1673 – 1839

These pages are dedicated to the history of my French-Canadian ancestors who immigrated in the mid 1800's to the Illinois Territory and settled in an area of the present Kankakee County, later to be known as the village of St. George, Illinois.

At the turn of the second half the of nineteenth century [1840-1860], many French Canadian families migrated from the province of Quebec, Canada and settled in the fertile farmland area just northeast of the city of Kankakee, Illinois. Most of these people were staunch Catholics. They brought with them a heritage, which was very dear to the hearts of their French ancestors. This is their history.

The first Frenchman to explore the area was  French Jesuit Father, Jacques Marquette and explorer, Louis Joliet in 1673. They were the first white men to arrive in the Northeast Illinois territory. They immediately claim the land for France.

The history of the St. George/Bourbonnais/Kankakee area started six years later in December of 1679 with French explorer, René-Robert-Cavelier. Sieur de La Salle was the first person to travel with his party to the area now known as Kankakee County. Traveling by birch bark canoes from Quebec, they followed the path of the St. Lawrence River to Lake Ontario. Proceeding along the eastern and southern shores of the lake, they eventually arrived at the Niagara River. From there, they by-passed treacherous falls and continued on to Lake Erie following the northern shore westward to the Detroit River. The Detroit River led to Lake St. Clair in present day Michigan and on to Lake Huron. Heading slightly north, they traveled on to Michillimackinac, where a fort had been built.

Here the trail divided for people going east, west or south through Indian territories and villages. Miami Indians were so numerous along the Kankakee River that it was sometimes called the River of the Miami. For La Salle, this meant following the eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan to the Kankakee River near present day South Bend, Indiana. Here they portaged their canoes through the swampy grasslands for 5 miles. The land these men found was a vast fertile plain teeming with wildlife and abundant wild fruits and vegetables. La Salle eventually continued on to the mouth of the Mississippi River claiming the land they discovered for France and King Louis XIV. La Salle was eventually assassinated by his own men while trying to rediscover the Mississippi River from his recently discovered colony near present day Texas.

The Illinois territory became part of French Louisiana in 1717 and by 1760, the Pottawatomie Indians had begun hunting along the Kankakee River. In 1763, the loss of the French and Indian War forced France to cede a large portion of the Illinois country to Great Britain and by the 1770’s, the Pottawatomie, Ottawa, and Chippewa nations had begun to dominate the Kankakee River area that would later become Bourbonnais and St. George.

In 1776, The Revolutionary War starts on the east coast and the United States is formed by the revolting English colonists.

On March 1, 1784, the area of the Illinois was ceded to the United States by the English following the Revolutionary War. In 1800, the Northwest Territory was divided and the western portion [which includes Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin] was constituted into the “Indiana Territory”.

The following year, in 1785, trader, explorer and Government agent, Noel Le Vasseur is listed as a riflemen serving in the Opelousas Militia.

In 1787, the Northwest Territory is divided and the western portion [which includes Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin] is constituted into the “Indiana Territory”. In a survey that year for the Continental Congress, it is reported that the area later known as Kankakee County is settled mostly by Canadians of French descent.

General George Washington of Virginia is elected President of the newly formed nation of The United States of America in 1789. He served from 1789 until 1797 and in 1797, John Adams of Massachusetts is elected the 2^nd President of the United States. He serves from 1797 until 1801.

In 1801, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia is elected the 3^rd President of the United States. He serves from 1801 until 1809. Jefferson's contributions as president will change the future of the Illinois area.

In 1802, Gordon S. Hubbard, a trapper, hunter and trader for the American Fur Company, is born in Quebec, Canada. It is Hubbard who will be influential in shaping the Bourbonnais/Kankakee area.

On February 28, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson finally obtains approval from Congress to explore the lands. He forms the Corps of Discovery and sends Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to begin exploring the western territories. On April 30, 1803, Congress approved spending $15 million dollars for 820,000 acres of land from France. This was called the Louisiana Purchase. The announcement of the purchase was not made public until July 3^rd. In the Fall and Winter of 1803, the Lewis and Clark Corp of Discovery Expedition begins near Camp Dubois [Camp Wood], Illinois. It starts on the east shore of the Mississippi River just upstream from St. Louis.

In 1809, James Madison of Virginia is elected the 4^th President of the United States. He serves from 1809 until 1817. Ninian Edwards is appointed the 1^st governor of the Illinois Territory. St. George village becomes part of St. Clair County, Illinois from April 28, 1809 until September 13, 1812.

In 1812, St. George village becomes part of Madison County, Illinois from September 14, 1812 until December 31, 1816.

By 1814, The American Fur Company, owned by John Jacob Astor, begins operations in the country of the Illinois, attracting a large number of trappers, hunters and traders to the Kankakee area. Among those men are Noel Le Vasseur and Gordon S. Hubbard. Gordon Hubbard, born in 1802 is placed in charge of the Illinois outposts on the Iroquois River at Middleport.

In 1817, James Monroe of Virginia is elected the 5^th President of the United States. He serves from 1817 until 1825 and St. George village becomes part of Bond County, Illinois from January 1, 1817 until January 30, 1821.

On December 3, 1818, Illinois becomes the 21^st state in the union and Shadrach Bond becomes the first governor of the new State from October 6, 1818 until 1822.

In 1821, St. George village becomes part of Pike County, Illinois from January 31, 1821 until January 27, 1823.

On December 5, 1822, Edward Coles becomes the 2^nd governor of Illinois.

In 1823, St. George village becomes part of Fulton County, Illinois from January 28, 1823 until January 12, 1825.

By 1824, the “Hubbard Trail” has been established Danville to Chicago and crossing through the outposts of Momence, Grant, Crete, Bloom and Chicago Heights. The trading outposts and settlements which grew up along this trail provide food stuffs, furs and a rapid population growth to the region in the years that follow.

In 1825, John Q. Adams of Massachusetts, son of former President John Adams is elected as 6^th President of the United States. He serves from 1825 until 1829.

In 1825, St. George village becomes part of Peoria County, Illinois from January 13, 1825 until January 14, 1831.

On December 6, 1826, Ninian Edwards once again became the governor of Illinois, this time as an official state.

In 1829, the War of 1812 hero, Major General Andrew Jackson of South Carolina is elected 7^th President of the United States. He serves from 1829 until 1837.

On December 6, 1830, John Reynolds becomes the 4^th governor of Illinois.

In 1831, St. George village becomes part of Cook County, Illinois from January 15, 1831 until January 11, 1836.

In 1833 [January 21], the Treaty of Tippecanoe deeded the area around Rock Creek to the United States government. The local Pottawatomie Indians were forced to leave their village near the Kankakee River. Their leader, Chief Shawanassee died the next year in 1834, while the tribe was preparing to leave. He was buried there with all his worldly processions. [The area of his burial is reputed to be near the 4-H area in Rock Creek and is marked by a stone.]

By 1833, fur trader, Dominick [Bray] Brais and his wife, Mary Almira Van Sickle, along with their first three children Elden [b.1829], Ellen [b.1831] and Dominick [b.1932] had decided to move to a site near Bourbonnais areas and open a trading post near Bunkum. This site will eventually become the farm of America Brosseau.

Through the intervention and kindly offices of his friend, LeVasseur, [Bray] Brais succeeded in purchasing his land from its Indian owner for a cash consideration of twenty-five cents an acre, in specie, together with a few beads and trinkets, which, in the eye of the Indian, possessed a value in excess of specie. He set to work and built a commodious double log cabin and here, in 1833, was born Andre [Bray] Brais, the first white child born in Bourbonnais township.

In 1834, following John Reynolds resignation, Lt. Governor William Lee Davidson Ewing becomes the 6^th Governor of Illinois for just 15 days before leaving to join the senate in the vacancy left by the late Illinois Senator, Elias Kane.

On December 6, 1834, Joseph Duncan becomes the 7^th Governor of Illinois.

Northern Illinois, including Kankakee County was a brand new frontier in 1836.

In 1836, St. George village becomes part of Will County, Illinois from January 12, 1836 until April 4, 1853. By 1837, most of the local Indians had been relocated to Iowa and settling of the new lands in the Kankakee area began.

Between 1836 and 1837, the Pottawatomie Indians were moved west to Council Bluffs, Iowa at the request of the United States government in 1836 and 1837. They traveled with a Canadian translator, Noel Le Vasseur who was acting as the government agent. Mr. Le Vasseur had been one of the first white settlers in the Bourbonnais area. While there, Mr. Le Vasseur’s had taken an Indian maiden as his wife. Watseka [wife of Noel Le Vasseur] choose to move west with her people and left Le Vasseur in Bourbonnais, although she frequently returned for visits, despite Le Vasseur’s remarriage.

Following the Indians exodus to Iowa, the fur trade fell off due to lack of manual labor in hunting and trapping the animals. This caused a problem for the American Fur Company and by 1834, fur trader, Dominick Brais had decided to move to a site Bourbonnais areas and open a trading post near Bunkum. This site will eventually become the farm of America Brosseau, two miles out on the Bourbonnais road, in Bourbonnais township, and between this place and the river laid the reservation of the Pottawattomie chief, "Me-she-ke-te-no". Brais was a forceful, energetic man, who, in lieu of education, [he was unable either to read or write], had accumulated a fund of practical knowledge and experience by association with such men as Gordon S. Hubbard and Noel LeVasseur.

Following this removal of the Indians from the Kankakee/Bourbonnais area, Mr. Le Vasseur returned to Quebec. He had hopes of finding a Canadian wife and enticing more white settlers from Quebec, Canada to move to the unsettled American territory. He told them about the plentiful open farmland, the excellent trapping and furring opportunities and cheaper costs. This caused thousands of French settlers to migrant to the Illinois territory over the next 5 decades.

In June of 1837, the first Catholic Mass is celebrated at the modest home of Dominick Brais in the “Petite Canada” settlement. Father La Lumiere, a Catholic missionary is called to baptize Brais’ infant son, Andre.

By 1837, most of the local Indians had been relocated to Iowa and settling of the new lands in the Kankakee area began and lawyer, Martin Van Buren of New York becomes the 8^th President of the United States. He serves from 1837 until 1841.

In 1838, Thomas Carlin was elected the 8^th Governor of Illinois.

By the 1840s French - Canadians were literally pouring into the area, and within 20 years the majority of persons living in and around the following towns were French -- Canadians. Those towns even today retain a very high percentage of this national group. The towns are Manteno, St. George, Momence, Beaverville, Martinton, L'Erable, Papineau, Exline, Bourbonnais, Bradley, and the west side of Kankakee. Joliet, in Will County, has a large French - Canadian population also. Attracted by Noel Le Vasseur’s talk of prosperity in the new country, John Baptiste Letourneau, Captain Fortin and Alexander Boucher come to the Illinois Territory to investigate conditions and report back to family in Canada.

Ten or so families come to the Bourbonnais area and settle where Dominick Brais’ outpost was built. There, Mr. Brais decides to build the first two story brick structure in the area. Besides being his family’s primary residence, it is used for church gatherings, meetings and an area for local youth to gather for dances and holiday celebrations. Original settler’s to the “Petite Canada” settlement include Charles Tebeault with 16 acres, John Odette with 20 acres, Alex Dandurand with 20 acres, Luke Betoune with 30 acres, John Dandurand with 30 acres, Francis Baltazor with 30 acres, Louis Goyette with 3 acres and Alexine Castonneau with 3 acres. 

A study of census returns for French-Canadians living in Will County, 50 miles south of Chicago in 1850, shows that 250 families were already living on the land. Of these 110 were reported underage children born in Illinois. Furthermore, the earlier of these Illinois births showed that at least 22 French-Canadian families were present at the future Bourbonnais by 1846. The number was undoubtedly larger if one factors in a portion of the families who did not have young, Illinois-born children to declare to the census taker.  Click here to continue