Eulalie de Mandéville

Eulalie de Mandéville (1774–1848) was an American placée and businesswoman. She has been called the 'most successful free mulatto businesswoman' in the Antebellum South.[1]

She was the daughter of count Pierre Enguerrand Philippe, Écuyer de Mandéville, Sieur de Marigny, and his slave concubine, and the half-sister of Bernard de Marigny. She was manumitted by her father, who arranged a plaçage between her and Eugène de Macarty. The couple had five children.

Eulalie de Mandéville was an accomplished and successful businesswoman. From about 1795 onward, she established an import business, importing manufactured goods which she stored in New Orleans and then distributed to retail outlets through a network of slaves as far away as to Attakapas.[1] This was very lucrative, and she invested her money in stocks, real estate and discounted banknotes, accumulating a fortune.

She married Eugène de Macarty shortly before his death in 1845, which was not illegal but very controversial in the South. When he died, she inherited a fortune of $12,000. The relatives of her late husband questioned his will, among them being Delphine LaLaurie, claiming that it was illegal for a white man to will more than ten percent of his assets to a coloured mistress. They further more questioned whether the personal fortune of Eulalie de Mandéville (at that time worth $3 million) should in fact be classified as part of the property of Eugene Macarty, because it was known that he had transferred much of his property to her prior to his death, thereby withholding their rightful inheritance.[2] However, the court acknowledged the will as legal and pointed out that Eulalie de Mandéville was in fact very rich even before she became the heir of her spouse, because of a business activity going back half a century.