Louis Fromme Manaigre (abt. 1779 - 1870)

Born about 1779 in Montreal, Quebec Province, Canada

Ancestors

Descendants

Died Jan 1870 in Le Ray Township, Blue Earth, Faribault, Minnesota, United States

Profile manager: Bruce Bush [send private message]

Biography

"Louis Menaige, a Canadian, served in the War of 1812. He was a resident of Portage and was living there in 1832. He married Margaret, daughter of Perrish Grignon and his wife, Es-chah-wan-kah, a sister of the Old Decorah. Their children were Peter, Josette, and two others. [Jane and Charles]" - Norton William Jipson, Story of the Winnebagoes (Chicago: The Chicago Historical Society, 1923 [unpublished]), 260-261.

Birth

A census taken on 21 Sep 1857 shows Louis working as a baker on the Blue Earth reservation, where he is listed alongside his daughter, Josette's children, the Landroches. Josette died about 1854. His age is given as 78 years, making his date of birth 1779, listed as having been in Canada.

Life Events

In his son's biography (Blue Earth County, Page 61 pre-1898), it was stated that Louis Manaige served in the Revolutionary War. It was actually the War of 1812 (see the record of his service attached to this profile) and the Black Hawk War of 1831-32 (see the references attached to this profile).

In Nov. 1831, under the name "Louis Fromm," he pledged to contribute 50¢ towards the construction of a Catholic church in Green Bay. (Documents, 176)

In 1832, Louis Managre (Manaigre) worked for John H. Kinzie, the sub-agent for the HoChungara at Ft. Winnebago. His wife was the famous Juliette Kinzie who wrote Wau Bun. This memoir of the frontier contains a number of anecdotes about Louis. During the time when a new house was being built for the Kinzies, "Monsieur Isidore Morrin was a bachelor, and quite satisfied to continue boarding with his friend Louis Frum, dit Manaigre." (Kinzie, 262; cf. de la Ronde, 350) Louis went to work under the supervision of Monsieur Plante. The crew, including "Manaigre, whom the waggish Plante persisted in calling "mon negre," whenever he felt himself out of the reach of the other's arm, all went vigorously to work." (Kinzie, 263) When the Blackhawk War broke out in 1832, Louis was among a handful of people who remained with the Kinzies when the area was under threat of attack. (Kinzie, 320) During the war, when the Kinzies had to leave the fort for a period, they returned to find, "Everything was radiant with neatness and good order. With the efficient aid of our good Manaigre and his wife the house had been white-washed from the roof to the door sill — a thorough scrubbing and cleansing effected — the carpets unpacked and spread upon the floors, the furniture arranged, and though last not least, a noble supper smoked upon the board by the time we had made, once more, a civilized toilette." (Kinzie, 352)

Military Service

Louis served in the War of 1812 under Lieut. Col. Dodge's Command, Missouri Militia.

Louis Manaigre was one of the pioneers of the Portage, and apparently a good shot, as it is recorded that back in 1814, when he was a private with "the Michigans," he was the only one of his unit that hit the target in 15 shots. (Anderson, 241) It's recorded that Louis had an account at David Whitney's Shot Tower store at the Portage from 1831-33. (Libby, 340)

Louis served in the Black Hawk War 1831-32 in Captain William Moore's Company. "Of the Odd Battalion of Mounted Volunteers of Illinois, commanded by Major Nathanial Buckmaster, employed in the service of the United States, by order of the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Militia of Illinois, from June 2, 1831 to July 2, 1831, the day of its disbandment and discharge at Rock Island, 300 miles distance from company rendezvous." Residence is listed as Belleville [Illinois].

Children

Louis was a good father and tried hard to have his children properly educated, which was difficult on the frontier. In 1832, the Manaigres were living at Fort Winnebago, and Jane and Josette were being schooled briefly by Juliette Kinzie. It appears that the children spoke only French, but an attempt was made by Mrs. Kinzie to set up an informal school at the fort which they attended, as it says in her book:

A very short time after we were settled in our new

home at the Agency, we attempted the commencement

of a little Sunday School. Edwin, Harry and Josette

were our most reliable scholars, but besides them, there

were the two little Manaigres, Therese Paquette, and her

mother's half sister, Florence Courville, a pretty young

girl of fifteen. None of these girls had even learned their

letters. They spoke only French, or rather, the Canadian

patois and it was exceedingly difficult to give them

at once the sound of the words, and their signification,

which they were careful to inquire. Besides this, there

was the task of correcting the false ideas, and remedying

the ignorance and superstition which presented so formid-

able an obstacle to rational improvement. We did our

best, however, and had the satisfaction of seeing them,

after a time, making really respectable progress with their

spelling-book, and what was still more encouraging,

acquiring a degree of light and knowledge in regard

to better things. ... After a time Manaigre was induced to

send his children to Mr. Cadle's mission-school at Green Bay.

(Kinzie, 274-275)

The Cadle Mission school was opened in 1830 and in 1831 had 129 students. The school closed in 1839 with 36 students. Since the Manaige girls were in school at Fort Winnebago in 1832-33, they could have been at Cadle Mission School between 1833 and 1839.

In an affidavit in 1839, Louis named the following as his children:

"Peter Monagre a male Infant of about the age of Twenty.

Josette Monagre a female infant of about the age of Sixteen

Jane Monagre a female infant of about the age of fourteen

Charles Monagre a male infant of about the age of eleven

Your Petitioner avers that the Mother of the aford children was a half Breed Winnebago Woman being the daughter of Chau wau cau a Winnebago Squaw and that the mother of the said children has died four years ago. That your Petitioner has his aford children now living with & supported by him and that he is a discreet and prudent Parent. Your Petitioner avers the performance of valuable & important services being rendered by his dead wife & children to the Winnebago Nation of Indians." (Waggoner, 44b)

Death and Burial

"[Peter Manaige's] father, Louis Manaige, a native of Canada, ... died at LeRay, Minnesota, in 1870, at the age of ninety-nine years." (Neill-Bryant, 601) His grave stone gives his birth date as 1775, based on the mortality schedule given in the 1870 census. However, it is a well known fact that men on the frontier exaggerated their ages, as great age was very prestigious. In the 1857 Minnesota census (p. 71), he himself gave his age as a more modest 78 (b. 1779), which would make him 91 years old at his death. Nevertheless, in the 1860 census, he gave his age as 60, making his year of birth 1800. All the other censuses (1830, 1840) of his younger days are consistent with his having been born in either 1800 or 1801, which would make him 70 years old at his death. However, he served in the War of 1812, which would make him between 12 and 14 years old at that time. A birth date of 1779 would make him 33-35 years old, which is far more plausible.

He is buried at Immaculate Conception Catholic Cemetery, Saint Clair, Blue Earth County, Minnesota, USA. (Find a Grave)

Sources

• Minnesota 1857 Territorial Census, 21 Sep 1857, Blue Earth, Winnebago Reservation. Minnesota Territorial Census Schedules, 1849-1855. Minnesota Historical Society, 1977. Microfilm. Reels 1-47 and 107-164.
• Capt. Thomas G. Anderson, "Anderson's Journal at Fort McKay," Wisconsin Historical Collections, IX (1882): 207-261.
• Linda M. Waggoner (ed.), “Neither White Men Nor Indians: Affidavits from the Winnebago Mixed-blood Claim Commissions, Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin, 1838-1839” (Roseville, Minnesota: Park Genealogical Books, 2002). Extracted from Territorial Papers of the United States, Wisconsin, 1836-1848. M236. “Special Files of the Office of Indian Affairs,” 1836- 46. “Special File 161” (Roll 41). “Special File 190” (Roll 42). National Archives, Washington D.C., Documents on Microfilm, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Record Group 75).
• Juliette Augusta McGill Kinzie, Wau-Bun, The "Early Day" in the North-west (Chicago & New York: Rand, McNally & Company, 1873 [1856]).
• de la Ronde, "Personal Narrative," VII.360. Moses Paquette, "The Wisconsin Winnebago," Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, XII (1892): 399-433.
• Orin Grant Libby, “Chronicle of the Helena Shot-Tower,” Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, XIII (1895): 335-374.
• “Documents Relating to the Catholic Church in Green Bay, and the Mission at Little Chute, 1825-1840).” Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 162-205.
• 1830 United States Federal Census, Iowa County, Michigan Territory, page 246.
• 1840 United States Federal Census, Winnebago County, Wisconsin Territory, page 128.
• 1860 United States Federal Census, Fox Lake, Blue Earth, Minnesota, page 123, line 15.
• 1870 United States Federal Census, Blue Earth, Minnesota; Roll T132_1, page 747, line 27.
• Edward D. Neill and Charles S. Bryant, History of the Minnesota Valley : Including the Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota ( Minneapolis: North Star Publishing Company, 1880).
• Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 17 December 2019), memorial page for Luis Manaige (1775–Jan 1870), Find A Grave Memorial no. 151234173, citing Immaculate Conception Catholic Cemetery, Saint Clair, Blue Earth County, Minnesota, USA ; Maintained by DE Sundeen (contributor 48210342) .
• Londroche Family Tree, Ancestry.com, Louis Fromme dit Manaigre, https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/9930418/person/24057667069/facts
• WikiTree profile Menagre-2 created through the import of The Sammons Family Tree.ged on Jun 9, 2011 by Steve Sammons. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Steve and others.
• Source: S2852711167 Repository: #R2852704208 Title: Public Member Trees Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.Original data - Family trees submitted by Ancestry members.Original data: Family trees submitted by Ancestry members. Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created. Page: Ancestry Family Trees Note: Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=5111977&pid=7700
• Repository: R2852704208 Name: Ancestry.com Address: http://www.Ancestry.com Note:
• Record of the Services of Illinois Soldiers in the Black Hawk War 1831-32 and in the Mexican War 1846-48, Containing a complete roster of commissioned officers and enlisted men of both wars, taken from the official rolls on file in the War Department, D.C., With an Appendix Giving record of the services of the Illinois militia, rangers and riflemen, in protecting the frontier from the ravages of the Indians from 1810 to 1813, Prepared and Published by authority of the Thirty-Second General assembly by Isaac H. Elliott, Adjutant-General of the State of Illinois, Springfield, ILL; Journal Company, Printers and Binders 1902.

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