Sanite Dede
Sanite Dede was the first Voodoo Queen in New Orleans in which there is any evidence of. She was brought to New Orleans from Santo Damingo and was believed to have purchased her freedom through Voodoo practices. This was most likely due to money made from these secret practices. However, years later she would be seen selling sweetmeats in front of the Cabildo, indicating that she could not have been too financially comfortable if she had to resort to work such as that. She lived at the brickyard in Dumaine Street and was the first person to hold gatherings on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Her powers were believed to be at its height in the year 1825. Not much is known about the pre-Laveau Queens of Voodoo or the Voodoo practices under Sanite Dede.
(Source: Tallant, Robert. Voodoo in New Orleans. 1994)
