This Chevis,Chavis family is soooo hard to trace due to the sheer fact of having several individuals using the same names over generations. John Chavis is a popular name. It also occurs several dozen times in the Carolinas as well during the 17th and 18th centuries. All of these folks are related to each other. Its just a matter of differentiating between persons using the same name. While browsing through the Cuban Papers, I came across the 1792 Opelousas census of Free mulattoes and negroes and an entry for "John Shivers,(forget the age, but it was in french), mulatto. I've read and heard that Shivers is a variant of Chaves,Chevis,Chavis,Chavers. And I'm thinking this the first Chavis to show in Louisiana. He is probarbly the progentior of many of the Chevis family of St. Landry Parish. The guy arrived during the Spanish period. He is likely the early John Chavis mentioned in father heberts book and also likely the John Chavis that shows up in the 1810 census of the Attakapas District(St. Martin Parish). Just my two cents.