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Illinois History and
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HISTORICAL
KASKASKIA
Rev. August Reyling, O.F.M.
The Author
314-0 Meramec Street
St. Louis, Missouri
6 3 118
Imprimi potest
Dominic Limacher, O.F.N,
Minister Provincial
November 23, 1963-
Imprimatur
Joseph Cardinal Hitter
Archbishop of St. Louis
December 12, 1963-
JT I lino'* Hidotb 0.U
< Q3*> I
HISTORICAL KASKASKIA
Kaskaskia has been the scene of interesting
historical events. It has also been the occasion
of much confusion and misunderstanding. In speak-
ing of Kaskaskia, one must bear in mind that there
were six distinct Kaskaskias; or, perhaps more ac-
curately, the same "Kaskaskia" was to be found, at
six different points of time, in six different lo-
cations.
The first Kaskaskia was situated on the up-
per Illinois River, near the spot where the town
of Utica, Illinois, now stands (across the Illi-
nois River from "Starved Rock").
The second Kaskaskia (formed by a change of
location of the first Kaskaskia) stood some fifty
miles farther down the Illinois River, at the
southern end of "Lake Peoria", near the present
site of Peoria, Illinois.
The third Kaskaskia (which was the second
Kaskaskia — or at least the greater part of it —
moved to a different location) stood at the con-
fluence of the Des Peres River with the Missis-
sippi, at a site which is now on the southern city
limits of St. Louis, Missouri.
The fourth Kaskaskia (representing again a
transmigration from the third Kaskaskia) was lo-
cated on the western bank of the Kaskaskia River
about four miles above (north of) its confluence
with the Mississippi River, some five or six miles
north of the present city of Chester, Illinois.
The fifth Kaskaskia was formed when the Kas-
kaskia Indians left the fourth Kaskaskia (which,
in their opinion, was becoming over-crowded with
Frenchmen) and established their village several
miles farther up the Kaskaskia River (north of the
fourth Kaskaskia). This fifth Kaskaskia was often
referred to as Indian Kaskaskia, while the fourth
Kaskaskia — after the departure of the Indians —
became known as French Kaskaskia.
The sixth Kaskaskia was formed when flood-
waters (as early as 1835 and 1844, but especially
since the great flood of 1881) began to wash away
French Kaskaskia. Some of the inhabitants of
French Kaskaskia, when driven out by the flood-
waters, established themselves several miles to
the south; and thus arose the present town of Kas-
kaskia, which is the sixth Kaskaskia.
The First Kaskaskia, 1673-1691
About the end of May or the beginning of
June, 1673, Father Claude Allouez, S.J., left his
headquarters at St. Francis Xavier Mission near
Green Bay and made the "six days' journey" to Kas-
kaskia, where a numerous group of Illinois Indians
(mostly Kaskaskia Indians, but also some Peoria
Indians and Miamis) had a village on the Illinois
River directly across from "Starved Rock". While
he was there, a band of Peoria Indians, who had
been encamped on the west bank of the Mississippi
River (in present Iowa) and there were visited by
the Jolliet exploring expedition in the latter
part of June, 1673 » returned to their former habi-
tat on the Illinois River and there informed Fa-
ther Allouez that the Jolliet exploring party
planned to return to Green Bay by way of the Illi-
nois River.
Father Allouez was not at all interested in
the Jolliet expedition, which was a purely civil
enterprise, and had managed to avoid meeting the
explorers when they passed through the Green Bay
area in the latter part of May. He was equally
solicitous to avoid meeting them at Kaskaskia, and
so he determined to return to his headquarters,
St. Francis Xavier Mission near Green Bay, before
the Jolliet exploring party would reach Kaskaskia.
The length of Father Allouez' s stay and activity
at Kaskaskia was some eight or ten weeks, from the
early part of June to the middle of August, 1673.
For his two months of missionary activity at
Kaskaskia, Father Allouez could report worth-while
achievements. At the very beginning of his next
annual report (covering the period from June, 1673
to June, 1674), Father Allouez testifies: "I have
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P. CLAUDE ALLOUEZ, S.J,
founder of the
KASKASKIA MISSION
June, 1673
already visited the Caskakias [Kaskaskia Indians]]
and have baptized many of their children; I have
borne the first words of the Faith to the Peoua-
leas ^Peoria Indians] who dwell among the Miamis,
and they have listened to me with much docility."
The old claim that Jacques Marquette, S.J,,
founded the Kaskaskia Mission and was the first to
say Holy Mass there in April, 1675 , is completely
at variance with the above-quoted testimony of Fa-
ther Allouez. It was Father Claude Allouez, S.J.,
who first visited Kaskaskia in June, 1673; and
inasmuch as he remained there for about two months
— long enough to "baptize many of their children"
and to win the confidence and good will of the
Peoria Indians to such an extent that "they have
listened to me with much docility" — it can be
safely assumed that he also said the first Holy
Mass at Kaskaskia some time in June, 1673.
Shortly after Father Allouez 's departure,
the Jolliet exploring expedition reached Kaskaskia
in late August or early September and they tarried
there for three days.
In 1677, Father Allouez was officially put
in charge of the Kaskaskia Mission, and he re-
mained active in this general area (Kaskaskias,
Peorias, Miamis) for the next twelve years until
his death among the Miamis in 1689. It was during
Father Allouez 's administration of the Kaskaskia
8
Mission that La Salle and Tonti erected (1682-83)
Fort St. Louis atop Starved Hock. Father Allouez
was succeeded in 1689 "by an equally zealous and
energetic missionary, Father Jacques Gravier, S.J.
The Second Kaskaskia, 1691-1700
After La Salle's death, Henri de Tonti was
placed in charge of Fort St. Louis. Since the
Illinois Indians had previously manifested a de-
sire to abandon their village near Starved Rock
"because the fire-wood was remote and because it
was so difficult to get water upon the Rock if
they were attacked", Tonti inquired whether they
still had plans to move the village and where they
intended to establish themselves. The Indians
chose to move some fifty miles down the Illinois
River, to Lake Pimitoui, later also known as Lake
Peoria. This area had already for many years been
their winter hunting grounds.
Tonti promptly cooperated with this plan.
He arrived at Lake Pimitoui in the winter of 1691
and at once began building a fort to which the
Indians might repair for protection in case of a
hostile invasion. The fort, sometimes called Fort
St. Louis but more frequently named Fort Pimitoui,
was completed in 1692, and it was garrisoned by a
large number of French soldiers. Around the fort
a French settlement soon sprang up. The popula-
STARVED ROCK
overlooking
the site of the
FIRST KASKASKIA
10
tion of the Indian village appears to have been
about four or five thousand.
Father Pierre Francois Charlevoix, S.J., has
left us a vivid description of this location. He
writes as follows:
"The third of October about noon we found our-
selves at the entrance of the Lake Pimitoui; it
is the river which grows wider here, and which
for three leagues is one league in breadth. At
the end of these three leagues, we find on the
right a second village of the Illinois, distant
about fifteen leagues from that of the Rock.
Nothing can be more pleasant than its situa-
tion; it has over against it, as in perspec-
tive, a very fine forest, which was then of all
colors, and behind it a plain of immense ex-
tent, bordered with woods. The lake and the
river swarm with fish, and their sides with
wild-fowl . "
When Father Charlevoix visited this village
in 1721, the "Illinois" dwelling there were the
Peoria Indians; for the Kaskaskia Indians had left
this area about twenty-one years before. Father
Charlevoix's description tallies with Father Mer-
met's reference to the Peoria Indians as "Ilinois
de Detroit" ("Illinois of the Narrows"), because
their village was located near the place where the
Illinois River, after having for a distance of
11
about eight miles expanded to a width of over two
miles to form Lake Peoria, again "narrowed" down
to its normal width.
Father Gravier employs the same designation
repeatedly in his letter of February 16, 1701:
"I arrived too late among the Illinois of the
Narrows , of whom Father Marest has charge, to
prevent the migration of the Village of the
Kaskaskia. ... I do not think that the Kas-
kaskia would have separated from the Peoria and
from the other Illinois of the Narrows , if I
could have arrived sooner. . . . May God grant
that the road from Ghikagoua to the Narrows be
not closed, and that the entire Illinois Mis-
sion may not suffer greatly thereby."
The Sieur de Liettes, who lived at Fort Pi-
mitoui for seven years, describes the daily rou-
tine of the missionaries:
"Every day, as soon as the sun rises, they go
about among the cabins to find out if anyone is
sick; they give them medicines, and if neces-
sary bleed them, and sometimes even they make
broth for them. After which they have it cried
through the village that they are about to say
Mass. Then they teach the catechism or they
preach sermons. In the afternoon, after having
applied themselves to the language, they return
to the village to teach the catechism, which
12
always takes two hours. The pieces of wood,
husks of Indian corn, and even stones which are
thrown at them do not dismay them; they con-
tinue their cries, contenting themselves with
saying that it is the Master of life who orders
them to do what they are doing, and that those
who wish to listen to His word may follow while
those who do not wish to hear it may stay away.
In the evening they come again to call to pra-
yer, which is followed by a prayer- service for
the French. No weather prevents them from go-
ing through with the same exercises. Sometimes
they are sent for at night to come to the edge
of the village, which is more than an eighth of
a league long, to assist the dying."
The missionaries active at the Peoria vil-
lage during this period (1691-1700) were the Je-
suit Fathers Jacques Gravier, Sebastien Rasle, Ju-
lien Bineteau, and Gabriel Marest. Father Gravier
was in charge of the Peoria, or "second Kaskaskia"
mission from 1691 till 1696. For about a year
(1692-1693) be was assisted by Father Rasle. When
Father Gravier was named Superior of all the Otta-
wa missions in 1696, Father Bineteau took charge
of the Peoria mission. He was joined, two years
later, in 1698, by Father Marest. When his three-
year (1696-1699) term as Superior of all the Otta-
wa missions had expired, Father Gravier returned
13
to the teoria mission, arriving there when the
Kaskaskia Indians were already on the point of
setting out for Louisiana.
The Third Kaskaskia, 1700-1703
In the spring of 1699, Le Moyne d' Iberville,
commanding two hundred soldiers and colonists, oc-
cupied the southernmost reaches of the Mississippi
River and laid the foundation of what became known
as Louisiana. About the same time, on the Illi-
nois River, it was rumored that the Kaskaskia In-
dians were planning to abandon their village at
Lake Peoria and to join the Iberville forces in
Louisiana. In Illinois the Indians were fearing
an invasion by the warlike Fox Indians, while from
the East the Iroquois were a constant threat.
In September, 1700, the Kaskaskia Indians,
numbering about twelve hundred souls, followed
their Chief, Rouensa by name and an exemplary
Christian, ostensibly for Louisiana. The migrat-
ing tribe was accompanied by Father Gravier and
Father Marest. When they reached Tamaroa, on the
eastern bank of the Mississippi River, directly
across from the site of the present city of St.
Louis, Missouri, the influence of Father Gravier
produced a halt in the southward migration of the
Kaskaskia Indians.
14
On reaching Tamaroa, Father Marest fell ill.
Father Jean Bergier, a priest of the Quebec Semi-
nary of Foreign Missions who was then in charge of
the Tamaroa Mission, cordially invited Father Mar-
est to remain at the Mission until he recovered
sufficiently to proceed on his journey to the
South. So Father Marest remained at Tamaroa and
enjoyed the hospitality of Father Bergier, while
Father Gravier left for Louisiana to meet and con-
sult with d' Iberville.
When the Kaskaskia Indians reached Tamaroa,
they found assembled there, in addition to a group
of French settlers and traders, three different
tribes of the Illinois confederacy — all told,
perhaps some two thousand souls. The three tribes
were the Tamaroas, the Cahokias, and the Metchi-
gamias, the village of the last-named tribe being
located about fifty miles farther south on the
Metchigamia (eventually to be known as the Kas-
kaskia) River,
It may have been the large assembly of In-
dians at Tamaroa that prompted Rouensa, the Chief
of the Kaskaskia Indians, to have the twelve hun-
dred Indians comprising his tribe cross the Mis-
sissippi River and establish themselves, about
five miles farther south, on the north bank of the
Des Peres River, near where it empties into the
Mississippi River. The site they occupied is to-
15
day at the southern city limits of St. Louis,
Missouri.
Chief Rouensa moved his Indians to the west
bank of the Mississippi River undoubtedly with the
knowledge and approval of Father Gravier who, as
is evident from what eventually ensued, had no in-
tention of settling the Kaskaskia Indians, jointly
with d' Iberville's plan, at the mouth of the Mis-
sissippi River. Attracted and invited by Rouensa,
the majority of the Tamaroa Indians soon joined
the Kaskaskias on the Des Peres River. Thus, af-
ter the Metchigamias returned to their village
fifty miles to the south, Father Bergier was left
alone with the Cahokia Indians at Tamaroa. It was
probably due to this circumstance that the area on
the east side of the Mississippi River opposite
the present city of St. Louis, which had hitherto
been known as Tamaroa, was subsequently called
Cahokia.
The Kaskaskia Indians remained at the Des
Peres River about two and a half years. During
this time three Jesuit missionaries labored there.
They were Fathers Gabriel Marest, Jean Baurie, and
Francois Pinet . Twice during this time the Je-
suits at the Des Peres River contemplated pene-
trating into the interior, notably the Sioux coun-
try, by way of the Missouri River However, both
attempts came to naught.
16
nis souri River
SIX LOCATIONS
OF KASKASKIA
17
It was apparently at the close of the year
1701 that Father Baurie set out on a missionary
expedition to the habitat of the Sioux Indians.
He had proceeded fifty miles up the Missouri River
when for some reason the expedition was wrecked
and Father Baurie was compelled to return to the
Des Peres River. In 1702, Father Baurie returned
to France.
On July 5, 1702, Father Pinet, who had been
working with Father Bergier at Tamaroa, left Tama-
roa and crossed the Mississippi River in order to
take charge of the Kaskaskia and Tamaroa Indians
at the Des Peres River and thus release Father
Marest, who was planning to make a missionary trip
to the Sioux country. But sudden death on Au-
gust 1, 1702, took away Father Pinet and left Fa-
ther Marest in sole charge of the Mission at the
Des Peres River.
The Fourth Kaskaskia, 1703-1719
In the spring of 1703, Chief Rouensa with
his Kaskaskia Indians and the Tamaroa Indians who
had ooin ed them, left their habitat at the mouth
of the Des Peres River and migrated about sixty
miles south, where they established their village
on the west bank of the Metchigamia (now Kaskas-
kia) River, about four miles above its confluence
with the Mississippi, — at a point where the
18
Metchigamia River at that time approached to with-
in about two miles of the Mississippi River. This
event is duly recorded in the Baptismal Register
of the Kaskaskia Mission. Immediately following
the baptismal entry for April 13, 1703, there is
inscribed this statement: "On April 25, 1703, we
arrived on the bank of the river called Metchi-
gamia" ("Ad ripam Metchigamia dictam venimus").
The reason for this migration is not ex-
pressly indicated, but it can easily be inferred.
Father Bergier, tastor of Cahokia, in a letter
dated July 3, 1703, wrote: "All the French who
were here, afraid of being killed or plundered £by
the Sioux Indians] i are abandoning the village
tCahokiaJ and going some to Pere Maretz's Rar-
est' s*J mission twenty-five leagues lower down the
River of the Metchigamias, others to the Ouabache
£0hid] with a view to safety." Father Bergier' s
mention of the Ouabache or Ohio River has refer-
ence to the French settlement established in 1702
by Charles Juchereau on the Ohio River about five
miles above its mouth. Two years later, in 1704,
an epidemic ravaged the settlement and carried off
many of the settlers, including Charles Juchereau
himself. Thereupon the settlement was abandoned,
most of the survivors going to Mobile. Father
Jean Mermet, S.J., who had been the Chaplain of
Juchereau' s settlement on the Ohio River, returned
19
to Kaskaskia.
If the French settlers at Cahokia migrated
towards the south for fear of "being killed or
plundered" by the Sioux Indians, it appears rea-
sonable to assume that the Kaskaskia Indians mi-
grated out of the same motive. The Kaskaskia In-
dians were a peace-loving tribe who were ever rea-
dy to forsake their habitat and seek a place of
security elsewhere, whenever any hostile tribe
threatened to attack them. It had been the threat
of a hostile invasion by the Fox Indians that in-
duced the Kaskaskias to abandon their village at
Lake Peoria in 1700; it was very likely the danger
of attack by the Sioux Indians that impelled them
in 1703 to abandon their village on the Des Peres
River.
It should also be noted that Father Marest
and the Kaskaskia Indians met some of the Metchi-
gamia Indians at Tamaroa-Gahokia in 1700. Perhaps
already at that time the Metchigamia Indians ex-
tended to them an invitation to come and settle
near their village on the Metchigamia River.
The sixteen-year period from 1703 to 1719
marked the golden age of the Kaskaskia Mission.
The missionaries active at Kaskaskia during this
period were:
1) Father Gabriel Marest, S.J., who came with
the Kaskaskia Indians when they migrated from the
20
Des Peres River to the Kaskaskia River. He re-
mained at Kaskaskia till his death in 1714- .
2) Father Jean Mermet, S.J., who accompanied
the Charles Juchereau expedition to the Ohio River
in 1702 and remained there till the abandonment of
that post in 1704. Thereupon he came to Kaskaskia
and remained there till his death in 1716.
3) Father Jean Marie de Ville, S.J., who was
assigned to the Illinois Mission in 1707 hut found
his passage blocked at the time and did not reach
his destination until about 1711. Shortly after
reaching Kaskaskia he was sent to the Feoria mis-
sion for two years, 1712-1714. He returned to
Kaskaskia in 1714 and remained there till 1719,
when he Journeyed to Mobile to consult with Gover-
nor Bienville. He never returned to Kaskaskia,
but died the following year, June 15, 1720, at
Natchez.
Christianity was in a flourishing condition
at Kaskaskia. Father Gravier, in a letter dated
March 6, 1707, testified that of the total popula-
tion of 2200, only forty or fifty were not Chris-
tians. Many of the Frenchmen (some of them from
Cahokia) who settled at Kaskaskia married Indian
women, as is evident from the entries in the Bap-
tismal Register of that time. For of the infants
that were baptized between the years 1701 and
1713, eighty per cent are recorded as having a
21
French father and an Indian mother.
There was a large church in the village,
where most of the Indians gathered three times
every day: in the morning for Holy Mass, in the
afternoon for Catechism instruction, in the even-
ing for prayers and hymns. In between these
church services, the missionaries would make their
daily rounds of the village, visiting the sick and
consoling the sorrowing. On Sundays there was
High Mass in the morning, and in the afternoon
Vespers, at which the French chanted in Latin and
the Indians responded in Illinois.
But even during this golden age, Kaskaskia
was not free of all troubles. While the resident
French lived in peace and harmony with the Indi-
ans, freely intermarrying with them, the French
traders from Canada were a frequent source of dis-
turbance. By their life of debauchery they were a
grave scandal to the Christians, and they caused
frequent disorders by inciting the Indian tribes
to war upon each other in order thus to secure
slaves to sell to the English. Several times (in
1708, 1711, 1719) the missionary had to appeal to
Governor Bienville for military intervention to
quell the irregularities of these French-Canadian
traders.
The most tragic period was the summer of
1714-, when a very ravaging epidemic carried away
22
several hundred persons, among them the missionary
in charge, Father Gabriel Marest, S.J., who died
on September 15, 1714- • Father Mermet then took
charge of the Kaskaskia mission for the next two
years, but he also died, on September 15, 1716.
Thereupon Father Ville was in charge till 1719.
The Fifth Kaskaskia, 1719-1795
In 1718 the energetic Pierre Boisbriant be-
came the Commandant of the Illinois country. In
December, 1718, he arrived at Kaskaskia (from New
Orleans) with a flotilla of ten canoes carrying
army officers, government officials, working-men,
and a hundred soldiers.
To protect the country against attacks by
hostile Indians or by the Spaniards, he resolved
to erect a fort on the east bank of the Missis-
sippi River some sixteen miles north of Kaskaskia.
About two years (1719-1721) were required to com-
plete this fort, which was then named Fort Char-
tres. While the fort was under construction, the
army officers and soldiers were lodged in the town
of Kaskaskia.
Partly on account of this crowded condition
and partly due to Boisbriant' s plan to separate
the Indians from the French, the Kaskaskia Indians
withdrew from the town, migrated some five miles
towards the north and there established themselves
23
on the west "bank of the Kaskaskia River. This In-
dian settlement became the fifth Kaskaskia, and it
is often referred to as Indian Kaskaskia to dis-
tinguish it from French Kaskaskia, as the fourth
Kaskaskia was called after the departure of the
Indians.
Although there is no direct testimony to
this effect, the Jesuits must have erected — at
their own expense — a church in this Indian Kas-
kaskia; for in 1726 they asked the Commandant to
reimburse them for the expenses they had incurred
in building this church. For over forty years
this Indian settlement flourished under the care
of the Jesuit missionaries. When in 1763 the Je-
suits were expelled from the country, Father Se-
bastien Meurin, S.J., who for the past twenty
years had ministered to these Indians, was also
forced to leave.
But before he sailed from New Orleans, the
urgent appeal of the Indians prevailed upon the
civil authorities to permit Father Meurin to re-
turn to the Illinois country; — a permission
which the civil authorities conceded only with the
provision that henceforth he would function as a
diocesan priest, and not as a Jesuit. And so Fa-
ther Meurin returned to the Illinois country for
the remaining thirteen years of his life. He was
stationed successively at Ste. Genevieve (1764—
24-
1767), Cahokia (1767-1768), and Prairie du Rocher
(1768-1777). While at the last-named place, Fa-
ther Meurin was only a short distance from his be-
loved Indians of Kaskaskia.
How long Indian Kaskaskia continued to exist
after the death of Father Meurin in 1777, it is
difficult to determine. In 1795, when Father
Pierre Janin was sent by Bishop Carroll to take
charge of Kaskaskia (that is, French Kaskaskia),
there was still an Indian mission attached to this
Parish. This Indian mission was very likely In-
dian Kaskaskia. But soon after this date the Kas-
kaskia Indians seem to have begun drifting west-
ward, for around the year 1835 we find a remnant
of them on the Osage River in western Missouri.
French Kaskaskia, 1719-1894-
After the Kaskaskia Indians had departed in
1719 to establish their own village about five
miles farther north, French Kaskaskia (which is
merely a continuation of the fourth Kaskaskia) be-
came a French parish. This change in ecclesiasti-
cal status is noted in the Baptismal Register,
which in 1719 entered a new title heading: "Regis-
ter of Baptisms performed in the Church of the
Mission and in the Parish of the Conception ."
("Registre des Bapte^es faits dans l'eglise de la
Mission et dans la Paroisse de la Conception").
25
With the advent of government officials, mi-
litary leaders, and wealthy merchants, there began
at French Kaskaskia a social life that strove to
rival, on a modest scale, the gay life of the
royal court at Versailles. In fact, during the
middle of the eighteenth century, French Kaskaskia
is sometimes referred to as the "Versailles of the
Vest". The town became so well known not only in
America but also in France, that it captured the
fancy of the King of France, Louis XV, who in the
year 1741 presented Kaskaskia with a church-bell
which is still preserved today.
This bell was cast by Normand in the sea-
port town of La Rochelle in France in 1741. It
weighs 600 pounds and bears the inscription: "Pour
l'e'glise des Ilinois par les soins du roi d'outre-
leau." ("For the Church of the Illinois, with the
compliments of the King from beyond the sea").
This bell was in use until the year 1873. Then
new bells (cast in St. Louis) were procured and
the old French bell was stored away in an old
building which later crumbled under the impact of
the flood-waters of the Mississippi River. The
bell was recovered in 1918 and brought to New Kas-
kaskia. In 1948 the State of Illinois erected a
shrine (a beautiful brick structure) which now
houses this "Liberty Bell of the West".
26
THE LIBERTY BELL OF THE WEST
27
HISTORICAL SHRINE HOUSING
THE KASKASKIA BELL
28
It was this French Kaskaskia that George Ro-
gers Clark captured for the Americans during the
Revolutionary War. Father Pierre Gibault was Pas-
tor of Kaskaskia at that time. As a matter of
fact, Father Gibault had charge of the entire Il-
linois mission, including Kaskaskia, Ste. Gene-
vieve, Prairie du Rocher, Cahokia, and Vincennes;
but at the time of Clark's expedition (1778) his
headquarters were at Kaskaskia. The French inha-
bitants of Kaskaskia were at first very much de-
jected at finding their town in the control of the
Americans. But when Colonel Clark permitted Fa-
ther Gibault to continue conducting church servi-
ces as usual and assured the Kaskaskians that
their property was secured to them and that their
liberty would be guaranteed and defended by the
Americans, and moreover that France had espoused
the cause of the Americans, — then the outburst
of joy and enthusiasm for the Americans knew no
bounds.
In response to this magnanimous treatment by
Colonel Clark, Father Gibault and Jean Baptiste
Laffont, a prominent citizen of Kaskaskia, went to
Vincennes in order to win the French populace of
that town over to the American cause. When the
people of Vincennes learned of the occurrences at
Kaskaskia and heard of the proclamation of Colonel
Clark, they promptly espoused the American cause.
29
It was this same French Kaskaskia that be-
came the first State Capital of Illinois in 1818,
But when the seat of government was removed to
Vandalia in 1819 , the importance of Kaskaskia be-
gan to decline rapidly.
French Kaskaskia or Old Kaskaskia (1703-
189*0 had, successively, four churches:
The first church was built of logs , covered
with straw; it was erected at the very beginning
of the settlement on the bank of the Kaskaskia
River in the year 1703*
The second church was built of stone and was
remarkable for its grandeur and its proportions;
it was built in 174-0 at the expense of the French
government and was used for divine services till
the year 1775.
The third church was built of timbers set per-
pendicular (wherefore a certain writer described
it as "a monument of posts"); it was erected by
the people in 1775 » but pulled down in 1838 on ac-
count of its weather-beaten condition.
The fourth church was built of brick in 1838
and stood until 18°A. Then, as the flood-waters
began to threaten (ever since 1881), this church
was dismantled and the materials were used to
erect a new church several miles to the south (at
the site of New Kaskaskia) . The last-named church
is still in use today.
X
30
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
built at the present (the Sixth)
KASKASKIA in the year 18 94-
31
The Sixth Kaskaskia, 1894— present
When the fourth Kaskaskia was established in
1703 on the west bank of the Kaskaskia River, the
Mississippi River lay about two miles to the west.
But the intervening land was alluvial soil which
the mighty Mississippi continued to erode year by
year, especially whenever it rose to flood-stage.
By the year 1881 the strip of land separating the
Mississippi and the Kaskaskia River just above the
town of Kaskaskia had been narrowed to about four
hundred feet.
Then during the great flood of April, 1881,
the break-through occurred. The Mississippi began
to feed its mighty current into the Kaskaskia Ri-
ver just north of French Kaskaskia. The narrow
bed of the Kaskaskia River was of course not capa-
ble of carrying the voluminous stream of the
mighty Mississippi. Unfortunately for French Kas-
kaskia, the eastern bank of the Kaskaskia River at
this point is a cliff of solid rock. Hence the
additional river-bed needed had to be carved out
by washing away the western bank of the Kaskaskia
River, — the bank on which the town of Kaskaskia
was situated,
French Kaskaskia had repeatedly suffered from
floods. Thus in 1844- the flood-waters stood eight
feet deep in the streets of the town. However,
32
KASKASKIA PENINSULA — 1880
33
these were merely back-waters, caused by the ina-
bility of the Kaskaskia River to disgorge its wa-
ters into the Mississippi (some five or six miles
below) when the latter was at flood-stage. These
back-waters had very little flow or current, and
receded gradually as the flood-stage passed. But
now the town was brought into the path of the main
current of the Mississippi River. French Kaskas-
kia was now inevitably doomed to gradual but com-
plete destruction, within the next few decades, by
the ravaging waters of the Mississippi River.
As the inhabitants of French Kaskaskia had
to yield, year by year, to the inexorable force of
the ever-encroaching might of the Mississippi Ri-
ver, many of them withdrew some two miles towards
the south, where they established the sixth Kas-
kaskia, which is the present town of Kaskaskia,
situated nearly in the center of Kaskaskia Island.
Kaskaskia Island is about five miles square, con-
taining some 14,000 acres of rich alluvial soil.
It lies west of the Mississippi River, but it con-
tinues to belong to the State of Illinois.
34-
Former site
of Indian O
Kaskaskia
Former site of
French Kaskaskia
KASKASKIA ISLAND — 1915
35
Short Life-sketches of
Priests active in Kaskaskia
1673 — 1855
From 1673 to 1835 , over forty priests were
active at Kaskaskia. Some of these were the mis-
sionary in charge or, at a later period, the Pas-
tor of the parish; others were not assigned to
Kaskaskia, hut lent a helping hand whenever needed
by administering the sacraments (their signature
appears in the Baptismal or Marriage Register) .
1. Claude Jean Allouez, S.J.
Father Claude Allouez was born at St. Didier,
France, in 1613; ne entered the Jesuit Order on
September 25, 1642, and came to Canada on July 11,
1658. He founded the first mission in Wisconsin,
Mission St. Esprit (near the present site of Ash-
land) in 1665; also the second mission, St. Fran-
cis Xavier Mission (near the present site of De
Pere) in 1669; likewise the first mission in Illi-
nois, Kaskaskia (at the present site of Utica) in
the late spring of 1673- He is therefore justly
styled the Apostle of Wisconsin and of Illinois.
From 1677 to 1688 he had charge of the Kaskaskia
mission. He died among the Miami Indians of St.
Joseph River (near the present site of Niles,
Michigan), on August 27, 1689.
36
2. Jean Baptiste Aubert, S.J.
Father Jean Baptiste Aubert was born in
France on March 1, 1722; he entered the Jesuit Or-
der on September 7, 1739, and came to Louisiana in
1754- • For five years he was active "among various
Indian tribes". Thereupon he acted as Pastor of
Kaskaskia from 1759 to 1763- When the Jesuits
were expelled from Louisiana, Father Aubert re-
turned to France in 1764 amd was still active
there twenty years later, in 1784. When he died
is not known.
3. Jean Baurie, S.J.
Father Jean Baurie was born in France, but
the date of his birth is not known; nor is it
known when he entered the Jesuit Order. He ar-
rived in Canada in 1699 and apparently was as-
signed immediately to the Illinois mission, for in
1701 we find him at the Kaskaskia mission on the
Des Peres River. He started on a missionary expe-
dition to the Sioux Indians, but the expedition
(after proceeding only fifty miles up the Missouri
River) was wrecked, and Father Baurie returned to
the Des Peres River. The following year, 1702, he
proceeded down the Mississippi and thence re-
turned to France. The date of his death is not
known.
37
4. Nicolas Ifgiace de Beaubois, S.J.
Father Nicolas de Beaubois was born at Or-
leans in France on October 15, 1689; he entered
the Jesuit Order on October 29 , 1706, and arrived
in Canada in 1718. He was at Kaskaskia from 1720
to 1726. Then he went to France to recruit mis-
sionaries. In 1727 he returned to Louisiana (New
Orleans) with seven other priests. He was Super-
ior of the Louisiana missions for three years,
1727-1750, and Director of the Ursulines in New
Orleans till 1735, when he was recalled to France.
From 1752 to 1762 he is listed as "Director of
Retreats" at Vannes, France. The date he died is
not recorded.
5. Julien Bineteau, S.J.
Father Julien Bineteau was born at La Fleche
in France on May 12, 1660; he entered the Jesuit
Order on September 7, 1676, and came to Canada in
1691. Five years later, in 1696, he was sent to
the Kaskaskia mission (then located at Peoria).
In May, 1699, he accompanied the Seminary Priest
Francois de Montigny from Peoria to the Tamaroa
mission. He was of inestimable service to Father
Montigny, since the latter had not yet mastered
the Indian language. Father Bineteau died while
at the Tamaroa mission on December 25, 1699*
38
6. Luke Callet, O.F.M,
Father Luke Callet was born at Besancon in
France on November 4, 1715; ne entered the Fran-
ciscan Order (probably in Canada) in 1750, and was
ordained at Quebec in 1753. After being active in
the Lake Erie region from 1753 to 1760, he came to
the Illinois country in 1761 and during the next
four years his name appears on the parish regis-
ters of Fort Chartres, St. Philippe, Kaskaskia,
and Cahokia. In 1764 (when Hippolytus Collet left
for Canada) he became Pastor of St. Anne at Fort
Chartres. He died at Fort Chartres on September 5,
1765, and his remains were transferred from Fort
Chartres to Prairie du Rocher on Kay 24, 1768.
7. Hippolytus Collet, O.F.N.
Father Hippolytus Collet was born at Paris
in France on October 5, 1692; he entered the Fran-
ciscan Order in 1715, and came to Canada in 1737.
After twenty-two years of activity in Canada,
1737-1759, he came to Fort Chartres, where he la-
bored for five years, 1759-1764; then he returned
to Canada. He apparently never was active at Kas-
kaskia, for his name does not appear in any of the
Kaskaskia Parish Registers, but he is mentioned
here to distinguish him from Luke Callet, with
whom he is often confused.
39
8. Matthew Condamine, diocesan priest
Nothing is known about the life of Father
Matthew Condamine except that he was active as
Pastor of Kaskaskia during a three-year period,
1832-1835.
9. Francis Xavier Dahmen, CM.
Father Francis Dahmen was born at Duern on
the Rhine in 1789. He served as a soldier under
Napoleon Bonaparte; thereupon he joined the Vin-
centian Fathers, came to America (while still a
Seminarian) and was ordained in 1819. He acted as
Pastor of Vincennes from 1820 to 1821, then as
Pastor of Ste. Genevieve from 1822 to 1840. Dur-
ing this time he also visited Kaskaskia, for his
name appears in the Kaskaskia Marriage Register in
1825. From 1840 to 1852 he taught at the Semi-
nary, and in 1852 he returned to France, where he
died in 1866.
10. Pierre Desmoulins, diocesan priest
Father Pierre Desmoulins came to America as
a Cleric in 1817; he was ordained to the priest-
hood in 1818. He acted as Pastor of Kaskaskia
from 1818 to 1825- Later we find him as Pastor of
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The date and place of his
death are not known.
40
11. Benedict Joseph Flaget, S.S.
Father Benedict Flaget was born at Contour-
nat in France on December 7, 1763; he joined the
Congregation of St. Sulpice on November 1, 1783,
and was ordained priest in 1787- The French Revo-
lution drove him to America, where Bishop Carroll
sent him to the Illinois country in 1792. He
served as Pastor of Vincennes from 1792 to 1795*
He also visited Kaskaskia, for his name appears
in the Marriage Register of Kaskaskia in 1795- In
1808 he was appointed Bishop of Bardstown, Kentu-
cky. He was consecrated by Bishop Carroll on No-
vember 4, 1810. In 1839 he transferred the Epis-
copal See from Bardstown to Louisville. He died
at Louisville on February 11, 1850.
12. Francois Forget du Verger, Seminary Iriest
Father Francois Forget was born in France,
but the date of his birth is not known. Nor is it
known when he joined the Seminary of Foreign Mis-
sions. He was in charge of Cahokia from 175^- "to
1763. During this time he also visited Kaskaskia,
for his name appears in the Kaskaskia Marriage
Register in 1758. In November 1763 he sold the
mission property at Cahokia and departed for New
Orleans, whence he left for France in 1764. The
date of his death is not known.
41
13. Joseph Julien Fourr^, S.J.
Father Joseph Fourre 7 was born in France on
January 6, 1703; he entered the Jesuit Order on
November 26, 1721, and came to Louisiana in 174-7.
He was shortly sent to the Illinois country, for
his name appears on the Kaskaskia Marriage Regis-
ter in 17^-9. He died on February 19, 1759, while
on his return trip to France.
14. J. Gagnon, Seminary Priest
Father J. Gagnon was born in France, but the
date of his birth is not known. Nor is it known
when he came to Canada. In 1730 he was sent from
Quebec to the Illinois country, where he was ras-
tor of Fort Chartres from May 1730 to November
1731. He was active in Kaskaskia in 1748-1749.
The date of his death is not known, but he died at
Fort Chartres, and on May 24, 1768, his remains
were transferred from Fort Chartres to Prairie du
Rocher.
15. Pierre Gibault, diocesan priest
Father Pierre Gibault was born in Canada on
April 7, 1737. He was ordained priest at Quebec
on March 19, 1768. For twenty-five years (1768-
1793) he was active in the entire Illinois mis-
sion: Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher, Ste. Gene-
42
vieve, Cahokia, Vincennes, and even St. Louis.
His efforts in winning over the French populace of
Kaskaskia and of Vincennes to the American cause
won for him the epithet of "the Patriot priest' 1 .
His headquarters were at Kaskaskia from 1768 to
1785, at Vincennes from 1785 to 1789, at Cahokia
from 1789 to 1793- In 1793, when Bishop Carroll
of Baltimore had sufficient priests to care for
all the posts east of the Mississippi, Father Gi-
bault became Pastor of New Madrid in Missouri from
1793 to 1802. He died either in 1802 at New
Madrid or in 1804 in Canada.
16. Jacques Gravier, S,J.
Father Jacques Gravier was born at Moulins
in France on May 17, 1651; he entered the Jesuit
Order on October 29, 1670, and came to Canada in
1685. In 1688 he succeeded Father Allouez as Pas-
tor of the Kaskaskia mission and, with the excep-
tion of three years (1696-1699) when he was Super-
ior of all the Ottawa missions, he remained in
charge of the Kaskaskia mission till 1705, taking
part in all its migrations: to Peoria in 1691, to
Des Peres River in 1700, to the Kaskaskia River in
1703. Seriously wounded by an arrow, he went for
medical treatment to Mobile in 1706 and thence to
Paris. In February, 1708, he returned to America;
but he died soon afterwards, on April 26, 1708.
43
17. Alexander Xavier Guyenne, S.J.
Father Alexander Guyenne was born at Orleans
in France on December 29, 1696; he entered the Je-
suit Order on September 24, 1713. He came to Lou-
isiana in 1727, being one of the companions of
Father Beaubois. He labored among the Alabamas
till 1730, then among the Arkansas tribes. From
17^8 to 1762 he was active in the Illinois mis-
sion, being Superior of all the Illinois missions
for seven years, 1749-1756. He was for some time
Pastor of Fort Ghartres, and his name appears in
the Kaskaskia Marriage Register in 1748. He died
in the Illinois mission in 1762.
18. Jean Charles Guymonneau, S.J.
Father Jean Guymonneau was born in France on
March 14, 1684; he entered the Jesuit Order on Oc-
tober 3, 1704, and arrived in Canada in 1715. He
was active in the Illinois country for twenty
years, 1716-1736. His name appears in the Kaskas-
kia Baptismal Register in 1720. He died in the
Illinois mission on February 6, 1736.
19. Pierre Janin, diocesan priest
Father Pierre Janin was sent by Bishop Car-
roll of Baltimore to the Illinois country in 1795.
He acted as Pastor of Kaskaskia from 1795 to 1796.
44
He received a government commission as "Missionary
of the Indians" at $200 a year. But after a year,
lie resigned this government commission, left Kas-
kaskia and crossed over to the Spanish side of the
Mississippi. After a few months at St. Louis, he
became Pastor of the Post of Arkansas, where he
was active for three years, 1796-1799. The time
and place of his death are not known.
20. Joseph Francois Kereben, S.J.
Father Joseph Kereben was born in France on
December 29, 1683; he entered the Jesuit Order on
August 27, 1703, and came to Canada in 1716. When
Louisiana was separated from Canada, Father Kere-
ben became the first Superior of Louisiana (New
Orleans), 1723-1725- He died on February 2, 1728,
in the Illinois mission, but his name does not ap-
pear on any parish records of Kaskaskia.
21. llacide de La Coudray
Nothing is known about Father llacide de La
Coudray except the fact that he signed his name in
the Kaskaskia Marriage Register in 1773 •
22. Nicolas Laurent, Seminary Priest
Father Nicolas Laurent was sent from Paris
(via Quebec) to Cahokia in 1739- Kis name appears
in the Kaskaskia Marriage Register in 17^4.
45
23 • Pierre Huet de La Valiniere, S.S.
Father Pierre de La Valiniere was born at
Varade in France on January 10, 1732. He came to
Canada as a Sulpician Cleric and was ordained at
Quebec on June 15, 1755* He was active in Canada
till 1779 » when he was forced to leave Canada be-
cause he sympathized with the American Colonies.
He was accepted by Bishop Carroll of Baltimore and
sent to Kaskaskia as Vicar General of the Illinois
missions in 1786. As Vicar General, Father La
Valiniere had only two priests under him: Gibault
at Vincennes and St. Pierre at Cahokia. In 1789,
Father La Valiniere left for New Orleans; and the
following year we find him at St. Sulpice in Wont-
real. Date and place of his death are not known.
24. Jean Antoine Le Boullenger, S.J.
Father Jean Le Boullenger was born at Rouen
in France on July 22, 1685; be entered the Jesuit
Order in 1700, and came to Canada in 1716. He was
active at Kaskaskia from 1719 to 1729, — perhaps
till 1740. He usually signed himself in the Kas-
kaskia Baptismal Register as "Aumonier des Troupes'
("Chaplain of the Troops"), probably because his
army-pay was a more dependable source of support
than his salary as Pastor. He died at Kaskaskia
on November 4, 1740.
4-6
25. Father Le Dru, P.P.
Nothing is known about the birth and early
life of Father Le Dru, a Dominican. He was sent
by Bishop Carroll to Cahokia in 1789, but shortly
afterwards crossed over to the west (Spanish) side
of the Mississippi, where he acted as Pastor of
St. Louis from 1789 to 1793- His name appears in
the Kaskaskia Marriage Register in 1789- Father
Le Dru was also active at St. Charles and at St.
Ferdinand in Missouri. The date and place of his
death are not known.
26. Michael Levadoux, S.S.
Father Michael Levadoux was born at Clermont
in France on April 1, 174-6; he joined the Sulpi-
cians in 1773. He was Director of the Seminary at
Limoges from 1774 to 1791. Driven out of France
by the French Revolution, he came to Baltimore in
1792, and was sent by Bishop Carroll to the Illi-
nois country. As Pastor of Cahokia from 1792 to
1796, he began the construction of the church in
Cahokia which is still standing today. His name
appears in the Kaskaskia Baptismal Register in
1792. In 1796, Father Levadoux was transferred to
Detroit; in 1801 he returned to Baltimore, and in
1803 he was recalled to France. He died at
Le-Puy-en-Velay in France on January 13, 1815.
47
27. Bernard de Limpach, O.F.M.Cap.
Nothing is known about the birth and early-
life of Father Bernard de Limpach, a Capuchin. He
acted as Pastor of St. Louis from 1776 to 1789.
His name appears in the Kaskaskia Marriage Regis-
ter in 1783. The date and place of his death are
not known.
28. Pierre Gabriel Marest, S.J.
Father Pierre Marest was born at Laval in
France on October 14, 1662; he entered the Jesuit
Order on October 1, 1681, and came to Canada in
1694. He was active in the Kaskaskia mission from
1698 to 1714. In 1707, his mission (on the Kas-
kaskia River) numbered 2200 souls, all of whom
— except 40 or 50 — were Christians. Father
Marest died at Kaskaskia on September 15, 1714.
29« Jacques Marquette, S.J.
Jacques Marquette was born at Laon in France
on June 1, 1637; he entered the Jesuit Order on
October 7, 1654, and came to Canada in 1666. He
spent two years, 1666-1668, at Three Rivers learn-
ing Indian languages. He was sent to Sault Ste.
Marie in 1668, to Mission St. Esprit in 1669, and
came back to St. Ignace (at Mackinac) in 1671. He
accompanied the Jolliet exploring expedition down
48
the Mississippi River in 1673, and on the return
trip (up the Illinois River) spent three days (in
late August or early September) at the Kaskaskia
Mission which had been founded by Father Allouez
about two months previously. He is claimed to
have returned to Kaskaskia Mission in the spring
of 1675, but remained there only six days (April 9
to April 15). While on his way to seek medical
attention at Mackinac, he died on the eastern
shore of Lake Michigan, at the present site of
Ludington, Michigan, on May 19, 1675.
30. Jean Mermet, S.J.
Father Jean Mermet was born at Grenoble in
Prance on September 23, 1664; he entered the Je-
suit Order on November 26, 1683, and came to Ca-
nada in 1698. For four years, 1698-1702, he la-
bored among the Miami Indians on St. Joseph River
(in present Michigan) ; next we find him at the
Charles Juchereau Tannery on the Ohio River some
eight or ten miles above the present site of Cai-
ro, Illinois, where he served as Chaplain for the
French and as Missionary for a band of Mascouten
Indians in the vicinity from 1702 to 1704. When
the Juchereau Tannery was abandoned, Father Mermet
came to Kaskaskia and was active there from 1705
to 1716. He died at Kaskaskia on September 15,
1716.
4-9
31. Sebastien Louis Meurin, S.J.
Father Sebastien Meurin was born at Charle-
ville in France on December 26, 1707; be entered
the Jesuit Order on September 18, 1729, and came
to Louisiana in November, 174-1 • He was active in
the Illinois mission, mainly at Kaskaskia (especi-
ally Indian Kaskaskia), from 174-2 to 1763. When
the Jesuits were expelled in 1763, Father Meurin
went as far as New Orleans; but before he embarked
for France, he obtained permission to return to
the Illinois country on condition that he would
function as a diocesan priest and not as a Jesuit.
In 1764- , Father Meurin became Pastor of Ste. Gene-
vieve, but also attended to Kaskaskia, Prairie du
Rocher, Cahokia, and St. Louis. In 1767 he was
appointed Vicar General of the Illinois country,
whereupon the Spaniards, distrustful of his "Je-
suit" influence, forced him to leave Ste. Gene-
vieve. He withdrew to Cahokia until Father Gi-
bault arrived as Vicar General in 1768. Father
Meurin spent his last years at Prairie du Rocher,
where he died on August 13, 1777. On August 23,
184-9, his remains were removed to the Jesuit St.
Stanislaus Novitiate in Florissant, Missouri. And
so Father Meurin, who was willing to forego the
Jesuit life for the good of his Indians, found a
final resting place among his fellow- Jesuits.
50
32. Donatien Olivier, diocesan priest
Nothing is known about the birth and early
life of Father Donatien Olivier. He served as
Pastor of Kaskaskia from 1799 to 1817, and then as
Pastor of Prairie du Rocher from 1817 to 1827 .
Thereupon he retired to the Seminary at the Bar-
rens (Perryville, Missouri), where he died on Ja-
nuary 29, 1841, at the age of ninety- two years.
33 • Victor Paillasson, diocesan priest
Nothing is known about the birth and early
life of Father Victor Paillasson. He acted as
Pastor of Kaskaskia from 1830 to 1832, then as
Pastor of New Madrid from 1832 to 1836. In 1836
he Joined the Jesuits. Date and place of his
death are not known.
34-. Louis Payet, Seminary Priest
Nothing is known about Father Louis Payet
except that he came from Canada to Vincennes in
1784 and then was active at Kaskaskia from 1784 to
1787.
35» Francois Pinet, S.J.
Father Francois Pinet was born at Limoges in
France on December 11, 1661; he entered the Jesuit
Order on August 29, 1682, and came to Canada in
51
1694. In 1696 he founded Guardian Angel Mission
for two tribes of Miami Indians at the present
site of Chicago. In 1698 he proceeded to Tamaroa,
where he assisted the Seminary Priests Father Mon-
tigny and Father Bergier till 1702. In July 1702,
Father Pinet left Tamaroa and crossed the Missis-
sippi River to the Kaskaskia mission on the Des
Peres River. He died there only a few weeks la-
ter, on August 1, 1702.
36. Sebastien Rasle, S.J.
Father Sebastien Rasle was born at Pontar-
lier in France on January 4, 1657; he entered the
Jesuit Order on September 24, 1675, and arrived in
Canada on October 13, 1689. He was active in the
Kaskaskia mission at Peoria from 1692 to 1693.
After his return to Quebec, he was assigned to the
missions in Acadia and Maine (Abenaki Indians),
where he labored successfully for many years. He
was killed by New England troops, August 23, 1724.
37. Gabriel Richard, S.S.
Father Gabriel Richard was born at Saintes
in France on October 15, 1767. He was ordained
priest in October, 1791. He was among the group
of Sulpicians who at the time of the French Revo-
lution came to Baltimore in 1791-1792. Bishop
Carroll at once sent him to the Illinois country,
52
where he served as Pastor of Kaskaskia from 1792
to 1795? and as Pastor of Prairie du Rocher from
1796 to 1798. In 1798 he was transferred to De-
troit. In 1809 he founded the "Michigan Essay or
Impartial Observer", the first paper published in
Michigan and the first Catholic paper in the
United States. In 1817 he was one of the founders
of the University of Michigan. In 1823 he was
elected to Congress (House of Representatives).
In 1832 a cholera epidemic ravaged Detroit and
claimed Father Gabriel Richard as one of its vic-
tims on September 13, 1832.
38. Paul de St. Pierre, O.Carm.
Father Paul de St. Pierre was born in France
in 174-5 • He came to America as Chaplain in the
French army under Rochambeau which fought on the
side of the American Colonies in the Revolutionary
War. After the Revolutionary War ended, Father
St. Pierre remained in America. In 1785, Bishop
Carroll sent him to the Illinois country, where he
was active at Cahokia from 1785 to 1789 and at
Ste. Genevieve from 1789 to 1797. During this time
he also visited Kaskaskia on several occasions
(1785, 1789, 1792). In 1797, Father St. Pierre
left Ste. Genevieve and went probably to New Or-
leans. From 1804 to 1826, he was Pastor of Iber-
ville, Louisiana, where he died October 15, 1826.
53
39. J. Tanion, CM.
Nothing is recorded about the Vincentian
Father J. Tanion except that he was at Kaskaskia
in 1827- His name appears in the Kaskaskia Mar-
riage Register in 1827.
40. Rene / Tartarin, S.J.
Father Rene Tartarin was born in France on
January 22, 1695; be entered the Jesuit Order on
August 20, 1712. He came to Louisiana in 1727,
being one of the seven missionaries brought back
from France by Father Beaubois. Father Tartarin
was active at Kaskaskia from 1727 to 1730, and we
again find him at Kaskaskia in 1741. He died in
the Louisiana missions on September 24, 1745.
41. Father Valentine, O.F.M.Cap.
Nothing is known about the birth and early
life of the Capuchin Father Valentine. He came
from New Orleans to St. Louis in 1772 and became
the first resident Pastor of St. Louis from May
1772 to June 1775- During this time he visited
Kaskaskia, for we find his name in the Kaskaskia
Marriage Register in 1773. In June, 1775 » Father
Valentine returned to New Orleans. He was active
at Cote des Allemands and at Iberville from 1778
to 1781. Date and place of death are not known.
54
4-2. Pierre Vergamin, CM.
Nothing is known about the birth and early
life of the Vincentian Father Pierre Vergamin. He
came to America as a Seminarian and was ordained
to the priesthood in 1826. In 1827, his name ap-
pears in the Kaskaskia Marriage Register.
4-3. Jean Marie de Ville, S.J.
Father Jean de Ville was born at Auxerre in
France on September 8, 1672; he entered the Jesuit
Order on September 9, 1693, and came to Canada in
1706. He was active at Kaskaskia in 1711, then at
Peoria (Peoria Indians) from 1712 to 1714, and
again at Kaskaskia from 1714 to 1719- In 1719 he
went to Mobile to complain personally to Governor
Bienville about the lawlessness of some French
traders. On the return trip (in the fall of 1719)
he was overtaken by illness and had to halt at
Natchez. He died at Natchez on June 15, 1720.
44. Louis Vivier, S.J.
Father Louis Vivier was born at Issoudun in
France on October 6, 1714; he entered the Jesuit
Order on September 12, 1731, and came to Louisiana
in 1749. He was active at Kaskaskia from 1749 to
1753, and at Vincennes from 1753 to 1756. He died
at Vincennes on October 2, 1756.
55
45. Philibert Watrin, S.J.
Father Philibert Watrin was born at Metz in
France on April 1, 1697; he entered the Jesuit
Order on November 6, 1712, and came to Louisiana
in 1732. He was active at Kaskaskia in 1746 and
again from 1759 to 1763- When the Jesuits were
expelled, he returned to France on February 6,
1764. He died in France on January 30, 1771.
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