Louis Campau
| Louis Campau | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
August 11, 1791 Detroit, Michigan |
| Died |
April 13, 1871 Grand Rapids, Michigan |
Louis Campau (August 11, 1791 – April 13, 1871), also spelled Louis Campeau, was an important figure in the early settlement of Saginaw and Grand Rapids two important Michigan cities where he had established trading posts. Campau was also involved in negotiations between the local Native Americans and the federal government, including the Treaty of Detroit signed in 1855 by the local chief, Cobmoosa.
Campau was born in 1791 in Detroit, Michigan. He was a member of the prominent Campau family who were of French heritage. He began working the fur trade as a boy for his father, Louis Campau, Sr., and his uncle, Joseph Campau. During the War of 1812, he served under the United States Army.
His wife was Sophie Marsac, also born in Detroit. Sophie was the daughter of Rene Marsac, an early and notable family from New France. The Sophie de Marsac Campau Grand Rapids Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was created in her memory and in so doing "perpetuated the name of a woman of rare grace and character who was held in high esteem by the early pioneers."
He established the first trading post at what is today Saginaw, Michigan, as early as 1815. He played a key role in negotiating the Treaty of Saginaw in 1819. This Treaty was made between Gen. Lewis Cass and Native American tribes of the Great Lakes region (principally the Ojibwe, but also the Odawa (Ottawa) and Potawatomi) of Michigan. Native Americans ceded more than six million acres (24,000 km²) in the central portion of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
Shortly after, Isaac McCoy, a Baptist minister, established a mission station in what was to become Grand Rapids, Campau arrived in the area at the suggestion of William Brewster, a fur trader with American Fur Company, who was his competitor. Campau became known as the official founder of Grand Rapids.
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