From French Community to Missouri Town: Ste. Genevieve in the Nineteenth CenturyA small French settlement thrived for half a century on the west bank of the Mississippi River before the Louisiana Purchase made it part of the United States in 1803. But for the citizens of Ste. Genevieve, becoming Americans involved more than simply acknowledging a transfer of power. Bonnie Stepenoff has written an engaging history of Missouri's oldest permanent settlement to explore what it meant to be Americanized in our country's early years. Picking up where other studies of Ste. Genevieve leave off, she traces the dramatic changes wrought by the transfer of sovereignty to show the process of social and economic transformation on a young nation's new frontier. Stepenoff tells how French and Spanish residents--later joined by German immigrants and American settlers--made necessary compromises to achieve order and community, forging a democracy that represented different approaches to such matters as education, religion, property laws, and women's rights. By examining the town's historical circumstances, its legal institutions, and especially its popular customs, she shows how Ste. Genevieve differed from other towns along the Mississippi. Stepenoff has plumbed the town's voluminous archives to share previously untold stories of Ste. Genevieve citizens that reflect how Americanization affected their lives. In these pages we meet a free woman of color who sued a prominent white family for support of her children; a slave who obtained her own freedom and then purchased her daughters' freedom; a local sheriff who joined Aaron Burr's conspiracy; and a doctor who treated cholera victims and later became a U.S. senator. More than colorful characters, these are real people shown pursuing justice and liberty under a new flag. The story of Ste. Genevieve serves as a testament to Tocqueville's observations on American democracy while also challenging some of the commonly held beliefs about that institution. From French Community to Missouri Town provides a better understanding not only of how democracy works but also of what it meant to become American when America was still young. |
From inside the book
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Page vii
... Church , and School Chapter Eleven . Life , Death , and Remembrance Chapter Twelve . Holidays and Celebrations Conclusion : Ste . Genevieve in 1885 Bibliography Index . ix xi II 26 • 42 58 75 · 91 106 121 139 154 · 170 187 200 207 219 ...
... Church , and School Chapter Eleven . Life , Death , and Remembrance Chapter Twelve . Holidays and Celebrations Conclusion : Ste . Genevieve in 1885 Bibliography Index . ix xi II 26 • 42 58 75 · 91 106 121 139 154 · 170 187 200 207 219 ...
Page 4
... Church, which was in many ways the heart of the community. There was no courthouse, but there were several taverns. No one would have called the town a democracy. In fact, several promi- nent citizens came to the area seeking refuge ...
... Church, which was in many ways the heart of the community. There was no courthouse, but there were several taverns. No one would have called the town a democracy. In fact, several promi- nent citizens came to the area seeking refuge ...
Page 5
... Church. By the third quarter of the nineteenth century, these immigrants had established themselves as mer- chants, tradesmen, and pillars of the local community, but they retained their separate ethnic identity. The French and the ...
... Church. By the third quarter of the nineteenth century, these immigrants had established themselves as mer- chants, tradesmen, and pillars of the local community, but they retained their separate ethnic identity. The French and the ...
Page 7
... church, and school, the three fundamental institutions that work, more or less in concert, to educate the young and perpetuate the values of a society aspiring toward democratic ideals. In any society, hope rests in new generations ...
... church, and school, the three fundamental institutions that work, more or less in concert, to educate the young and perpetuate the values of a society aspiring toward democratic ideals. In any society, hope rests in new generations ...
Page 14
... church.4 In the 1760s, the settlers built a church in a central location, but their houses remained scattered along the riverbank. Contemporary observers noted that the seventy households in the village stretched across one full mile of ...
... church.4 In the 1760s, the settlers built a church in a central location, but their houses remained scattered along the riverbank. Contemporary observers noted that the seventy households in the village stretched across one full mile of ...
Contents
1 | |
11 | |
26 | |
Chapter Three Americans in a French Community | 42 |
Chapter Four German Influx | 58 |
Chapter Five Becoming an American Town | 75 |
Chapter Six Law and Order in Ste Genevieve | 91 |
Chapter Seven French omen in an American Republic | 106 |
Chapter Nine ork and Family in Ste Genevieve | 139 |
Chapter Ten Home Church and School | 154 |
Chapter Eleven Life Death and Remembrance | 170 |
Chapter Twelve Holidays and Celebrations | 187 |
Conclusion Ste Genevieve in 1885 | 200 |
Bibliography | 207 |
Index | 219 |
Chapter Eight Slavery and Freedom | 121 |
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From French Community to Missouri Town: Ste. Genevieve in the Nineteenth ... Bonnie Stepenoff No preview available - 2024 |
Common terms and phrases
African Americans American takeover Amos Stoddard Amoureux Anglo-American arpents August bank became big field Bourbon Brackenridge Census Charles cholera citizens Civil Court Clerk’s office daughter death deed book democracy died dollars Ekberg Elizabeth Ernst family’s farm Father Firmin Francois Vallé Frederick Bates free black freedom French colonial frontier Genevieve Archives Genevieve Catholic Church Genevieve County Courthouse Genevieve Fair Play Genevieve Herald Genevieve’s German American Henry Dodge History Ibid Jean-Baptiste Vallé Joseph Kaskaskia Kern land lead mining Linn lived Louis Louisiana Purchase Marie LaPorte married Michel Badeau Mississippi River Missouri Territory Moses Austin named NARA microfilm Odile official old French Opening the Ozarks parish Pelagie Peter Pratte Pierre Delassus Population Schedule records republic residents Rozier Sainte Genevieve settlement settlers Shannon slavery slaves Southeast Missouri Spanish Territory tion Tocqueville town town’s U.S. Bureau Union Upper Louisiana wife women