Joseph (L'Enfant) L'Enfant dit St-Joseph (1731 - 1810)

Born 25 Sep 1731 in Montereau-Fault-Yonne, Île-de-France, France

Husband of Marie Françoise Tessier — married 14 Feb 1757 in Longue-Pointe de Montréal, Canada, Nouvelle-France

Descendants

Died 24 Apr 1810 at age 78 in Frenchtown, River Raisin, Michigan Territory, United States

Biography

The son of George L'Enfant and Francoise Ragon, Joseph L'Enfant was born in France in 1731. As a young man, joined the French military, serving in the Régiment La Sarre during the Seven Years' War. He was sent to fight in Canada and chose to stay. In New France he met and married Marie Françoise Tessier. They had a large family, and after some years together traveled to Michigan, where they settled in what would later become Monroe County. Joseph passed away there in 1810.

Additional notes for Biography:

Joseph was a wigmaker, came to Detroit in 1774 and resided on St Joseph Street.

From Genealogy of the French Families of the Detroit River Region (full citation in source for birthplace name)

Children

1. Françoise (1758-1800)
2. Marie Angélique (1761-?) m. Antoine Campau
3. Louis Joseph (1763-?) m. Louise Agathe Réaume and had issue.
4. Marie Archange (1765-?)
5. Marguerite (1769-1834) m. Jean Baptiste Bernard and had issue.
6. Catherine (1771-?) m. Jean-Baptiste Couture and had issue.
7. Marie Françoise (1773-1850) m. (1) Louis François Susor and had issue, (2) Joseph Simon Ménard
8. Marie Louise (1774-1831) m. André Poupard and had issue
9. Joseph Dominique (1776-?)
10. Joseph Benjamin (1778-?)

Research Notes

Re: Death Place Name

I changed the place name from River Raisin, Monroe, Michigan to be more historically accurate to Frenchtown, River Raisin, Northwest Territory, United States

The place settled by Francois Navarre (1763-1826) in 1780 was on the River Raisin and was named Frenchtown. The church established there was St Antoine. This is where many of the French families from the area now known as Ontario, Canada and some who had moved from Canada to Detroit, later settled. Joseph and his wife were among those families. His children were born in Detroit, but they moved to Frenchtown, where some of the children were married and later buried. Joseph and his wife Frances were also buried there.

Monroe as a county did not exist until 1817, and the area of Michigan did not become Michigan Territory until 1805. Prior to that it was not called Michigan, it was just part of the Northwest Territory.

Sources

• Family Search profile ID: K2X7-K5V; https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/K2X7-K5V
• Birthplace: St Loup-de-Montreau, diocese of Sens Champagne, France (and Parent's Names & Siblings Names and Vital Statistics),
• Fichier Origine; Répertoire des actes des émigrants français et étrangers établis au Québec des origines à 1865. (English translation: Origin File; Directory of acts of French emigrants and foreigners established in Quebec from its origins to 1865.)Fichier origine 242494 Joseph L'Enfant / St-Joseph 2021 Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie//Québec Federation of Genealogical Societies
• 25 Sep 1731 Birth record; "Quebec, Quebec Federation of Genealogical Societies, Family Origins, 1621-1865," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDB-H39S : 10 February 2018), Joseph L'Enfant, 25 Sep 1731; citing Montereau-Fault-Yonne Notre-Dame et-St-Loup, Seine-et-Marne, France, Birth, La Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie (The Quebec Federation of Genealogical Societies), Canada., https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDB-H39S?_gl=1*1a3pppz*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE2OTE3MTA1NTAuQ2owS0NRandsZEttQmhDQ0FSSXNBUC0wcmZ5dlFLNVd0NmFReURhVGN3ZWplY29VUmhvUUE4YTVaUmFEem04a05ETXFZdXdFU2s3QkItVWFBZ3FFRUFMd193Y0I.*_gcl_au*MjA1NTYwMTE2NS4xNjkyNTU0MzcwLjg0NzgwMDAzMS4xNjkzMDgyMDI0LjE2OTMwODIwMjM.
• "Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968" Ancestry.com. Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Joseph L'enfant and Francoise Tessier Marriage: 14 February 1757
• 14 February 1757: Marriage Date and Place (Longue Pointe) Spouse: Frances Tessier; Denissen, Christian. Genealogy of the Detroit River Region. Revision. 1701-1936, Volume I, p 733. Editor: Harold Frederic Powell, PhD. 1987 Revision Editor: Robert L Pilon. 1987 Revision assistant editor: Stephen F Keller. Published by The Detroit Society for the Genealogical Research as Part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration. Detroit, Mich. Initially a bicentennial project of the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research.
• Ancestry.com. Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin Institut Généalogique Drouin; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Drouin Collection; Author: Gabriel Drouin, Comp. Marie Angelique Lenfant Baptism Date 28 Nov 1761
• Ancestry.com. Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin Institut Généalogique Drouin; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Drouin Collection; Author: Gabriel Drouin, Comp. Marie Archange L'Enfant Birth Date 28 Janv 1765
• Ancestry.com. Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Marguerite L'Enfant Birth Date: 3 Avril 1769
• Ancestry.com. Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin Institut Généalogique Drouin; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Drouin Collection; Author: Gabriel Drouin, Comp. Catherine Lenfant Baptism Date 4 Mars 1767-1771
• Ancestry.com. Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin Institut Généalogique Drouin; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Drouin Collection; Author: Gabriel Drouin, Comp. Marie Louise L'enfant Baptism Date 4 Mars 1767-1771
• Ancestry.com. U.S., French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin Marriage Angelique Lenfant-Antoine Campau Marriage Year 1780-1801
• "U.S., French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954" Ancestry.com. U.S., French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Marriage Jean Baptiste Bernard and Marguerite Lenfant 30 January 1785
• Ancestry.com. U.S., French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin Marriage Jean Baptiste Couture-Catherine Lenfant Marriage 24 Apr 1786
• Ancestry.com. U.S., French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin Marriage Marie Lenfant-Andre Poupard Marriage Year 1780-1801
• Ancestry.com. U.S., French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin Marriage Louis Susoid-Francoise L'Enfant-Louis Susoid
• Ancestry.com. U.S., French Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1695-1954 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin Marriage Louis Joseph Lenfant-Louise Reaume Marriage Year 1801-1842
• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVLR-NVG9 : 24 February 2022), Joseph L'Enfant dit St. Joseph, ; Burial, Monroe, Monroe, Michigan, United States of America, Saint Antoine Cemetery; citing record ID 107165061, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
• Ancestry.com. Quebec, Genealogical Dictionary of Canadian Families (Tanguay Collection), 1608-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Tanguay, Cyprien. Dictionnaire généalogique des familles canadiennes depuis la fondation de la colonie jusqu'à nos jours. Québec, Canada: Eusèbe Senécal, 1871-1890. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Canada. Volume: Vol. 5 Sect. 2 : Lei-Mer; Page: 341 Joseph l'Enfant-Francoise Tessier Family
• 25 Sep 1731 Record of marriage for Joseph L'Enfant to Françoise Tessier, "Canada, Quebec, Quebec Federation of Genealogical Societies, Family Origins, 1621-1865," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDB-H39S : 10 February 2018), Joseph L'Enfant, 25 Sep 1731; citing Montereau-Fault-Yonne Notre-Dame et-St-Loup, Seine-et-Marne, France, Birth, La Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie (The Quebec Federation of Genealogical Societies), Canada., https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDB-H39S
• Early Frenchtown/River Raisin/Monroe Residents –M –NCompiled by Diane Wolford Sheppard, FCHSM Member-© 2017 –All Rights Reserved; https://habitantheritage.org/upload/files/Create_Subfolders/River_Raisin/K_-_L_Families.pdf