977.3
Alvord.
Illinois in the
eighteenth century.
LI B R.AR.Y
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
Of ILLINOIS
IIUN01S HISTORICAL SURVEY
BULLETIN
Illinois State
Historical Library
Volume 1. Number 1.
ILLINOIS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
A Report on the Documents in Belleville, Illinois, Illustrating
the Early History of the State
CLARENCE WALWORTH ALVORD,
University of Illinois.
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS
SPRINGFIELD:
ILLINOIS STATE JOURNAL Co., STATE PRINTERS.
1905.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL LIBRARY.
EDMUND J. JAMES, President.
M. H. CHAMBERLIN, Vice President.
GEORGE N. BLACK, Secretary.
MRS. JESSIE PALMER WEBER, Librarian
ILLINOIS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY:
A REPORT ON THE
Documents in Belleville, 111.,
Illustrating the early history of the State.
BY
CLARENCE WALWORTH ALVORD,
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.
TO THE TRUSTEES
OF THE
ILLINOIS STATE HISTORICAL LIBRARY.
ILLINOIS IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: A REPORT ON THE DOCU-
MENTS IN BELLEVILLE ILLUSTRATING THE EARLY
HISTORY OF THE STATE.
When the county of 'Randolph was separated from that of St. Clair
in 1795, the records of the former governments passed into the care
of different jurisdictions and have suffered diverse fates. Those of
legal interest to the new southern county, constituting the largest
part of the official papers of the eighteenth century, remained for a
time at Kaskaskia; and then were removed to Chester, where they
were neglected by the county officials and many thoughtlessly de-
stroyed, so that few documents of this period have reached a more
historically interested generation.1 Other records were left in the
court house at Cahokia, where they remained until the year 1814,
when they were deposited in the court house at the new county seat,
Belleville.2 The fate of the Cahokia documents has been more for-
tunate than that which befell the more important records at Kaskas-
kia ; for probably the majority of the papers have been preserved, as
there are in existence records dating from every period of the history
of Illinois during the eighteenth century, with the exception of that
of the English occupation, 1765 to 1778. At the end of this report
will be found a catalog of these early documents in the various offices
of the court house at Belleville.
It seems best to preface this catalog with a brief history of the
institutions and the laws under which these documents originated,
and also to give some account of the men who have written them.
The proposed limits of the report will not include a study of political
events or an analysis of the documents themselves in order to dis-
cover their evidence on the political, legal, and social conditions of the
times. For this reason the documents have been little used, except
in two cases. Such a study must be made, but it will be several
months before it can be completed, and the desirability of an early
report to the trustees of the Historical Library has determined the
limits of this preliminary study.
1. Mason, Illinois in the Eighteenth Century, 49; Perrin, "The oldest Civil Record in the
West", in Transactions of the 111. State Hist. Soc., 1901, p. 64.
2. History of St. Clair County, 183.
A DOCUMENT OF THE FRENCH REGIME.
There is only one document belonging to the French period; it is a
Record of the Registrations of Donations, kept by two successive
clerks of the court in the district of the Illinois during the years L737
to 1769 inclusive.1
In 1717, the territory of the Illinois was placed under the govern-
ment of the province of Louisiana and on Sept. 20, 1721, the Western
Company divided the province into nire districts, one of which was that
of the Illinois.2 This extended east and west of the Mississippi be-
tween the lines of the Ohio and the Illinois rivers. The district was
subordinated to the provincial government, and appeal from the de-
cision of the local court might be made to the superior council sitting
at New Orleans.3 The civil government of the district consisted of a
commandant, a commissaire, a judge, a principal scrivener of the ma-
rine, a king's attorney, a keeper of the royal warehouse, a sealer of
weights and measures, a clerk of the court, huissiers, deputy clerks,
and notaries. Generally several offices were combined. For instance,
in this district the duties of the commissaire, the judge, and the
scrivener were always performed by one man; as were also the duties
of attorney and keeper of the warehouse; and a notary was clerk of
the court.4 All civil officers were directly responsible to the intend-
ant.5 The commandant, whose military duties were the more impor-
tant, was under the orders of the governor. Besides these officers of
the district, the commandant of each village may have had some civil
duties.6
There is a need of a much more careful study of all the sources
than has yet been made, before the rather complicated machinery of
the French colonial government in the Mississippi valley can be un-
derstood. The limitations of this paper, however, require only an
explanation of the duties of the clerk of the court, when he registered
certain kinds of donations. To understand these it will be necessary
to study the legislation of Louis XIV and his successor upon the sub-
ject, since this was the law practiced in the French settlements on the
Mississippi.
Since the Middle Ages the French law has divided private legal
acts into two broad classes. In the first are included all agreements,
acts, and deeds, which individuals make voluntarily, such as contracts,
wills, donations, etc. These, therefore, are called acts of voluntary
jurisdiction. In the second are placed all those acts which require
the intervention of a court. The former class is under the jurisdic-
tion of the notaries, whose engrossed copies have complete validity
1. Registre des Insinuations des Donations aux Siege des Illinois, see Catalog, No. 1; Perrin,
' 'Oldest Civil Record in the West", in Transactions of the 111. State Hist. Soc., 1901, p. 64etseq.
2. French Hist. Collections of La., Ill, 49-59, 101-104; Collet, in Mag. of Western Hist., VIII.
268; Winsor, Narrative and Critical Hist., V., 43.
3. Pittman, Present State of the European Settlements, \1\Yrenc\\, Hist. Collections of Lit., Ill,
101-104; Winsor. Narrati-ce and Critical Hist., V.. 43.
4. French. Hist. Collections, III, 49-59, 101-104; Pittman, Present State of the European Set-
tlements, 53; Edits, Ordonnances Royaux, etc.. I., 581, art. 14, Registre des Insinuations des Dona-
5. The title of this officer varied ;but generally he signed himself, King's Councillor. Com-
missaire General of the Marine, and Intendant. Gayarre History of Louisiana, II, appendix.
6. Breese, Early History of Illinois, 216.
y
without the need of an approval by a civil judge.1 Provided all for-
malities are complied with, the notarial act is as effective as a judg-
ment of the American court.2 During the eighteenth century, others
besides the notaries might draw up wills under certain conditions.
This privilege was accorded the testator, the installed parish priest,
and military officers; but whoever may have written them, all acts of
this character were brought finally to the notaries, who were obliged
by law to make and keep minutes of them.3
In order that they might exercise a needed control over the notarial
acts and to prevent their loss the French kings, beginning with
Francis I, (1539), promulgated laws which made compulsory the
registration of certain classes of acts, among which were donations
and wills.4 Edict followed edict until the law of deeds, wills, and
donations became so complex that a revision was necessary. Louis
XIV. in his old age undertook the task, which was completed by his
successor. During the first third of the eighteenth century these two
kings issued a series of general laws, 'which regulated the writing,
preservation, and registration of all acts drawn up by notaries.
The first of this series of ordinances was that of December, 1703,
which systematized the law of registration and established a bureau
for that purpose at each of the royal courts.5 The clerk, who was
charged with the duty of registration, acted as a recorder rather than
as the agent of the court to which he was attached. The number of
acts required to be registered was greatly increased ; but it is sufficient
for our purposes to note that donations and wills were still included.
Several explanations of this edict followed; but the two ordinances
issued in February of 1731 are of special interest, for they governed
the clerk's action in keeping this record of registration in the Illinois.
The first of these has not been printed; the second was a codification
of the previous law of donations inter vivos and abrogated all former
edicts, laws, and coutumes on the subject. Hereafter there were to be
only two forms for the gratuitous disposal of property, namely,
donations inter vivos and testaments or codicils.6
The donation inter vivos, before it became effective, must be
accepted by the donee in person, or through attorney, or by notarial
act. All such donations, with the single exception of those made by
contract of marriage, were limited to property actually in the pos-
session of the donor. There was another exception made for the same
1. Larousse, Grande Diet. Universel, art. Notaire.
2. Koy, Histoire du Notarial au Canada, I, 262; Brooke, Treatise on the Practice of a Notary
of England, 8.
3. Coutume de Paris, art. 248; Isambert, etc., Recrteil general, XXI, p. 292, arts. 25-37, pp.
386-402; Edits, Ordonnances Royaux, etc., II, 296 (interprets the law in the colonies), I. ,372:
Viollet, Histoire du Droit, Civil Francais, 3d ed., 952-965. Great privileges were granted to
soldiers engaged in war. Wills drawn up by priests in the Mississippi settlements received
the vise of the commandant.
4. Larousse, Grande Diet. Universe!, art. Insinuation; La Grande Encyclopedic, art.
Insinuation; Viollet, Histoire du Droit Civil Francais, 965-971.
5. Isambert, etc.. Recueil general, XX, 438-441; La Grande Encyclopedic, art. Insinuation,
As early as 1690, Louis XIV had issued a declaration on the subject of donations. Isambert,
etc., Recueil general, XX. 113.
6. Isambert. etc., Recueil general, XXI, 343-354. The first ordinance regulated the
method of registration, the fees of the clerk, etc., as may be learned from the Illinois register,
in which reference to the law of February 17, 1731, was frequently made. The second was an
ordinance concerning donations, a partial translation of which is printed in Appendix II.
The present French law has made few changes, if any, in this ordinance. (Compare
Code Civil Fran (ais, Bk., Ill, Tit. 2K On June 25, 1735, an ordinance concerning testaments
was issued. Isambert, etc., Recueil general, XXI, 386-402.
10
contracts: donations to direct heirs contained in them needed no-
registration. This was also true of donations of movables, when
there was actual delivery, and of small sums of money. All others
must be registered on penalty of nullity at the nearest royal court,
from which there was direct appeal to the king.
For this purpose there was kept at each royal court a particular
register, which was numbered and paraphed on every page by the
first officer of the court.1 No vacant space between the deeds was left
for fear of unauthorized interpolations. At the end of each year this
register was inspected by the same officer and, if found in accordance
with the law, the judge approved it, closed the register with his sig-
nature, and gave it into the keeping of the clerk. In this register
there was copied the entire donation, if it were made by a separate
act; or that part of any act, which contained the donation, so that
reference to the notary's minute to learn the terms of the gift would
not be necessary. Upon demand the clerk was obliged to give access
to the book; and, if requested, to make a copy of the deed for a fixed
fee.
In the register containing the registration of these donations inter
vivos, the clerk in the district of the Illinois has also kept a record of
testaments and codicils. That these must be registered has been al-
ready stated; but I have been unable to find any law permitting or
ordering the registration of wills in the particular record reserved by
the Ordinance of 1731 for donations infer vivos.2 Since wills, how-
ever are only a particular kind of donation, it is probable that the
clerk was following a universal custom.
Such was the French law regulating the registration of donations
and of wills or codicils, and the clerk in the district of the Illinois
observed this law with as much care as if he were attached to the
court of the provost of Paris, at least during the earlier years. The
leaves of the book were all numbered and paraphed by the judge of
the district; the formulae of the registration were carefully observed;
the deeds were written so that the pages were filled, even crowded.
In one instance the clerk — it was the later one who was less care-
ful— missed an eighth of a page and across this space he has drawn a
line and written, "passed by mistake." The acts registered may be
thus classified: 1. Simple acts of mutual donation of real and personal
property, both present and to be acquired, made by contract of mar-
riage, so that in case of the death of one, the survivor would have all
the property possessed by both. These donations were to be null
and void in case of the birth of a child. 2. Acts of donation by one
party to the other in the contract of marriage. 8. Acts of donation
by a third party to one or both of the contracting parties in a con-
tract of marriage. 4. Acts of mutual donation mortis causa? 5.
Simple acts of donation by one party to another. 6. Acts of donation
1. Isambert, etc., Rec-ueil general, XXI, 345-349. A paraph was a flourish of the pen
under the signature, the number of the page, or words inserted on the margin. It was used
to prevent falsification.
2. Ibid., XX., 438-441, XXI, 401, art. 79; Larouse Grande Dicf Univ., art. Enregistments
La Grande Encyc., art.. Insinuation.
3. These were forbidden, but may have been permitted to soldiers. Isambert, etc.,
Recueil general, XXI, 393, art., 27.
11
in return for which the donee promised some compensation. These
were generally made by aged persons in return for the promise of
support. 7. Solemn wills and testaments. 8. Codicils. 9. Formal
renunciation of the "community of property" by the wife.1 The prop-
erty, which is thus disposed of, included real estate, mortgages, notes
of all kinds, state bonds, money, household and personal property,
and slaves.
In the largest number of cases these acts were drawn up by a no-
tary, generally by the notary who, as clerk of the court, registered
them and received three livres for so doing. There are, however, a
number of contracts of marriage and of wills, which were written by
priests, or by the military commandant of one of the settlements, or
by an officer in the army, and some wills written by the testator.
Usually the party interested in the deed brought it to the bureau
of the court to have it registered, in which case the following formula
was used by the clerk: "Today, the seventh day of April, 1752,
there has appeared at the bureau of this jurisdiction before the clerk
whose signature is below, Mr. Jean Baptiste Gouier called Cham-
pagne, inhabitant of St. Philippe, dwelling in the parish of Ste. Anne,
with a .copy of his contract of marriage with Miss Marie Joseph
Lacroix, passed before the late Mr. Jerome Rousillet, notary, on the
date, February 14, 17ob." Sometimes the clerk was commissioned to
make the registration, in which case he wrote after dating: "We,
Bertlor Barrios, clerk at the Illinois, by virtue of the commission of
Francois Lacroix to register, etc." The invariable formula at the
close is this: "And after having read the said contract of marriage
in our bureau, we have inscribed the said donation on the Record of
the Registrations of this court in accordance with the ordinance for
their preservation and validation, by reason ' of which, etc. Done in
our bureau the day and year above written." Then followed the sig-
nature of the clerk with a paraph.
The time intervening between the redaction of an act and its regis-
tration varied considerably. Generally only a few days were allowed
to pass before the parties appeared in the court to fulfill the require-
ments of the law. As a rule the bridegroom brought the contract of
marriage, but not always; and in the case of wills the executor, after
the death of the testator. At times, years elapsed before this final
act of registration, as in the case of a contract of marriage dated
February 17, 1726, and registered August 2, 1741. In this case the
donation was made before the promulgation of the Ordinance of 1731,
but it will be remembered that this ordinance did not change the
existing law on the registration of donations. There were cases
when a doubt arose whether an act had been registered and the party
interested requested the clerk to search the record and, if necessary,
to fulfill the requirements of the law. Thus, on October 25, 1741,
Francois Lacroix requested the clerk to look up his contract of
1. Viollet, Histoire du Droit, Civil Francais , 3d ed., 826-848.
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY Of ILUNOlb
/
marriage, which had been drawn up November 8, 1739, by M. Jerome,
deceased. Since it had not been registered, the clerk recorded the fact
and corrected the omission.
The first entry in the book was made on January 15, 1737, by Jean
Baptiste Bertlor Barrois.1 This was not the only book under his
charge; for the French law required the memoranda of all acts of the
court to be carefully and systematically kept. As royal notary, he
was obliged to make and preserve his minutes and copy his engross-
ments;2 as clerk of the court, he had four distinct registers;3 as clerk
of the marine, he was obliged to keep records in seven registers ;4 and
as clerk of registration, he must have had a book for the registration
of other acts than donations. It is doubtful whether the entries in
any one of them were numerous, since his registrations of donations
averaged only four a year. The entries are in various handwritings,
so that probably he had the assistance of several deputy clerks in the
bureau.
Barrois lived at Kaskaskia until December of 1754. He called him-
self clerk of the court and named this register the Record of the Reg-
istrations of Donations at the Court of the Illinois . Yet writers on
Illinois history have generally regarded Fort Chartres as the seat of
both civil and military government and, by inference, the place where
the court of justice always held its sessions.5 In favor of this view is
Pittman's statement that the fort was the seat of government and that
the commissaire's house was situated there;6 the burial of the judge,
Delaloire Flancour, in 1746 at the same place; the statement of Bar-
rois that on October 25. 1741, he was requested to search the register of
the late M. Jerome of Fort Chartres, whom he called both notary and
clerk, for a donation in a contract of marriage, which Jerome had
been expected to register.7 Since this contract of marriage was drawn
up by Jerome on November 8, 1739, he must have been acting as notary
and clerk of the court at Fort Chartres two years after Barrois had be-
gun his register of donations in Kaskaskia. From these facts it may
be inferred that between January 15,1737 and November 9,1739, the
judge held sessions of the court at both places, unless Barrois was acting
as deputy of Jerome at Kaskaskia. It is not probable, however, that
Barrois was deputy clerk of registrations, since there was no provision
for such an officer in the ordinances.
But was the court at Fort Chartres continued after 1739? Pittman's
testimony is only of value for the later period of the French occupa-
tion, and it is certain that the judge sat at Fort Chartres after De-
cember, 1754; for during that month Barrois left Kaskaskia, where he
had continued to register acts of donation, to take up his residence at
1. The names Jean Baptiste were obtained from a contract of marriage, drawn up by Barrois
in 1757, in which he appeared for the bride, his daughter Celeste. Manuscript in the Missouri
Hist. Society's Collection. In the register he called himself Bertlor Barrois. See also
American State Papers, Public Lands, II. 217.
2. Edits, Oidonnances Royaux, etc . I, 217.
3. At least such was the case in Montreal. Ibid., II, 386.
4. Tsambert. etc., Recueil general, XIX., 289.
5. Mason, Illinois in the Eighteenth Century, (Old Fort Chartres), 23 et seq.; Moses, Illinois
Historical and Statistical, 1, 98.
6. Pittman, The Piesent State of the European Settlements. 45.
7. De faire recherche dans les registres de feu M. Jerome rivant Greffier aux dites Illinois resi-
dent an fort de Chartres. From the Registre des Insinuations des Donations, Oct. 25,1741; see also
the Appendix III, Jerome Rousillet; Mason, Illinois in the Eighteenth Century, 32.
13
Fort Chartres, as is proved by the record. Also from the few quota-
tions from the sessions of the court made by Judge Breese we know
the court was in session in 1756 at the same place.1 Therefore the
question concerns only the years 1739 to 1754. During this period
the fort was badly in need of repair and permanent abandonment of it
was contemplated.2 So dangerous did the situation become in 1748
that the commandant temporarily withdrew his troops from it and
concentrated his forces at Kaskaskia.3 The quotations of Judge
Breese from the record of the court prove it to have been in session
in that settlement in 1749 and 1752.4 Furthermore, on Oct. 25, 1741,
the register of the clerk Jerome was in the hands of the clerk Barrois
at Kaskaskia. which would not have been the case had a successor to
Jerome been appointed at Fort Chartres.5 The natural inference from
these facts is that the civil government was moved from Fort Chartres
to Kaskaskia sometime after 1739 and before Oct. 25, 1741. Still the
evidence is not conclusive, for during the years 1737 to 1739 the judge
probably held court at both places, and it is possible that this con-
tinued to be the case.6
The rebuilding of Fort Chartres was completed in the year 1754,
and during December of the same year Barrois began to date his reg-
istrations at Nouvelle Chartres, which he continued to do up to the
year 1757." The first registry of his successor, Labuxiere, dated
March 14, 1757, was an act drawn up by the notary Barrois on March
10, 1757. This is the last official act by him which is recorded in the
Registre, so it is probable that he died between that date and March
14. If that was the case, it is strange that Labuxiere never used the
phrase, the late M. Barrois; but it is possible that he was as unfamil-
iar with the correct phraseology as he proved himself to be with other
particulars.
There is very little to be learned from the register about Bertlor
Barrois, since there is no act recorded in which he was personally in-
terested. From the contract of marriage of his daughter, Celeste
Therese, in the collection of the Missouri Historical Society, we learn
that he was at that time, Jan. 8, 1757, a widower, his wife's name
having been Magdalen' Cardinal. The church register at Kaskaskia
contains the record of baptism of their son, Louis, in ] 732.8 In the
year 1756. Magdalen Barrois, widow of Louis Marin, registered her
contract of marriage. Possibly she was another daughter if her name
is any evidence. When the United States government sent commis-
sioners to these Mississippi settlements to examine the land titles,
there were several heirs of Barrois living in the Illinois district.9
From the same source comes information of an earlier date which
1. Breese, Early History of Illinois, 214-220.
2. Mason. Illinois in the Eighteenth Century (Old Fort Chartres), 32.
3. Doc. re 1. to the Col. Hist, of the State of N. Y.. X, 143.
4. Breese, Early History of Illinois, 217 et seq.
5. Registre des Insinuations des Donations, October 25.1741 ; see above.
6. The only objection is that the registers of the clerk Jerome were sent to Kaskaskia.
There mipht have been some other reason for this than the one proposed in the text.
7. Ma*on, Illinois in the Eighteenth Century (Old Fort Chartres), 34; Moses, Illinois Histor-
ical and Statistical, I. 114.
8. "Kaskaskia Church Records," in Transactions of the 111. State Hist. Soc., 1904, p. 399.
9. American State Papers, Public Lands, II, 138.
14
proves the notary to have been an owner of land. A certain man
named John Rice Jones had, in 1813, a claim for land in Kaskaskia,
which he had obtained from the heirs of Catherine Place, said to be
daughter of Jean Baptiste Lebert dit Barrois.1 The claim appeared
to the commissioners of doubtful validity, because there were evi-
dences of forgery. Upon investigation it was found that in an old rec-
ord book of land titles, made in the time of Judge Louis Auguste De-
laloire Flancour, there was a claim of Jean Bte. Bertlor Barrois for
thirty toises square at Kaskaskia, granted by M. d'Artuguiette to said
Barrois March 10, 1736; also two arpents of land granted by the same
commandant Feb. 10, ] 736. The entry of these claims was made May
21, 1742. Neither of them was the land claimed by Jones, so the
commissioners made an unfavorable report, although the belief of the
inhabitants of Kaskaskia seems to have been that Bertlor Barrois
actually possessed land situated near that claimed by the petitioner.
Joseph Labuxiere,2 the successor of Barrois, continued to keep the
register at Nouvelle Chartres until the end of the French Regime.
He is said to have come from Canada and to have married Catherine
Vifvarenne of St. Philippe.3 Of his private life little else is known.
He was not so careful in conforming to the law as his predecessor,
although this may have been due to ignorance. Still a general relax-
ing of the stricter forms of government is to be noticed throughout
the settlement, a sign of which is the cessation of the annual inspec-
tion of the register by the judge after 1757. It was the period of the
Seven Years War and the officials in the Illinois must have felt them-
selves completely cut off from the home government, the regular com-
munication with which had formerly held them so strictly to their
duties.
Although the treaty of Paris in 1763 had ceded this territory north
of the Ohio river, it was not until Oct. 10, 1765. that the English
took possession of Fort Chartres.4 Up to that time the French
officials continued to govern the district. During 1763 Labuxiere
registered several deeds. In the next year there was no entry made
until the autumn, when the change in the destinies of the Northwest
may be read in the words: "arreste le present journal le dix 8bre
1764, Lefebvre^ Two days later, however, there was occasion to
open the book again to enter the last act of donation drawn up and
registered by French officials on Illinois soil.
Several years elapsed before the old register was again used. Then
it was to record acts drawn up on the western bank of the Mississippi
river in St. Louis. There were five entries made between September
1, 1768, and June 6, 1769, by Labuxiere in that settlement. The
book was still called the Record of the Registrations of the Dona-
tions at the Court of the Illinois. Although this seems anomalous,
it is not difficult to explain. That part of the province of Louisiana,
1. Amer. State Papers, Pnblic Lands, II, 216.
2. Often spelled Labnssiere, or Labusciere.
3. Billon, Annals of St. Louis, 27.
4. Doc. rel. to the Col. Hist, of N. Y., X, 1161.
5. ' 'The present journal is stopped, October 10, 1764. Lefebvre." Lefebvre was acting
judge at that time. Doc. rel. to the Col. Hist, of N. Y., X, 11(31.
15
which was west of the Mississippi, was ceded to Spain November 13,
1762; but it was not until August 18, 1769, that the Spaniards took
official possession of it; and not until May 20, 1770, that their repre-
sentative arrived in St. Louis.1
Meanwhile, there was need of some form of government in St.
Louis, which had been founded by Laclede in 1764, just at the time
when these various changes in sovereignty over the Mississippi
valley were being made. As soon as the news of the cession of the
eastern Illinois to the English reached the French settlements, there
was an exodus of settlers to Laclede's new village across the river, so
that in a year St. Louis became a more populous settlement
than Kaskaskia had ever been.2 Relatively only a few were
left on the Illinois side. The Commandant Villiers had gone to
New Orleans with most of his officers and men in June, 1764, and
evidently Valentine Bobe Desclauseaux, the last officially appointed
judge of the district, had followed his example; at least he dis-
appeared from these regions. To represent the French government
at Fort Chartres, until the English should take possession, there
remained St. Ange de Belle Rive, Commandant; Joseph Lefebvre,
Attorney General, Keeper of the Royal Warehouse, and acting Judge ;
and Joseph Labuxiere, Clerk and Notary.3 After the deliverance of the
fort to the English, they went to St. Louis, where they continued to act
in their official capacity as representatives of France. The title of
their government was, "The Court of the Illinois" ; for the western
bank of the Mississippi had always been a part of the district. On
April 3, 1767, Lefebvre died. Of the civil officials of the French gov-
ernment in the Illinois, there remained but one, the clerk and notary.
Up to May, 1770, Labuxiere performed the duties of judge, attorney,
keeper of the royal warehouse, clerk, and notary; and with St. Ange
represented the French government in the conveyance of the district
to the Spaniards.4
Under Spanish rule Labuxiere acted as notary until Dec. 23, 1780,
after which date Mr. Billon found no trace of him in St. Louis. He
says: "He died elsewhere, I think at new Madrid, and left three sons,
Joseph, Louis, and Francois."5 From the records of the court of
Cahokia, founded under the Virginia Act of 1778, the later history
of Labuxiere can be traced.6 By June 29, 1782, he had returned to
the eastern side of the Mississippi: for the County Lieutenant Rich-
ard Winston with the consent of the court of Kaskaskia appointed
1. Amer, State Papers, Public Lands, II., 240; King, New Orleans, 107, et seq.; Ogg, The
Opening of the Mississippi, 335 et seq.
2. Billon, Annals of St. Louis, passim.
3. Doc.rel. to the Col. Hist, of N. Y., X, 1161. Mr. Billon must be mistaken in the office
held by Lefebvre. He calls him civil judge, and says that later he was appointed keeper of
the royal warehouse. This is a reversal of the relative importance of the offices. Probably he
was never officially appointed judge, so retained the title of the lower rank in all deeds,
while performing the duties of the judicial office. This was the usual course. Billon,
Annals of St. Louis, 30, 47.
4. Ibid., 31, 47.
5. Ibid., 30. There was a Joseph Labussiere in New Madrid in 1806, but he was only twen-
ty-one years old. Amer. State Papers, Public Lands, II, 577.
6. Catalog, Nos. 2a, 3; Mason, Lists of Early Illinois Citizens, Fergus Hist. Series, No. 31,
p. 68.
16
him attorney for the court of Cahokia. On December of the same
year he was empowered to act as notary; and on June 20, 1785, he
took the oath of office as clerk of the court, a position he held until
the establishment of a government by the United States over this ter-
ritory in 1790. He died on April 29, 1791 and left many heirs,
as is apparent from their claims to lands before the United States'
commissioners.1 The presence of Labuxiere in Cahokia explains how
the Record of Registrations happens to be now in Belleville. He
brought it across the river with him. Since Cahokia was not a seat
of government under the French regime, there never were many offi-
cial records in the archives, and all the other records of Fort Chartres
were removed to Kaskaskia, when the English changed the seat of
government to that village in 1772.2
There was still another official connected with the record whose
duties must be explained. According to the royal ordinance the reg-
ister must be numbered, paraphed, and once every year inspected and
closed by the principal officer of the court.3 This inspection and clos-
ing of the register in the district of the Illinois was performed in
January, only once later. From 1788 to January, 1746, this duty was
discharged by Louis Auguste Delaloire Flancour. Esquire (later Sieur
de Flancour), Principal Scrivener of the Marine, subdelegate of M.
de Salmon, (or whoever was intendant), Commissaire and Judge of
the Civil Court in the district of the Illinois.4
The first title is not explained in the general Ordinance of the
Marine by Louis XIV. in August 1681, or in the subsequent supple-
ments to the edict, so far as I can learn.5 There were ecrivains in the
marine; but they were like our pursers and served on the ship, which
they could not leave until the voyage was completed.6 This Illinois
official served on land and evidently was a subordinate of the com-
missaire general of the marine at New Orleans, and therefore must
have had supervision of the fishing and boating interests of the dis-
trict with power to judge in the first instance all disputes arising
therefrom.7 All officers of the civil government were connected in one
way or another with the marine. As subdelegate of the intendant he
was chief of the departments of justice, police, and finance.8 His
duties included a general oversight of all departments of civil govern-
ment; but his power was not well defined and must have brought him
into frequent conflict with the major-commandant. The next titles,
commissaire and judge, probably represented one office, namely that
of judge of the civil and criminal court. The law of the French col-
onies was that of the provosty and viscounty of Paris or to give it the
better known name, the coutume de Paris.9 Capt. Pittman who vis-
ited the settlements on the Mississippi a few years after the end of
1. Missouri Reports, IV. 343; American State Papers, Public Lands. I. and II, index.
2. Mason. Illinois in the Eighteenth Century (Old Fort Chartres), 43.
3. Isamhert,etc.,AV<-w«/£Z'«^tf/, XXI, 349, arts. 24 and 25.
4. Ecrirain principal de la marine, subdelegiie de M. de Salmon, commissaire et tenant le siege
civil de justice aux Illinois. Registre des Insinuations des Donations,
5. Isambert.etc., Recueil general, XIX, 282-366; Edits, OrdonnancesRoyaux, etc., 1, 360-364, 391-
394, 434-436, 532-533. 546-550.
6. Isambert.etc. ,Reci<eil general. XIX. 306. title, III.
7. Ibid., XIX, 285; Rambaud, Histoire de la Civilization fraticaise II. 244-246.
8. Ibid., II, 30-34; see numerous commissions of intendants in Edits, Ordonnances Royaux,
etc.. III.
9. French, Hist. Collections of La., \\\, 49-59, art. 15.
17
the French dominion has characterized this official with many offices,
as, "a mere cypher rather kept for form than for real use," and his
judgment has been accepted by more recent writers.1 Remembering
the part played by the intendants in the government of France and
the continual quarrels of the governors and intendants in Quebec and
New Orleans, one hesitates to accept this judgment of a passing
English soldier as final, unless substantiated by some convincing evi-
dence, which up to the present time has not been produced.
The judge after inspecting the register wrote in it the following
formula: "Today, the 23 of January, 1731, we (name and titles),
having found that the present register conforms to the King's decla-
ration of February 17, 1731, and having numbered and paraphed it,
do hold it closed from this day, and have left it in the possession of
Bertlor Barrois, as clerk of the jurisdiction of this court, in order
that he may be able to communicate its contents to all persons who
shall have an interest therein. This is all done in accordance with
the above mentioned declaration. At Kaskaskia, the day and year
above written, I have signed."
Flancour died in 1746. and was buried at Fort Chartres.2 In
January of the next year the office of judge was vacant, and the
register was inspected and closed by Joseph Buchet, who was keeper
of the king's warehouse and acting as royal attorney and judge.3
The garde des m'agazins belonged to the department of the
marine; and his duty was to maintain a sufficient supply of all
necessities for the equipment of the army, and for trade with, and
gifts to, the Indians.4 In 1748 Buchet was still performing the duties of
all the higher offices, but in the next year he signed himself
Scrivener. Subdelegate, Commissaire, and Judge, thus announcing to
us his promotion. He held the position until January 12, 1757. at
least.5 After that date the officials evidently became more lax in dis-
charging their duties, for the register was never again officially
inspected by the judge of the court, although the names of two men
are known who acted in that capacity, John Arnold Valentine Bobe
Desclauseaux, who signed a deed November 11, 1763, and Joseph
Lefebvre, who accompanied St. Ange to St. Louis.6
THE PERIOD OF THE VIRGINIA OCCUPATION.
Up to the present time, only a few local records have been known
of the period of the Virginia occupation, such as Clark's narratives
and letters; John Todd's Record-Book: St. Clair Papers; and the
1. Pittman, The Present State of the European Settlements. 45.
2. Mason, Illinois in the Eighteenth Century, (Old Fort Chartres), 33; Church Records of Ste.
Anne.
3. \ous, Joseph Buchet, Garde d?s ma^azins du Roi aux Illinois, Procureur aux lieu vacans et
de la majeste an dit lieu garde la jurisdiction royal des Illinois . le siege racans. Registere des
Insinuations des Donations. January 16. 1747.
4. Isambert. etc.. Recue /'/ gene ral. XIX, 284, art. 14. See inventory of goods in the ware-
house in Billon, Annals of St. Louis. 47.
5. In 1756, Huchet was absent and the register was inspected by Andre Chevalier, who
signed himself "Garde des Magazms, Subtreasurer. Attorney, and acting Judge in the
absence of M. Buchet."
6. Billon, Annals of S. Louis, 31; Doc. r;l. to the Col. Hist, of N. Y., X, 1161.
-2 H
18
American State Papers;1 Only two of these are both contemporary
and local. On account of this scarcity of sources the documents of
this period at Belleville are the most interesting and valuable of all
those in the archives of the court house and will illuminate an ob-
scure period of state history. Cahokia was not a centre of govern-
ment under the French and accident alone accounts for tLe presence
there of the record which has been described; but under the Virgin-
ia dominion a court and a commandant were established in the vil-
lage and the numerous documents of this government were finally car-
ried to Belleville, where they have been preserved.2 There are a few
sheets of a record in the English language of a court which sat in
Cahokia between the time of Clark's conquest and the establishment
of a civil government by John Todd. The remaining documents are
written in French with an occasional copy of an English paper.
Among them is an almost complete record of the sessions of the Vir-
ginia court at Cahokia from Nov. 26, 1779, to April 1, 1/90; and
the register of the clerk of the same court. Besides these there are the
minutes of the sessions of the court of the "justice of the week" for
July 9, 1785, to Feb. 18, 1786; and about four hundred miscel-
laneous papers such as petitions to the court, briefs, warrants, etc.3
If the documents of this period are the most valuable, the most in-
teresting of them is the record of the court, which held sessions im-
mediately after the conquest in the summer of 1778; because it sup-
plements the account of the civil government given in Clark's memoirs
where is found the only notice in his writings of the organiza-
tion established by him in the territory. He there says: "I inquired
particularly into the manner the people had been governed formerly,
and much to my satisfaction, (I found) that it had been generally as
severe as under the militia law. I was determined to make an advan-
tage of it, and took every step in my power to cause the people to feel
the blessings enjoyed by an American citizen which I soon discovered
enabled me to support, from their own choice, almost a supreme
authority over them. I caused a court of civil jurisdiction to be es-
tablished at Cahokia, elected by the people. Major Bowman, to the
surprise of the people, held a poll for a magistracy, and was elected
and acted as judge of the court. (Manuscript here illegible.) After
this similar courts were established in the towns of Kaskaskia and
St. Vincent. There was an appeal to myself in certain cases and I
believe that no people ever had their business done more to their sat-
isfaction than they had through the means of these regulations for a
considerable time."4
1. Clark 's Sketch of his Cantvaign in the Illinois, Ohio Valley Hist. Serie', No. 3; Clnrk's
Mss., in the Library of the Wis. Hist. Soc. ; Clark's Memoir, in English's Conqiiest of th«
North-west, I, 457-565, and partially printed in Dillon, Indiana, 114-167, and ///. Hist. Collec-
tions, vol. 1, passim ; Mason, John Todd's Record- Book, Fergus Hist. Series, No. 33; Smith, St.
Clair Papers, Public Lands, 2 vols.
2. See Catalog. Nos. 1, 2a, 2b, 3, 4, 5a, 6, 9. For two reasons I have discussed the docu-
ment of the French period at relatively greater length than these. First it was possible to say
all that is essential to be said of the register at the present time. In the second place, the doc-
uments of the Virginia period being longer and more important require a more careful study
than I have been able to give them up to the present. I have therefore limited myself to using
only the most apparent information contained in them.
3. Juge de semaine .
4. English, Conquest of the North-west, I., Appendix, 484.
19
The new source is a record of this court at Cahokia which is writ-
ten on both sides of four loose sheets of paper.1 Their mutilated con-
dition and the fact that the pages are not consecutive are evidences
that they once formed part of a book in which the complete record
had been kept. It was written in English by two persons, one of
whom was evidently Captain Bowman and the other, Lieutenant Per-
rault. There are, in all, incomplete records of nine sessions of this
"Court of the Committee of Cahos." The dates are as follows:
Thursday, Dec. 31, 1778; Thursday, Jan. 7, 1779; Friday, Jan. 8; date
lost; date lost; Friday, April 12: date lost; Friday, April '60; Friday,
May 7. From one of the other documents we learn that the court
was in session as early as Nov. 2, 1778, for it issued an order for a
public sale on that date.2 The cases brought before the court were
both civil and criminal. There is no evidence of a trial by jury.
At seven of the sessions there were four judges; at one, five; at one
only two. In this last case the court adjourned for lack of a quorum.
The president of the court up to Jan. 7, and from the second session
held in April, was Captain Bowman. The absence of Bowman from
Cahokia from the middle of January to the firsi week in April is ex-
plained by his presence on the winter expedition made by Clark
against Vincennes. He had been recalled to Kaskaskia by Clark in
January to help repel a threatened attack on that place by the British
and did not return to Cahokia before the Vincennes expedition. From
his journal we learn that he was in Kaskaskia before Jan. 27. Clark
started for Vincennes, Feb. 5 and did not begin his return journey
until the last of March, so that Bowman could not reach Cahokia in
time for the session of the court on April 2.3 During his absence
Lieutenant Perrault was president, and the record contains an account
of his taking the oath of office. The judges assisting the president
were not always the same; but in all the sessions the names of seven
judges besides the two presidents are given. These are, Langlois,
Captain Turanjeau, Gratiot, Captain Trottier, Granot, Girardin, and
Beaulieu. Evidently there was a bench of eight judges counting the
president of the court. The number of judges, the number required
for a quorum, and the weekly sessions remind us of the county court
of Virginia upon which this court was obviously modeled.4 Since these
judges were elected by the people the first election on the soil of Illi-
nois was not held in May, 1779, by John Todd, as has been assumed
by former writers, but in the autumn of 1778 under the authority of
George Rogers Clark.5
After the conquest' of the northwest by Clark, the Assembly of
Virginia passed in October, 1778, an act to establish a civil and mili-
tary government in the territory which was christened the county of
1. Catalog, No. ."a
2. Catalog, No. 2b.
3. Clark's Sketch, in Ohio I'alley Hist. Series, No. 3, p. 76: Bowman '.s- Journal, in same, 99;
Clark's Memoir, in Dillon, Indiana, 161. also in English. Conquest of the North-west,^., 520.
4. Hening. Statutes at Large, V..489, art. 1.
5. Mason, Illinois in the Eighteenth Century, 55; Boyd, "The County of Illinois," in Amer,
Hist. Ktn-ieTv, IV, 4, p. 628.
20
Illinois.1 In the preamble it is stated that the government was to be
temporary in character since, "On account of the remoteness of the
region it was difficult, if not impracticable, to govern it by the
present laws of the commonwealth/' The governor was empowered
to appoint a county lieutenant or commander-in-chief, who was
authorized to appoint and commission deputy commandants, militia
officers and commissaries, who were to serve during his pleasure.
The citizens of the region were to be assembled to elect such civil
officers as they were accustomed to. These were to receive their
commissions from the county lieutenant and to be paid for their
services as had been customary. Provided other officials were needed,
they were to be appointed by the county lieutenant with the advice
of the council, and drafts might be made on the treasury of Virginia
to the amount of five hundred pounds for their salaries. All officials,
both civil and military, were to take the oath of allegiance to Vir-
ginia and the oath of office according to the form of their own re-
ligion. In criminal prosecutions, if the defendants were found
guilty, the lieutenant might grant pardons, except in cases of murder
and treason. In these cases he could only suspend execution until
they had been reviewed by the government of Virginia.
On December 12, 1778, Patrick Henry, Governor of Virginia, com-
missioned John Todd as County Lieutenant of the county of Illinois.
The following passages of his letter to Todd pertain to the formation
of the civil government and to the powers granted it: "Altho Great
reliance is placed on your prudence in managing the people you are
to reside among, yet considering you as unacquainted in some Degree
with their Genius, usage and maners, as well as the Geography of
the Country, I recommend it to you to consult and advise with the
most inteligible and upright persons who may fall in your way."
*******
"and I know of no better Gen'l Direction to Give than this that you
Consider yourself at the head of the Civill department and as Such
having the Comm'd of the militia untill ordered out by the civil
Authority, and to act in conjunction with them."
"You are on all Accatons to inculcate on the people the value of
liberty and the Difference between the State of free Citizens of the
Commonwealth and that Slavery to which Illinois was Destined. A
free and equal representation may be expected by them in a little
Time, together with all the improvmts in Jurisprudence and police
which the Other parts of the State enjoy."
'•The Ditails of your Duty in the civil Department I need not give
you, its best Direction will be found in yr innate love of Justice and
Zeal, to be intencively usefull to your fellow-men. A general Direc-
tion to act according to the best of yr Judgment in cases where these
Instructions are Silent and the laws have not Otherwise Directed is
1. Hening, Statutes at Large, IX, 5?2-535; printed also in Appendix IV.
21
given to you from the necessity of the case, for yr Great Distance
from Governmnt will not permit you to wait for Orders in many
Cases of Great Importance."1
In May, 1779, Todd reached Kaskaskm. His first duty was to at-
tend to the appointment of militia officers. In most cases he con-
firmed the appointments made by Clark in Cahokia; for Commandant
Trottier and Captain Turanjeau of his list of officers bear the title of
c; i] itain in the record of Clark's court.2 On the other hand Perrault,
who was lieutenant and justice under Clark, received no office under
the new government.
The act of the Virginia assembly required the election of offi-
cers, "for the preservation of peace and the administration of justice,"
such as the inhabitants were accustomed to.3 Did Todd follow his
instructions in this particular? The inhabitants had experienced
within recent years both French and English judicial institutions,
either of which he might have followed and remained within both
spirit and letter of the act. The former had consisted of. one judge
who tried both civil and criminal cases without the assistance of a
jury. The English court had been created by a proclamation of Colonel
Wilkins on November 21, 1768, which was issued in accordance with a
letter of instructions from General Gage.4 This court was composed of
seven judges and was held every month at Fort Chartres. At most
it had jurisdiction only over civil cases and very probably it was lim-
ited to actions for debt and the trials were held without jury.5 What
change, if any, was made in the character of the court by the "Quebec
Act" of 1774, which subordinated the territory north of the Ohio river
to the government of Canada, I do not know; but as the British troops
were withdrawn from the Illinois in the spring of 1776, leaving a
Frenchman, Rocheblave, in charge, there was practically no time to
inaugurate a radical change.6 Under Philippe de Rocheblave what-
ever order had been introduced into the department of justice by the
English commandant disappeared. Certain English merchants com-
plained that he acted against them in the dual capacity of attorney
1. Cal. of Va. State Papers, I., 312 et seq.; also in Mason, John Todd's Record- Book Fergus
Hist. Series, No. 33, pp. 159-164.
2. AW. ,164.
3. Hening, Statutes at Large, IV, 553; appendix IV.
4. I have been unable to find either proclamation or letter, nor have I seen a reference as
to where they may be found. The accounts in the various histories quoted below show such a
striking similarity that they must have been derived from a common source. This may of
course be the original documents. Brown, History of Illinois, 213; Davidson and Strive, A Com-
plete Hit to ry of Illinois, 165; Moses. Illinois Statistical and Historical, \, 140; Dunn. Indiana. 78.
5. Moses, Court of Enquiry at Fort Chartres. 292. In this account, which differs from the
generally accepted one, Moses has drawn his information from the statement in a letter of
Ensign George Butricke, who was stationed at Fort Chartres at this period. Speaking of
Colonel Wilkins he w-ote: "He has now granted commissions of the peace to several people,
both French and English; of these he has formed a court of judicature, who are allowed to
determine on all causes of Debt without a Jury. How this may answer with the laws of Great
Britain 1 will not pretend to sav. He has appointed Mr. George Morgan president of this
court which has given great offence to all the French inhabitants in the colony, he being uni-
versally hated by all those people." Hist. Magazine, VIII, 262-270.
6. Houston, Constitutional Documents of Canada, 90; Coffin, The Province of Quebec and the
Early American Revolution, Univ. Wis. Bulletin, I.. 276 et seq.; Mason, Philippe de Rocheblave
and Rocheblave Papers, Fergus Hist. Series, No. 34, p. 237; "Clark and the Kaskaskia Campaign
Documents", in Amer. Hist. Review, VIII. 492.
22
and judge; and Rocheblave explained that persons accused of crime
demanded first English and then French law according as one or the
other was favorable to them. From these complaints it is evident
that Rocheblave was acting as sole judge in both civil and criminal
cases and that the English bench of seven judges no longer existed,1
Although a reversion to the older French procedure had appar-
ently taken place, still Todd might have urged the previous use of
the English court as a justification for ignoring the French model:
for the inherent dislike of Americans for the one-man rule would
have debarred that kind of a court, even if there had been anyone in
the county capable of performing the duties of judge. It is reason-
able to suppose that the English residents, such as Daniel Murray
and Richard Winston, must have thrown the weight of their influence
against the reinstatement of the French tribunal. -
Todd apparently gave little attention to either of these earlier
courts; for there were in existence judicial institutions with which he
was familiar, even if the inhabitants had not yet become accustomed
to them. These were the courts founded by Clark in the three
villages. As has been said, they were modeled after the county
court of Virginia; an institution which both Clark and Todd had
helped to introduce into Kentucky, just previous to starting on the
expedition to the Illinois.3 The county government of Virginia
consisted of the county lieutenant, the court, and the minor
officials. The court, which had both civil and criminal jurisdiction,
was composed of the justices of the peace, and held monthly ses-
sions.4 The most important differences between the institution as it
was founded in Illinois and its prototype were the election of the
justices by popular vote and the existence of three courts in one
county. The first of these differences was established by the
Virginia assembly, and the second was due to the distances between
the villages. Eleven years later Governor St. Clair was obliged to
adopt a similar expedient for the same reason.5 But in both cases
the judicial institutions thus created were town rather than county
courts.
Nine justices of the peace were elected in Kaskaskia, and seven in
each of the villages of Cahokia and Vincennes.6 In Cahokia, at least,
elections were regularly held until 1789. During the first few years
the formality of taking the oath of office took place on June 19. 7 The
observance of this date, which was so religiously adhered to, leads me
to believe that it was the anniversary of the inauguration of the first
popular government in Illinois by John Todd. Interesting as would
be the determination of the date of this event in the history of the
1. Mason, Philipve de Rocheblave and Rocheblave Papers , Fergus Hist. Series, No. 34, pp.1'57,
262.
2. Ibid., 289. Rocheblave called both of them Englishmen.
3. Roosevelt, The Winning of the West, 1,320-322; (/ark's Memoir, in Dillon, Indiana,
115-119. Todd's presence in the campaign has been questioned. English, Conquest of the
Northwest, I, 253. But see Mason, Illinois in the Eighteenth Century, 51.
4. Statutes at Large, \~ ., 45; Howard. Lncal Constitutional History of the U. S., 88-97 ; Chan-
ning, Town and County Government, J. H. U. Studies, II, 45.
5. Smith. St. Clair papers, II, 172.
6. Jitge de Paix.
1. Record of the court at Cahokia.
state, the evidence is not sufficient to give more than a probable
result. It is known that Todd appointed the militia officers in
Cahokia on May 14, 1779, and about the same time must have
announced the election of the civil offices.1 Law and common usage
would have required that some time elapse after the proclamation
before proceeding to the election, so that, with preparations and
delays, it might well have been June 19 before the new government
was installed. The ucherif " was for a few years also elected by popu-
lar vote; but later he was named by the court, as were the clerk and
bailiff (huissier) from the beginning.2
The court held a session regularly every month. Usually one day
was sufficient for the transaction of all legal business; but occasion-
ally there were adjournments to the next day and also extraordinary
meetings during the month. For the interim the court appointed one
of its members juge de semaine, whose duties were similar to the
Virginia justice of the peace. Without a careful study of the record,
it will be impossible to pass judgment upon the law in use; but there
is no reasonable doubt but that in most cases the French law was fol-
lowed, although at times the English procedure and probably the law
were used. There are several instances of trial by jury, the first oc-
curring in 1780. 3 In this first case the eight jurors were illiterate
Frenchmen and made their marks. In the registration of deeds the
same formulae were employed as in the register of the French court
described above.4
The government thus established was soon left to its own guidance
without interference on the part of Virginia. John Todd had decided
as early as Aug. 17, 1779, to ask to be relieved of his office, and he re-
mained in Illinois only until the end of the year. On Dec. 23, he
wrote Governor Jefferson from the "Falls of the Ohio," evidently hav-
ing left his post. Jefferson desired him to reconsider his decision;
but there is no evidence that he ever returned or that a successor was
officially appointed. The other officials of the county continued to
regard him as the head of the government until October, 17b!0, as is
proved by their letters to him.5 After that date communication be-
tween the east and Illinois was only intermittent. The legal condi-
1. Mason, John Todd's Record-Book, Fergus Hist. Series, No. 33, p. 164.
2. 19 Juin 1780 Pres. Cap/. '1 rot tier
Ch. Graf iot
Michel Beaulieu
Antoine Girardin
Pierre Martin
La cour assemble Bpte. Saucier
Joseph Lepage, J. Bpte. La Croix, Clement Langlois, Ch. Duchesne, Fr Couree, Philippe Jer-
rais. Antoine Arinant comme ayant ete name par une assemble public dimanche dernier 18 du
curant dans la maison de M. Fr. Trottier Cap. Commandant la milice des Cahokios pour prendre
lieurs place comme en qualite dejuge de paix, etc.
Les suirant juges mentiones en I 'outre part par la derniere election faite out prie le serment de
fidelite aux Etats ainsi que celui dejuge de Paix etc. selon leurs liste a I ''exception de Joseph Lepage
abfant.
La cour a ordonne que Fr. Saucier soit appointe dark de la cour.
(There followed the paths of dark and bailiff.)
Jean Bte. Hubert la Ctotx a remi a le cour la commission de Cherif.—Yrom the record of the
court at Cahokia.
3. If juries were not used during1 the English period, as appears to have been the case, this
was the first recorded jury trial in the territory of the present state of Illinois.
4. Here is an example from the clerk's register: Se requerant la dite Marie Aubuchon in-
sinuation du dit testament lecture faite de celui en notre greffe nous /'arons insinue et enregistre sur
la rf.gistre des insinuation de la siege suivant I 'ordonnance pour servir et va/oir ce que de raison dont
act le ditjour et an.
5. Mason, John -Todd Papers, Fergus Hist. Series, No. 33, pp. 157,189,206,211,227,229.
24
tioii of the government of the country became anomalous, for the
Virginia Act of 1778 establishing the county was to remain in force
only for twelve months and thereafter until the end of the next session
and no longer, in May, 1780, the act was continued by the assembly
for a similar period, and was not renewed.1 "The statutory organiza-
tion of Illinois expired, therefore in 1781, and from that time until
the passage of the ordinance of 1787, there was no government resting
upon positive provisions of law in the territory northwest of the Ohio
river."2
The reason for this cessation of Virginia's interest is to be found
in her negotiations with the United States' government in regard to
the cession of this territory to the latter. A bill to that effect was
passed by the Assembly as early as Jan. 2, 1781, but the business
dragged through several sessions of the United States congress, and
it was not until March 1, 1784, that the official cession was com-
pleted.3
This transfer of sovereignty made no immediate change in the form
of government or- in the political condition in Illinois.4 The isolation
of the county was only occasionally broken. In 1783, there were in
the county Virginia commissioners, who reported that the greatest
confusion prevailed for lack of proper government.5 The French also
made several attempts to arouse either Virginia or the United States
to take some action in their behalf. In the register of the clerk of
the court of Cahokia there is an account of an assembly of the inhab-
itants called by the commandant April 3, 1781, at which Pierre Pro-
vost of Kaskaskia was appointed to represent them in Virginia, and,
if necessary, at the congress of the United States. Later in 1783, M.
Carboneaux was sent to Virginia on a similar mission. He reported
that the magistrates through neglect of their duty had lost all con-
trol, that murderers were unpunished, and that certain persons were
establishing themselves as lords of the soil.6 The same representa-
tive afterwards carried his complaint to congress and on Feb. 21, 1785,
that body determined to send commissioners to Kaskaskia; but there
is no evidence that any further action was taken.7 In the summer of
1786, the inhabitants of Kaskaskia again petitioned congress for a
government. The reply was that it had, "under consideration the
plan of temporary government for the said district and its adoption
will be no longer protracted than the importance of the subject and a
due regard to their interest may require."8 The next year Gen. Har-
mer visited the district and stopped some of the abuses such as land
grabbing.9 The government promised by congress was not established
in Illinois until the spring of 1790.
1. Herring, Statutes at Large, IX, 555, X, 308; Appendix, TV.
2. Boyd, "The County of Illinois," in A*ner. Hist.Re-c., IV, No. 4,625.
3. Journal of Congress, VIII, 199, 203, 253, IX, 47-51; Herring. Statutes at Large, XI, S71-
575.
4. Journals of Congress, IX. 47-51.
5. Draper Collection, Clark Afss.. LX, Illinois Papers, No. 3. 52. This is a copy of a docu-
ment in the office of the Auditor of Public Accounts of Virginia.
6. Ibid. No. 3. 1-4. This is only an extract from the original document; Roosevelt, The
Winning or the West, II, 185.
7. Journals of Congress, X, 45; Boyd, County of Illinois, in Amer. Hist. Rev.. IV, 634, note 2.
8. Journals of Congress, IV, 688.
9. Smith, St. Clair Papers, II, 32; Amer. State Papers, Public Lands, I, 10.
25
Left to themselves it is not strange that the needs of society re-
quired of the institutions, created under the Virginia Act, other and
more complex duties than had been originally intended; and in the
difficulties of the people struggling with the problem of self govern-
ment, is found sufficient cause i'or extending the limits of power
belonging to court and commandant. These limits had been, at best,
very indefinite, as a reading of the original act and the instructions
of Patrick Henry show. In each of the villages, Kaskaskia, Cahokia,
and Vincennes, was a commandant and a court with other officials.
Over these was the county lieutenant. On his departure, Todd
apparently appointed Richard Winston as his deputy. That he re-
garded Winston as next in command is proved by his letter in which
he delegated to him the chief command during a temporary ab-
sence.1 Denmnbrunt, in his memorial to the governor of Virginia, in
December, 1791, stated that "when Col. Winston was appointed to
the command of the county of Illinois," the "said colonel" commis-
sioned him as commandant of Kaskaskia.2 The title of colonel was
that borne by the county lieutenant. Additional evidence is found in
the register of the clerk of the court, where there is a letter from
Winston in which he signed himself. County Lieutenant.3 This
letter was dated June 29, 1782. When he ceased to act as head of
the government does not appear from any of the records.
On the authority of Governor St. Glair's statement that after Todd's
departure, "a person by the name of De Numbrun was substituted,"
it has been generally believed that Demunbrunt acted at some time
in the capacity of county lieutenant; but he clearly stated in his
memorial to the Governor of Virginia that he had been appointed
commandant of Kaskaskia by Winston.4 In Todd's Record-Book
there are two entries made and signed by Demunbrunt as Lieutenant
Commander, which certainly is not a title corresponding to county
lieutenant, but. was more likely borne by the commandant of the
village.5 After the end of Winston's rule, probably there was no
general government for the whole county, but each village controlled
its own destiny. There is a hint that such was the case in the fact,
that in 1783 the judges of the court at Cahokia assumed the name of
magistrates, and the title of commandant of Cahokia does not appear
in the record after that date. Francois Trottier, who had been ap-
pointed commandant by Todd, in the spring of this year petitioned
the court to relieve him of his office temporarily, as he was obliged to
leave Cahokia. Later in the record he was always called M. Francois
Trottier, a significant fact.6
1. Mason. John Todd's Record- Book, Fergus Hist. Series No. 33, p. 172.
2. ral. of Va. State Papers, V, 407.
4. Amer State Papers, Public Lands, 1, 19; Boyd. (.'oi/titv of Illinois, -imet. Hist. Rev., IV,
631: Cal.of Va., Stale Papers. \ , 407; Smith, St. Clatr Papers. II, 169. Since writing the
above I have found in the collection of the Chicago Hist. Society a document, dated 1784,
•signed Timothe Demunbrnnt. Major Commandant.
5. Mason, John Todd's Record -Book, Fergus Hist. Series, No. 33, p. 18."). Under the French
the major commandant was in charge of the district, while there were other commandants in
each of the villages, perhaps called lieutenant commandants.
6. Record of the court at Cahokia. The title of niajristrates was, however, Riven to the
Virginia justices. Ingle, Local Institutions of Virginia, J. H. U. Studies,, III, 89.
26
By a careful study of the record of the court it will be possible to
fill out our knowledge of the history of the period from 1779 to 1790,
wThich up to the present time, owing to the scarcity of sources, has
been very fragmentary. A superficial examination of the sessions
shows that the court exercised many sovereign powers, some of which
belonged legally to it, while others may have been assumed from
necessity or from the desire for gain. Instances of such administra-
tive acts are numerous. The court summoned assemblies of the
people: issued proclamations and passed resolutions, all the judges
signing the record on such occasions; fixed its own fees, which were
not excessive, since the schedule followed closely that of the French
court. Such acts probably did not exceed the limits of power accorded
any Virginia county court, or the authority specially granted to that
at Cahokia. Todd had been instructed by Governor Henry to consult
with the most intelligent of the inhabitants, and he had probably per-
mitted the courts to decide all local questions. This power they con-
tinued to exercise after his departure.1 The principal abuse of power,
charged against these courts of Illinois, was that they granted titles
to land. This they unquestionably did, and were probably guilty of
many frauds. The judges at Vincennes pleaded ignorance as an
excuse for their action. They said that after the departure of Todd
the commandant assumed that he had the same rights as were exer-
cised by the French commandants and granted this privilege to the
court.2 The French commandant with the counsel of the civil judge
did possess the power 6f granting land to the settlers, as is shown by
the numerous claims based upon such grants in the volumes devoted
to the public lands in the American State Papers. Their authority
for so doing was delegated to them by the governor and intendant of
the province of Louisiana.3
That Todd had the same right was denied by Governor St. Clair.
But Todd's own proclamation and his subsequent action prove that
he believed that the discretionary power given him included also this
authority. In the proclamation of June 15, 1779, he prohibited all
persons from making new settlements upon the bottom lands, except
in the manner practiced by the French. The proclamation was made,
because he feared an inrush of speculators; so he refused to allow
settlements except in the long narrow strips of the French grants,
which stretched from the river to the bluffs.4 Later Todd gave land
to the settlers at the new post, which was erected at the junction of
the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, and asked the assembly of Virginia
to settle the price saying nothing about the confirmation of titles.5
If Todd believed himself empowered to dispose of land titles in
this manner, there is nothing strange in the fact that Winston, who
was his delegate and successor, should have acted as if he had the
same authority. But after 1782 there is no evidence that Winston or
anyone else held the office of county lieutenant.6 What authority,
1. Mason, John Todd's Record-Book, Fergus Hist. Series, No. 33. pp. 154-164.
2. Roosevelt, The Winningofthe West, II, 181; Amer. State Papers, Public Lands, 1,10,18.
3. Ibid., I. ,10,16; Edits, Ordonnances Royaux, etc., 1,572-574.590.
4. Amer. State Papers, Public Lands, I, 18; Mason, John Todd's Record-Book, Fergus Hist.
Series, No. 34, p. 171; Roosevelt. The Winningofthe West, II, 171.
5. Cal. of Va. State Papers., 1,358.
6. See page 21, note 4.
27
except that of the courts and possibly of the local commandant, re-
mained in the county to regulate the occupation of the land? And
there was need that authority be exercised, for the conditions were
rapidly changing. Americans were crowding into the territory; 108
settled in Vincennes and a larger number in Illinois before 1787. 1
They even forced themselves into the government, the names Philip
Engel arid Thomas Brady appearing on the list of judges at Cahokia
in 1785. On account of these conditions and since the United States
delayed, the courts assumed the authority, which circumstances
forced upon them. After the first grants, there was no hesitation
and many frauds were practiced. That the magistrates believed, as
those of Vincennes declared, that they were acting within their au-
thority seems reasonable. But certainly the delegation of power from
Toddto the courts had been stretched beyond the utmost limits.
With the two exceptions, Brady and Engel, the court was, and re-
mained from beginning to end, French in its personnel. There was
no law against re-election and generally one or two magistrates of the
preceding year were re-elected ; but no name appears for many suc-
cessive years except that of Philip Engel, who remained judge from
1785 to 1790. The first clerk was Francois Saucier, who was succeed-
ed in 1785 by Joseph Labuxiere, of whom mention has already been
made, For some reason he failed to be re- appointed in 1788; but the
successful candidate, Pierre Billet, served only a few months, when
Labuxiere was recalled to the office which he retained until the com
ing of Governor St. Clair.
1. Roosevelt. The Winning of the West, III, 235, note 1.
DOCUMENTS OF ILLINOIS UNDEK THE DOMINION OF
THE UNITED STATES, 1788-1818.
The next group of documents falls in the period between the organ-
ization of the northwest by Governor St. Glair and the establishment
of Illinois as a state in 1818. Since there are numerous other sources
for the history of this period, the Belleville documents do not contain
much of general interest. For this reason and because the report is
already long, I have limited myself to indicating the course of events
without further discussion. For a list of the documents reference
may be made to the catalog.
The government of the Northwest Territory was organized 1788;
but it was not until March 5, 1790, that St. Olair reached the Illinois
and put an end to the French court. This held its last session April
1,1790 and adjourned to May 3, a date it was not destined to keep:
because St. Glair, on April 27, 1790, established St. Glair County,
which included the southwest part of the present state between the
Illinois and Ohio rivers.1 Since the French villages were so far apart,
the .Governor divided the county into three districts, "though not
strictly warranted by law", and the "judges of the peace" were so dis-
tributed that the courts could be held in each, while the judges of
probate, the prothoriotary of common pleas, and the clerk were in-
structed to appoint deputies to act in two of the districts.- Later, in
1795, Randolph county with Kaskaskia as county seat was separated
from St. Glair, Cahokia being the chief place of the latter.
One of the most serious difficulties confronting the new government
was the question of land titles. The whole subject of land grants
under the French, English, and Virginia dominions was investigated,
but it was not until the first of the nineteenth century that it was
finally adjusted.3
In the year 1800, the Northwest Territory was divided into Ohio
and the territory of Indiana which included Illinois. Finally in 1809
this was again divided, Illinois territory inchiding the district west of
the line reaching from the Wabash, "due north to the territorial line
between the United States and Canada."
1. Greene, The Government of Illinois, 14; Moses, Illinois Historical and Statistical I ., 196;
Smith, St. C/air Papers. II. 165.
2. Ibid., II. 172.
3. Amer. State Papers, Public Lands, I, and II ; U. S. -Statutes at Latge, II, 337.
29
The relative paucity of documents of these years is very surprising,
and I have found no adequate explanation. With the exception of
the records of deeds and of wills, with a record of the court of com-
mon pleas for a few months during the years 1795 and 1796, there has
been preserved almost nothing of interest before the year 1808. After
that date the documents are numerous and all offices show complete
records from the time Illinois was admitted as a state in 1818.
CATALOG OF THE OLDEST DOCUMENTS IN THE COURT HOUSE
AT BELLEVILLE.
In this catalog I have described the documents as they were pre-
vious to my visit to Belleville. Since that time, the documents in
the office of the circuit clerk have been bound in a uniform black
cloth binding with leather corners and back. What has been done
with the loose and unclassified papers in the county treasurer's office
(No. 12 of the catalog), I do not know. A recommendation was made
to the supervisors that these be arranged in order and deposited in a
safer place. Some explanation of the cause of such combinations of
documents in the same binding, as in the case of No. 5, is needed.
These documents were in the greatest confusion, when I first saw
them. Without a premonition that my arrangement was to be
regarded as final, I assorted them and placed, for their better preser-
vation, the loose sheets and the smaller documents with others of
similar size. The binder has perpetuated these accidental unions.
For the same reason the Extrait des Registre de la Jurisdiction des
Cahos has been dignified with some parchment covers, which were
without contents until I placed this clerk's register within them,
because it fitted.
OFFICE OF THE CIRCUIT CLEKK.
1. Reyistre des Insinuations des Donations aux Siege des Illinois, January 15,
1737 -June 26, 1769.
Bound in parchment: size, 13}^' by 8J-2' inches; pages, 146; blank pages, 1;
last page missing; water-mark, shield with fleur-de-lis, surrounded with
scroll; 122 registries; language, French; on first cover Insinuations is
spelt Insinutions, but it is corrected on the back cover.
2. a. Record of the court at Cahokia, November 26, 1779 — April 1, 1790.
Unbound; made up of six record books sewed together; size varies,
but it is about 12>2' by 8 inches; pages, 348; blank pages. 48; several
pages missing; various water-marks; no name to document; language,
French,
b. Eecord of public sales. November 2, 1778 — June 22, 1782.
Unbound: pages, 50; blank pages, 10; water-mark. DTKIIAM; no name
given to document; language, French.
3. Extrait des Registre de la Jurisdiction des Cahos, December 12, 1778 — October
28, 1788.
Originally bound in flexible paper cover, it was placed by me in the
parchment covers in which it is now bound: size, 15 by OV-j inches:
pages, 58; blank pages. 4; pages numbered Folio 5, etc.: language.
French, but there are a few English deeds and letters; it is the register
of the clerk of the court acting as recorder.
30
4. Registre des audiences par(?) Le juge de Semaine comence Le 9 juillet 1785 et
reforme Le 14 fevrier 1786 a In Cour tenue le d1 jour.
Unbound; size, II}.. i by 8% inches; pages, 20; blank pages, 4; water-mark,
star and D C within oval; language, French.
5. a. Record of court at Cahokia, December 31, 1778 — May 7, 1779.
Loose sheets: size, 12 li by 8 inches: pages, 8; watermark, lion rampant
holding a bunch of arrows and a standard, within a circle: language,
English; no name to document.
b. Minutes of General Court of Illinois Territory, St. Clalr County, April
Term, 1811.
Unbound; pages, 28; language, English.
c. Minutes of the same, September term. 1813.
Unbound: pages, 54; language, English.
6. Settlement of the estate of M. and Mad. Charleville, 1781.
Unbound; size, 12><2 by 8 inches; pages, 58: no name to document: lan-
guage. French: at the end, there is a letter in English to the court,
dated July 9th, 1789.
7. Record A. of the Court of Common Pleas of St. Clair County, October 6, 1795-
April, 1796.
Bound in flexible paper cover; pages 90; blank pages 1; records of 43 ses-
sions; water mark, a crown with C R below: language English.
There are complete records of the circuit court since 1808.
OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK.
8. Record A. of the County Clerk.
This record has been misplaced, so that I was unable to see it. It covers
the period previous to 1817. and is a record of administrative proceed-
ings.
OFFICE OF COUNTY TREASURER.
9. About 370 unclassified legal papers belonging to the court of Cahokia,
1778-1790. in two tin filing cases.
They are generally in French and are written on all kinds of paper, some
of them mere scraps. They are requests for writs of various charac-
ters, statements of claims by petitioners, sheriff's warrants, etc. There
are among them some papers of a later date.
OFFICE OF PROBATE CLERK.
10. Entries of Letters of Administration and Testamentary, etc., issued by
the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in Vacation as by the Law of
the Territory, March 10, 1794-March 18, 1831.
Ten years ago, the book was bound in vellum, but has since been re-
bound in stiff board covers and marked Wills. Page 153.
OFFICE OF THE RECORDER.
11. Record A. St. Clair Co., April 26, 1790-September 7, 1796.
On fly leaf is written, ''By his excellency Arthur St. Clair Esquire Gov-
ernor and Commander in Chief of the Territory of the U. S. North
West of the River Ohio." Bound in stiff board covers; size quarto;
pages 302; blank pages, several; contents, private deeds of all kinds;
language French and English. There is also a copy of this record in a
very clear hand-writing.
12. Record B. March 14, 1800— March 23. 1813.
Bound in heavy board covers; size folio; pages 663; blank pages, several;
contents, deeds of all kinds; language English.
13. A record of Land Claims under Virginia and U. S. grants, Novembers, 1798.
Bound in flexible covers; pages 92: blank pages 46; the book was written
by John Hay and the language is English.
31
R ECOMMENDATION .
There are so many more important documents of the French period
to be edited, that it does not seem wise to expend money on the im-
mediate publication of the Registre des Insinuation des Donations.
No doubt a more intensive study of the contents would yield some-
thing fruitful for our knowledge of the law, social conditions, and
genealogy of the French in the Mississippi settlements. Yet the re-
sults would be more of local than general interests. For much of the
analysis of the institutional conditions existing in the French -colonies
which is contained in this report, I would have chosen Some other
source than the Registre, had such been available ; for it contains hints
rather than explanations of the machinery of government. Possibly
later a short study of the internal evidence with a few typical docu-
ments might be made with profit.
When we come to the documents of the Virginia period the rec-
ommendation must be the opposite. All of these documents are im-
portant and give new and valuable information on the history of the
•conquest of Illinois and the government of the succeeding period. Up
to the present time little has been known about the courts established
by Clark or in regard to the government founded by Todd. As soon
as possible this material should be published. I recommend that a
volume containing the record of Clark's court, selections from the
clerk's register, and a full record of the court established under the
Virginia act be issued. It will be unnecessary to publish all the
clerk's register as many of the documents are inventories, promissory
notes, and letters of local interest, typical examples of which would
be sufficient for such a volume.
There is no document of the later period that is worth publication
at this time, with the possible exception of Record A. of the Record-
er's office. An interesting selection from these deeds might be made.
Although my report is confined to the documents of the Belleville court
house, still I feel 4hat the time and opportunity are propitious for a
suggestion on the future policy to be pursued in the publication of
the historical sources of the state. Up to the present, most of the
American state governments and historical societies have contented
themselves with a haphazard publication of documents. The longer
this policy is continued, the more difficult will become an exhaustive
and systematic publication of the historical sources of the states and
more complicated the work of the student. It is time the American
states should follow a plan for the complete publication of historical
material, as the European states have been doing for the past century.
The best methods for such a work have already been evolved by the
Germans in the Monumenia Gernianiae Hisiorica and the historians
of other European states have followed their lead, so that today these
stiidents axe carrying to completion the work of publication along
definite lines, which were carefully mapped out years ago.
Some such plan for the exhaustive publication of the material for
the history of Illinois can now be made, so that the work of future
editors of documents and narratives may be directed by a general
32
scheme. The general outlines of such a plan will not be difficult to
formulate and should be determined by a commission of historians of
the state. They might decide on a purely chronological plan or bet-
ter still on an arrangement of documents and narratives with refer-
ence to their character and chronology. However, before much can
be done, there must be made a careful examination of the archives of
the State and a bibliography of the historical material already pub-
lished.
For the survey of archives, arrangements have already been made,
I believe, by the Trustees of the State Historical Library and by the
Historical Manuscript Commission of the American Historical Asso-
ciation.
APPENDIX I.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
"Affairs at Fort Chartres, 1768-1771", in Historical Magazine, VIII, 8.
American State Papers, Public Lands, I and II, Washington, 1832.
Billon, F. L., Annals of St. Louis. St. Louis, 1886.
Boyd, C. E., "The County of Illinois", in American Historical Review, IV, No. 4.
., Breese, S., The Early History of Illinois. Chicago, 1884.
Brooke, R., A Treatise on the Practice of a Notary of England. London, 1876.
-Brown, H., History of Illinois. New York, 1844.
Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts, 1652-1781. I and V,
1875 ff.
Channing, E. , Town and County Government in the English Colonies of North
America, J. H. U. Studies, II, No. X.
Church Records of Ste. Anne. Manuscript copy in Chicago Historical Library. •
"Clark and the Kaskaskia Campaign, Documents," in American Historical Re-
view. VIII, 491-506.
Clark's Sketch of his Campaign in the Illinois, in Ohio Valley Historical Series.
No. 3. Cincinnati, 1869.
Coffin, V. , Ttie Province of Quebec and the Early American Revolution, Univer-
sity of Wisconsin Bulletin, I, Madison, 1896.
Collet, O. W., "Review of Hinsdale's Old Northwest,"' in Magazine of West-
ern History, VIII, 1888.
""Davidson, A., and Stuve, B., A Complete History of Illinois. Springfield, 1874.
Dillon, J., History of Indiana. Indianapolis, 1859.
Documents in the Court house at Belleville.
Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York. vols. VII,
VIII. X, Albany, 1856 ff.
Draper Collection, Clark Manuscripts, in the library of the Wisconsin Histor-
ical Society.
Edits, ordonnances royaux, declarations et arrete du consell d'etat du Roi, con-
cernant Canada, etc., 3 vols., Quebec, 1854-1856.
English, W. H., Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio and Life of
George Rogers Clark. 2 vols., Indianapolis, 1896.
Eschmann, C. J., "Kaskaskia Church Records," in Transactions of the Illinois
State Historical Society. 1904.
French, B. F., Historical Collections of Louisiana. 5 vols., Philadelphia. 1850 ff.
Gayarre, C. E. A., History of Louisiana. 4 vois., 3d ed.. New Orleans, 1885.
Greene, E. B. , The Gm^erninent of Illinois. New York, 1904.
Hening, W. W., Statutesat Large, (of Virginia.) vols. I-V, IX, X: Richmond, 1821.
History of St. Clair County, III. Philadelphia, 1881.
Houston, W., Documents Illustrative of the Canadian Conxlil a i in n. Toronto, 1891.
Howard, E. E. , Local Constitutional History of United States. Baltimore, 1889.
Illinois Historical Collections. Vol. I., Springfield, 1903.
Ingle, E., Local Institution* of \'irijini(i. Johns Hopkins rniv<'r*iti/ Stmlit's, III.
No*. II and III.
"Intercepted Letters and Journal of George Rogers Clark. 1778, 1779," in
American Historical Review, 1 . 90-96.
Isambert, Decrusy. Taillandier, Rci-neU general </<s ani-iennes loi* fr<in<-<tises.
Vols. XIX. XXI, Paris, 1829.
Journals of Congress. Vols. IV-XI. Philadelphia, 1800 ff.
King, Grace, Neir Orleans; The P/mr <in<l the People. New York, 1899.
L<i (-irandc. Enajflnpcdic.
Larousse, Grande IHrtinnairc / ~nnvr.se/.
-3 H
Margry. P., Dcconvcitcs ct etaltlisxement* do- • fnnn-dix dtnix L'Anicrl<i\ie septcn-
Irionale. 1K14-1754. 6 vols., Paris. 1887.
Mason, E. G., Illinois in the Eighteenth Century; Old Fort Chartrcs and John
Todd's Record- Booh. Chicago. 1881.
Mason, E. G.. John Todd, John Tftdd's Record-Book, <tnd Jolin-Todd Puprrx.
Fergus Historical Series, No. 33. Chicago. 1890.
?~Mason. E. G., Llxte of Earl]/ Illinois* Citizen*, Fergus Hixtoririil Scricx. \o. 31.
Chicago, 1890.
Mason, E. G., Philippe de Rocheblave and Rocheblave Paper*, Fcrgn* JJixtoriml
Series, No. 34. Chicago. 1890.
Mixxonrl Reports, Vol. IV., St. Louis, 1870.
x-f-Moses, J.. Illinois Historical and Statistical. 2 vols., Chicago, 1890.
Ogg, F. A., The Opening of the Mississippi. New York, 1904.
Perrin, J. N., "The Oldest Civil Record in the West," in Triiiixurtionx of the
Illinois State Historical Society, 1901.
^•-Pittman, P., The Present State of the European Settlements on the Mixsisxipni.
London, 1770.
.-Reynolds, J., The Pioneer History of Illinois, lielleville, 1852.
Roosevelt. T.. The Winning of the West. 4 vols., New York, 1896.
Roy, J. E., Histoire du Notariat au Canada, 4 vols., Levis, 1899.
Smith. W. H., St. Clair Papers. 2 vols., Cincinnati, 1882.
Tripier and Monnier, Les Codes Francois, Code Civil. Paris. 1900.
Violett, P., Histoire du Droit Civil Francais, 3d ed., Paris, 1905.
Wallace, J., The History of Illinois and Louisiana under French .Rale. Cincin-
nati. 1893. L-
' J. , Narrative and Critical History of America. Vols. IV- VI. Boston,
1886.
APPENDIX II.
ORDINANCE OF FEBRUARY, 1731, CONCERNING DONATIONS.
Isambert. Decrusy, Taillandier, Recueil general des anciennes lois fran-
caise, XXI., 343-356.
ART. 1. All acts of donations 'inter vivo* shall be passed before notaries, and
there shall be made minutes of them, on penalty of nullity.
2. Donations inter vivos shall be made in the ordinary form of contracts
and of acts passed before notaries, and all other formalities, which have been
required up to the present, in the different laws, customs and usages of the
land under our dominion, shall be observed.
3. All donations mortis causa, with the exception of those which are made
by contract of marriage, shall not be effective, hereafter, unless they shall be
made in the same form as wills and testaments, all other laws and customs to
the contrary notwithstanding; so that in future there shall be only two
forms of disposing of property gratuitously, one of which shall be that of
donations inter vivos. and the other, that of wills and testaments.
* . *• * * . * * *
5. Donations inter vivos, likewise those which are made to the Church or
for pious purposes, can be binding on the donor and be effective, only from
the day they shall be accepted by the donee or his attorney, general or
special. In the latter case the power of attorney shall be attached* to the
minute of the donation. And in case the donation should have been accepted
by a person who shall have declared himself the agent of the donee, the said
donation shall take effect only from the day of the express ratification, which
ratification the said donee shall have made by act passed before a notary, the
minute of which act shall be preserved. We forbid all notaries and taMwfewe
to accept donations in favor of absent donees on penalty of nullity of said act.
• * * * * * * *
15. No donation inter vivos can include other property than that which
shall belong to the donor at the time of the donation.
85
17. Nevertheless, we wish that donations, made by the marriage contract,
in favor of the husband and wife or of their descendants, even when made by
collateral relatives or by strangers, be excepted from the provision of article
15, and that the said donations, made by contract of marriage may include
both present property and that to be acquired in the future, all or in part; in
which case, it shall be at the choice of the donee, either to take the property,
such as it is at the time of the death of the donor, and to pay all debts and
charges, even those which shall have been made subsequent to the donation,
or to receive only the property which existed at the time when the donation
was made, and to pay only the debts and charges existent at that time.
»'>-•;« * * * * *
19. Donations made in contracts of marriage in direct line shall not be
subject to the formality of registration.
23. In all cases, where registration is required on penalty of nullity, dona-
tions of real property or of that which, without being real, is taxed according
to the law, customs or usages of the land, and do not follow the person of the
donor, shall be registered, on penalty of nullity, at the bureau of the baili-
wick, or of the royal seneschal's court, or of other royal court with direct
appeal to our court, of the district in which is situated the domicile of the
donor, and also of the district in which the property is taxed; and in regard
to personal property, likewise immovables which are not taxed and follow the
person of the donor, the registration shall be made only at the bureau of the
bailiwick, or of the royal seneschal's court, or of other royal court with
direct appeal to our court, of the district in which is situated the domicile of
the donor. We forbid all registration in other jurisdictions or in courts of
seigniors, even in those of peers; and in case the donor's domicile is situated
in such a jurisdiction, the registration shall be made at the bureau of the
court which has the cognizance of royal cases in the district where the
domicile is and where the property is situated, all on penalty of nullity.
24. In the future, there shall be in each bailiwick or royal seneschal's
court a particular register, which shall be numbered and paraphed on each
leaf by the first officer of the court, and closed at the end of each year by the
said officer; in which register there shall be written the entire act of dona-
tion, if it is made by a separate act, if not, the part of the act w hich shall
contain the donation, its charges and conditions without omitting any of it.
so that the engrossment or the effective copy of said act will be represented
without need of consulting the minute.
25. The guardian of the said register shall be required to give access to it
at any time without a command from the court, and to deliver to parties,
upon demand, an extract signed by himself, for which he shall receive a
reasonable remuneration in accordance with our regulations of the 17th of the
present month.
26. When the registration shall have been made within the period pre-
scribed by the ordinances, even after the decease of the donor or donee, the
donation shall be effective from the day of its date for all persons. It may
be, nevertheless, registered after the decease of the donee, provided 4he
donor is still alive; but it shall be effective in that case only from the day of
registration.
APPENDIX III.
ROYAL FRENCH NOTARIES IN THE WKSTEKN SETTLEMENTS.
Afkhough the following list of French notaries in the western lands -of
America is far from complete, owing to the lack of available sources, it has
seemed best to publish it, if for no other reason than to call the attention of
local historians to the material to be found in the acts of this class of officials.
A complete list cannot be made until the notarial acts in New Orleans have
36
been examined. Mr. Beer of the Howard Memorial Library writes me that
"about sixty boxes of unexamined notarial deeds of dates mostly prior to
1800" are in the archives of the Louisiana Historical Society. And "in the
city archives in the City Hall, there are at least two volumes of early date."
Jean Baptiste Bertlor Barrois,!
at Kaskaskia, January 15, 1737, to December, 1754.
at Nouvelle Chartres, December, 1754, to March 10, 1757.
Joseph Labuxiere,2
at Nouvelle Chartres, March 14, 1757. to October 12. 1764.
at St. Louis, 1765, to May 20, 1770.
Leonard Billeron.3
(tux Illinois, February 14, 1733, and October 25, 1736.
Jerome Rousillet,4
at Fort Chartres, February 14. 1733, and November 8, 1739.
Place,5
nux Illinois, November 17, 1731.
Phillibert and Baumer,6
at Vincennes, the latter until 1761.
Bouvier,7
at Vincennes, August 2, 1763.
Francois Louis Cardin,8
at Michillimackinac, April 6, 1754.
Robert Navarre,9
at Detroit, May 15, 1741, to 1759.
Jean Baptiste Campeau,10
at Detroit, May 15. 1758, until the end of the French regime.
Duplessis,H
at New Orleans, May 31, 1740.
Henry,12
' at New Orleans, May 21, 1740.
Chantalou,i3
at New Orleans. August 1, 1749.
1. Registre des Insinuations des Donations aux Siege des Illinois.
2. Ibid.: Billon. Annals of St. Louis, passim.
3. Registre des Insinuations des Donations; Roy, Histoire du Notarial, I., 371. M. Roy states
that he was appointed by the Lieutenant General of Montreal and was still in Kaskaskia in
1759; but 1 have found no record of his presence there after 1736, the year before Barrois began
to act as notary.
4. Registre des Insinuations des Donations, October 25, 1741. I know nothing more about
him than is contained in these acts. Rightly or wrongly I have identified a M. Jerome with a
Jerome Rousillet, both notaries of Fort Chartres. If the identification is correct, he died be-
tween Novembers, 1739, and October 25, 1741, on which date the clerk wrote of the late M.
Jerome.
5. Registte des Insinuations des Donations.
6. Baumer succeeded Phillibert. Dunn, French Settlements on the Wabash,?&; Dunn, Indi-
ana, 80,99,101.
7. He was acting as notary. Registie des Insinuations des Donations.
.8. Roy, Histoire du Notarial, I, 371.
9. Ibid., I, 370.
10. Ibid., I, 371.
11. Ibid., I, 377.
12. Ibid., I, 377.
13. Registre des Insinuations des Donations, October 20, 1760.
37
APPENDIX IV.
ACT CHEATING THE COUNTY or ILLINOIS.
Herring-, Statutes <tt Lanjc of. (Virginia,) IX., 552-555.
AN ACT for establishing the county of Ilinoi*, and for the more effectual protec-
tion and defence thereof.
WIIKUEAS by a successful expedition carried on by the Virginia militia, on
the western side of the Ohio river, several of the British posts within the ter-
ritory of this commonwealth, in the country adjacent to the river Mississippi,
have been reduced, and the inhabitants have acknowledged themselves citi-
zens thereof, and taken the oath of fidelity to the same, and the good faith
and safety of the commonwealth require that the said citizens should be sup-
ported and protected by speedy and effectual reinforcements, which will be
the best means of preventing the inroads and depredations of the Indians
upon the inhabitants to the westward of the Allegheny mountains: and
whereas, from their remote situation, it may at this time be difficult, if not
impracticable, to govern them by the present laws of this commonwealth,
until proper information, by intercourse with their fellow citizens, on the
east side of the Ohio, shall have familiarized them to the same, and it is
therefore expedient that some temporary form of government, adapted to
their circumstances should in the meantime be established:
Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That all the citizens of this common-
wealth who are already settled, or shall hereafter settle, on the western side
of the Ohio aforesaid, shall be included in a distinct county, which shall be
called Ilinois county; and that the governour of this commonwealth, with
the advice of the council, may appoint a county lieutenant or commandant in
chief in that county, during pleasure, who shall appoint and commission so
' many deputy commandants, militia officers, and commissaries, as he shall
think proper in the different districts, during pleasure, all of whom, before
they enter into office, shall take the oath of fidelity to this commonwealth
and the oath of office, according to their own religion, which the inhabitants
shall fully, and to all intents and purposes enjoy, together with all their civil
rights and property. And all civil officers to which the said inhabitants have
been accustomed, necessary for the preservation of peace and the adminis-
tration of justice, shall be chosen by a majority of the citizens in their re-
spective districts, to be convened for that purpose by the county lieutenant
or commandant, or his deputy, and shall be commissioned by the said county
lieutenant or commandant in chief, and be paid for their services in the same
manner as such expenses have been heretofore borne, levied, and paid in that
county; which said civil officers, after taking the oaths as before prescribed,
shall exercise their several jurisdictions, and conduct themselves agreeable to
the laws which the present settlers are now accustomed to. And on any
criminal prosecution, where the offender shall be adjudged guilty, it shall
and may be lawful for the county lieutenant or commandant in chief to par-
don his or her offense, except in cases of murder and treason; and in such
cases, he may respite execution from time to time, until the sense of the gov-
ernour in the first instance, and of the general assembly in the case of
treason, is obtained. Hut where any officers, directed to be appointed by this
act, are such as the inhabitants have been unused to. it shall and may be
lawful for the governour. with the advice of the council, to draw a warrant
or warrants on the treasury of this commonwealth for the payment of the
salaries of such officers, so as the sum or sums drawn for do not exceed the
sum of five hundred pounds, anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding.
And for the protection and defence of the said county and its inhabitants.
Be it cniictt'it. That it shall and may be lawful for the governour, with the ad-
vice of the council, forthwith to order, raise, and levy, either by voluntary
enlistments, or detachments from the militia, five hundred men, with proper
38
officers, to inarch immediately into the said county of Ilinois, to garrison
such forts or stations already taken, or which it may be proper to take there
or elsewhere, for protecting the said county, and for keeping up our commun-
ication with them, and also with the Spanish settlements, as he, with the ad-
vice aforesaid, shall direct. And the said governour, with the advice of the
council, shall from time to time, iintil farther provision shall be made for the
same by the general assembly, continue to relieve the said volunteei-s, or
militia, by other enlistments or detachments, as herein before directed, and
to issvie warrants on the treasurer of this commonwealth for all charges and
expenses accruing thereon, which the said treasurer is hereby required to pay
accordingly.
And be It farther enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for the governour,
with the advice of the council, to take such measures as they shall judge
most expedient or the necessity of the case requires, for supplying the said
inhabitants as well as our friendly Indians in those parts, with goods and
other necessaries, either by opening a communication and trade with New
Orleans, or otherwise, and to appoint proper persons for managing and con-
ducting the same on behalf of this commonwealth.
Provided. That any of the said inhabitants may likewise carry on such trade,
on their own accounts, notwithstanding.
This act shall continue and be in force, from and after the passing of the
same, for and during the term of twelve months, and from thence to the end
of the next session of assembly, and no longer.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA
V ffi&EE.GHTEENC«1 CENTURY SPR.N
025378503