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Mrs. Emma Mayo laughs as she recalls bits of her family history beginning in France more than a century ago. Napoleon Bonaparte is the most famous name on the family tree.
She states her great-grandfather was, Pierre Juzang Baria. His mother was Napoleon's sister named either "Christina or Katrina". Her father was Francis Marcello Baria, and he told her much of the family history.
According to family lore, Pierre Baria and his mother were smuggled out of France after Napoleon's fall from power. They hid inside a big sugar barrel which was smuggled aboard a ship sailing from France to New Orleans. After arriving in New Orleans, the French refugees made their way to Mobile.
Mrs. Mayo said the King of France gave her great-grandfather, Pierre Baria a lot of land in what is now Mobile Co., AL. That was in the 1700's, she recalls and Barry Steam Plant was constructed on part of the land along Mobile River more than a century later.
After Pierre Juzang Baria recieved the land grant from the French King, he settled in Mobile and engaged in various business. Mrs. Mayo tells of the time when her great Uncle DeKalb Baria of Hurley, MS, had a race horse named "Calico Jack". DeKalb Baria, like many of Napoleon;s family, was a small man and an excellent horseman. DeKalb was an influential man of the community whose advise was sought by politicians. The following research was done by myself for the book "Goff And Allied Families".
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