citizens, will state that in 1807 the Governor of the Territory and other Protestant gentlemen invited him to preach to them in the English language. He accordingly held his English meetings at noon every Sunday in the council room, where he delivered instructions on the general principles of the Christian religion.

Father Richard's zeal for his flock inspired him with the idea of establishing a printing press and commencing the publication of a French paper and books. For this purpose he sent to Baltimore for the type and press in 1809, and the material in due course of time came by land over mountainous roads, accompanied by Mr. James M. Miller, the first printer in Detroit. August 31, 1809, the first number of a small sheet, entitled in French "Essai du Michigan," made its appearance, and was continued for a time; but in those days the distance which separated the people of the Territory, and the irregularity of the mails, led to the discontinuance of his journal.

His press,

however, which was the first introduced into the northwestern portion of the United States, and was for several years the only printing apparatus in Michigan, did useful service under his direction. He also had a bindery attached to his printing office. The press was useful in printing deeds and conveyances for the governor and judges of the Territory, and when the English took possession of Detroit in 1812, General Brock's proclamation was printed on it. The office, in consequence of the destruction of the old town, was for a long time located at Springwells, in the house of Jacques Lasselle. One part of the building served as a dwelling, another part for his chapel, another for his printing office, and, another for a school. Theophilus Mettez, a native of Detroit, the ancestor of a number of that name in our county, was the first Michigan printer boy.

Father Richard, by his fearless advocacy of American principles and denunciations of the tyranny of England, had made himself obnoxious to the British, who in the War of 1812 violently seized and carried him a prisoner to Sandwich. During his captivity, by his eloquence and influence over the barbarous Indians, he persuaded many from torturing American prisoners who unfortunately fell into the hands of the British under the disgraceful surrender of General Hull. Upon his return to Detroit, the consequence of the

devastating policy of the war was seen in the extreme dearth of food, bordering on a famine, to which his people were reduced. He purchased a large quantity of provisions and distributed them gratuitously to all who were in need, and as long as scarcity lasted so long did his untiring charity continue to the destitute.

Though a European by birth he was an American in feeling, always evincing a firm attachment to American institutions and republican principles, and the influence he exerted and the part which he took in the War of 1812 evinced in an eminent degree the extent of his patriotism and the value he placed on American liberty.

Father Richard petitioned the governor and judges at a session held in October, 1806, and upon his application they granted the land in the "little military square," where the church of St. Anne now stands, and where the governor and judges designated that it should be built. It had long been a cherished object of Father Richard to lay the corner-stone upon the anniversary of the destruction of the church in the old town, and for this purpose he had waited the arrival of his bishop for the imposing ceremony, which took place with much pomp on the 11th day of June, 1818, just twelve years after the destruction of the old church. He continued the work upon St. Anne's church until his means were entirely exhausted, and then his fertile imagination conceived the idea of issuing due bills to the amount of several hundred dollars, payable upon presentation, the highest amount being one dollar, in order that the work upon his church might progress with more rapidity. These due bills were taken both by contractors and workmen. But he, like all other men, was destined to meet with some trials and drawbacks in his undertaking. One of his contractors, by the name of Young, got hold in some mysterious way of Father Richard's blank due bills and forged his name to them to the amount of $700 or $800, which he freely circulated among the people. Father Richard did not discover the forgery until too late, when he had honestly redeemed the whole amount. The rascality and villainy of this contractor contributed greatly in retarding the progress of this edifice, which was the first one erected since the fire of 1805.

fire of 1805. On this account the work upon St. Anne's became suspended for a time for the

want of funds. He resorted to another expedient. He now conceived the idea of constructing fishing seines, for the purpose of catching fish from the Detroit River, in order to raise the necessary funds to continue the work upon his church. Good fortune attended his enterprise, and the consequence was that a large quantity was salted and packed and sent forward to the eastern markets, and there found immediate sale, which enabled him to continue his labors on the church. The proceeds of the sale of his fish, and what contributions his poor congregation were enabled to give from time to time, soon enabled him to complete the basement so as to be used as a chapel, and the services were held there for several years after, until the upper part was finished. The mason-work was done by the day, under his immediate superintendence. The present bell in the eastern tower was saved from the steeple of the old church in the old town; also the present pulpit, and two of the side altars.

To Father Richard belongs the credit of importing from France the first organ and the first piano used in this part of the country. The little organ was used for a time by him, and given to the Trinity church (Irish) after his death. It is now used, I understand, in St. Joseph's church (German), on the corner of Orleans and Gratiot streets, in Detroit.

In the year 1821 Father Richard had been invited to assist at the conclusion of the treaty by the Pottawatomie Indians between them and the governor of the Northwest, which was to take place at Chicago. He hoped to assist them in their petition to have a missionary stationed among them. From thence he proceeded by land to Cincinnati, and was present at the ordination of the Rev. Vincent Badin, who, a few days after, accompanied him to Detroit as an assistant missionary. In December, 1822, there were only five churches, or chapels, in Michigan and the Northwest, with a Catholic population of about 6,000 whites, and a number among the different savage tribes of that region. For the service of this immense district of country at that time, Father Richard had no assistance but that of Reverend Father Badin.

In the year 1823 he was elected a delegate to represent the interests of Michigan in Congress. His competitors were General John R.

Williams and Major John Biddle. It was with the hope of being useful to his fellow-citizens, and of liquidating debts incurred in building his church, that he had consented to become a candidate for congressional honors. But the seat was contested by Major Biddle, upon the ground that he was not a citizen of the United States, as not having gone through the formula of naturalization. A committee of the House of Representatives was appointed to investigate the case, and reported that it was not, in his case, necessary. His demeanor in the House commanded great respect; he spoke but little, that little wisely, and accomplished much for his constituents. The appropriations for roads made at his instance, and other acts, attest the efficiency of his services in the national legislature, especially his exertions in behalf of the Indian tribes who belonged to his flock, who had made him the bearer of many petitions to the President of the United States.

After serving a term in Congress with honor to himself and credit to his constituents, he was again nominated and put forward by his friends against the late Austin E. Wing. The contest was quite warm and animated, but this time he was defeated, when six more votes would have elected him. Some of our French Catholic citizens would not support him, for the reason they thought that a priest had no business in legislative halls. His salary for the term he did serve was used by him in liquidating the debts he had incurred in building St. Anne's church. The Rev. Father Gatilzin, a distinguished missionary of that period, remarked to him, "When I heard of your election to Congress I disapproved of it at once; but I have the honor to inform you that if you can manage to have a seat in Congress all your life, you will do more good for religion with your influence and salary than many other missionaries with all their zeal and preaching." Mr. Levi E. Dolsen relates the following:

"When Daniel Webster was in Detroit in 1836, he made a speech in the old Cass orchard, about where James F. Joy's house now stands. After the speech, I remember, in speaking to me of our representative in Congress at that time, the Rev. Gabriel Richard, he paid Mr. Richard the high compliment of saying that he was the smartest foreigner he had ever known.

"There was an interesting incident con

woman

nected with the election of Richard to Congress. He was a Catholic priest, and came of the best blood of France. When the revolution was beheading all the nobility, the Rev. Richard was nearly caught by Robespierre. He jumped from a window, and a threw a teapot and cut an ugly gash in his cheek, the scar of which was in plain view to the end of his life. After living for several days in the sewers of Paris he escaped, and reached Baltimore in 1796. Two years later, in 1798, he reached Detroit. His statue is one of the four on the city hall. In 1823, just about the time the reverend gentleman was elected to Congress, a man named Labadie deserted his wife in Montreal, came to Detroit, married again, and engaged in the mercantile business. He was excommunicated from the church by the Rev. Father Richard, and the French people, who had been his principal patrons, stopped trading with him. Labadie procured the arrest of the priest for slander, and he was confined in jail. When the time came for him to go to Congress, the turnkey entered the corridor one morning, when the priest approached him with majestic mien, and a lofty wave of the hand, and said:

"Stand aside, I am on my way to Congress.'

"The turnkey was so overwhelmed with the majestic bearing of the man that he offered no opposition, and Father Richard took his seat on time. Labadie afterward sued him and got a judgment of $1,100, but never collected a

cent."

Among the Pottawatomies, he, with Father Stephen Badin, labored with great success. Nothing can be more affecting or more edifying than the interview which took place in July, 1830, between the chief of this tribe, Pokegon, and Father Richard, to whom he had applied for a resident missionary. After supplicating the Father in the most earnest manner to send a priest to the Pottawatomies, he observed to him that they prayed every morning and evening, men, women and children, and fasted two days before Sunday, according to the traditions of their ancestors. There," said he, "are the prayers we have learned; see if I know them properly." Then falling upon his knees and making the sign of the cross with great respect, he recited the Our

Father, Hail Mary, the Apostles Creed, and the Ten Commandments, without the slightest mistake. Father Richard was deeply affected by this address, and by the means which had been placed in his bands by the "Association for the Propagation of the Faith," he was enabled to provide more effectually for the wants of the district under his charge. He had the pleasure of seeing churches erected in different places, and schools established at Green Bay, Arbecrocke and St. Joseph's; and instead of one priest to assist him in his labors, he now had eight devoting themselves with zeal to the missionary work.

In the year 1832 that scourge of nations, the Asiatic cholera, smote the people of Detroit and laid prostrate many of its inhabitants. Detroit, at this season, presented the spectacle of a deserted city, with nearly one-half of its inhabitants either dead or dying, and the rest had taken flight to other parts through fear. In the midst of this awful epidemic, Gabriel Richard was at his post, faithful and true to his flock. Amidst the dying and the dead he was administering the consolations of religion, day and night; and though afflicted himself with symptoms of the prevailing epidemic for nearly three months, and most of the time greatly debilitated, he never ceased discharging the duties of his office with his accustomed zeal, until he was completely overpowered by disWhen, a few days after the attack, ho was informed that he could not survive it, he received the last sacrament of the church, and calmly expired with the words of the holy Simeon on his lips: "Now, O Lord, let thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word." Thus, after exercising his ministry nearly alone for the space of twenty-four years, and after a residence in the city of Detroit of thirty-four years and six months, he departed this life on the 13th day of September, A. D. 1832, at the age of sixty-seven years, eleven months and two days.

ease.

Bishop Fenwick, in speaking of him, said: "He was the oldest, the most respectable, and the most meritorious missionary in Michigan." With this distinguished appreciation of Father Richard's worth as an apostle, he had no hesi tation in recommending him, some years before his death, as a priest eminently qualified by his zeal, learning and piety, to be appointed the first Bishop of Detroit.

His mortal remains now lie entombed in his own beloved St. Anne's church, and his immortal spirit has ascended to the God who gave it. He lives in the best affections of his people who yet survive him, and is engraven on their memories.

ISADORE NAVARRE,

Brother of Colonel Francis Navarre, came from Detroit some three years after his brother. He settled on the farm east of his brother and west of the Lake Shore railroad, on the south bank of the River Raisin. He was born in 1768, at Detroit, and married in 1795 the daughter of Francois Descompte Labadie. Their eldest son, Isadore, born in 1796, though a mere stripling, served in the war of 1812. He married Marie, daughter of Louis and Marie Josette Lebeau. Monique, his daughter, married John Askin, eldest son of Colonel James Askin, of Sandwich. His eldest daughter, Agathe, was married to Lambert Conchois, who was then a clerk in the dry goods store of the late Hon. Daniel B. Miller. At the old Catholic church, two miles above the then village of Monroe, Mr. Miller and Hon. Harry Conant, with their wives, attended the ceremony and wedding, and the eldest daughter of Daniel B. Miller, Agathe, now Mrs Zabriskee, was christened, and took her name from Mrs. Conchois. Lambert Conchois' daughter married H. Durell; Mrs. Durell inherited the two-story brick house and extensive grounds on Front street, the former residence of her father.

ROBERT NAVARRE,

The oldest son of Colonel Francis Navarre, was the first white male child born in the county of Monroe, and lived until the day of his death in Monroe, on the rear of the homestead farm originally ceded to his father. He remained, until within a few days of his death, at the age of ninety years, in the full possession of all his faculties, and at that late day has described to me with wonderful animation and through tears, the cruelties and atrocious barbarities of the Indians under Colonel Proctor at the massacre of the noble sons of Kentucky, very passionately describing them, and as vividly as though occurring before him.

He had then attained his twenty-first year, and was living with his father; he was awakened before daybreak on the morning of the defeat of General Winchester by his father's arousing General Winchester and his officers, who were somewhat bewildered at hearing from the battle ground the booming of cannon, the sharp crack of the rifle and report of musketry. Robert Navarre, with Platte Navarre, hist cousin, who, for many years, and until his death, resided in the rear of the church farm, so called, about one and a half miles north of the River Raisin on the road to Flat Rock, both of whom were enlisted in the cavalry (now well remembered by our citizens), with others that were pressed into the service, were, with their ponies and French trains, used in transporting the wounded American prisoners that had escaped the tomahawk and scalping knife, from Frenchtown to Malden. His family reside in this vicinity.

JOSEPH ROBERT.

The representations of Colonel Francis Navarre on his return to Detroit gave a glowing description to the French Canadians of Detroit and those residing opposite Detroit on the Canadian side of the river. He told of the banks on either side of the River Raisin, with vines laden with clusters of wild grapes; the rich soil, admirably adapted for farming purposes, with prairie and heavily timbered land; with a river abounding in whitefish, sturgeon, pickerel and bass, with fine opportunities for trapping. By his representations he induced about one hundred families, in the years 1783 and 1784, to emigrate and settle on the River Raisin. Joseph Robert, the subject of this sketch, and his brothers Isadore and Francis were of the number, all of whom purchased farms on the south side of the river. Joseph purchased the right, title and interest acquired by possession of one Labrush, a Yankee who had married a squaw. This farm, before platting into city lots, was known as the Suzor farm, the front part of which is now owned by the heirs of Peter Tatro and George W. Strong and the rear by the new Monroe County Agricultural Society and the Agricultural and Live Stock Improvement Company. The site of the log house built by Joseph Robert was upon

the rise of ground back from the river, and was the same as the present site of the twostory frame building owned by the heirs of Tatro. It had a commanding view of the British forces and their operations at the time of the massacre of 1813. Joseph Robert was the father of eight sons and four daughters. Stephen, the eldest, is now eighty-five years of age, and remarkably well preserved; he was born on the homestead farm; now resides in the third ward of the city of Monroe. His sister Monique married John Lemerand, the father of Eli Lemerand, for two years the supervisor of the fourth ward in the city of Monroe, now deceased. Mary Ann married Stephen Reaume, who owned and occupied the farm on the opposite side of the River Raisin, composing a part of the homestead farm now owned and occupied by Mr. Dubois. Clara married a brother of John Lemerand, and Mary married Lyman McQuillen; Joseph married Miss Latone; Hubert married Miss Reaume; and Alexis married Miss Geshon all residents of Monroe county.

The French settlers were, with few exceptions, in full sympathy with the Americans, and hostile in feeling to the British and their allies. They were regarded by the Indians as entitled to their protection, and were seldom by them molested, while the Indians associated with the British army seldom lost an opportunity of killing, scalping and tomahawking the Americans. Mr. Joseph Robert very distinctly remembers, though but a lad at the time, the scenes at the homestead on the morning of the second battle The floor, and in fact all of the available room, was occupied with contractors and those in various ways connected with the American army. They were all aroused by a cannon ball, which carried away one end of the gable roof of the house. Immediately thereafter the bullets were flying thick. The blinds were closed as soon as possible, and the family sought refuge in the cellar, while the men were advised to and did flee by the marsh and Plaisance Bay on the ice, as the forests in the rear and south were swarming with hostile Indians. One Henderson lingered on account of his children, who had with him fled to Robert's for safety, whom he reluctantly left. with Mr. Robert and fled for Ohio, Mr. Robert assuring him that if he remained he would not only be killed, but his (Robert's) family would

be slaughtered for harboring a Yankee, or Big Knife, as they were termed by the Indians.

Prior to the second battle, Messrs. Mulhollen, Egnew and Hunter drove and left with Mr. Robert a large number of live stock, believing they would be safe with him, and fled for Ohio. Mr. Robert subsequently received a letter from an official of the British army at Malden, requesting him to come to Malden. He complied with the request and returned with over a bushel of silver coin, all in quarter of a dollar pieces, authorized to compensate Mulhollen, Egnew and Hunter for the stock seized from Robert. On the morning after the defeat of General Winchester's army, one Indian chief with eleven followers came into the house, laden with scalps of killed and wounded American soldiers, threw them down on the middle of the floor, and required the women to tear from all the windows the calico curtains and the bed curtains; they then appropriated them for wrapping and tying up the scalps. Soon thereafter Joseph Robert removed his family for safety to Detroit, and did not return home until the following October.

Francis Robert, brother of Joseph, and father of our highly esteemed citizen, Antoine F. Robert, owned and occupied until the speculating days of 1835, the eastern farm on the south side of the River Raisin, the front of which is occupied by warehouses and docks, and now owned by our fellow-citizen, the Hon. Joseph M. Sterling.

JAMES MULHOLLEN,

A boy seven years of age, with his father's family emigrated from Ireland, and first settled in Steuben county, in the State of New York. At the age of twenty-one he married Sarah Egnew, the daughter of Samuel Egnew, and in the year 1806 with a family of five children, Polly, Eliza, John, James and Jane, sought a home in the western wilderness. With Samuel Egnew he purchased at six dollars per acre the tract now constituting part of the first ward of the city of Monroe, fronting upon the south side of the River Raisin, bounded on the east by the United States turnpike, and on the west by the western boundary of the German Lutheran church, extending south from the river to Plumb Creek. The west half of the