Doing Some Hard Genealogy With Catholic Records

So I broke away from all the other toys to actually do some hard genealogy. I've written many times about Record Search at FamilySearch Labs. I noted awhile ago that I had found there the records of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, Illinois, which includes an area of my research interest, the village of Prairie du Rocher in Randolph County, Illinois. That's location from whence come the Micheau/Mischeaux family that I've been studying.

A few months ago, I translated and transcribed a number of the records relating to St Joseph's Chirch in Prairie du Rocher as well as Our Lady of Lourdes Church in nearby Sparta. It took a combination of skills that I've honed doing indexing for FamilySearch and my certainly imperfect recall of church and law Latin and the bits of genealogical French that I've picked up in the last few years. But I think I've got it right.

Having translated and transcribed some of the relevant records, I have now put them to some use.

I'm interested in the origins of the Micheau/Mischeaux line in French Illinois. Early in my research, I traced a line of present day family members back to George Micheau (1852-1942). That wasn't very hard because still-living family members recall him vividly. He was born in Potosi, Washington County, Missouri, lived in Prairie du Rocher, and died in St Louis. According to family members, he was married twice: first to Emma Roy, and then to someone the living family members recall simply as "Grandma Rosie." I also knew from the 1870 census that George Micheau appears that decade in the household of a senior George Micheau (their names were spelled "Misho" in that census). The 1870 census did not explicitly show relationships, but presumably, George was the son of George. I cannot find the family at all on the 1880 census.

So what did the church records add to my knowledge of this family? First, I found a death notice for Emma Roy. I had known that she was born in 1855, but not much more beyond that.

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Death Registration, Mary Emma Roy, page 120, Liber Defunctorum, Ecclesia St Joseph, Prairie du Rocher, 1864-1956, Records of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, Illinois (retrieved from Record Search Pilot, http://labs.familysearch.org)

The Latin reads:

Die 12a Julii 1900 obit Maria Emma Micheau uxor Georgii Micheau, annos circa 46 nata, ejusque corpus sequenti tumulatum est.

And I translated it:

Maria Emma Micheau, wife of George Micheau, died on July 12, 1900. She was about 46 years old. She was buried in the general burial ground.

We learn her full name and her date of death. There is also a death notice for "Grandma Rosie," but it is in English:

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Death Registration, Rosine Micheau, page 199, Liber Defunctorum, Ecclesia St Joseph, Prairie du Rocher, 1864-1956, Records of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, Illinois (retrieved from Record Search Pilot, http://labs.familysearch.org)

Now we know a bit more about Grandma Rosie, including her maiden name. Then, a curiosity: recall that Rosine was George's second wife who he married after the death of Emma Roy. But when he died in 1942, here's what the priest wrote:

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Death Registration, George Micheau, page 221, Liber Defunctorum, Ecclesia St Joseph, Prairie du Rocher, 1864-1956, Records of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, Illinois (retrieved from Record Search Pilot, http://labs.familysearch.org)

Does this tell us something about the family or about the pastor or both?

Moving on to the elder George Micheau we find notice of his death too, on page 136 of the same set of records, also in English. The page follows another which is headed "1906."

Died May 13th George Micheau, the oldest colored member of the parish in his 94th year, as verified by the following extract of the baptismal record of 1813, viz.:

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Baptismal Registration, George Micheau, unnumbered page included with Records of St Anne du Fort de Chartres, 1721-1765 Records of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, Illinois (retrieved from Record Search Pilot, http://labs.familysearch.org)

This baptismal registration was found with the records of St Anne's Church at Fort de Chartres, Illinois, which existed before the church at Prairie du Rocher was constructed in 1765. It is in French:

Le vingt deux fevrier mil huit cent treize a ete baptiste George ne de Julie esclave de fem Mv LaChange ont ete parrein Ignace et marrein Marguerite tous deux esclaves de Mde Ve D'Amour.

What does this mean? I have an idea, but help us out, you French scholars! More to come!

From Catholic Records to Illinois Slave Records

Le vingt deux fevrier mil huit cent treize a ete baptiste George ne de Julie esclave de fem Mv LaChange ont ete parrein Ignace et marrein Marguerite tous deux esclaves de Mde Ve D'Amour

So it says in the records of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, Illinois, referring to one George Micheau. What does this mean? Keeping in mind that 19th century French is different from 21st century French, I used my self-taught genealogical French as well as my law and altar-boy Latin. Here's my original translation:

On the twenty-second of February, 1813, was baptized George, born of Julie, slave of Mr. LaChance; his Godparents were Ignatius and Margaret, both slaves of Mrs D'Amour.

But a couple of folks, including a reader in France, pointed out that I had missed or misunderstood somethings that turn out to be genealogically significant. For example, Julie's master is described as deceased (see the comments to the first post on this topic). And our Paris correspondent says:

Mde Ve = Mademoiselle veuve, in the Ancient Regime, Mademoiselle was used for the ladies, married or not. Today it is used only for unmarried woman, young or old.

"Veuve" means "widow" in French. So Ignatius and Margaret were owned by

Assuming that the translation is good (and thanks to my helpers, I'm confident that it is), we now perhaps have learned more about George Micheau (the elder) as we seek the origins of the Micheau/Mischeaux family in French Illinois. That we may be dealing with slaves could be a daunting realization for some; enough to throw in the towel for others. How are we going to begin to research slave genealogy?

Fortunately, Illinois has a Database of Servitude and Emancipation Records which covers the period 1722-1863. (Why 1722? That was approximately the year that Pierre Renault, agent for the King of France, arrived in Illinois with slaves purchased in the Caribbean to search for silver and gold). The Servitude and Emancipation Database includes approximately 3,400 names found in governmental records involving the servitude and emancipation of Africans and, occasionally, Indians. The Illinois State Archives extracted the names of servants, slaves, or free persons and masters, witnesses, or related parties from selected governmental records to produce this database. The online version is searchable by names, by counties, or types of documents.

We have several names to work with here: George, Julie, Ignatius, Margaret, LaChance, D'Amour. and we know that the relevant events occurred in Randolph County, Illinois. A search of the database with those variables yields abstracts of a number of interesting documents.

First, there is an estate document dated 27 January 1739 which says in part:

"TO CATHERINE IS GIVEN A NEGRO BOY NAMED IGNACE, ALSO A SON OF
CYBAS AND OF ANGELIQUE, ALSO A DAUGHTER OF LOUISON."

The abstract identifies "Catherine" as Catherine Vinsennes, a fact that we'll keep in mind for later use. We have perhaps identified "Ignace" (Latin/French form of Ignatius), the godfather (if not in fact the grandfather) of George.

Another document is a bill of sale from Louis Marein to Pierre Mulin for a slave named "Margueritte." It's dated 12 June 1740. The abstract notes that:

FEMALE INDIAN SLAVE SOLD FOR 800 LIVRES IN "NOTES OR FLOUR."
MAREIN "ACQUIRED SLAVE FROM MONCHARVAU."

Perhaps we have identified "Margaret," the godmother (if not in fact the grandmother). Note the double-T spelling of "Margueritte." The name "Margarett" with two "t's" occurs quite frequently in the Micheau/Mischeaux family, down to a currently living descendant, who's frequently asked about the spelling. She says that she's always heard it's a longstanding family name.

There are six documents that relate to slaves named "George" in Randolph County. But only one matches the relevant dates for our George. It's an indenture dated 12 August 1813 for a boy named George, described as one year old in one part of the document, but says "Born in Randolph County in April" in another place. His race is stated as "mulatto" which comports with later descriptions of George Micheau and his progeny. This document then may well refer to our George.

What about the discrepancies with respect to age? We know that George Micheau was born earlier than April 1813. It may well be that he was born in February 1813 and that the master did not know that; he being only aware that the child was several months old. There are some other issues raised by this abstract. For one thing, an indenture is usually a two-party agreement. Who was the party representing the interests of George. We no doubt will have to see the document. It's available for $10 from the Illinois State Archives.

Now we need to check the Servitude and Emancipation database for information on the bondholders.

What about the late M. LaChance? The database has a bill of sale dated 2 Jun 1774 from a Marie Franciose Ayet to one Nicolas LaChance. The memo on the abstract notes:

"SHE SELLS 4 NEGROES AND PERSONAL PROPERTY TO NICOLAS LACHANCE . . . FOR 3,705 LIVRES."

A second document in the database abstracts the 1820 census of Illinois--the first census in which Illinois appears as a State of the USA. On that census, there is a "Madame LaChance" in Prairie du Rocher, Randolph County, Illinois. The fact that a woman was enumerated as head of household in 1820 suggests that she was a widow.

We have to go to the 1820 census itself to understand the abstract. The household appears to consist of two white males under the age of ten; and two white males between 10 and 15 years old; a white female between 10 and 15 years old; and Madame LaChance herself, apparently between 26 and 44 years old. Then there appear to be two male slaves under age 14; one male slave between14 and 25 years old; two female slaves under age 14; and one female slave between 14 and 26 years old. There is one male "free colored person" between 26 and 44 years old.

All of this data on the LaChance documents needs analysis; we'll get to that later. For now, let's see what we can find about the widow D'Amour.

Just as in the LaChance case, the Servitude and Emancipation Database has for a Madam "Damore" an abstract from the 1820 census. She was enumerated in Prairie du Rocher, Randolph County, with two female slaves: one under 14 years old, and the other over age 45. Madam Damore herself was listed as being over 45 years old.

The D'Amour evidence also requires analysis before we draw any conclusions.

Remember, we're in search of the origins of the Micheau/Mischeaux family in French Illinois. So stay with us as we next analyze the evidence.

William George Micheau, 1880-1949

Born 31 Dec 1880, Prairie du Rocher, Illinois
Died 15 Nov 1949, St Louis, Missouri
Occupation: Barber*
Parents: George Micheau, Sr. & Mary Emma Roy
Spouse: Clara Robinson (or Roberson), 1885-1938

*"It will doubtless be observed by the reader, that a majority of our colored aristocracy belong to the tonsorial profession; a mulatto takes to razor and soap as naturally as a young duck to a pool of water, or a strapped Frenchman to dancing; they certainly make the best barbers in the world, and were doubtless intended by nature for the art. In its exercise, they take white men by the nose without giving offense, and without causing an effusion of blood."

Cyprian Clamorgan, The Colored Aristocracy of St Louis (1858)

Prairie Du Rocher, Illinois

Some Pleasant Surprises in this River Town

Last Saturday morning, we set out for Prairie du Rocher, Illinois--me, the Geneablogie Staff Photographer (whom I've dubbed Photo Grrl, because it's shorter and may annoy her), and two direct descendants of the French Negroes of Illinois, Edna P., age 86, and Edna W., her 67 year old daughter.

Prairie du Rocher is less than fifty miles southeast of St Louis. We got on I-64 in downtown St Louis and in minutes, we were in the midst of Illinois corn country, seemingly light years away from urban hubbub. (And with Photo Grrl driving a sleek black PT Cruiser at warp speed, it may have been light years!). It was a beautiful day for a country drive.

It's hard to write about Prairie du Rocher without using any of the worn-out cliches about small towns. The reason is that Prairie du Rocher epitomizes every conception one might have about small towns.

Prairie du Rocher is off the beaten path, for sure. It's situated in Randolph County, off Illinois Highway 155. As one local told us, "People don't just drop in here."

On Market Street in Prairie du Rocher, there's a bank and a two pump gas station that all but invites the unfortunate Mayberry comparisons. One establishment proclaims, "Welcome to the Boondocks!"

As we drove down Henry Street, Photo Grrl spied the local constable, and much to my surprise, drove right over to him and said, "Hi!" She then asked him where we could the Catholic cemetery. He said, "Go down here by the levee, and take a left . . . ," and pointing, gave us directions. Photo Grrl then said, "And where would you eat lunch?" The officer replied, "Really just one place. That would be Lisa's over there where that truck is parked." Then he said, "Hey, want me to lead you to the cemetery?" Oh, that all of Photo Grrl's encounters with the law were so successful!

We followed the cop out to the cemetery and when we got there, he told us that the Catholic church was about two blocks away. "The brick building next door is the priest's house, if you need any help," he said before driving away.

The Catholic cemetery in Prairie du Rocher is about 3 acres in the midst of cornfields. We're looking for evidence of the French Negro family, the Micheaus. It's hot and humid, but we cover a good deal of the cemetery without finding any Micheaus. Many of the older markers are so worn down that they cannot be read. We do note, however, the frequency of many names. We decide to head for the church, hoping to find an index or transcription of the graves.

Outside the church, a man in a polo shirt and shorts stands as if he is waiting for someone, As we approach, he asks, "Are you part of Dr. Brown's group?" No, we reply, not knowing any Dr. Brown. We tell the man why we here and he begins to explain some of the history of Prairie du Rocher. Edna P. fills in gaps in the recent history, noting that her family lived in the house diagonally across from the church. Her mother was the teacher in the colored school.

After chatting with him for about twenty minutes, we learn that the man is in fact the local priest, Father Albert Kreher. He tells us that sometime ago, he had begun transcribing old French records, but lost the data in a computer catastrophe. He also says that there is no index to the graves in the cemetery. He says that he's expecting "Dr. Brown" to arrive at any moment and that we would no doubt enjoy speaking to "Dr. Brown."

We're now eager to go to lunch, but first we decide to look at the interior of the church. There is a large quilt in the back that commemorates the 275th anniversary of the church in 1996.

As we look about the small church, an elegantly dressed woman (Photo Grrl says the woman is actually in some sort of costume) approaches and says, "I understand you are researching the Micheau surname." Yes, we reply, and the woman says she recognizes the name from her research and would love to talk to Micheau descendants. The woman is Margaret Kimball Brown, Ph.D., an internationally known historian, archeologist, anrthorpologist, and genealogist who has written extensively about French colonization in North America. One of her numerous books is History As They Lived It: A Social History of Prairie Du Rocher, Illinois (Patrice Press 2005).

I cannot overstate the importance of having run into Dr. Brown. She is perhaps the leading expert on the French colonial period in Illinois.

We couldn't talk with her just then because she was showing around a French television crew that was preparing to film a documentary for French TV. And we had spent so much time already that we'd forgotten to have lunch!

We exchanged contact information with Dr. Brown and headed for Lisa's for lunch.

Lisa's was good (as it turns out Lisa is the mayor's daughter). We had intended to head back to St Louis and attend 5:00 p.m. Mass at the old cathedral. But by now, it was so late, there was no way we could make it back to St Louis in time--not in even with Photo Grrl at the helm! We decided to stay in Prairie du Rocher for 5:00 p.m. at St Joseph's.

We found the town friendly and interesting and filled with history of all sorts.

Prairie du Rocher today has a population of about 650. That represents a healthy growth rate of about 8% since the 2000 census. Although the French Negroes played a significant role in the development of the town, not a single black person lives in Prairie du Rocher today.




The 286 year-old Catholic Church in Prairie du Rocher, Illinois

GeneaBlogie's Mid-Summer Project!

Over the last four or five weeks, I've teased a bit about some great project that's on its way. Well, the teasing is over and our great project has begun! Here it is: we are headed to Missouri on a major research trip . . . but the deal is we are going via Amtrak and for the first time ever there will be live genea-blogging from on board several Amtrak trains! By the time many of you read this (probably Monday a.m.), we expect to be settling in on Amtrak's Coast Starlight enroute from San Jose, California, to Los Angeles. We will overnight in L.A., then on Tuesday evening board Amtrak's Southwest Chief headed from Los Angeles for Kansas City. We'll arrive in Kansas City on Thursday morning. After brief lay-over, we head for St Louis on Amtrak's Anne Rutledge. We'll spend several days in eastern Missouri and southern Illinois, with planned excursions to Ste Genevieve, Missouri, and Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, among other places.

We'll head back to Kansas City to research in Clay County, Platte County, and Jackson County in Missouri, and Wyandotte County and Johnson County in Kansas. Then it's back home the way we came.

We'll be uploading photos (and may be video) all along the way.

As I said, we'll be posting from aboard the train!

I hope you'll join us!