Ray L. Bellande Papers

Ray L. Bellande was born in 1943 and was a native of Biloxi, Mississippi. Bellande received a bachelor’s degree in petroleum geology from Mississippi State University in 1965. Bellande worked for companies like Humble Oil and Tenneco before becoming an independent geologist and oil operator in 1980.

Since 1993, Bellande began writing a weekly history column for The Ocean Springs Record called “Sous Les Chenes” and would later write other columns such as “Images Under the Oaks” and “Vintage Village Vues.” Bellande has also written several books such as The Bellande Cemetery: A History and Register (1990), From Marseille to Mississippi, A Bellande Family History (1991), Cemeteries New Ocean Springs Mississippi (1992), Ocean Springs Hotels and Tourist Homes (1994), and Ocean Springs, The Way We Were 1900-1950 (1996). Bellande has also contributed to a number of other publications such as The Ocean Springs Genealogical Society Journal, The Journal of the Jackson Country Genealogical Society, The Mississippi Coast Historical and Genealogical Society Journal, Humble Hesperian, and Mississippi Archaeology.

Bellande has been a member of a number of groups like: Jackson County Historical Society, Jackson County Genealogical Society, Ocean Springs Genealogical Society, Mississippi Historical Society, Mississippi Coast Historical and Genealogical Society, Forces of Montcalm and Wolfe, North American Voyageurs Council, For Maurepas Society, Jackson County Tricentennial Commission, Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce, Ocean Springs Art Association, Ocean Springs Historic Preservation Commission, Museum of Fur Trade, Seafood Industry Museum, Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and The Pioneer America Society. Ray Bellande has won several awards for his contributions to Gulf Coast history. These awards include the President’s Award from the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce in 1994, and he was named Historian of the Year in 1995 and 1996.