The Top 100 Tombs to Visit in New Orleans #99
This is a series appearing every Tuesday that discusses the top 100 tombs in New Orleans to visit. Not necessarily in order, these tombs are of historical significance, and/or have architectural importance, unique symbolism, and quite often – a spectacular story behind them!
Tomb #99: The Camors Tomb
Camors, Bertha (1858 – 1944), and Camors, Emma (1860 – 1944): The Camors sisters operated a small shop that sold needles, thread, Mardi Gras adornments for gowns, and other imported finery on Royal Street from 1886 to 1906 called the Two Sisters. They died in 1944 a few months apart. In the 1963, Joe Fien Jr. leased the building on 613 Royal Street and turned it into a restaurant called the Court of Two Sisters after the Camors. In the 1980s, Joe and Jerry Fein purchased their former building. They discovered the sisters’ almost dilapidated tomb in St. Louis #3 and had it restored.
The Camors Tomb in St. Louis Cemetery #3
When I was writing my book Stories from the St. Louis Cemeteries of New Orleans, I discovered that the Camors family took many secrets to their grave. Their father Henry Parlongue was listed in Census documents as a “mulatto” – meaning half black and half white. His father was white (and from France) and his mother was also listed as a mulatoo. When Henry became of age, he started to identify as white to hide his racial identity. In turn, he married Eliza Redacher Camors (believed to be white and from France). The couple had three children: Paul, Bertha, and Emma. Louisiana operated under the “one drop” rule, meaning if an individual had even one drop of African American blood, they were considered black and subject to the restrictive Jim Crow laws. All children were born with the last name Camors Parlongue, but as they got older, just went by Camors. Perhaps another way to hide their racial identity?
The sisters remained devoted to each other and died within a few months of each older. Their old family home at 810 Royal Street passed among various family members until the Camors sold it in 1917 to Joseph Petrie. The building remained in the Petrie family until it collapsed suddenly in 2014 into a pile of rubble.
The Court of Two Sisters still exists today and is known for its Creole and Cajun cuisine – as well as its own mysteries. Visitors are encouraged to pass through their “Charm Gates,” which were given for the building by Queen Isabella II and if you touch it will give you charm and luck! The main purpose, however, is to find true love. There is also a well called the “Devil’s Wishing Well” because it is believed that Voodoo Priestess Marie Laveau held voodoo rituals on that spot. To further the legend, there are rumors that Pirate Jean Lafitte killed three men there in three separate duels in one night! The location is believed to be haunted by the sisters and inhabited by fairies and sprites!
The Charm Gate at the Court of Two Sisters