| Edmond Ducre "E. D." Estilette | |
Louisiana State Representative
for St. Landry Parish | |
| In office 1872–1877 | |
| Preceded by | Six members |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Five members: Two Democrats and three Republicans |
Speaker of the
Louisiana House of Representatives | |
| In office 1876–1877 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Hahn |
| Succeeded by | Michael Hahn |
| Born | December 19, 1833 Lake Arthur, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana |
| Died | November 7, 1919 (aged 85) Opelousas, Louisiana |
| Resting place | Myrtle Grove Cemetery in Opelousas |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Fannie Thompson Bacon Estilette |
| Relations | Gilbert L. Dupré (son-in-law) |
| Children | Julia B. Estilette Dupré |
| Residence | Opelousas, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | St. Charles College Yale University |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Edmond Ducre Estilette, known as E. D. Estilette (December 19, 1833 – November 7, 1919),[1] was an attorney and state district court judge from Opelousas, Louisiana, who from 1872 to 1877 was a Democratic state representative during the era of Reconstruction. In 1876, he was the Speaker of the Louisiana House, sandwiched in between the terms of the Republican Michael Hahn of St. Charles Parish in suburban New Orleans.[2]
A native of St. Landry Parish in South Louisiana, Estilette attended the former St. Charles College in Grand Coteau in St. Landy Parish[1] In 1857, Estilette received a Bachelor of Arts degree in classical studies from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he wed the former Fannie Thompson Bacon (1834–1897), whom he outlived by more than twenty years. She was the daughter of Daniel and Jane Greene Bacon. The couple had one child, Julia B. Estinette Dupré (1860–1944). Estilette's sister-in-law married a Yale professor, Eugene L. Richards.[3]
After returning to St. Landry Parish from Yale, Estilette engaged briefly in school teaching and was the editor of an independent newspaper The Opelousas Patriot. The publication was razed in the spring of 1863 in an invasion of United States Army troops during the American Civil War. Estilette then turned solely to his law practice and was appointed and then elected district attorney of the 8th Judicial District, which then encompassed St. Landry as well as Calcasieu, Lafayette, and Vermilion parishes in southwestern Louisiana. He was the state House Speaker under terms of the Wheeler Compromise. A decade after his legislative service ended, Estilette was appointed Judge of the 13th Judicial District, which consists St. Landry and Acadia parishes. In 1888, he resumed his legal practice. Over the years he was associated in the practice of law with not only his son-in-law but also Judge John E. King[1].
Judge Estilette is interred with other family members, including the Duprés, at Myrtle Grove Cemetery in Opelousas.[1]