Les Habitants du Poste Vincennes
1732 to 1778
Newsletter
February 15, 2001
Bonjour Mes Amis!
We've just passed Mardi Gras, and I was thinking that someday we may be
able to celebrate that day in French Colonial style!
Our next meeting will be on Thursday, February 28, at 7:00 p.m. in the Visitors' Center at George Rogers Clark National Historical Park. We will first meet in the Auditorium for a "business meeting", then we'll explore the resources GRC has that are helpful to us. Many items listed on the Resource List are for sale in the GRC bookstore, and others are available in the GRC library.
As we start planning for future meetings and programs, we need ideas. Please be thinking about things we could do to help ourselves learn more about this history, develop personas and get the word out to more people. Think about your own situation and needs - what could we do that would help you? Bring your ideas to the meeting. If you can't come to the meeting, please call, e-mail or write me anytime and I can bring your ideas for you. As we head towards warmer weather, our possibilities increase.
Saturday, April 13 and Sunday, April 14 are the days set for the Grand Opening of the Knox County Public Library's Brockman Building, which will be a regional historical and genealogical library. To celebrate, there will be a History Fair, in which historical sites and organizations from Knox and Lawrence Counties can have representatives and/or exhibits. There will also be live music, refreshments and an Authors' Table. This is a great opportunity for organizations to let themselves be known to the public, share information with others and to drum up some membership. The event runs from 1 to 5 p.m. each day. Be thinking about when you might like to help on either day.
We also need to talk some more about Rendezvous. We could have an area near the French Market booth, help with the children's trade blanket area, or maybe something else. The problem is that most of us are already busy with a job or other obligation that weekend, so manpower is slim. On the other hand, Rendezvous is a good opportunity for us, and a most appropriate setting. Rendezvous organizers want to include more representation of our French and Indian history. Do you have any ideas as to how we might be involved this year?
At our last meeting, on the evening of January 24, we met in the Byron R. Lewis Historical Library on the Vincennes University campus. Richard Day gave us an interesting and informative presentation on resources in Lewis that are helpful to us (more on that in a moment) - thank you Richard!! Also, we decided to institute dues so that we can establish a definite membership list and help pay for postage, mailings, flyers, etc. Dues will be $5.00 per year. You can pay at the next meeting or mail it to me. Make checks payable to Terri King, and note on the check "Les Habitants". I have printed up a flyer with a membership form that can be used in the future at events and for newer members.
Here is an annotated list of the resources Richard brought to our attention in Lewis. I will type up something else later with more of the specifics that he gave us. Some of these materials may be moved to the Brockman Building in March.
* Manuscript records of the Old Cathedral, 3 volumes of
transcriptions, starting in 1749. Includes baptisms, marriages, deaths.
* Old Cathedral Records transcribed alphabetically and in chronological
order by Mary Tougher.
* Tanguay volumes - genealology of all Canadian families ("Dictionaire Genealogique
des Familles Canadiennes") - The first volume lists the first families in
Canada in the 1600's, and subsequent volumes pick up on later generations
and histories.
* Dennison's "French Families of the Detroit River Area; 1701-1936" (2 vol.)
* "The Village of Chartres in Colonial Illinois; 1720-1765" - in French
and English translation - includes marriages, burials, contracts, etc.
* McDermott's "Old Cahokia" - includes inventories, church records, and
an idea of what life was like.
* "Kaskaskia Under the French Regime"
(all of the above books are good for tracing people around the country)
* "Spain in the Mississippi Valley" (3 vol.) - Revolutionary
era to 1794. Some Vincennes names. The Spanish kept meticulous records and
had an interest in Vincennes.
* "George Rogers Clark Adventure" - in the back is the Oath of Allegiance
of 1778 that lists names and has notes about the signers.
* Census of Vincennes 1787 ("Inhabitants of Post Vincennes 1787") - lists
males, tells ages and how many females and children there were.
* Knox County Probate Records (starts 1790) - inventories, good for learning
about material culture, economic activities, etc.
* "The Creole Pioneers of Old Post Vincennes" - stories and memories collected
in 1930's from French colonial descendents, in dialect.
* Jesuit Relations; 1610-1791 - good source for the French contact with
Indians, "middle ground" (fur trade, etc.), French missionaries in Vincennes,
descriptions of conditions.
In Microfilm:
* Catholic Church Records
* Probate Records
* Knox County court records (business contracts, etc.)
* American state papers - land claims in district of Vincennes, Kaskaskia,
Missouri, etc.
* Kaskaskia Manuscripts (some Vincennes records recorded here)
* Mississippi (Valley) Provincial Archives 1678-1763.
* Archives of the Colonies of French Louisiana.
These are primary sources that you can use to further your
understanding of the history and culture of early Vincennes and to help you
develop a persona.
Richard also mentioned the Laselle Collection (1760's to 1770's) in the
Manuscripts Collection, Indiana Room of the State Library.
Hope to see you on the 28th!
Terri Talarek King
5240 E. Stagecoach Rd.
Vincennes, IN 47591
812 726 4431
leapingfrog55 at yahoo.com