My Genealogy Hound

Lawrence Mivelaz, proprietor of the LeGrande Hotel at Fort Smith, was born in Switzerland in 1848. His parents, Louis and Annie (Bhena) Mivelaz, were both natives of Switzerland. The father owned the stage company in Switzerland before coming to America, and afterward followed agricultural pursuits in New Albany, Ind. He died at the age of fifty-five years. His wife is now alive and residing in Little Rock, Ark. Lawrence Mivelaz attained his growth in Indiana and as a cook by occupation. He was married in Kentucky in 1870, and went to Memphis, Tenn., where he remained three years, and then came back to the old homestead in Indiana. He here remained for eleven years engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1883 he went to Little Rock, Ark., where he remained one year, and then came to Fort Smith, where he was in the McKibben’s Hotel one year, after which he became the proprietor of the LeGrande, and has remained in that capacity ever since. He was married in Louisville, Ky., to Mary Bardelle, who was born and reared in Kentucky, and who is the daughter of Michael Bardelle, a native of Strausberg, Germany, and Catherine (Hitler) Bardelle. Her father was a miller by occupation, came to America in 1846, and located in Kentucky, and is still there. For twenty years he kept a livery stable, and for twenty-two years was a grocer at Louisville, Ky., where he has resided for forty-two years, in his own home. Mivelaz’s paternal grandfather was also a miller, and the family have owned a mill, called the Bardelle Mill, for over 100 years. To Mr. and Mrs. Mivelaz were born seven children: Willie, Josephine, Louie, Lena, Maggie, Joseph and Amealia. Mr. Mivelaz is the owner of the old homestead in Northern Indiana, is the owner of eleven lots and four houses in Fort Smith, and the fine hotel is capable of accommodating from sixty-five to seventy individuals. The family are members of the Catholic Church.