The Mayer Family Came 

To French Settlement

Germany’s religious factions had been simmering ever since 1517 when Martin Luther tacked 95 suggestions for improved service to his local church door in Wittenburg. As opposition to the Catholic Church grew, others took up the idea of reformation. In 1536 John Calvin went to Geneva to teach his form of the new protestant religion. His ideas spread from Switzerland down the Rhine River as far as the Palatinate area of Germany, linking some parts of Switzerland and this portion of Germany by religion.

By 1600 all of Europe was divided between the Catholic and the various forms of protestant religions – Lutheran and Calvinist being the most prominent. Friction between the religious factions grew, reaching a climax when Archduke Ferdinand was elected Emperor of Bohemia. He had been elected by the Jesuits and vowed to eradicate Protestantism wherever he ruled. The Bohemian Diet, upon the urging of protestant leaders, disposed Ferdinand as King and proclaimed Frederick of the Palatinate as King. The result of this action was the Thirty Years’ War which would grow to involve all of Europe.

In 1799 King Charles of Spain died after willing his throne to Prince Philip, grandson of Louis XIV of France. The potential for France to annex all of Spain and her possessions again stirred the fears of Europe and by 1702, Europe was at war again.

It’s easy to see that, with the continuing religious persecution and wars, in addition to the feudal system, heavy taxation, pestilence, famine and the example of others coming to America, a chance to start a new life in America, hard as it might be, seemed to make a lot of sense to a lot of people. The Germans were hard working, industrious people and certainly not afraid to test themselves.

After the war ended by the Treaty of Utrecht, Queen Anne of England offered Germans the privilege of emigrating to the English colonies in America upon the condition that they pledge allegiance to the Crown in the new world. At her death, she was succeeded by George, the Prince of Hanover, and the waves of German emigration began.

The usual method of the Palatinate Germans who chose to migrate to the new world was to build a large raft or flatboat on the Rhine River or its tributaries and load it with all of their possessions and household goods. Then, they would float down the Rhine to Rotterdam where they would sell the boat and such belongings that they could not take with them for passage money on the English ships. The ships took them to England where they were required to take the Oath of Allegiance to the Crown and then they were reloaded and taken to America, mostly landing in Philadelphia.

However, our ancestors didn’t quite agree with all of these rules. They were Catholics and would not have been given a chance to offer allegiance to England. (It was not the desire of Queen Anne to settle Catholics in the English colonies. Catholics were given the chance to become Protestants or return to their native lands). And, given the chance, they would have refused.

Georg Mayer, his wife Magdalena Fronberger (married 14 February, 1699)and their young son, Nicolas (born 1704) made the decision to settle in America after the John Law “Company of the West” started distributing pamphlets in Germany telling of enormous wealth and fertile lands in America and offering transportation to anyone interested in developing the land that would be given to them. But, sometime after they left their home in Southwest Germany, Georg died apparently. There are no confirming records, but it is generally thought that Magdalena and Nicolas made their way across France to the port of Lorient on the west coast. 

From the German side of the Rhine, families traveled on the Rhine to Strasbourg where they entered the Canal de la Marne au Rhin (a canal which connected the Rhine with the Marne River near Joinville). The Marne River flows into the Seine River. Continuing on the Seine, the immigrants passed through Paris and on to Lorient. This is presumed to be the route Magdalena and Nicolas started their journey.

From Lorient they sailed to the gulf coast of America in 1721 and disembarked at either Ship Island or Dauphin Island off the coast of Mobile, the same area where Simon Jacques Brignachad landed with the French marine in 1717. From there, they made their way, by inland waterways to the area of St. Charles Parish (The German Coast, or La Cote des Allemands) on the Mississippi River. 

The 1724 census of the German village of Hoffen, on the Mississippi River, lists the two of them (Magdalena as the widow of Georg) plus a twenty-year-old orphan as residents for three years. This confirms that they arrived in 1721.

Nicolas married Anna Marie Kautzen ca. 1729, and they farmed until his death sometime before 1766. Anna continued living on the farm with her grandson, Christophe until her death on 03 October, 1771. 

Alphonse Mayer and Celestine Lambert were married on 28 June, 1848 in French Settlement. He was born in St. James Parish, on 13 Dec, 1830; she in Ascension Parish, 26 July, 1834. It is not clear how they ended up in French settlement. Celestine probably moved from Ascension Parish with her family when she was a little girl, Alphonse probably moved to French Settlement when they married.

A History of the Voncannon Family and Early European History

German Coast Families – European Origins and Settlements

In Colonial Louisiana, by Albert J. Robichaux, Jr.

The Brignac Family and Their Relatives in Louisiana, by Janice Deitch Young

Terrebonne Life Lines – Winter, 1983 – vol.2, #4

Settling Colonial Louisiana

In 1682, the French explorer, Rene’ Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, traveled The Mississippi River from the north to it’s mouth, erected a cross on the banks of the river at what is now Plaquemines Parish, and claimed all the lands that drained into it for France.

In 1700, Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur de Iberville, made his second voyage down the river in his own exploration. Among those with him was a man named Jean Baptiste Turpin. It is thought that Turpin’s daughter, Marie, was the one who married Simon Jacques Brignac at Ft. Toulouse, Alabama in 1725. Simon was the progenitor of The Brignac family in Louisiana.

Later in the 1700s, the French made attempts at settling areas along the West Bank of the river between New Orleans and what is now Baton Rouge. The First Acadian Coast and The Second Acadian Coast were the names given to the areas. These French people had been recruited and were being escorted to areas up-river called “The Demeuves Concession”, whereby workers, farmers, and others were given land in return for their developing those lands. However, they elected to stop at the Acadian Coasts because of some difficulties of the projects up river. Eventually, spring floods, Indian raids and a severe hurricane caused a lot of them to abandon the area and move on to places such as Opelousas, Natchez, Arkansas Post, St. Louis, etc. The hurricane occurred on 11 September 1722. 

“As the screaming winds swung from southeast to south, then southwest, the settlers were trapped between the Mississippi on the east, Lac des Canards and Ouacha Lac on the southeast and Lac des Allemands on the southwest. The hurricane lasted five days, New Orleans was destroyed as well as the bean, corn and rice crops. For five days, the people were exposed to the elements and by clinging to trees and other floating objects, many escaped drowning as the waters rushed in. Those fortunate enough to survive left this village for other lands in the colony”.

Then in 1721, the John Law “Company Of The West”, having gained exclusive rights (in 1717) to settle and exploit the products of Louisiana, began to settle German families on these lands, and it became known as “The Village Of The Germans” or “La Cote des Allemands” and other names. It started out in what is now St. Charles Parish and soon extended to include St. John the Baptist Parish: the First German Coast and the Second German Coast.

The census of 1724 listed 58 families residing in three German settlements: Marienthal, Augsburg and Hoffen. Among those families were some currently well known names as Darensbourg, Trosclair, Oubre, Haydel, Matherne, Mayer and others. 

Eventually, the descendants of the first settlers expanded to other locations in Louisiana, including the village of Cabanocey in St. James Parish, one of the main settlements. The area of “La Cote Francais”, which was to become French Settlement, was discovered as a place of higher ground and rich earth and proved to be ideal for habitation. Families such as Brignac, Haydel (Aydell), Wichner (Vicner) and Guitrau were among those making their homes here.

“Au Chaloupe” they came, in the cold month of January, eighteen hundred eight to clear and inhabit this land (defrechie’ et habite’ une terre). Three families joined a few settlers along the Amite River. They were the families of Alexandre Brignac, Joseph Lambert and Paul Guitreau.

Other related families came to the Amite River colony called “La Cote” and by eighteen     hundred ten starting at Bayou King George to Bayou Colyell, included the following settlers:

Alexandre Brignac married to Agnes Poche’

Joseph Lambert married to Theotiste Vickner

Paul Guitreau married to Josephine Vickner

Mathew Brignac (Alexandre’s brother) married to Marguerite Vickner

Henri Villar married to Rosalie Vickner

Louis Lobell married to Leonide Vickner

And six or so others 

The Vickner sisters; Theotiste, Rosalie, Josephine, Marguerite and Leonide were daughters of Nicholas Vickner and Apolonie Helfre of German Nationality

Joseph Lambert and Theotiste Vickner were to be the maternal great grand parents of both Henry Severin Brignac and of Alphonsine Mayer, our own grand parents. This made Henry and Alphonsine second cousins. The church records confirming the marriage of Henry and Alphonsine on 04 September 1875, listed the marriage as ‘third degree consanguinity’, meaning they married blood relatives. 

A partial listing of settlers related to the Brignac family in French Settlement follows:

Joseph Lambert was born in St. James Of Cantrelle the 26^thof August, 1772, son of Pieire Lambert and Marie Duaron. He was baptized 22 October 1772 at St. John The Baptist Catholic Church in Edgard, Louisiana. He married the 6^thof February 1794 in St. John The Baptist Church.

Theotiste (Osita) Vickner (no birth date listed on baptism records) was baptized 23 August 1777, Baptismal Book 1, page 34A, St John The Baptist Catholic Church, Edgard, Louisiana. She was the daughter of Nicolas Vickner and Apolina Helfre (Elfre).

Known children of Joseph Lambert and Theotiste Vickner:

1-a-Joseph Lambert - Henry Brignac’s grandfather

2-b- Pierie Leon Lambert

3-c- Eufrosyna Lambert

4-d-Michael Drausin Lambert -Alphonsine’s grandfather

5-e- Joseph Lambert

6-f- Marie Zelina Lambert

7-g- Jean Cyprien Lambert

4-d- Michael Drausin Lambert 

Born 07 May 1801, St James Of Cantrelle

Baptized 07 August 1802, St. James Of Cantrelle

First marriage to Arthemise Babin, 24 December 1828, Ascension parish

(vol R, page 56) Daughter of Eusebe Babin and Francoise Landry

Arthemise died 20 January 1829

Child of Michael and Arthemise: 

  4-1-d- Joseph Timeleon Lambert

Second marriage to Marie Eulalie Gautreaux, 29 May 1831

    Marie daughter of Charles Gautreaux and Marie Marthe Richard

    Children of Michael and Marie:

     4-2-d-Celestine Lambert - Alphonsine’s mother

     4-3-d- Sosthene Lambert

     4-4-d- Drogan Lambert

     4-5-d- Louise Lambert

     4-6-d- Alexandre Lambert

     4-7-d- Marguerite Utisea Lambert

    Michael Drausin is deceased before the 1850 census

    Marie Eulalie second marriage to Francois Delattes

    Paul Guitreau (Guidroz) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana about 1770. 

There are no records of his birth because of the fire that destroyed the early records of The St. Louis Cathedral. Paul was the son of Abraham Guidroz and Catherins Buquoy.

He married Josephine Vickner 28 April 1802 at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, Morganza, Louisiana. They were residents of False River, Pointe Coupee Parish. The marriage made legitimate their three children, Paul, age 7 years, Charlotte, age 4 years and Artimise, age 2 years. Josephine was born 19 March 1775.

Alexandre Brignac was born in 1763, son of Simon Pierre Brignac and Marie Louise Fontenot. He married Agnes Poucher (Poche)of St. Charles Parish. She was the daughter of Francois LaChapelle Poche’ and Agnes Mayer and the grand daughter of Nicolas Mayerand Anna Marie Kautzen.

Children of Alexandre and Agnes:

1. Alexandre II married to Marie Conrad
2. Eleanore married to (1) Alphonse Mayer and (2) Vincent Scivicque
3. Pierre married to Emelite Leche
4. Marie married to Auguste Gregoire
5. Louis died in New Orleans 29 May 1829 at about age 26
6. Francoismarried toDelphine Haydel - our direct ancestors
7. Henry
8. Celeste married to (1) George Millet and (2) Vincent Scivicque
9. Agnes

Alexandre and Agnes were both deceased by 21 March 1816. Succession in the St. Helena Parish Court House. (Parts of St. Helena and Ascension Parishes were used to form Livingston Parish later, in 1832). They settled on Bayou Colyell in section 60.ⁱⁱ

After the Germans settled into life in South Louisiana, they and the French who were left in the area melded together and took on the French culture, including the language. This was especially true of those German men who married French women. As you might imagine, the French mothers had much influence over their children and the French characteristics prevailed.ⁱⁱ

Another family of note to us is the Salassi family. They came to French Settlement somewhat later, around 1849. The progenitor of the Salassi family in Livingston Parish was Joseph Salassi. He was born on 24 November 1806 in Venice, Italy to Pietro Salassi and Stella Galvani. It is not known when Joseph migrated to Louisiana. However, he was married to Marie Louise Scivicque on 26 October 1837 at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. 

The more recent Salassi family history begins in Venice, although the name is apparently of Gallic or French origin. ‘The New Century Cyclopedia Of Names’ lists the family as living in Northwest Italy as early as 143 B.C. when they were in conflict with the Romans. Through the centuries the inhabitants of the area have been an ethnic French-speaking people. The family migrated to Northeast Italy and was found there in 1700.ⁱⁱⁱ

The connection between the Brignacs and Salassis has been made several times over the years: Joseph Salassi married Marie Louise Scivicque, the daughter of Vincent Scivicque and Eleanore Brignac. Eleanore was the daughter of Alexandre Brignacand Agnes Poche’. Vincent was her second husband, in 1817, after the death of Alphonse Mayer, who was the son of Christophe Mayer and Marie Josephe Haydel. Yes, Christophe is another of our direct ancestors, Alphonsine’sfraternal great grandfather.

• Eleanore died in 1832 and Vincent married her sister, Celeste in 1842.

• Grace Salassi, grand daughter of Joseph married Hercule Brignac

• Joseph Leonce Salassi, Grace’s brother, married Mary Brignac, Alphonsine’s daughter.

• Noemie Brigette Salassi, great grand daughter of Joseph, married Thomas Severin Brignac, Alphonsine’s son.

“The Brignac Family And Their Relatives In Louisiana” by Janice Deitch Young

Sources: “German Coast Families” by Albert J. Robichaux, Jr.

“New Orleans History” from the internet

“Saint-Jean-Baptiste des Allemands, 1753 – 1803” by Glenn R. Conrad

“History Of Livingston Parish – 1986” by Edward Livingston Historical Association

“The French Settlement Historical Register” – vol 1, December 1976

“The Salassi Family In Louisiana” by Michael E. Salassi

Joseph (Guiseppe) Salassi

                                                     by Edward R. Millet

The New Century Cyclopedia of Names lists Salassi as an “ancient Ligurian (or perhaps Celtic) tribe which occupied the Valley of the Dora Baltea in northwest Italy.  They were in conflict with the Romans (143 B.C. and later) and were finally subdued in 25 B.C.”

Today, we find the Valle D’Aosta as an autonomous province in the northwest corner of Italy, south of St. Bernard Pass and the Matterhorn of the Alps.  Aosta is the capital of the province.  It was the ancient capital of the Gallic Tribe of the Salassi and became a Roman colony under Augustus in 25 B.C.

Through the centuries and to the present the inhabitants of this region and Aosta are an ethnic French-speaking people.  In the Valle D’Aosta the names of the villages and towns are in French, not Italian.  Except for short intervals, Aosta was under the rule of the House of Savoy from the 11th century on.  However, through the years the region became governed by Italy, and by 1938, the French-speaking parts of Valle D’Aosta were being forcibly Italianized.  DeGaulle tried to claim and occupy it during World War II but the other Allies stood firm.  In the 1947 peace terms, it was accepted by Italy and its autonomy was restricted within fairly narrow bounds.

Thus we find that the name Salassi was apparently of ancient Gallic or French origin rather than Italian.  But how members of the tribe migrated to Venice in northeast Italy and we find it there as a family name in 1700, is not known.  Joseph Salassi (1806-1868) was the progenitor of the Salassi family in Livingston Parish. 

This Salassi family history begins in Venice, Italy where Joseph (Guiseppe) Salassi was born November 24, 1806 to Pietro Salassi and Stella Galvani.  Three more generations beyond Pietro (Peter) have been traced in Venice to near 1700 and it was found that they were mariners, sailors, on merchant vessels.  In fact, Joseph’s father, Pietro, was a “civilian officer of the mariner of the fourth class”.

It is not known when Joseph migrated to Louisiana, but old family tales passed down said Joseph was one of three brothers that came to Louisiana.  Nothing has been found of the two brothers.  There is evidence of a Peter Salassi who died at the age of 43 in New Orleans in 1849 (possibly a half-brother); a Francis Salassi, listed as Godfather on the birth certificate of one of Joseph’s sons, Denis Francis Salassi in 1848; and an F. Salassi, Jefferson Township #203, Jefferson parish, 1850 census for Louisiana. These could perhaps have been the two brothers.

 
Joseph married Marie Louise Scivicque, age 19, daughter of Vincent Scivicque, a native of Naples, Italy, and Eleanor Brignac.  Vincent Scivicque founded the village of Port Vincent in Livingston parish.  Joseph and Marie were married in St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans on October 26, 1837.

Joseph was a partner of Charles Montechio who had married Marie’s sister, Angelina.  Charles was also from the environs of Venice.  Joseph and Charles were the owners of the “Orleans Theater Coffee House and Bar” (Caffee Davis) located between Royal and Bourbon Streets, where the present Bourbon Orleans Hotel now stands.  Joseph and Marie resided at 150 Rue d’Orleans between Burgundy and Rampart.  Charles Montechio died on May 3, 1844.

Joseph and Marie had six children born in New Orleans between 1838 and 1848. Why Joseph moved to French Settlement about 1849 is not known, but it may have been influenced by Vincent Scivicque, the yellow fever epidemic of 1848, or the steam boat trade that had developed on the Amite River.   What was the relationship between Joseph Salassi, Charles Montechio and Vincent Scivicque?  Joseph and Charles were both from Venice while Vincent was from Naples in Southern Italy.  

Family tradition states that Vincent Scivicque promised his two oldest daughters to Joseph and Charles.  What connection dating to their early years in Italy prompted this liaison?  In Charles Montechio’s succession petition there are evidences of this.  Old family tales relate that Vincent’s father died when Vincent was a small boy and his mother lived in poverty in Naples and could not support him, so she gave him to a ship’s captain to raise and he grew up on a ship.  Could Pietro Salassi, who was a marine officer been this ship’s captain?

After establishing a home and business (a wharf, store and bar) in French Settlement at the junction of the Amite River and King George Bayou, the family of Joseph and Marie  continued to grow with six more children from 1850 to 1861.

 
The twelve children of Joseph and Marie were: 1. Peter Vincent, 1838; 2. Charles Felix, 1840; 3. Marie Estelle,1841; 4. Joseph Severe, 1844; 5. Alexander, 1846; 6. Denis Francis, 1848; 7. Jean Placide, 1850; 8 & 9. Leon and Eleanor, twins, 1853; 10. Marie Louise, 1855; 11. Edmund Bruno, 1857; 12. Henry, 1861.  

Five of the children married in French Settlement and had families; Peter. Charles, Jean Placide (John P.), Marie Louise, and Edmund.  The other children of Joseph and Marie died young or as infants and did not marry.  Marie Estelle married Charles Montaldo in New Orleans in 1860. Peter married Marguerite Lambert in 1859.  They had four children: Elizabeth, Peter Vincent, Theodule Amelus and Alexander.  Charles married Marie Noemi Lambert in 1870.  They had five children: Charles, Jr., Jean and Joseph, twins who lived only one month and 18 days, Desire and Henry.  John P. married Alice Landry in 1870.  They had five children:  Joseph Placide, John Roger, Marie Julia, Marie Estelle, and Marie Dina.  John P.’s wife, Alice died about 1885 and he married his sister-in-law Marine in 1887, after her first husband, Leon died in 1883.  They had no children.  

Marie Louise married Joseph Hebert in 1874.  They had eleven children:  five boys and six girls.  Edmund married Mary Agnes Fontenot and they had eleven children, four of who died young or as infants.  Seven of them were: Edmund, Jr., Gerard, Leonce, Paul, Lina, Grace and Dewey.  Leon Lafayette married Marine Berthelot in 1879, but he died in 1883, as shown above, with no children.  Joseph died September 24, 1868 and was buried in the family vault in the old French Settlement Community Cemetery.  Marie Louise died November 12, 1873 and was also buried in French Settlement.

In the early 1900s and up to 1918, the Salassi family was the most prominent, social, and well-to-do in French Settlement.  John P. Salassi & Company in its prime at the junction of the Amite River and King George Bayou consisted of a soft-drink plant, an ice factory, a saw mill, a general store, a bar, a post office (first begun by Joseph in 1856, closed in 1866 and later reopened).  There was even a telephone at that time.  The Knights of Honor Lodge was organized by the Salassi family.  The first Christmas tree, a revolving one, with gifts underneath is remembered by Mrs. Grace Brignac and Mrs. Ella Lambert.  This was an innovation of “Uncle” John P. at the old school in French Settlement.
 

The Salassi family had acquired hundreds of acres of land in southern French Settlement, the old Fulton Junction of land (sec. 40) and hundreds of acres from Bayou Manchac at the Amite River in Galvez to Hobart in Ascension Parish.  It has been stated that even the present site of Cortana Mall in Baton Rouge was once Salassi land.  Yet, John P. Salassi is reported to have died a poor man.  Many Salassi descendants still remain in French Settlement, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and other locations in Louisiana.  Some have moved to Vicksburg, Jackson and the Gulf Coast.

The Garyville Northern Railroad 1896-1937

By Bobby Hill

                                                                       1930 - 2011


There is a small town on the east bank of the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans named Garyville.  In the early nineteen-hundreds there was a logging railroad that ran north from Garyville into the cypress swamps.  It was built to haul cypress trees harvested from the swamp to the mill in Garyville.  As the trees were cut, the line was extended further northward.  By 1915, the company had reached the Amite River and the end of the cypress forest.  At that time the mill in Garyville was completely remodeled to handle pine and hardwoods, and the rail line was extended northward across the Amite by way of a swing span bridge at Whitehall.  The bridge went into operation on 09 December, 1915.

It was after this time, probably around 1920 or so, that the residents of French Settlement were using the rail line as a means of transportation to Baton Rouge or New Orleans.  They would be taken, by horse and wagon, to the town of Frost to board a flat car (containing a water tank) and ride it south to Whitehall, just across the Amite River, where they would transfer to a passenger car for the remainder of the trip to Garyville.  There they could catch a train to Baton Rouge or New Orleans on The Illinois Central line.

 
My mother, Della Brignac, told of one of her experiences during these times: She made the trip numerous times, transporting others to Frost.  On occasion, there might be two wagon loads of people.  Della would drive one wagon and her father, Henry would drive the other.  Sometimes they would be coming home after dark.  Henry would drive ahead in his wagon with Della following.  Every few minutes he would strike a match to show where he was - sometimes he was immediately ahead and some times he was several hundred yards ahead.  Della’s horse probably didn’t know the way home, so Henry would make sure they stayed together until they got closer to home, where Della’s horse would recognize the area and “head for the barn”.

It was almost an all-day trip from French Settlement to Baton Rouge by this route.  Later, in the late 1940s, before highways 16 and 42 were paved through Port Vincent to French Settlement, the trip was “only” three hours by car for the thirty-or-so mile trip from Baton Rouge.  At present, the town of Frost is little more than a cross-roads with several stores and an elementary school.  Highway 63, running north/south through Frost to Verdun, is built on the old railroad bed.  The town was once the site of a saw mill, planing mill, and dry kiln as well as a stopping place for The Garyville Northern Railroad.  The lumber in the kiln was dried with steam.  The concrete walls of the kiln are still standing today.  There was a slanted unloader for the logs.

The name for the town came from one of the owners of the Frost-Johnson Lumber Company which had large holdings of land in Livingston parish in the early 1900s.  At the height of development, Frost had two churches, two hotels, two beauty shops, two meat markets, three grocery stores, a dentist, a doctor and a large residential area.

At the northern end of the rail line was the town of Livingston.  It was important for the owners of The Garyville Northern Railroad, The Lyon Cypress Lumber Company, to have a connection to the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad (later, Baton Rouge, Hammond and Eastern Railroad and then Illinois Central Gulf) which ran from Baton Rouge eastward through Livingston to Hammond, LA.  Livingston was really brought into existence after the cypress was depleted, around 1915, and pine forests attracted the lumber companies.  Livingston is in the heart of pine country.  The railroad facilities at Livingston included a station, coal chute and repair sheds.  It is said that there was a round house and a raised, trestled engine maintenance area 30’ wide and 1/4 mile long also at Livingston.  

                   


In 1899, Mr. John Lindsey of Laurel, Mississippi patented the eight-wheeled wagon for hauling felled timber in the woods and swamps. It was used throughout extensively and his company soon became Mississippi’s largest manufacturer.