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Michel Brisbois (October 1, 1759 – April 1, 1837) was a French-Canadian voyageur who was active in the upper Mississippi River valley as early as 1781. Originally a fur trader for the Hudson's Bay Company, he eventually settled in Prairie du Chien, in what became Wisconsin. He had two families, including three children with a Ho-Chunk woman of mixed-race ancestry.
After the War of 1812, Brisbois became a baker. Still a trader at heart, he noted the lack of stability in early government currency, and encouraged the use of bread (from his bakery) as a unit of exchange.
Michel [aka Michael] Brisebois was born to a French-Canadian family in Yamaska, Quebec, Canada, in 1759. He attended school in Quebec.
Soon turning to the fur trade along the upper Mississippi River, he worked out of Mackinac (1778) for the British-owned Hudson's Bay Company. In 1781 he moved his operations to Prairie du Chien where, with other French-Canadian traders, he founded the first permanent European settlement. Although sympathizing with the British in the struggle for control of the Northwest Territory after the United States achieved independence, he accepted a commission in the Illinois Territorial Militia (1809).
During the War of 1812, Brisbois furnished supplies to both the American and British forces but maintained a pro-British attitude. Arrested for treason at the close of the war, he was sent to St. Louis, Missouri, for trial but was acquitted. After the war, Brisbois became a baker in Prairie du Chien. Still a trader at heart, he noted the lack of stability in early government currency, and encouraged the use of bread (from his bakery) as a unit of exchange.[ citation needed ]
In 1819 Brisbois was appointed associate justice for Crawford County by US Governor Lewis Cass of Michigan Territory. Later he was elected or appointed to other local offices in the Prairie du Chien area.
In 1785 Brisbois had married a Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) woman, in what may have been an informal or "country marriage" typical in that period between traders and Native American women. (She was reputedly the natural, or illegitimate Métis daughter of Charles Gautier de Verville and a native woman). Dousman had three mixed-race children with her. In Canada the Métis have been recognized as an ethnic group that has the status of a First Nation. The children were named Angélique, Michel, and Antoine, and were raised primarily by their mother, who lived in a settlement with Ho-Chunk relatives. The Ho-Chunk have a matrilineal kinship system, in which they consider children born to the mother's people.
Later Brisbois married formally on August 8, 1796, in Mackinaw City, Michigan, to Domitilde (Madeleine) Gautier de Verville, a legitimate daughter of Charles Gautier de Verville. They had a son Bernard Walter Brisbois, born in Prairie du Chien in 1808. The senior Brisbois died in Prairie du Chien on April 1, 1837. [1]
Built in 1815, the Michel Brisbois House served as a trading post and warehouse of the American Fur Company. In the 1850s the house was demolished.
By 1923, the Bernard Brisbois House was mistakenly believed to be the Michel Brisbois House, and was thus considered to be one of the oldest European-American buildings in the State of Wisconsin. But research by the Wisconsin Historical Society determined that this structure was a home built by Joseph Rolette as part of a separation contract negotiated in 1836 for his estranged wife Jane Fisher Rolette. She was said to be a relative of Michel Brisbois. She married again in 1844 after Rolette's death, to Hercules L. Dousman, at one time her late husband's partner. At that time, she transferred title of the house to her cousin Bernard Walter Brisbois.
Henry Hastings Sibley was a fur trader with the American Fur Company, the first U.S. Congressional representative for Minnesota Territory, the first governor of the state of Minnesota, and a U.S. military leader in the Dakota War of 1862 and a subsequent expedition into Dakota Territory in 1863.
Prairie du Chien is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821.
Hercules Louis Dousman was a fur trader and real-estate speculator who played a large role in the economic development of frontier Wisconsin. He is often called Wisconsin's first millionaire.
Hercules Louis Dousman II, better known as Louis Dousman, was notable as a wealthy Midwestern socialite and art collector. He was the heir to the estate of Wisconsin millionaire Hercules Louis Dousman, who had made a career in Prairie du Chien. Dousman had a new mansion built on the site of his family's house, and then soon moved away, living for years in St. Paul, Minnesota, and St. Louis, Missouri. In both cities he moved in upper social circles.
The Winnebago War, also known as the Winnebago Uprising, was a brief conflict that took place in 1827 in the Upper Mississippi River region of the United States, primarily in what is now the state of Wisconsin. Not quite a war, the hostilities were limited to a few attacks on American civilians by a portion of the Winnebago Native American tribe. The Ho-Chunks were reacting to a wave of lead miners trespassing on their lands, and to false rumors that the United States had sent two Ho-Chunk prisoners to a rival tribe for execution.
Joseph Rolette, Jr. was an American fur trader and politician during Minnesota's territorial era and the Civil War. His father was Jean Joseph Rolette, often referred to as Joe Rolette the Elder, a French-Canadian and trader himself. Joseph Rolette's mother was Jane Fisher, who married Joe Rolette, Sr. in 1818 when she was either 13 or 14 years old. Jane's relatives took young Joseph to New York. Joseph's parents never divorced due to their Catholic faith, but became separated in 1836. As part of the settlement, Rolette Sr. built what is today known as the Brisbois House for his estranged wife on Water Street, St. Feriole Island, Prairie du Chien, WI.
Red Bird was a leader of the Winnebago Native American tribe. He was a leader in the Winnebago War of 1827 against Americans in the United States making intrusions into tribal lands for mining. He was for many years one of the most friendly and trusted of the Wisconsin Native Americans. In the late 1820s Red Bird and his followers began to grow uneasy over the encroachments of lead miners on Ho-Chunk land. The tribe had an uneasy relationship with the dominant culture's legal concepts and often continued to follow tribal practices of justice. This tension resulted in several incidents, including confrontations with Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun. One incident involved the mistaken information channeled to the tribe that two Ho-Chunk executions were conducted at Fort Snelling in 1826 for a murder they did not commit. As white miners continued to extract resources near Winnebago villages on the Rock River, the War Department sought to keep tribes from mining the same minerals, in fear that the land would become contentious. Near Prairie du Chien on June 28, 1827, Red Bird had become increasingly angered by treatment of the tribe. Encroachment on native lands, unfair incarceration, and increasing violence led to escalating tensions. Under pressure from the tribe to defend their interests, Red Bird set off with two others, Chickhonsic and Wekau ; eventually meeting a trader, John Lockwood and a former British soldier, Duncan Graham, who advised against violence. Upon arriving at the cabin of Registre Gagnier, the party was met with a friendly welcome and invited in for refreshment. Gagnier, feeling suspicious about the nature of the visit, reached for his rifle, thus setting off the following events. Chickhonsic shot Solomon Lipcap. Wekau attempted to shoot Mrs. Gagnier, but she and her son escaped and gave the alarm in Prairie du Chien.
The Villa Louis is a National Historic Landmark located on St. Feriole Island, in Prairie du Chien, southwestern Wisconsin. The villa and estate are a historical museum operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society. The site has been restored to its appearance during the late 19th century, when it was the estate of the prominent H. Louis Dousman family, descendants of a fur trader and entrepreneur.
Jean Joseph Rolette, often known as Joseph Rolette, was a prominent fur trader and member of the Mackinac Company who operated a trading post in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
Bernard Walter Brisbois was an agent for the American Fur Company.
The Brisbois House, also known as the Bernard Brisbois House, is a historic house located on St. Feriole Island in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Built circa 1840, the stone house is one of the oldest in Wisconsin. It was once thought to be built in 1808 by early settler and fur trader Michael Brisbois, but in the early 1920s, historians learned that it was built by his son after his death. The house is a National Historic Landmark and is now owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society.
The Astor Fur Warehouse is a historic fur warehouse located at Bolvin and Water Streets on St. Feriole Island in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Jean Joseph Rolette, an agent of the American Fur Company, built the warehouse in 1828. The warehouse was used until the mid-19th century; it has since been incorporated into the Villa Louis museum. The building, now a National Historic Landmark, is the only known surviving fur trade warehouse in the upper Mississippi valley.
The Dousman Hotel, is a historic hotel located at the intersection of Fisher Street and River Road in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The hotel was built in 1864–65 to serve railroad and steamboat travelers coming to the city. The hotel was named after Hercules L. Dousman, an early Wisconsin fur trader, land speculator and millionaire.
Nicholas Boilvin (1761–1827) was a 19th-century American frontiersman, fur trader, and U.S. Indian Agent. He was the first appointed agent to the Winnebagos, as well as the Sauk and Fox, and one of the earliest pioneers to settle in present-day Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. His sons Nicholas Boilvin, Jr. and William C. Boilvin both became successful businessmen in Wisconsin during the mid- to late 19th century.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Crawford County, Wisconsin. It is intended to provide a comprehensive listing of entries in the National Register of Historic Places that are located in Crawford County, Wisconsin. The locations of National Register properties for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below may be seen in a map.
Wabasha II, also known as Wapahasha, Wapasha, or "The Leaf," succeeded his father as head chief of the Mdewakanton Dakota tribe in the early 1800s. He led the Dakota forces fighting with the British in the War of 1812, but sided with the United States in the Black Hawk War of 1832. Chief Wabasha II signed the Treaties of Prairie du Chien in 1825 and 1830.
Fort Atkinson State Preserve is a state preserve of Iowa, USA, containing the remnants of Fort Atkinson, a U.S. Army frontier post created to keep the peace between various Native American tribes as well as prevent white settlers from encroaching on Indian lands. In February 2013 the fort was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Fort Atkinson Historic District.
Alexis Bailly was an American politician and fur trader.
The Rolette House is located in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
Maḣpiya Ḣota Wiŋ was the woman for whom Grey Cloud Island in Washington County, Minnesota was named. She was born around 1793 at the village of Prairie du Chien to a Dakota mother, also named Grey Cloud Woman, and a Scottish fur-trading father, James Aird. Grey Cloud lived through the final years when the fur trading economy was dominant in the region around the northern Mississippi River. She married her first husband, English-Canadian fur trader Thomas Gummersall Anderson, while just a young girl of 15. Together, they lived and traveled between several trading posts, including those at Patterson's Rapids and Pike Island. The couple had two children who survived infancy, Angus and Jane. Grey Cloud Woman was directly affected by the War of 1812, when her husband, who fought on behalf of the British, chose to return to Canada rather than live under American rule. Rather than follow him, Grey Cloud Woman separated from him and returned to her parents' home.