Eligius Fromentin

Who was Eligius Fromentin?

Eligius Fromentin was an American politician.

Fromentin was born and raised in France, where he later became a Roman Catholic priest. Fromentin fled the country during the French Revolution and arrived in the United States. He at first settled in Pennsylvania, but then moved to Maryland, where he was a schoolteacher and a priest. By the early 19th century, Fromentin decided to leave the church and moved to Louisiana, which was being purchased by the United States. He settled in New Orleans, Louisiana, and became a lawyer.

Fromentin was a member of the territorial house of representatives from 1807 to 1811. He was part of the constitutional convention that developed Louisiana's state constitution when it became a state in 1812. In 1813, he was elected to the United States Senate from Louisiana, and served for one term, retiring in 1819. He may have been the first former priest to serve in Congress.

Upon his retirement, Fromentin returned to Louisiana and became judge of the New Orleans criminal court in 1821. He soon left this position to become a federal judge in Florida, but resigned from that position as well. Fromentin then returned to New Orleans, where he died the following year.