Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. II, Part 95

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors
Number of Pages: 800

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520

FRENCH DOMINATION.

.the French government made to Anthony Crozat, a rich and influential merchant of France, a grant of exclusive privileges in all the commerce of the province for a term of fifteen years, and this man became for the time being the real governor of the country, although Bienville, La Mothe de Cadillac and De l'Epinay nominally exercised the functions of that office during Crozat's su- premacy. Crozat surrendered his charter at the end of five years, and then came a gov- ernment of the province by corporation, its affairs being committed to the Western Com- pany, chartered by John Law. The Western Company, as everybody knows, was a gigan- tic and conscienceless speculative enterprise, but it brought money and colonists to Lou- isiana, and it was not without its advantages in the way of promoting progress. Bienville became Governor, and in 1718 founded New Orleans, the present metropolis of the South. The cultivation of tobacco, indigo, rice and silk was introduced, and the lead mines of Missouri were opened. Law's scheme of speculation, colonization and gov- ernment collapsed in 1732, at which time he surrendered his charter to the crown, but, while he had robbed the French people of millions of money, by sheer force of cir- cumstances he had left Louisiana in better condition than he found it. In the fertile val- leys of the Illinois and Wabash Rivers agri- culture had begun to flourish and French villages of considerable consequence had sprung up on the Mississippi, Kaskaskia and other rivers. During the existence of the Western Company, and for several years thereafter, the French colonists of Louisiana were harassed by the Indians in such a way that they extended their settlements with great difficulty, but in 1740 a peace was con- cluded with the Chickasaws, and the province entered upon an era of quiet, prosperity and advancement. Bienville, who had an event- ful career of forty years in public life in Lou- isiana, was succeeded as Governor by

Marquis de Vaudreuil, and M. de Kerlerec, who granted to Pierre Laclede Liguest the authority under which he established his trading post at St. Louis, succeeded Vat- dreuil. M. d'Abbadie, who succeeded Kerlerec under the title of Director General, was the last of the French Governors prior to the Spanish occupation of the territory.

The rival claims of England, France and

Spain to American possessions led to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, by which the conquests of these nations one from an- others were restored to the status quo. They did not, however, adjust the geographical jurisdiction of the respective powers. The seven years' European War, terminating in 1763, resulted in the Paris treaty, by which the Louisiana Territory was divided (with the Mississippi River as mainly the line) between England and Spain, France having previously ceded the whole territory to Spain. Great Britain immediately took steps to, efface all evidences of French domination east of the Mississippi, but Spain was slow to assert her authority in the upper part of Louisiana, and it was not before the beginning of 1770 (see "Spanish Domination") that it was instituted at St. Louis. French laws and customs had prevailed for six years. The cession from France to Spain dates from November 3, 1762, but it was three years and four months afterward when possession was taken at New Orleans in the name of the Spanish King, and the first official act at St. Louis of the Span- ish Lieutenant Governor, Piernas, recorded in the archives, bears date May 20, 1770. At that time St. Louis contained a population of about 500, with 100 wooden and fifteen stone houses. The story of the founding of the village is an oft-told tale, and does not require a full rehearsal here. Laclede, who selected the site, was a member of the mer- cantile firm of Maxent, Laclede & Co., New Orleans, who in 1762 were licensed by the French authorities to trade with the Indians on the upper Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers, and departed for the scene of active business August 3, 1763, his barge loaded with merchandise, stopping at Ste. Gene- vieve and proceeding to Fort Chartres, which he reached November 3d. Taking with him a few persons from the fort, he proceeded up the east side of the river to Cahokia, crossed over, and, after noting the

country between that point and the

Missouri, chose the ground for his future trading post and returned to Fort Chartres for the winter. Among Laclede's companions on the trip to the Missouri was a boy of thirteen, with whose name the history of St. Louis and the West is indissolubly as- sociated. It was Auguste Chouteau. It was he, young as he was, whom Laclede trusted to take charge of twenty men to fell the trees

521

FRENCH DOMINATION.

and lay out the ground for the new colony. The party reached the selected spot Febru- ary 14, 1764. The first house built was for Laclede, who took possession in September. During that autumn eight more colonists ar- rived from Fort Chartres and Cahokia, mak- ing the total at the close of 1764 exactly thirty-nine souls. The place was named St. Louis in honor of the patron saint of King Louis, in ignorance of the fact that France had then ceded the territory to Spain, though this was done a year before. Rumors there were of the treaty of peace that closed the seven years' war in Europe, and that by its terms Great Britain was to divide with Spain the possession of Louisiana. But Spain had done nothing yet to assert her authority, and it was the common understanding that the secret treaty of November, 1762, was a mere temporary expedient on the part of France, and that the latter would regain possession when peace was declared. Great Britain was cordially hated by the inhabitants on both sides of the Mississippi, and it was no wonder that Laclede's little colony began to grow. St: Phillipe, four miles north of Fort Char- tres, with its ten or a dozen families, was entirely depopulated. Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher, Cahokia and even Ste. Genevieve poured living contributions into the new vil- lage. Laclede's only title of authority was the assumed privilege granted in the license of his firm by the French Governor to locate at will his trading post, and this was not altogether a solid legal document if the new domination chose to question it. But Laclede was universally regarded as the ruling spirit of the place, whose right there was none to dispute ; as much so, with several scores of people around him, as was Robinson Crusoe alone with his man on an island. There was probably little uniformity in Laclede's system of homestead law. It may be looked upon as an original application of the doctrine of squatter sovereignty. It differed, however, from Douglas' idea of the right of the peo- ple to form and regulate their own domestic institutions in that it was not subject to any written constitution. Laclede assigned to the colonists such locations as they chose, or as he in consultation chose for them, but doubt- less with the stipulation that proprietorial rights were subject to confirmation by the government. Young Chouteau, who was handy with the pen and possessed of latent

engineering talent, was employed to lay out the town in lots, of which, in 1765, there were eighty-two, ranging in size from one-sixth to one-half a block each, situated for the most part along the river front. As the site was heavily timbered, the ground had to be cleared. The houses were mostly of posts, one story in height, with a loft and a steep roof, covered with clapboards. A few were of hewn posts on a stone foundation. Some of the larger houses built in this way had three rooms each, with stone chimneys and fireplaces ; smaller ones had but one room, with a shed for kitchen purposes. There were some stone houses with five rooms, having one or two windows in each room glazed with 8x10 panes. A large tract of land extending from Market to Brooklyn Street and from Broadway to Jefferson Avenue, as those localities are known now, was inclosed and set apart for agriculture, and conceded to the inhabitants in strips of one arpent front by forty deep, and allotted according to the ability of the applicant to cultivate it. Another tract, well timbered and watered by springs, situated on the southwest, was fenced in for pasturage.

There is a want of reliable data in regard to the exact character and form of govern- ment from the settlement of St. Louis by Laclede down to May, 1770, when possession was delivered to the Spanish Lieutenant Gov- ernor, Piernas. When Captain St. Ange le Bellerive, in the name of the King of France, formally transferred Fort Chartres to the British commissioner, he came to St. Louis with his garrison, numbering about forty sol- diers, October, 1765, but it was at that time well known that the country west of the Mis- sissippi had been ceded to Spain, so he had no official authority. Nevertheless, such was his high character that the administration of affairs was, with general consent, given into his hands, in conjunction with Joseph Le- febvre, who had been a judge at Fort Char- tres with Joseph Labusciere, a lawyer and notary, late of the same place, and this pro- visional government went into operation in January, 1766, in August of which year Le- febvre died. When the Spanish took pos- session there were delivered to the new Gov- ernor 194 documents, consisting of deeds, bonds, contracts, wills, leases, etc. Among them were two deeds of emancipation.

October 1, 1800, under the treaty of Ilde-

522

FRENCH INTRIGUES IN THE WEST.

fonso, Spain, with certain conditions, retro- ceded the territory of Louisiana to France, possession, however, not being delivered to the latter's commissioners until December, 1803. Great Britain had maintained her mastery over the high seas, and France had been prevented from occupancy, although the Spanish authorities issued directions for the transfer July, 1802. The purchase of Louis- iana by the United States was formally con- cluded April 30, 1803. (See "Louisiana Purchase.")

Spain's retrocession to France, as a pre- lude to the latter's transfer of the province to the United States, was made by treaty dated October 1, 1800, ratified in July, 1803, but it was not until December 30th of the latter year that the actual transfer was made. In the interim negotiations were in progress for the purchase, which were concluded by treaty at Paris, April 30, 1803. In Decem- ber following M. Pedro Clement Laussat, colonial prefect and commissioner of France, who had been appointed by the first consul, was placed in control at New Orleans. He immediately set about the work of taking possession of and closing up the Spanish do- minion, preliminary to the transfer to the United States. March 9, 1804, was the date when, at St. Louis, Delassus performed his last official act as the representative of Spain, turning over his authority to Captain Stod- dard, acting in the capacity of commissioner of the French Republic, with the ceremonials suitable to the occasion. The American sol- diers from Kaskaskia, commanded by Lieu- tenant Worral and accompanied by Captain Meriwether Lewis, then en route on his west- ern expedition, crossed the river in boats from Cahokia and proceeded to the govern- ment house (southeast corner Walnut and Main Streets), where Governor Delassus re- ceived him cordially, surrounded by his sub- ordinates and several prominent inhabitants. Nearly the whole town had turned out and assembled around headquarters, towhom De- lassus read a short proclamation releasing the people from their fealty to the Spanish throne and commending their loyal behavior. After brief addresses of presentation and re- ception by Delassus and Captain Stoddard, the record of transfer was executed, and the American troops marched to the fort and exchanged salutes with the Spanish garrison. The Spanish colors were lowered, and in its

place the French flag was unfurled to the breeze. The latter incident created the in- tensest enthusiasm. Captain Stoddard, be- sides being the official detailed by the United States to take possession, was also the ac- credited commissioner of the French Repub- lic. This was not merely for the ceremonial purpose involved, but in order that the trans- fer in its various details should be unques- tioned by the purchasing party. There was propriety as well as sentiment in displaying a token of intervening authority between the Spanish and the American colors. In no other way than symbolic had the Spanish au- thority been exercised or seen here. The hand was the hand of Spain, but the voice was the voice of France. Captain Stoddard, not less from the impulse of his own feelings than by his instructions from the Jefferson administration, desired to ingratiate the hearts of the inhabitants toward the newv regime. The French flag, with cordial as- sent, floated for twenty-four hours before it was taken down to give place to the stars and stripes. St. Louis was at this time thirty- nine years old. The number of its inhabi- tants was about 1,000, and the grand total of houses, wood and stone, dwellings, stores and offices, was 180. The record of the ad- ministration of Captain Stoddard and of suc- ceeding administrations down to the admis- sion of Missouri as a State will be given un- der the head of "Territorial Government."

WILLIAM HYDE.

French Intrigues in the West .- In 1793 France had become a republic, and the revolutionists affected a simplicity of manner in all things, consistent with their battle-cry in the forum and the field, "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity." Their highest officials were addressed as "citizens," and Edmund Charles Genet, who came to the United States as the representative of the French republic, was designated as "Citizen Genet." As a monarchy, France had en- deared itself to the colonists by helping them to throw off the yoke of British domination and establish an independent government, and as a republic she was enabled to strengthen and intensify this feeling. Pre- suming upon the amity which existed between the two countries, Citizen Genet sought to embroil the United States in French quarrels, operating not only through

523

FRENCH MUTUAL AID SOCIETY-FRENCH NEWSPAPERS.

his diplomatic relations, but by direct appeal to the people. The government of the United States had announced that it would observe a policy of strict neutrality relative to Euro- pean affairs, but when Genet landed at Phila- delphia-then the capital-April 9, 1793, he was received with a popular demonstration which convinced him that the people would not sustain the government in its coldness to- ward the French revolutionists. "He came with blank commissions for military and naval service, and before he reached the seat of government to present his credentials he had fitted out two privateers at Charleston to prey on British commerce, and given author- ity to every French consul in America to constitute himself a court of admiralty to dispose of prizes brought into American ports by French cruisers. One of these cruisers captured a British merchantman within the capes of Delaware and proceeded with it to Philadelphia, where she was re- ceived with acclamations of joy by the ex- cited people." The government was not, however, to be swerved from its purpose to keep clear of European complications by the temporary ebullitions of misguided enthu- siasts, and President Washington and his cabinet ministers took dignified action. The captured British merchantman was restored to its owners, the privateers were ordered out of American waters, and orders were issued to the collectors at all American ports to seize all vessels fitted out as privateers, and to prevent the sale of any prize captured by such vessels. Genet refused to heed this admonition and persisted in his course, with the result that the United States government demanded his recall, to which the French government reluctantly consented. Removed from the ministry, he did not, however, leave the country, but remained here to foment dis- sensions, shifting the scene of his action from · the East to the West. He projected an in- vasion of Florida, the expedition for which was to be organized in South Carolina and rendezvous in Georgia. Seconded by agents sent direct from France to Kentucky, he set on foot also the enlistment of troops for the purpose of wresting Louisiana from Spain. There was strong sympathy with the project to aid the French in taking possession of Louisiana, in Kentucky, and men like Gen- eral George Rogers Clark accepted commis- sions in the French Army. Washington had

already issued a general proclamation enjoin- ing neutrality and warning against the enlist- ment of troops for the purpose of making war upon any government with which the United States was at peace, and this had the effect of paralyzing Genet's schemes in the East. But in Kentucky the feeling against Spain's assertion of exclusive control over the navigation of the Mississippi was in- tense, and the prominence and influence of the local leaders, who had, in a measure, committed themselves to the French scheme of conquest and occupation of the Southwest, gave the movement a serious aspect. In anticipation of an expedition down the Ohio, a Federal force was sent to Fort Massac, sixteen miles below Paducah, on the Illinois side, and every preparation was made for enforcement of the neutrality laws. Wash- ington re-enforced his general proclamation by a proclamation addressed specifically to the Kentuckians who were co-operating with French emissaries in planning the expedition against Louisiana, and about the same time they were made acquainted with the fact that a pending treaty with Spain would open the Mississippi to navigation. The proclamation and prospective treaty put a stop to the military demonstration, and a French in- trigue, which at one time threatened to in- volve the United States in a war with Spain, failed of its purpose. Genet later became a citizen of the United States, married a daughter of Governor George Clinton, of New York, and died near Albany in 1834.

French Mutual Aid Society .- A society organized in St. Louis, November 28, 1859, incorporated January 30, 1861, and re- incorporated January 8, 1886, which has for its object the promotion of fraternal relations and the payment of sick and death benefits to its members and beneficiaries, all of whom are persons speaking the French language.

French Newspapers in St. Louis .- Considering that St. Louis was founded by French colonists; that French was almost exclusively the language used during the first half century of the city's existence, and that since that time the French, Franco-American, Swiss, Belgian and others of her inhabitants who read and speak French have always been numbered in the tens of thousands, it is rather strange and unaccountable that no French

524

FRENCH NEWSPAPERS IN ST. LOUIS.

newspaper has ever been able to succeed in St. Louis. Even at the present time (1899) it is estimated that there are some ten thou- sand people in the city who read French, and fully ten thousand additional within a radius of less than three hundred miles. Possibly the only solution of the problem lies in the statement of Francis Parkman, the historian, that the French emigrant readily becomes Americanized, and, we may add, reads the American newspaper.

"Le Courier de Saint Louis" was the first French newspaper published in St. Louis of which we can find any positive record. That it was issued semi-weekly, was begun in June, 1850, and lived a short life, and that E. Fer- rence was its editor, and Charles Fr. Blattan its printer, is the full extent of our informa- tion. That other papers antedated it, very old settlers assert, but even the names of these sheets they can not remember. Dil- igent research has failed to establish any thing definite beyond the fact that at some time early in the forties-probably in 1844 ---- a small-sized weekly paper, printed in French, was issued somewhat irregularly during a few months.

"La Revue de l'Ouest" was, as its pros- pectus informs us, "founded by the French Literary Society of St. Louis-Louis R. Cor- tambert, president; Th. Gantier, vice presi- dent; Edward Haren, secretary; Nicolas N. De Menil, treasurer; Dominique Stock." The first number bore date of January 7, 1854, and consisted of eight pages of three wide columns each. Its form was afterward changed to four pages of six columns each. The general contents of the weekly "Revue" consisted of the latest news in brief, corre- spondence from Paris and New York, local items, short editorials on questions of the day in France and the United States, and a continued story selected from the Paris papers or magazines. In tone it was con- servative ; politically it was independent; in religion it was broadly Christian.

Dr. Nicolas N. De Menil (see "De Menil, Nicolas N.") was the managing editor of the "Revue" during the first year of its existence, and Louis R. Cortambert (see "Cortambert, Louis Richard") its editor. A diversity of opinion on religious and political questions leading to acrimonious debates among the stockholders. the paper was sold to G. Mor- hard and J. Wolff in December, 1854, L. R.

Cortambert remaining as editor. In accor- dance with the views of its new proprietors, the "Revue" at once became red-Republican and anti-Catholic ; it proclaimed the doctrines of the Abolition party, and took up the cudgel in defense of spiritualism and social- ism. As the masses of the French and Franco-American people of the Mississippi Valley were Democrats and Catholics, and resided in slave States, the "Revue" declined rapidly in circulation and advertising patron- age during the second year of its publication. Nevertheless, it continued being printed until 1864. The later years of its existence were dragged through with selections, Cortam- bert having gone to New York to edit (in conjunction with F. de Franaltos) the daily New York "Messager Franco- Americain."

"Le Moniteur de l'Ouest" was begun some time in April, 1856, by E. Delane Maryat, who came to St. Louis shortly before starting the paper. He was connected with the French press of New Orleans in the early fifties. The "Moniteur" was a weekly and had a brief career.

"Le Courrier de St. Louis," L. Philipon, publisher, lived through a few months in 1866. It was a weekly.

"La Tribune Francaise" made its bow Oc- tober 22, 1866. It was published by a society, of which G. Morhard seems to have been the head. This society, in its fierce democracy, had no president, secretary or other officers, as implied authority was aristocratic. The "Tribune" paid more attention than any of its predecessors to local and American politics. It sought to be a recognized power in the local Republican party, but beyond obtaining a small share of the "political printing" of the day for itself, it accomplished nothing in the interests of the French colony (so-called) of St. Louis. It really spoke only for the social- istic and red-Republican element, and its cir- culation was very limited. It suspended early in the seventies.

On September 9, 1876, H. Beaugrand is- sued the first number of "La Republique," a weekly paper, in no way varying from the established formula for concocting a French newspaper in St. Louis Its last number was issued January 6, 1877. Beaugrand emi- grated to Canada in the latter part of the seventies, and a few years ago served a term as mayor of Montreal. He is at present on

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FRENCH VILLAGE-FREUND.

the editorial staff of a daily French news- paper published in Montreal.

The first number of "Le Patriote" was is- sned in October, 1878, by Louis C. Lavat, a printer. Ireneus D. Foulon, A. M., LL. B., was its first editor. It was published weekly, and was devoted to local and general news, commercial and political matters, and litera- ture. In the winter of 1879, Dr. Chartier ("Karl Melite") became its editor, and the paper at once grew radical in its opinions. In the spring of 1880 it passed into the hands of L. Seguenot and L. Boudinet, the former becoming its editor. It was soon known as a conservative, moderate journal that appealed to the educated and the thoughtful classes of French readers. In June, 1881, in conse- quence of the burning of Lavat's printing es- tablishment, the "Patriote" suspended, there being no other French printing house in St. Louis at that time. The list of the "Patriote" was sold to a New Orleans paper and filled out.

M. Louis Seguenot was born in Bour- gogne, France in 1833, and studied law in Paris, where he was admitted to practice early in the sixties. In 1865 he emigrated to the United States, taking up his residence in St. Louis, where he taught French until his appointment as consular agent of France in St. Louis, in 1888, which office he still holds (1899).

"Le Journal Francais de St. Louis" was the latest attempt at French journalism in St. Louis. A. de Vervins was its editor and pro- prietor. Seven weekly numbers only were is- sued, the first of which bore date of March 22, 1893. It was independent politically, ad- vocated religious freedom, and was more French than American in its sympathies. The editor. who is the author of a novel, "Le Charlatan," possesses literary ability of no mean order.

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Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. II, Part 95

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n Publication date: 1901 Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors Number of Pages: 800

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors
Number of Pages: 800