the 6th Annual Louisiana Studies Conference at Northwestern State University. In 2009 she was the recipient of a Creole Peoples Award for her family history research and community service. She would like to thank all of the individuals who made it possible to preserve her family’s history and Louisiana Creole culture. Her research is available at the Louisiana Creole Heritage Center at NSU.