Grignon, Lawe and Porlier papers, 1712-1884 (bulk 1820-1840).

ArchivalResource

Grignon, Lawe and Porlier papers, 1712-1884 (bulk 1820-1840).

Primarily the business, personal, and official correspondence of three families, early residents of Green Bay, Wis., whose members traded individually or in groups or served as agents of fur trading companies on the shore of Lake Michigan and as far as the Dakotas and Missouri. The correspondence is from 1800 to 1884, about two-thirds of them are for the years 1820-1840, with most of the letters in French. There are about 175 letters dating up to the end of the War of 1812, divided about equally among those of members of the three families--Jacob Franks and his nephew and successor in the trade, John Lawe; Augustin, Louis, and Pierre Grignon; and Jacques Porlier; a few concerning the Robert Dickson Company; a number from Montreal outfitters; and a few bearing directly on the war. Beginning about 1820, there are numerous letters from Robert Stuart of the American Fur Company, and occasional ones from Ramsay Crooks, Gabriel Franchère, Samuel Abbott, William B. Astor, and others. Letters written from many posts report on the conditions of the trade; those from Menominee River, the Kakalin, Butte des Morts, and Milwaukee are most numerous. The writers include Thomas G. Anderson of Drummond Island, Michael Dousman, Laurent Fily, Amable, Alexander, and Charles A. Grignon, Jean B. Jacobs, Solomon Juneau, Peter and William Powell, and many others. There are allusions to Indians in connection with the trade, to treaties, to annuity payments to Winnebago and Menominee, and to the uprisings of 1827 and 1832. Brief and scattered information on the establishment of American civil and military jurisdiction is found in such forms as orders dealing with the liquor traffic, complaints on the regulating of the trade, petitions and declarations regarding citizenship, and correspondence of military officers and Indian agents. There are references to land claims and land speculation at Green Bay, Milwaukee, and elsewhere. Prospectuses and subscription lists of the local schools, and series of letters received from sons and daughters attending schools and academies at Montreal, Lowville in New York, Somerset in Ohio, and elsewhere, contain information on the education of Green Bay youths. There are a number of letters from Catholic priests to their parishioners, and a lesser number from Episcopalian missionaries at Green Bay. Several series of letters not properly a part of the Grignon, Lawe, or Porlier papers are filed in the collection: a group of letters, 1807-1818, to Charles Reaume dealing with his duties as justice of the peace; several letters addressed to George Boyd and some drafts of his own letters; a collection of family letters of Ebenezer Childs, including several written by him from the territorial legislature at the end of the thirties; and a number addressed to Andrew J. Vieau of Milwaukee and Two Rivers, 1836-1846, mainly from his father-in-law, John Lawe, concerning the trade and the operation of a saw and grist mill. Largely after 1840, there are several letters from pioneer settlers in Fond du Lac, Oconto, Oshkosh, Poygan Lake, Peshtigo Mills, and elsewhere in Wisconsin. Other correspondents represented in the collection include James Abbott, Henry S. Baird, Florimond Bonduel, Richard Cadle, Antoine Dequindre, William Dickson, James Doty, Alexander Irwin, Charles Trowbridge, Eleazer Williams, Austin Wing, William Woodbridge, and others. Also included are eleven volumes of legal papers from 1712 to 1873 containing certificates of marriage, apprenticeship bonds, trade licenses and agreements, citizenship papers, assessment rolls, poll tax lists, deeds, proclamations, lists of jurors, and other miscellaneous papers. Also includes visual materials from the late 19th century and early 20th century consisting of portraits and snapshots of the Grignon family and friends. The majority were collected by Edith Acker Grignon and her husband Rossiter Grignon and depict relatives and events of their generation (the late 19th century and early 20th century) rather than the earlier generations documented in the papers. Also included are pictures of hunting in northern Wisconsin and snapshots of farming in Northern Wisconsin.

6.4 c.f. (16 archives boxes),13 reels of microfilm (35 mm),1.2 c.f. of photographs (4 archives boxes).

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Related Entities

There are 46 Entities related to this resource.

Doty, James Duane, 1799-1865

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cc0xvd (person)

James Duane Doty (1799-1865) was a lawyer, judge, and government official. He represented Wisconsin in Congress between 1838 and 1841, and again between 1849 and 1853. He was governor of Wisconsin Territory between 1841 and 1844, and served as the governor of Utah Territory between 1863 and 1865. From the description of James Duane Doty letter, 1861 November 22. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 367719059 From the guide to the James Duane Doty letter, 1861 November 22, (L. Tom ...

Williams, Eleazer, 1787?-1858

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6p8534q (person)

Correspondents include J.C. Calhoun, DeWitt Clinton, Charles DeSaileville, Jackson Kemper, L.W. Cass, L.U. Sigourney, Millard Fillmore, and affidavits. From the description of Letters and documents, 1800-1904 [microform] (Historic Deerfield Library). WorldCat record id: 30824536 Federal agent in charge of removal of Indians from New York to Wisconsin. From the description of Eleazer Williams papers, 1821-1844 (Detroit Public Library). WorldCat record id: 49569629...

Powell, William, 1810-1885.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dz1rrj (person)

Boyd, George, 1779?-1846.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t7410m (person)

Franchère, Gabriel, 1786-1863

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60v89sh (person)

Agent of the American Fur Company at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. From the description of Gabriele Franchere papers, 1834-1851. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34420333 Franchere was born in Montreal in 1786. He was well educated in French and English. From 1810-1814 he was part of the near fatal American Fur Co. expedition to the Columbia River and Astoria (Ore.), about which he later published two books. Later, Franchere continued working for the Co. in Sault ...

Baird, Henry S. (Henry Samuel), 1800-1875

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65b015g (person)

Lawyer from Greenbay, Wisconsin who was active in territorial politics and Indian affairs. From the description of Henry Baird letters from Belmont 1836. (State Historical Society of Iowa, Library). WorldCat record id: 72839386 Born in Dublin, Ireland, May 16, 1800 ; came with his parents to U.S., 1805 ; studied law at Pittsburgh and Cleveland, Ohio ; settled at Mackinaw, Mich., 1822 ; was admitted to the bar, 1823 ; moved to Green Bay, Wis., 1824 ; served as quartermaster-g...

Grignon, Amable, 1795-1845.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fn2q70 (person)

Vieau, Andrew Jacques, 1818-1888.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68068x0 (person)

Law family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cw3hcg (family)

Crooks, Ramsay, 1787-1859

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6j38qsv (person)

Born at Greenock, Scotland, Jan. 2, 1787, and emigrated to Montreal at the age of 16. Entered the employ of a fur trader, Robert Dickson, at Mackinac, but soon, in 1806, moved on to St. Louis and formal partnership with Robert McClellan for trade on the upper Missouri. In 1810 the partnership was dissolved, Crooks returned to Canada, and there joined the recruits for the proposed overland journey to Astoria. He became a partner in Astor's Pacific Fur Company, but after a disheartening journey re...

Porlier, Jacques, 1765-1839.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cv61b1 (person)

Dickson, William.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ns2c0z (person)

Grignon, Charles A., 1808-1862.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6378cfk (person)

Childs, Ebenezer, 1797-1864.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62z2p8q (person)

Woodbridge, William, 1780-1861

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qv3jhf (person)

Woodbridge was born in Conn. on Aug. 20, 1780. He served in several high Ohio political positions before moving to Michigan. Woodbridge served as Secretary and Acting Governor of the Territory of Michigan, 1812-1828; Collector of Customs at Detroit, 1814- ; Michigan Territory's first delegate in Congress, 1819-1820; Justice of the Territorial Supreme Court, 1828-1832; Delegate from the 1st District (Detroit) to the Constitutional Convention of 1835; Senator from the 1st District, 1838-1839; Gove...

Grignon, Augustin, 1780-1860

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62r4s1h (person)

Green Bay and Butte des Morts, Wisconsin, fur trader. From the description of Letters and documents, 1834-1851. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 37998793 ...

Grignon, Louis, 1783-1839.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sb5nvc (person)

Porlier family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sz5cwq (family)

Jacobs, Jean Baptiste.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sj32w3 (person)

Reaume, Charles, 1752?-1822.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6d23fcp (person)

Lawe family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gv4mvz (family)

Grignon, Alexander, 1811-1883

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6h71xsr (person)

Dickson, Robert, 1765?-1823

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63v08z7 (person)

Dousman, Michael, 1771-1854.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63b7grh (person)

Irwin, Alexander J. (Alexander Johnson), 1799-1847

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6db8z2h (person)

Juneau, Solomon Laurent, 1793-1856

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62c02fw (person)

Laurent Solomon Juneau, fur trader and founder of the city of Milwaukee, was born in 1793 in Montreal. In 1821 he settled in Milwaukee where he engaged in the fur trade. Juneau also became first postmaster and mayor of Milwaukee. He later died in poverty and debt while attending meeting to settle Indian payments in 1856. From the description of Letter : Theresa, Dodge Co., Wis., to Mr. Louis B. Porlier, 1856 July 30. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 38...

Dequindre, Antoine, 1781-1843

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dj6z9z (person)

Detroit, Michigan, merchant. From the description of Antoine Dequindre account book, 1815-1818. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34422810 ...

Stuart, Robert, 1785-1848

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ff40mx (person)

Stuart left Scotland at the age of 22 and was employed by the North West Fur Company and became a partner in Astor's Pacific Fur Company. He sailed from New York for the Columbia in 1810 on the Tonquin and traveled back in 1812-1813. He headed the upper Lake region of the American Fur Company, with headquarters at Micilimackinac, Michigan Territory (later known as Mackinac Island). He became active in community affairs and served as judge of the county court in 1825. In 1835 he moved to Detroit....

Astor, William B. (William Backhouse), 1792-1875

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6794drf (person)

Capitalist, son of John Jacob Astor, and nominal head of the American Fur Company prior to his father's exit from the business in 1834. From the description of Letter : New York, [N.Y.], to James Abbott, Detroit, [Mich.], 1832 July 13. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 36145298 William B. Astor went into business with his father, John Jacob Astor, and successfully invested in real estate and railroad, coal, and insurance companies. Samuel Jones...

Gignon family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6sc35cw (family)

Cadle, Richard Fish, 1796-1857

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ms434w (person)

Grignon family.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tz2f3d (family)

Abbott, Samuel, -1851

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6fr0xd0 (person)

Michilimackinac, Michigan, collector of customs, village president, magistrate, notary public, and American Fur Company agent. From the description of Letter : Philadelphia, to Ramsay Crooks, New York, 1822 Apr. 26. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 35988474 ...

Powell, Peter J., 1928-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6v4109c (person)

Fily, Laurent.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tf1fh7 (person)

Trowbridge, C. C. (Charles Christopher), 1800-1883

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qf944p (person)

C.C. Trowbridge was born in Albany, New York on December 29, 1800. he entered business and came to Detroit in 1819. A year later he joined Governor Lewis Cass on his exploration of Lake Superior, becoming his private secretary. Trowbridge was secretary to the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan, 1821-1835. He was cashier of Bank of Michigan, 1825-1836; president of Michigan State Bank, 1844-1853; and was secretary and cashier before serving as president of the Oakland & Ottawa Rai...

Grignon, Pierre, d. 1795.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6z90vs8 (person)

Catholic Church

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m07v80 (corporateBody)

During much of Doctor José Gaspar de Francia's dictatorship (1814-1840), Paraguay was without a bishop and the church was harrassed. From the description of Libro de providencias, ordenes, y autos : por Dn. Juan Antonio Riveras, cura rector de la parrequial de la Villeta : manuscript, 1804-1857. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612746619 An antiphonary is a book containing sacred vocal music, both the antiphons of the breviary, and the musical notes. An antiphon it...

Bonduel, Florimond J. ca. ca. 1799-1861

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pv7p4c (person)

Lawe, John, 1780-1846

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pg37j2 (person)

Episcopal Church

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dg0f6f (corporateBody)

In 1982, the General Convention of the Church deleted the words "Protestant" and "in the United States of America" from the official title of the Church, making it the Episcopal Church. From the description of Records of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America, Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, 1823-1975 (inclusive). (Yale University). WorldCat record id: 702152635 ...

Abbott, James L. G. (James Louis Grahame)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6w674dn (person)

Franks, Jacob, ca. 1760-ca. 1840.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rn4r8d (person)

Wing, Austin Eli, 1792-1849

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6z625vm (person)

Michigan legislator and congressman. Born in Conway, Hampshire County, Mass., Feb. 3, 1792; moved to Marietta, Ohio; attended common schools, academy at Chillicothe, and Athens College; graduated from Williams College, 1814; moved to Detroit and later to Monroe; sheriff of Michigan Territory; elected to Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-second Congresses; affiliated with the Whigs; member state House of Representatives; 1842; member Board of Regents, University of Michig...

American Fur Company

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6vt5fzp (corporateBody)

Fur trading company in the American West. From the description of Papers, 1835-1840. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122497429 Chartered by John Astor in 1808. Astor withdrew his interest in 1834 and in 1864 the company was sold to the North Western Fur Company. From the description of American Fur Company records, 1803-1849. (Detroit Public Library). WorldCat record id: 56975212 No information is available on Livingstone, except as noted above. Franchere...

Anderson, Thomas Gummersall, 1779-1875

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6nw11n0 (person)