Jean Baptiste RICHARD dit LAFLEUR

Jean was an interpreter.

Jean Richard was in Détroit by 10 March 1707 when he received a site of land within Fort Pontchartain.

Jean is seriously wounded on July 7, 1712. He departed Fort Detroit, New France with his sister Mme Duplessis, 720 livres, for which he holds her note, now in the hands of his cousin, Jacques Langlois, and he wishes the sum paid to Pierre Roy. He did not die until several years later.

Ref: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:S5H2-CHG : accessed 2017-01-01), entry for Jean Baptist /RICHARD DIT LE FLEUR/.

Richard's son, Jean-Baptiste, an interpreter, married Marie-Anne, the daughter of Pierre You* de La Découverte - an associate of La Salle in his discoveries on the Mississippi River - and of Élisabeth, a Miami woman. Jean-Baptiste's daughter, Suzanne, became the wife of Gilbert Parant, merchant and interpreter at Detroit. Jean-Baptiste's son, Jean* (b. 1721), according to tradition, was wounded and captured by western Indians, from whom he escaped three years later, finally reaching civilization on the lower reaches of the Mohawk River. He, in turn, served as interpreter in the Loyalist forces during the Revolutionary War and after peace was established he settled on the Bay of Quinte, where he died in 1807.

August 15: Montreal, marriage, (II)-Jean Baptiste Richard et Rcihard, b-1682, an interpreter, married (II)-Marie Anne You, Lade Couverte b-1694 a sauvagess of Miamis (however she is actually a Métis), b-1694, Montreal daughter (I)-Pierre You, sieur De la Decouverte (1658-1718) and Elisabeth Sauvagesse Miami.

   (III)-Suzanne Richard Métis b-1718 Montreal 1st married (III)-Gilbert Parant b-1703; 2nd married 1759 Detroit Charles Barthelemy

   (III)-Jean Richard Métis b-1721 Pointe-aux-Trembles

August 15: Montreal, Marriage (II)-Jean Baptiste Richard, b-1682, an interpreter, [this would imply he was likely Métis or lived among the savages?] son (I)-Guillaume Richard d-1690 Pointe-aux-Trembles and (II)-Agnes Tessier; married 1718 (II)-Marie Anne You, et Yon Ladecouverte b-1694 a sauvagess of Miamis (however she is actually a Métis), daughter (I)-Pierre de la Decouverte Yon and Elisabeth a Miami sauvagesse

   (III)-Suzanne Richard, Miamis Métis b-1718 Montreal 1st married 1733 (III)-Gilbert Parant b-1703; 2nd marriage July 9, 1759 Detroit, Charles Barthelemy et Babthelemy.

   (III)-Jean Richard Métis b-1721 Pointe-aux-Trembles

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

One of the First French in Indiana – Jean-Baptiste Richard By: Laura M. http://ancestorbios.blogspot.com/2017/11/one-of-first-french-settle...

B. 19 Mar 1681 in Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France M. 15 Aug 1718 in Montreal, New France Wife: Marie-Anne You D. after 1722

During the late 17th century and early 18th century, French fur traders were penetrating deep into what is now the American Midwest, setting up fur trading outposts along major rivers. The first post established in present-day Indiana was built by a handful of men, and one of those men was Jean-Baptiste Richard.

Some of the details about Jean-Baptiste's life are sketchy, but it is known that he was born March 18, 1681 in Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France to Guillaume Richard and Agnes Tessier, one of at least eight children. Guillaume was a fur trader and soldier, who was unfortunately killed by Iroquois when Jean-Baptiste was a boy.

Jean-Baptiste grew up surrounded by those in the fur trade, and it was natural that he get involved in it. Fur trading meant dealing with natives of various tribes, and Jean-Baptiste picked up on the languages, becoming well-known as an interpreter. He also learned the skill of being a blacksmith. Both of these things would make him valuable on the frontier.

The earliest record of Jean-Baptiste living out west was when he was allotted land at Fort Detroit on March 10, 1707; he paid 40 sols in rent, plus "10 livres for other rights," likely the permission to trade with Indians. It was said that Jean-Baptiste was seriously injured the following year, and needed to leave the fort, presumably to go back to Montreal.

By 1710, Jean-Baptiste must have returned to Fort Detroit because he was mentioned in the baptism of a Native American slave that he owned. This is a curious record because there's suggestion that the slave, a 15-year-old girl, may have later become his wife. But the first name is different—Marie-Jeanne—so the evidence isn't conclusive. It's important to note that slaves in French fur trading outposts were often paid for their work, and they usually lived in the house along with their owners. Many were freed when they came of age.

In 1717, Jean-Baptiste was asked to join a company of men on a venture to establish a new trading post. A cluster of Indian villages on the Wabash River became a prime location for dealing in furs, and the tribal leaders wanted the French to set up a fort for everyone's protection. They asked the French to provide "an officer to govern them, a missionary to instruct them, and a blacksmith." That's how Jean-Baptiste became one of the eight men chosen to build Fort Ouiatenon, the first permanent post in Indiana. The eight men constructed a stockade within a fort that would one day contain "a double row of ten houses, a chapel, a blacksmith shop, and trading areas."

If the slave on the 1710 baptism was a different person than the woman he married, it's likely that Jean-Baptiste met his wife, Marie-Anne You, at Fort Ouiatenon. She was the daughter of a French fur trader and a woman from the Miami tribe, and had lived near the fort among her mother's people. Jean-Baptiste and Marie-Anne traveled to Montreal where they got married on August 15, 1718. They already had a daughter at the time of their marriage, and she was baptized the same day. The couple made their home there for the next few years, with Marie-Anne giving birth to two more children.

Two things would bring about Jean-Baptiste moving back to Fort Ouiatenon. One was that the interpreter who was working there left in 1721, so Jean-Baptiste's skills were needed. The other was that Marie-Anne wanted to return there because she was "continually ill" living in Montreal and thought that moving back would make her healthy again.

Jean-Baptiste received permission to bring Marie-Anne and their children to Fort Ouiatenon, and in 1722, they set out in a canoe with three voyageurs to help paddle it. The canoe was filled with supplies to set up their household, plus goods for trading with the natives: clothes, 100 lb. of flour, 300 lb. of biscuit, 2 pots of brandy, 15 pots of wine, 2 pots of strawberry brandy, 100 lb. of gunpowder, 100 lb. of lead, some woolen cloth, some knives, and 2 lb. of vermillion. It was written in the contract that Jean-Baptiste was forbidden to trade any of the liquor or ammunition with the natives at Fort Detroit, which they traveled through on the way to Fort Ouiatenon.

There are no records of Jean-Baptiste after 1722, but it's likely he and his family stayed at Fort Ouiatenon for the next few years; there was one more child who was likely born there. Jean-Baptiste had a close relationship with the man in charge, François-Marie Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes. In about 1732, François Bissot started another trading post further down the Wabash, which would become Fort Vincennes. It's possible that Jean-Baptiste was involved with setting up Fort Vincennes, because years later, his wife and all three of his daughters lived there. Unfortunately, François Bissot was killed during the Chickasaw Wars in 1736, being captured and burned to death with a group of French men in present-day Mississippi. Given Jean-Baptiste's association with Bissot, he may have been conscripted to fight in the Chickasaw Wars and also died there.

Fort Ouiatenon thrived for much of the 18th century, but when fur trading was no longer profitable, it fell into decline. The fort was destroyed by order of President Washington in 1791, and today the site is obliterated, but a replica stands nearby. Since 1968, the Tippecanoe County Historical Association holds a celebration there each October called The Feast of the Hunter's Moon, which recreates what it was like during the 18th century. The event even features a blacksmith, a representation of the first to hold that role: Jean-Baptiste Richard.

Children: 1. Marie-Suzanne Richard – B. 12 Jan 1717, Montreal, New France; D. 13 Jan 1800, River Raisin, Northwest Territory; M. (1) Gilbert Parent (1703-1750), 1733, Montreal, New France; (2) Charles Barthelemy dit Rose (1722-?), 9 Jul 1759, Detroit, New France

2. Agnes Richard dit Lafleur — B. 7 May 1719, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France; D. before Jul 1778; M. (1) François Godere (~1700-?), about 1735; (2) Jean-Baptiste Vaudry (1726-?), 28 Aug 1756, Post Vincennes, New France

3. Jean Richard — B. 20 Nov 1721, Pointe-aux-Trembles, New France; D. 28 Jun 1807, Amherst Island, Ontario; M. Elsa Alida Connor (~1725-1816), about 1762, Fort Hunter, New York

4. Marie-Josephe Richard — B. after 1721, (probably) Fort Ouiatenon, New France; M. Joseph Antaya dit Pelletier

Sources: Généalogie du Quebec et d'Amérique française (website) Quebec Catholic Parish Registers, 1621-1979, FamilySearch.org Ouiatanon Documents, translated and edited by Frances Krauskopf, 1955 Fort Ouiatenon and Feast of the Hunters' Moon School Guide, Tippecanoe Historical Association "Detroit River métis Families — Part 16 — Tiverage to You Families," Diane Wolford Sheppard, 2015 "Who and What Were the Panis Indians Buried from Ste. Anne de Detroit?", Suzanne Boivin Sommerville, Michigan's Habitant Heritage, Vol. 32, #3, July 2011 Red River Valley Website, Metis History, 1708-1714, Dennis Matthews Marriage record of Jean-Batpiste Richard and Marie-Anne You, FamilySearch.org "Records of the Parish of St. Francis Xavier," Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, Vol. 12, 1901 Cadillac's Village or Detroit Under Cadillac, Clarence Monroe Burton, 1896 WikiTree