ROMAN, Andrew Bienvenue, governor of Louisiana, born in Opelousas, Louisiana, 5 March, 1785; died in New Orleans, Louisiana, 26 January, 1866. His ancestors emigrated from Provence, France. After his graduation at St. Mary's college, Maryland, in 1815, he settled as a sugar-planter in St. James's parish, and represented it many years in the legislature, of which he was speaker for four terms, and parish judge in 1826-'8. He was governor of Louisiana in 1831-'5, and again in 1839-'41, and during his administration founded Jefferson college, cleared the state water-courses of rafts, and formed a company to drain the swamp lands around New Orleans and protect it from overflow. He was a member of the State constitutional convention in 1845, and was sent to Europe in 1848 as agent, of a financial company. He was a member of the Constitutional convention of 1852, and of the Secession convention of 1861. He had been a Whig in politics throughout his career, and used all his influence to prevent disunion. With John Forsyth and Martin J. Crawford he was appointed by the Confederate provisional congress to confer with the United States government in Washington for the purpose of securing a peaceable separation.