Originally a native of France, it's believed Belly arrived in Louisiana in 1774, where he received his first tract of land-for 3,756 acres in the form of a land grant from the Spanish colonial government.
Pierre had an extensive and successful military career serving as an officer with the Spanish colonial militia and participated in the Galvez expedition against the British in 1779 commanding a force of 120 men.
Pierre Belly was born 17 August 1738 at Mormon, France (now Maurenon) on his family's estate in Eyrans, a small village near Blaye, north of Bordeaux.
Pierre (aka Peter) and Pedro, received several large Spanish land grants, the first being 3,756 acres in the then Iberville District, the Baltimore Tract.
[2] When Pierre transferred property to Rose and their daughters, he signified their ties to one another, strengthened those bonds through shared ownership, and made those connections official and public before the courts.
Through property ownership and the independence it provided her, Rose (like other free black and Creole women in the region) exercised a civic personality and claimed space for herself.
Pierre and Rose also ensured that their daughters' futures were secure by making good matches for them with other free people of color (les gens de couleur libres).
The remains were later removed to a large family tomb in the St. Raphael Cemetery at Bayou Goula, Iberville Parish, Louisiana, built in 1860 by Pierre Cyprien Ricard, their grandson, and lying some miles upriver from their original home.