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 xii
... Lead Belt. Sandy Koller helped me find old city ordinances. Susan Flader, Osmund Overby, Jack Luer, Jesse Francis, and many others convinced me that the story of Ste. Genevieve was important enough to be retold in many ways and viewed ...
... Lead Belt. Sandy Koller helped me find old city ordinances. Susan Flader, Osmund Overby, Jack Luer, Jesse Francis, and many others convinced me that the story of Ste. Genevieve was important enough to be retold in many ways and viewed ...
Page 17
... lead. 12. Pierre Charles Delassus De Luzières, An Official Account of the Situation, Soil, Pro- duce, and etc., of that Part of Louisiana Which Lies between the Mouth of the Missouri and New Madrid, or L'Anse à la Graise, and on the West ...
... lead. 12. Pierre Charles Delassus De Luzières, An Official Account of the Situation, Soil, Pro- duce, and etc., of that Part of Louisiana Which Lies between the Mouth of the Missouri and New Madrid, or L'Anse à la Graise, and on the West ...
Page 18
... lead and copper ores, and of stone coal; lead ore in particular is so very abundant, that where they work it, they are generally at no other pains than to pick it up on the surface of the ground.”15 In late January 1797, Austin arrived ...
... lead and copper ores, and of stone coal; lead ore in particular is so very abundant, that where they work it, they are generally at no other pains than to pick it up on the surface of the ground.”15 In late January 1797, Austin arrived ...
Page 21
... lead from the mines made less than subsistence wages. Some families became squat- ters on public lands, but the rush of settlement and speculation constantly threatened their economic survival.26 The American takeover also put pressure ...
... lead from the mines made less than subsistence wages. Some families became squat- ters on public lands, but the rush of settlement and speculation constantly threatened their economic survival.26 The American takeover also put pressure ...
Page 23
... lead deposits, which the French were busily engaged in mining with both free and slave labor. Hunters and trappers roamed the nearby woods in search of beaver, fox, rabbits, deer, and other animals whose furs and pelts were as valuable ...
... lead deposits, which the French were busily engaged in mining with both free and slave labor. Hunters and trappers roamed the nearby woods in search of beaver, fox, rabbits, deer, and other animals whose furs and pelts were as valuable ...
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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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