PENSONEAU

JEAN FRANCOIS PINSONNEAU dit LeFLEUR

Paternal lineal ancestor of:
Esther M. Ziock Carroll

I was told many years ago by another Pensonneau researcher that all Pensonneau's in Canada & the U.S. are descended from Francois Pinsonneau who arrived in Canada in 1665 as a soldier with the Carignan-Salieres Regiment.

1646 - Francois was born in France, Diocese of Saintes, Santonge

1665 - Colonists of New France (now known as Canada) sent requests to France for protection from the Iroquois Indians. In response the king sent 1,200 soldiers of the Carignan-Salieres Regiment of which Francois Pinsonneau was a member. This army was made up of hand-picked volunteers who had to be physically large & strong & have a good fighting spirit. In the spring of 1665, at the young age of 18 Francois left his homeland of France along with the other soldiers & set sail for Canada.

After braving the months long storm plagued sea voyage he arrived in Quebec in late summer. This was the first regular military unit to serve in Canada & the Carignan-Salières Regiment was one of the first to wear a uniform in the French army. The colonists were so ecstatic to see that help had finally arrived that they treated the soldiers like saviors. The soldiers quickly began their service with the construction of five forts along the Richelieu River. These forts were to serve as supply bases during the raids into Indian territory.

1666 - The raids began in the winter of 1666. Five hundred soldiers, & 200 volunteer colonists, left on the first campaign on the 30th of January. Despite lacking the basic necessities such as proper clothing & equipment the soldiers still attempted to perform their duty. Their king who had sent the 1,200 soldiers to Quebec to protect the colonists had only sent 200 flintlocks & 100 pistols, only a few axes, & one pair of stockings, moccasins, & a single blanket for each soldier. They had no equipment for the ice, & no snowshoes. The campaign was a tragic failure. Out of the 500 soldiers on the campaign 400 died due to the brutality of the weather while traveling from & to Ft. St. Louis.

The regiment's second & final campaign fared little better. The 120 soldiers & habitants on this campaign were ordered to travel light so they could move more quickly into enemy territory & effect the element of surprise. However most of the Indian villages that the regiment found had been abandoned prior to their arrival. The French troops confiscated what food & weapons had been left behind. They were then ordered to turn around & head back for Quebec burning the vacant villages along the way.

On their return they encountered an inhabited village that they assumed was Mohawk so an attack was launched. A party of about 60 Mohawk warriors that was passing by joined in the skirmish & there were casualties on both sides. The campaign was considered a success & eventually the land was claimed as French territory.

1667 - In 1667 a peace treaty was signed with the Indians thus signaling the end of the regiments operations. King Louis XIV offered the regiment the opportunity to stay in Canada by providing incentives of land & money.

1668 - All but about 450 soldiers returned to France. Francois Pinsonneau was one of the soldiers that opted to remain in Quebec. The men were encouraged to marry & ship loads of women were sent from France to become brides. Francois married one of these women.

1673 - 1 May - Francois married Ann Leber - St. Ours, Richelieu, Quebec -

1731 - 27 Jan. - Francois died - La Prairie, Quebec at age 85.

Children of Ann Leber & Francois Pinsonneau were:

Pierre* - b: 3 April 1674 Sorel, Richelieu, Quebec - m: 1700 Montreal, Quebec to Marie Charlotte LeCours - d: 1744 LaPrairie, Quebec
Anne Marie - 1676 St. Ours, Richelieu, Quebec - m: 1794 to Nicholas Brazeau - d:1741 Montreal

Margarite - 1674/79 - m: Pierre Senecal 1698

Jean dit Jacques - 1682 Sorel, Richelieu, Quebec - m: 1712 to Marie Bourassa in LaPrairie, Quebec

Francois - 15 Aug. 1684, St. Ours, Richelieu, Quebec -

Agnes - 1687

Marie Ann - 1693

The information in this section is supposed to be my Pensonneau lineage according to certain researchers on Ancestry.com:

PIERRE - my 6th gr. grandfather
b: 1674 Sorel, Richelieu, Quebec
d: 1744 LaPrairie, Quebec
m: 1700 Montreal, Quebec to Marie Charlotte LeCours
Children:

Paul

Jean

Pierre

Charlotte

Marie Francoise

Francois

Joseph* - 1711 - 1744

Agnes

Jean Baptiste

JOSEPH - my 5th gr. grandfather
b: 2 March 1711 Laprairie, Quebec, Canada
d: 7 Feb. 1744 Laprairie, Quebec, Canada
m: Marie Louise Lefebvre

Children:

Joseph Louis* - 18 Nov. 1738 Laprairie, Quebec d: 25 August 1787

Pierre Albert - b: 7 Aug. 1740 d: 3 Sept. 1741

Francois - b: 27 March 1742 -

JOSEPH LOUIS - my 4th gr. grandfather
b:18 Nov. 1738 - Quebec
d: 25 Aug. 1787 - St. Constant, LaPrairie, Quebec
m: 23 Apr. 1770 Marie Judith Barette dit Courville - in LaPrairie

Children:

Marie Angelique Julie: 1771 - 1847
Marguerite Lafleur: 1772 -

Joseph Pascal - 1777

Augustine - 1779 - 1818 - 60 yrs. old at time of death
Pierre: 1781 - 1781
Francois* - b: 1 Oct. 1785, St. Jean Francois Regis, Quebec, Canada
Louis Edward - 1787 - 1810

Francois & Augustine were (2nd or 3rd) cousins of Etienne, Louis, and Louison Pensoneau who settled in Cahokia in the 1790's.

FRANCOIS PENSONNEAU, was my 3rd gr. grandfather

1785/86 - was born in Canada

1802 - Came to Cahokia - About the time the three brothers, Etienne, Louis, & Louison Pensonneau arrived in Cahokia, two other Pensonneau's - second or third cousins of theirs - who are not mentioned in "The Pioneer History" came to that village from Canada. They were brothers named Francois & Augustine. They were citizens of Cahokia for many years & both died & were buried there. From: Pioneer History of Illinois

1811 - That year also saw an increase in plundering & robbery by the Indians.............It was therefore thought to apply moral suasion to the Indians of that locality with the hope that they would.......................desist from further schemes of murder & robbery..................accordingly...........he [the governor] commissioned Capt. Samuel Levering to undertake the mission which would carry him to the Peoria Lake country to confer with the Indian chief there, headed by Chief Gomo...........Capt. Levering left Kaskakia for the Peoria village reaching Mr. Jarrots' in Cahokia about 11 o'clock the following day [25 July] where he received his full quota of men, his boat for their conveyances, equipment, provisions, etc. That same night he shipped for Ft. Clark with his crew, consisting of himself, Capt. Ebert or Hebert, Henry Swearingen, Nelson Rector, a Frenchman called interpreter, but really a spy, Wish-ha a Pottawatomie Indian & eight oarsmen named Pierre St. John, Pierre LaParche, Joseph Trotier, Francis Pensoneau, Louis Bevanno, Thomas Hull (alias Woods), Pierre Voedre & Joseph Grammason, all of whom signed articles as boatmen & soldiers for the expedition, & each of whom was armed with a gun...............28 July - the boat reached Portage des Sioux, where it was met by Capt. Whiteside with the men of his command, who had just arrived from the block house near the mouth of the Illinois river & who informed Capt. Levering that his party had fired on some Sacs under Quas-qua-me a few days previous, while they were ascending the river. They demanded the surrender of the slayers of some white settlers & the return of stolen property. However, the net outcome of the meeting was the return of two stolen horses & promises. Historical Library of Illinois, Publication 9

1816 - 29 Nov. - married in St. Clair County, Illinois to Susan DeLorne (also spelled DeLorme) who was the daughter of Francoise LeBoeuf & Hubert DeLorne.

1840 - Census - Francis Pensoneau - 2 males - age 20 - 30

1840 - Francois died 16 Sept. & was buried in the Holy Family Cemetery in Cahokia.

Susan & Francois were the parents of five children:

Francois Desales - 5 August 1817 - 7 August 1817
Julie (PomPom) - 12 July 1818 - m: John Barclay 6 July 1834
Augustin - 23 Jan. 1820 - 14 Sept. 1821
Pelagie - 2 Jan. 1822
Francoise* - b: 14 March 1824, Cahokia, St. Clair, Ill. - d: 1 March 1898 at 4620 Michigan Ave. (the home of her son-in-law Samuel Horrocks) of senile debility, St. Louis, Mo., buried St. Peter & Paul Cemetery (although the cemetery has no record of her burial. However there are other Michauds buried there.) - m: Joseph Michaud 14 Nov. 1840 Cahokia, St. Clair Ill.

PENSONNEAU MISCELLANEOUS:

The Penconneau House in the Commonfields, built in upright style, covered with weatherboard. Memorial Survey pg. 88 - Houses Known to exist in Cahokia region

Francois Pencinneau be appointed viewers of a new road to be laid out from Cahokia to the Grass Point & thence to Belleville as in the petition presented to this court mentions. St. Clair County Board Minutes Vol. 2

On motion of John Reynolds, Esq., that a license be granted to Francois Pencineau to keep a tavern at Cahokia for one year. It is therefore ordered that a license be granted said Pencineau to keep a Tavern at his house in Cahokia in this county for the term of one year. Whereupon the said Francois Pencineau with Joseph Trotier his security entered into & acknowledged bond as the directs & six dollars. St. Clair County Board Minutes - Vol. 2 - pg. 8

On motion of Louis La Cemur, Alias Petit, Guardian of the minor heirs of Joseph Demaret Dec'd. it is ordered & considered by the court that the report & return of the commissioners to wit: Raphael Widen, Pierre La Perche & William A. Beaird, that partition amongst said heirs will be a great damage to the proprietors of one arpent of land in front in the Cahokia Commonfield, extending from hills to the Regotet in St. Clair County bounded on the east by Capt. Pencinneau's land, & on the west by the land of John Boismenue. It is therefore ordered by the court that the said commissioners, Raphael Widen, Pierre LaPerche & William A. Beaird sell said land above - - on the eighth day of November next, in Cahokia at the house Francois Pencinneau, & the said commissioners to give notice thereof by advertising.

On motion of Joseph Trotier, & of the heirs of Joseph Trotier, it is considered by the court that the report of the commissioners to make partition of the real estate of Joseph Trotier Dec'd amongst the heirs & the return of said commissioner, to wit: Raphael Widen, Pierre La Perche & William A. Beaird, partition cannot be made without prejudice to make sale of two arpents of land in front of the Cahokia Commonfield extending from the hills to the Retgolet, bounded on the east by the land of Letau, on the west by the land of Dubuque, & one other acre as above, bounded on the west by the lane of Paupard, & on the east by the land of the Reverend Lavire, one half acre as above in the Bois Coupe in the Cahokia Commonfield, in the sixth day of November next in Cahokia at the house of Francois Pincinneau, & that siad commissioners give notice thereof publicly by advertisements. St. Clair County Board Minutes - Vol. 2 - pg. 40 - 41

Ordered that the clerk of this court issue tavern license to Francois Farrier, Francis Pencenneau, Simon Bertran, Simon Vanersdal, & Ruben Anderson, when their present license expires, & they to pay the same rates that they have heretofore paid & also to enter into bond & security as the law directs. St. Clair County Board Minutes - Vol. 2 - pg. 61 & 62

Louis Penconneau is hereby authroised to keep tavern at his dwelling house in giving security conformabel to the law of this state & paying therefor three dollars. St. Clair County Board Minutes - Vol. 2 - pg. 126

ETIENNE, LOUIS, & LOUISON PENSONEAU
From: The Pioneer History of Illinois by John Reynolds

Three brothers, Etienne, Louis & Louison Pensoneau emigrated from Canada, and settled in Cahokia in 1798. They were born at the old Prairie Fort, so-called, in the Three-River Settlement, Canada, between the years 1772 and 1776. These brothers married in Cahokia and made excellent citizens. Louis occupied the ferry between Cahokia and St. Louis for many years.   In olden times the ferry between these two villages was kept below the mouth of the old Cahokia Creek. This was west of Cahokia & Louis Pensoneau was the ferryman for a long time. Etienne was a very active business man. He possessed extraordinary energies, and improved the country considerably. He made the first house, "the brick-house", so-called, in olden times in Illinoistown. He then purchased the site of Belleville from George Blair, and sold it to Gov. Edwards.   He went to St. Louis, purchased property, and died in 1821.

Louison Pensoneau, when he arrived in Illinois, embarked in the Indian trade and remained in it almost during life. He made the Illinois River the scene of his operations, and the Kickapoo Indians were his customers. Peoria was his main depot, and the prairies round about were he counters where he sold his goods. He was the first person that moved in the adjustment of the old Peoria claims. He got up a petition from the Peoria inhabitants and sent it to Hon. Daniel P. Cook, representative in Congress; and the consequence was the act of congress of 1820, authorizing the register of the land-office at Edwardsville to hear evidence and report on the claims. His report was confirmed by another act of congress, passed in 1823. These Peoria claimants stand in the same situation as any of the ancient inhabitants of Illinois who have had lands granted to them by the government. Louison Pensoneau died in 1832, much regretted.

Diligent inquiry has so far failed to discover the descendants of Etienne and Louis Pensoneau, and it is not known if they left any. After Etienne purchased from Blair the land upon which the city of Belleville stands, he built a water-mill on Richland Creek about two hundred yards south of the present site of the great Harrisons steam-mill, and continued to operate it until he sold out to Gov. Edwards.    He then returned to Cahokia, and from there removed to St. Louis, where he engaged in business and remained until his death.

About 1794, Louison Pensoneau married Miss Lizette LeCompt in the village of Cahokia, and after residing some years in Peoria, settled on a farm at Point a la Pierre, near the Grand Marais, four miles east of the Mississippi, on the Belleville road. At that place he died in 1832, and his widow continued to reside there until her death in 1841. Of this union there survived ten children, three daughters and seven sons; The daughters were Bridget, Marie, and Louisa; the sons were Louis, Paschal, Laurent, Edward, Narcisse, Charles, and Francois, the two last being twins.

Bridget was married to Amable Tramble in 1818, and died in 1831, and her husband, a Canadian-Frenchman, survived her but three or four years. They left two sons, Louis and Francois Tramble, who both died without issue: Louis, a journeyman printer, dying in San Francisco, Cal., in the spring of 1850, and Francois was drowned in the Missouri River, near Fort Leavenworth, in the same year, on his return from the Yellowstone as an employee of Jonh P. Sarpy & Co., fur-traders of St. Louis.

Marie married John Valentine, and both died in a few years after their marriage, leaving one daughter, named Louisa, who subsequently married Octav Born, a Canadian, and with him emigrated to New Orleans.

Louisa married Joseph Trotier in 1820, and lived and died in Cahokia.    She had two children, Mary and Joseph. Mary Trotier was married to Co. Vital Jarrot in 1845, and died in 1852. Her brother, Joseph, wandered to the Far-West, and is perhaps still living.

Of the sons of Louison Pensoneau and Lizette LeCompt - now all dead - Louis, born in 1800, married Henriet, youngest daughter of Jean Francois Perry, in the fall of 1822, and died where he had always lived, at Point a la Pierre, Feb. 22, 1826.His only child, Louis Perry Pensoneau, born May 1, 1824, is now residing at East St. Louis with a married daughter, his only child. The widow of Louis Pensoneau, with her son and widowed mother (nee Perry), removed to Belleville in 1833, and she died at Mascoutah, St. Clair County, April 22, 1882.

Paschal Pensoneau, the next son, in early manhood became identified with the Kickapoo Indians, married one or more of them, and died a few years since on the reservation of the remnant of that tribe, in the Indian Nation, leaving several half-breed children.

Laurent, the next son, born in 1805, married Elizabeth Hays, daughter of John Hays, Esq., and died at Point a la Pierre, without issue, July 18, 1848. His widow afterward married Bradford Broulette, and removed to Vincennes, Ind., where she still resides, her second husband having died several years ago.

Edward Pensoneau was born in 1810, and married Miss Isabella Boismenue in 1843, who died in 1846, leaving one son, Edward, now residing near East St. Louis.    Edward, Sr., was again married in 1853 to Margaret Saucier, daughter of Matthieu Saucier, who, with three children, survived him, and still resides in or near Cahokia.   Edward Pensoneau, Sr., died in 1860.

Narcisse Pensoneau was born in 1812, and married Felicite Pensoneau in Belleville in 1835, and died at Mascoutah, Ill., Oct. 8, 1878. His wife died at the same place, November 28, 1876. Of several children they had, but two survived them:    Felicite, born in Belleville, July 22, 1836, who is living and unmarried, and William Bissel Pensoneau, married and residing in Jackson County, Ill.

The twin sons, Charles and Francois were never married. Charles died in Belleville in 1860, and Francois about the same time in Louisiana.

About the time the three brothers, Etienne, Louis, and Louison Pensoneau, arrived in Cahokia, two other Pensoneaus - second or third cousins of theirs - who are not mentioned in the "Pioneer History," came to that village from Canada. They were brothers and named Francois and Augustine. They were citizens of Cahokia for many years, and both died and were buried there. Augustine Pensoneau married the widow of Jean Francois Perry in 1815, and died in the fall of 1819, leaving his widow and two children: Felicite, born in 1817, who married Narcisse Pensoneau, and Augustine, born in 1819, who was raised in the family of Hon. Adam W. Snyder, and is now residing in Belleville.

Donna Flood's Pensoneau line:

Jean dit Jacques, b. 1682, died 1712, married Minnie Elizabeth Bourasea,

They had 15 children and they are:

1. Francois Xavier 1714;

2, Marie Francois, 1717;

3. Marie Ann, 1718

4. Jacques, 1720

5. Marie Francois, 1721

6. Rene, 1724

7. Marie Marguerite, 1725

8. Mamie Francois, 1727

9. Francois

10. Paschal, 1829 Married, 1753 to Marguerite Bordeau

       1731

11. Marie Rose, 1731

12, Joseph, 1733

13. Pierre Marie, 1735

14. Marie Amable, 1735

15. Jeanne Marie, 1743

       The above were all born in Canada

Pasqual (number 10) and Marguerite Bordeau had three children:

1. Louison b. 1772 d. 1832.

     He married Lizette LeCompt in 1794. She died 1841

2. Etienne, 1774-1822. married

   1800 to Elenne Magnable

3. Louis, 1775

Louison and Lizette had 10 children & they are:

1. Bridget d/ 1831, m. 1818, 2 children. 1. Louis d.

1850, 2. Francois, d. 1850

2. Marie, m. Louisa S. Jo,

3. Louisa, m. 1820 to Joseph Trotter. They had 2 children: 1. Joseph 2. Mary,d. 1852, m. 1895 to

Vital Jarot, b. 1805, d. 1877

4. Louis, 1800-1846 m. Henriet Perry, m. 1822, d. 1882

     One child, Louis Perry Pensoneau, born 1824

5. Pasqual (my grandfather) m. Shikinah, Kickapoo daughter of the chief along Illinois River to Peoria.

Their son Steven Pensoneau m. Tilda SaltuskahLauret.

       Tilda was a child of Mary Kell Ross, whose mother was Cherokee woman, Father, Scottish Man, Kell. Mary Kell Ross's first husband was Canolis, second husband,

Eck Ross, Cherokee.

Tilda Sultuskah married Steven Pensoneau, their son Narcisse (actually Narcissus) m. Elizabeth Little Cook. Her father was Samuel Little Cook, Oo-Hah-Zhingah, Rain Clain patriarch. Elizabeth's mother was

Esther Broken Jaw, full Ponca.

6. Lauret, (6th child of Louison Pensoneau and Lizette

      LeCompt. Lauret b. 1805 d. 1848 m. Elizabeth Hays

7. Edward

8. Narcisse

9. Charles d.1860

10. Francois (twin to Charles)

Narcisse(actually Narcissus) and Elizabeth Little Cook

had:

1. Velma Louise Pensoneau Jones b. Jan 15, 1913 d.

2. Edward Richard Pensoneau

Biography of PASCHAL PENSONEAU, born 1795:

I was born in Cahokie, Illinois. I am eighty-seven years old. I was born April 17, 1795. My father was a Canadian from Fort La Prairie, across from Montreal; was of pure French blood. My mother was born in Cahokie. Her father was a native of Paris, France. Her mother was a half-breed Pottawatomie..............
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/america/donna/picturebook/pensoneau.htm

For 9 page file on the descendants of Etienne Pensoneau please contact Carol Hight

I, too, am a cousin to George Pensoneau of East St. Louis and I have been researching since 1974. I have deep connections to the French villages of the Mississippi valley in Illinois going back to 1723 in St. Philippe near Ft Chartres. I just retired, moved back to Missouri, and now have time to get back to researching on a serious level. In fact, I attended my first meeting of the St. Clair County Genealogical Society this month; I'm a charter member (28 years) and have never lived anywhere near that I could go to meetings. I also, revisited Cahokia for the first time in about 30 years! I enjoyed your site very much and will revisit it often.

The information below was submitted by: Carol Hight

under construction

SOURCES:

George Pensoneau

Donna Flood

Belleville Library - St. Clair Co., Ill.

Church of the Holy Family, Cahokia, St. Clair Co., Ill.

St. Louis death records

The genealogical tree of
Francois Pinsonneau dit LeFleur

A RECORD OF SERVICES OF THE
ILLINOIS MILITIA, RIFLEMAN &
VOLUNTEERS, IN THE INDIAN WARS, 1810 - 1813

SOURCES:

Ancestors of Mary Lorraine Blanchette

Inman Family Genealogy

Larsen Family Tree - Ancestry.com

http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/qc/fortchambly/natcul/natcul2/g.aspx

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/p/i/n/Pierre--Pinsonnault/GENE0001-0001.html