MEMOIR OF ANTOINE
LAFORGE.
A Gallipolis Manuscript (1790)
(Translated from the original French by
Laurence J. Kenny, S. J.
St. Louis University.)
The accompanying document is a copy of
a manuscript
heirloom that has been cherished for
more than a century among
the descendents of Pierre Antoine
Laforge, one of the early
French settlers of Gallipolis. It
brought them into possession
of the "modest inheritance"
referred to at its close, and it has
given substance and vraisemblance to the
tales of pioneer days
told around the wintry firesides of
several old Missouri homes,
and especially to the story of their
lost-and-found-grandsire.
The student of Ohio history will also
find interest in the
document. It is of no small historic
value; not that it affords
many new data, but for the reason that
certain misconceptions,
which have gained currency with the
years, will be completely
discredited in the light of its
first-hand evidence.
For instance, all our historians, in
explaining the breaking-
up of the settlement, dwell upon what
McMaster denominates
a "most shameful piece of
land-jobbery". There is perfect
unanimity among these writers in
ascribing the disruption of
the colony to the invalidity of the
emigrants' titles to their
homes. The present document, on the
contrary, lets us into the
mind of one of the leading colonists,
where we find no trace
of worry over invalid land titles, but
there is pain and worry
a-plenty over another matter. His hopes
and fears and those
of his associates are exposed to our
view; and we find there a
difficult, yet an all-sufficient, reason
to account for the removal
of the settlers from the banks of the
Beautiful River of that
date. The Indians, by whom they were
completely surrounded,
were on the war-path; General St. Clair,
sent to repress them,
had been defeaed; some of he French
colonists themselves had
fought as officers under St. Clair; and
it was too much to expect
(43)
44 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
that savages would not attack a
settlement that was furnishing
recruits to their foes. The fear of the
savages, especially in
the hearts of men, who had brought their
wives and children
into the primeval wilderness, was motive
enough to make them
look wistfully towards the alluring
promises of a happier home
in colonies of brighter prospects that
were springing up sporad-
ically just then throughout the land
from Maine to Texas.
When we are once put right on this
point, that it was the
fear of savage violence and not
defective land titles which chiefly
effected the dispersal of the Gallipolis
colonists, it is strange how
clear and convincing a confirmation of
our new view is afforded
by a glance at the condition of the
adjacent American colony of
Marietta. Let it be remembered that the
Marietta pioneers had
persevered for years in a colony whose
land titles were similarly
uncertain. This insecurity scarcely
forms an item in their story.
In regard to the Indians however the two
settlements were very
dissimilarly situated. Marietta was under the guns of Fort
Harmar, and behind it to the east were
several other American
settlements; Gallipolis had only citizen
soldiery, and was com-
pletely enveloped by lurking places for
the savages. When its
little stockage for two years, even men
like Laforge thought of
other lands. All this shows the
steel-like strength of those who
remained and who in their descendents
were welded into the
fusion that made the Ohio of today.
After the perusal of the document, the
reader will wonder
what was the fate of Laforge, his wife,
and their four children.
When his grand-uncle, Preau, the Notary
Public of Paris,
was penning the document in search of
him (1797), he was liv-
ing happily with his family, his wife,
two boys and two girls,
all except the little Prudence
Francois-in the Spanish town of
New Madrid, in the present state of
Missouri. One of the most
precious pieces of early Missouri
history is a lengthy letter from
his pen addressed to the local
Commandant, to which a census
of New Madrid, the names of all the
inhabitants, is attached.
The letter is dated 1796. With these he
also sent a map of
the town "made after the last
abrasion of the Mississippi". We
have a map that seems to be the one
referred to, which bears
Memoir of Antoine Laforge. 45
the date, April, 1794. If this is
Laforge's drawing, we lose sight
of him for that four months, and he
cannot have gone far on
his contemplated trip back to Paris.
He may have reached New Orleans, and
there have learned
for the first time of the Reign of
Terror, and that Royalists like
himself were in greater jeopardy in
France than in the midst
of the savages of Ohio. He may have met
on his way the Baron
of Bastrop who was just at this time
attracting settlers to a
new colony near the present city of
Monroe, Louisiana; or he
may have come upon the Marquis of Maison
Rouge, a rival in
the same industry. Both of these had
their eyes on the Gallipolis
colony in particular. But it is more
likely that he encountered
DeLassus who had left Gallipolis a few
months before to ex-
amine the prospects at New Madrid,
painted so glowingly by
Peter Andrain and J. B. Tardiveau.
Carondelet, the Spanish
Governor, had given these two the sum of
$2,500
to be expended
in bringing a hundred families to
Missouri from Gallipolis,
which, writes Carondelet, would have
been a most flourishing
colony, if the United States had
afforded "all the protection
which the colonists had expected."
Missouri was singularly fortunate in the
men who came
hither from the Gallipolis colony. To
name a few: Doctor
Antoine Saugrain has been the subject of
publications by two
historical societies, yet most of the
general accounts of the
Ohio-French colony make jest of the man
who spent his time
in "making thermometers". His
St. Louis descendents to this
day have inherited his propensity
towards the natural sciences,
and are still among the leaders in those
lines. Luziere was one
of the "Company of 24" in
Paris, who undertook to finance the
Scioto colonization scheme. He was a
close friend of Caron-
delet, the Governor at this time of the
whole Louisiana Terri-
tory, and a man of equally eminent
ability. It would withdraw
us from our main topic to stop to
consider what might have
been the effect on American history, if
the Gallipolis colony
(with nothing west of it as far as the
Pacific ocean but other
French colonies) had proven anything of
the success that Luziere
and its other founders anticipated. Joel
Barlow wrote from
Paris that 500,000 Frenchmen might go
out to Ohio. One can-
46 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
not but rejoice that these high hopes
were not realized. This
Luziere is known as DeLassus in Missouri
history. To the
present day, his name and that of his
son are mentioned only
with affection here. It fell to the
latter to be the representative
of Spain on that eventful "Day of
the Three Flags" when the
Stars and Stripes were first raised over
this western empire,
then known as Upper Louisiana. Another
notable member of
the Gallipolis colony who came to
Missouri was the Reverend
Peirre Joseph Didier, who for seven
years, 1792-9, was almost
the sole pastor of this boundless
parish. It will redound for-
ever to the honor of Gallipolis that it
was the home of the first
Benedictine priest in the United States,
and this the more so,
as that Benedictine was a member of the
Congregation of St.
Maur, celebrated throughout the world
for its eminent learning.
Didier held episcopal power in Ohio, but
seems never to have
exercised it in deference to the Bishop
of Baltimore with whose
jurisdiction there might have been
confusion. Other Gallipolis
names in early Missouri records are:
Picart, soon evolving into
Peters; Cadot; Michau; and Vanderbenden.
This last was an
engineer of notable ability. It is a
curious contrast to read in
some of the fanciful accounts of the
Ohio colony of the in-
ability of the settlers to cut down a
tree, and to learn from au-
thentic history that men of fine
engineering talent were in the
party. Vanderbenden was chosen in 1797
to erect the fortifica-
tions of St. Louis. But none of these
persons proved a greater
asset to Missouri than the subject of
this document. Houck, the
most painstaking historians of Missouri,
says of Laforge:
"His education, intelligence, and
great common sense, energy, public
spirit, and literary ability soon
secured him a prominent and leading
position. He was an officer of the
militia, commissioner of the police,
syndic, and executed many confidential
missions for the several com-
mandants. His report of the condition of
New Madrid, published in
1796, and to which we have hitherto made
reference, shows his keen,
observing mind, and the relentless logic
with which he could condemn the
lethargy and want of enterprise of his
own immediate countrymen and
the Canadian French, and the admiration
he felt for American enter-
prize and energy. After the acquisition
of Louisiana he was appointed
Civil Commandant."
Memoir of Antoine Laforge. 47
Missouri had its land troubles as well
as Ohio. Troubles in
such matters do not seem to have
disheartened Laforge. We
find in the U. S. State Papers that a
tract of 1,140 acres which
had been cultivated by Laforge's six
slaves was adjudged by
the U. S. Land Commissioners in 1806, as
not to be conceded
to him "for want of actual
inhabitation and cultivation by clam-
ant himself."
At the time of the famous New Madrid
earthquake in 1811,
Laforge was sick; and he died as the
result of exposure. His
numerous descendents have been among the
most useful citizens
of Missouri. A village near his old home
bears his name.
MEMOIRE OF CITIZEN AND CITIZENESSE
LAFORGE WHO WENT OUT
TO GALLIPOLIS2 ON THE BORDERS
OF THE SCIOTO IN 1790.
Pierre Antoine Laforge and Margueritte
Gabrielle Colombe
Champagne his wife were carrying on a
haberdashery store in
Paris, but not having been successful in
business, they were
compelled to abandon it.
Towards the close of 1789 they read in
the public papers
the announcement that a great stretch of
land was for sale at
a very low price on the borders of the
Scioto in the United
States of North America, and they
determined to go out as
pioneers. They purchased 2 or 300 acres
of the uncultivated soil.
They embarked at Havre (on the ship
Patriot, Captain Legros,)
on the 19th of February, 1790, to go and
take possession and
establish themselves there with their
three children. They had
a fourth child, still at the breast, but
they left it under the
guardianship of Cne. Rapeau, the mother
of C. Laforge. They
took workmen with them to clear the land
and to build; and
they equipped themselves with tools and
agricultural instruments.
On their arrival in America, C. Laforge
hastened to write to
his mother, Cne. Rapeau. This letter was
dated at Alexandria
in Virginia, May 25th, 1790.3
1I shall use C. and Cne, as on the MSS
henceforth in the transla-
tion. These were the Parisian
designations of 1797. It will be seen below
that Laforge requests his mail to be
addrest to M. Laforge.
2The MSS so spells the name of the
colony.
3"Wellsburg on the river Ohio,
October 1, 1790," is written and
erased.
48 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
In another letter, dated at Gallipolis,
first city of the Scioto,
January 7th, 1790, he says they have
reached the lands of the
Company of the Scioto (October 20th, 1790) at the place
de-
stined for the establishment of the
first city, which they have
agreed to call Gallipolis, i. e., City
of the French, as the colony
is composed of none but Frenchmen. He
signs this letter: La-
forge, judge of the police and of the
peace of the city of Gal-
lipolis.
By another letter written from
Gallipolis March 28th, 1792,
he recommends that in writing to him
they address their letters
in care of M. Lemegre, merchant in
Philadelphia, to be for-
warded to M. Laforge at Gallipolis on
the Ohio, by way of M.
Marie of Pittsburgh.
He frequently speaks of the savages or
Indians, their close
neighbors, who give them great
uneasiness.
After drawing the most smiling tableaux
of the country
chosen by the colony he adds: We cannot
hide from ourselves
that all this fair perspective may
vanish like a dream; that our
fate is in the hands of the Indians who
are able at a blow either
to crush us or to pursue us from this
pleasant land. Several
establishments near to us have already
undergone this sad lot
and have perished either by fire or by
the sword. All the Ameri-
cans are jealous of us, and are
astonished at our apparent
security and at the tranquillity of the
Indians in our regard. In
fact, they have so far deprived us of
but one of our number,
whom they have taken captive. But they
can at any minute
they please make us pay dearly for the
moment of peace they
leave us. It is said that as a general
rule they are not accustomed
to do evil to the French, that they love
us and they respect us,
and they call us their fathers, because
they think they are de-
scended from French blood. But this
opinion all advantageous
as it may appear to us, causes us no
illusion; all the more since
we know that the blows of the savages
are directed by dip-
lomatists, by the English, who will not
fail to tell them that we
have become subjects of America as
residents in that govern-
ment, and as such we shall be obliged to
espouse the cause of
the Americans against them."
Memoir of Antoine LaForge. 49
In another place he says that an army
composed of Ameri-
cans and commanded by General Arthur St.
Clair had lately
attacked the savages, there had been
several vigorous actions
but no decisive one; but that on the
whole the Americans had
had the worst of it. Just after his
arrival at the Scioto, he saw
General Arthur St. Clair and the
American army going up the
Ohio on the way to New York4 to
render an account of their
small success. They intended to return
down the river in the
springtime of 1792 with a much
larger army to harass the
Indians and compel them to remain
tranquil.
In another letter dated Gallipolis,
August, 1792, Laforge
returns continually with anxiety to the
subject of the Indians:
It is necessary to tell you - he says to
his mother -that a very
great injury to the success of all the
settlements in this country
is the fact that the Americans are at
war with the Indians who
who surround us, and that the war is
fostered and nourished
by England, who supplies the savages
with arms, munitions and
even with officers to lead them. The
last campaign was very
unfortunate for the American army; which
was cut to pieces,
soldiers and officers; an event that has
given us much uneasiness
and fills us with fear of hostility of
the savages who surround
us on all sides. "Still they have
left us at peace up to the
present. But we do not dare to leave our
village where we have
erected a fort for retreat in case of an
attack."
"Of the 500 who came here in the
beginning, we are now
not more than 200; because some had not
sufficient patience
while others were driven away by fear.
And as to those who
remain, more than half are arranging to
move away at the earliest
opportunity."
In another letter dated Gallipolis,
December 25th, 1792,
he thanks his mother for two letters he
had received from her,
and he tells her that both he and his
wife wish to see her again,
and that they intend to return to
France; but there is a great
debate between them as to which of them
will make the voyage
first. He feels that it will be he for
the reason that his wife
has lately given birth to a child which
is being nursed at present.
4New York city was at this time the seat
of Congress.
Vol. XXVI -4
50 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
This letter was the last that C. Laforge
wrote his mother.
Henceforth all communications are from
Cne Laforge to
Cne Rapeau her mother-in-law. On June
24th, 1794, she writes
from Gallipolis that her husband left
Gallipolis on the 18th of
December, 1793, to descend the beautiful
river (the Ohio) as
far as New Orleans, to embark there for
Philadelphia, and
finally to set sail for France to see
his family; that she does
not know what route he followed, that
for the last seven months
she is alone to conduct the labors of
the estate. She gives an
account of her little family, two boys
and two girls; and she
tells her in writing to address her in
care of M. Lemegre, mer-
chant at Philadelphia.
After this letter, that is, for
something more than three
years, no news has reached France of
either the husband or
the wife.
C. Laforge according to the letter of
his wife was to have
embarked at Philadelphia to return to
France about the begin-
ning of the year 1794. Whereas Cne.
Laforge remained at Gal-
lipolis on the banks of the Ohio, with
her four children.
Our desire is to secure information of
this family.
C. Laforge did not return to France, as
his wife's letter
announced; and if we recall that he
wrote very long and very
frequent letters to his mother before
this period, there is room
to fear that he had perished either on
the way from Gallipolis
to Philadelphia or between Philadelphia
and France.
M. Lemaigre,5 the
Philadelphia merchant, with whom he
seems to have had business, might be
able to throw some light
on the situation: if C. Laforge reached
Philadelphia he would
scarcely have failed to see him, and one
might learn from him
whether he sailed for France, the time
of the sailing, the name
of the ship, and what has been the fate
of the ship.
As to Cne Laforge and her four children
in Gallipolis, the
silence she has maintained since the
26th of June, 1794, justifies
5"Lemegre,"
"Lemaigre," and "LeMaigre" appear in the MSS.
Tho it is hard to say for certain that
the M is a capital anywhere. I
have not followed the capitalization of
the original, where France, for
instance, always appears with a small
"f".
Memoir of Antoine Laforge. 51
the fear that some harm has reached her
household, that the
savages or Indians perhaps of whom her
husband spoke in his
letters, who menaced them incessantly,
and gave them so much
uneasiness, have at length possessed
themselves of Gallipolis and
either exterminated the inhabitants or led them into captivity.
Doubtless it is known in New York what
has become of
the French colony of Gallipolis; they
must know whether it
exists still or has been destroyed. In
the first supposition they
must know over there what has become of
Cne. Laforge, wife
of C. Laforge, judge of the police and
of the peace of Gallipolis,
and what has has been the fate of their
four children. In the
other case, it should be a matter of
general knowledge how and
when the destruction of the colony took
place, and whether there
is any hope still for the survival of
its inhabitants.
We earnestly entreat those persons into
whose hands this
memoire may fall to assure themselves if
at all possible of the
existence or non-existence of the
Laforge family. In case of
their existence, to have the individuals
who survive to com-
municate with C. Preau, Notary Public at
the Rue de la Mon-
noye, Paris; and in the contrary
supposition, to secure evidence,
if it can be had, of their decease,
either by death certificates, or
by acts of a notary, and to send them to
C. Preau at the address
given above.
C. Preau is cousin-german of both the
husband and wife;
he is their uncle a la mode Bretagne,6
* * * and by this
relationship he was made guardian of
their daughter Prudence
Frances Laforge, who remained in France.
There has fallen to C. Laforge the
succession to the estate
of C. Rapeau, his mother, who after
having survived her hus-
band, died on August 2d, 1797. This
succession altho modest
cannot be but of use to C. Laforge, who
if he survives must
have his wants.
Written and erased.