Jacques Vieau
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Jacques Vieau (or Vieaux), born Jacques Le Vieux (Montreal QC, May 5, 1757 – July 1, 1852, Howard, Wisconsin) was a French-Canadian fur trader and the first permanent white settler in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[1] Also known as 'Jeambeau", Jacques Vieux was a descendent of a colonial French family that originally settled in Quebec City. He was related to Nicolas Le Vieux de Hauteville,[2] lieutenant-general for civil and criminal affairs in the seneschal’s court at Quebec. Vieux was employed by the North West Company, developing trade roads from Quebec City to the Algonquines and Petawatomi Nations to what is today Kansas. He died in Howard, Wisconsin.[3]
Biography
[edit]In 1786, Vieau came to Green Bay,[4] where he married Angelique Roy that same year. She was the granddaughter of Potawatomi Indian chief Anaugesa. They had at least twelve children together.[citation needed]
In 1795, Vieau settled at Jambo Creek in Manitowoc County.[5] While employed by the North West Company, Vieau established a fur trading post in the area that would become employed by the North West Company in 1795, along with outposts at Kewaunee, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan. His Milwaukee cabin was built on top of a bluff overlooking the Menomonee Valley and became his winter residence away from Green Bay. A historical monument marks this location in Mitchell Park as the first house in Milwaukee.[citation needed]
In 1818, Vieau hired another French-Canadian named Solomon Juneau, who later married his daughter Josette and went on to found what was to become the City of Milwaukee.[citation needed]
In 2016, a tombstone for his grave was placed.[6]
Family
[edit]Jacques Vieux, also known as "Jeambeau", married Anqelique Roy, a lady from the Potawatomie Nation, they settled in Menomonee Valley area, they had several children, the elders were:
- Louis Vieux,[7] prominent headman and appointed member of the first Potawatomi business committee to represent the Mission Band in Kansas. He was the founder of the Vieux Crossing to the Oregon Trail Road, near Louisville in Kansas.[8]
- Josette Vieux, wife of Solomon Juneau, settled in the City of Milwaukee.[9]
Legacy
[edit]Vieau is the eponym of Vieau Elementary School and also a street found in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[citation needed]
The living descendants of Vieau are centered on Green Bay.[citation needed]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Le Vieux family records, Quebec Genealogy Archives, Généalogie Jacques Le Vieux et Angelique Roy, Généalogie du Québec et d'Amérique française, 2000 QC Canada
- ^ Le Vieux, Vol. 1 (1000-1700), Dictionary of Canadian Biography, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/le_vieux_de_hauteville_nicolas_1E.html
- ^ Brown, Jennifer S.H. (2007). "North West Company". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "Death of a Pioneer of Wisconsin". Watertown Chronicle. July 28, 1852. p. 2. Retrieved May 1, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Descendants of Vieau to Unveil Marker". Manitowoc Herald-Times. June 9, 1922. p. 4. Retrieved May 1, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Srubas, Paul (September 17, 2016). "Early settler finally gets his due". Green Bay Press Gazette.
- ^ Louis Vieux, POTAWATOMI LEADER’S ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT AND THE OREGON TRAIL, Potawatomi Nation Archives, 2020 USA https://www.potawatomi.org/blog/2020/03/27/potawatomi-leaders-entrepreneurial-spirit-and-the-oregon-trail/
- ^ Vieux Crossing, Kansas - http://www.kansastravel.org/vieuxcrossing.htm
- ^ Jeneua, Historical Records of the Founders of Milwaukee, City of Milwakee Archives, 1830, Wisconsin Historical Archives
