Pierre Bossier

Pierre Evariste Jean-Baptiste Bossier (March 22, 1797 – April 24, 1844) was a soldier, planter, and politician born in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Bossier Parish (pronounced BO zhure), which includes the parish seat of Benton and the larger Bossier City, located east of the Red River across from Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana, is named for him.

Bossier was the son of Francois Paul Bossier and the former Catherine Pelagie Lambre. He received a classical education privately. He was a cotton and sugar planter on his plantation, Live Oaks, on the Cane River, formerly a segment of the Red River, in Natchitoches Parish. He was also a general in the state militia.

Having entered politics as a Democrat, Bossier was a member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1833 to 1843. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from north Louisiana from March 4, 1843, until his death a year later in Washington, D.C.

Representative Bossier is interred at the Catholic Cemetery in Natchitoches.

References

• "Pierre Bossier", A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, Vol. 1 (1988), p. 92
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• David Colvin, "Bossier's Forgotten Man," Shreveport Times, October 24, 1965