Vicente Galatas was born in 1760 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Pais Vasco, Spain, to parents Augustina De Mendia and Juan Bautista de la Galatas, both aged 20 at the time.
He served as a soldier alongside General Galvez and traveled to New Orleans to fight in the War of 1812.
Vicente Galatas married Maria Josefa Regina De La Pena at Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans on July 21, 1785.
For eight years, Galvez governed Spanish Louisiana, which included a vast territory acquired from France in 1762. During his tenure, he facilitated shipments of crucial supplies to the Continental Army and led successful campaigns against British forces in West Florida, indirectly aiding the American cause in the Revolutionary War.
Although his actions benefited the American cause, Galvez’s primary allegiance was to the interests of the King of Spain. It wasn’t until 2014 that he received official recognition from the United States as an honorary citizen.
Born in 1746, Galvez began his military career as a teenager and quickly rose through the ranks due to family connections. His military service included engagements in various conflicts, such as the war against Portugal in 1762 and battles against the Apache in Mexico in 1770.
Vicente Galatas passed away on September 15, 1797, in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the age of 37.
Joseph Galatas was born on June 4, 1789, in St. Tammany, Louisiana, to parents Maria Josefa Regina De La Pena and Vicente Galatas.
Joseph married Marie Rose Leonor Dubuisson in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 19, 1811, at the age of 22.
Nicholas Galatas was born on April 22, 1815, in St. Tammany, Louisiana, to parents Marie Rose Leonor Dubuisson and Joseph Galatas. The Galatas family resided in Bonfunca and were primarily schooner builder (60 footers – see below), Nicholas would become the Sheriff of Saint Tammany Parish in the 1850’s and was active in the Know Nothing Movement (a political organization about anti-immigration).
Nicholas and Marie Rose children included Ines Clementine Galatas, who later married Dr. John Thomas Dale.
Joseph A. Galatas, Ines’s brother, and Marie Galatas, her sister, are notable figures in the family history. Joseph father’s funeral was held at his family’s business in Storyville, while Marie shared a home with her sister and her son Arthur C Dale (Marie’s husband was Francois Bildstein), after the deaths of Nicholas Galatas and John T. Dale in 1886.
Nicholas, Joseph, Richard, and Bildstein were active in the anti-immigration movement against Italians. Joseph owned a saloon in Mobile, Alabama, as reported in a newspaper article about his death.
Arthur C. Dale was raised in the Bildstein household, Bildstein taught him engraving by the time Arthur was 16 years old. Arthur was also reared by the Galatas family in boat design, these two disciplines engraving and boat design would later lead to his patented a shallow draft boat design.
Vincente Galatas was of Greek origins but born and raised in Spain. As a soldier he traveled with General Galvez to fight in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
The Galatas are a large and diverse family, many built schooners in Bonfunca and in Madisonville.