Richard, Gabriel, 1767-1832

French priest and missionary in Detroit, Michigan; also co-founder of the Catholepistemiad (or University of Michigan).

Richard was born at Saintes, France on Oct. 15, 1767. He was well educated and became a priest of the Sulpitians, a society devoted to the care of young men for the sanctuary in 1791. In 1792 he came to Baltimore (Md.), moving to Detroit (Mich.) as a permanent pastor in 1798. There, he promoted education and religion. He opened a school for young men in 1804 and one for ladies in 1805. He brought a printing press overland from Baltimore and in Aug. 1809 published the first newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains. In the same year he published the first prayer book for the same area. He had the first organ in Michigan, for which he composed music. Taken captive at Sandwich (Canada) in 1812 he saved many prisoners from Indian tortures with his eloquence and influence. In 1823 he was elected as a delegate to Congress. He fought for grants to create Fort Gratiot, Pontiac, Grand River, and Chicago Roads. On Sept. 13, 1832 Richard died while caring for victims of Detroit's massive cholera epidemic. (For further information see the finding aid and related collections at the Clarke Historical Library.).

b. 1767; d. 1833. Priest and educator.

Gabriel Richard, the son of Francis and Genevieve Bossuet Richard, was born at Saintes, France on October 15, 1767. He was ordained as a priest on Oct. 15, 1791. Leaving France in 1792, Father Richard sailed to Baltimore and was sent by Bishop Carroll as a missionary to the Indians in the Northwest Territory. In June 1789, he arrived in Detroit and became pastor of St. Annes Church. Fr. Richard was a pioneer in many fields. He established Indian schools as Green Bay, Arbre, Croche and St. Joseph's and established the first printing press in the Northwest Territory in 1809, publishing extensively. He was active in every kind of religious, educational, and charitable enterprise; and in 1823 was elected to Congress from Michigan Territory. Fr. Gabriel Richard died while helping victims of the cholera epidemic in Detroit on Sept. 13, 1832.