Center for French Colonial Studies

The French Colonial Period In the Illinois Country, 1673-1765: A Select Bibliography

By B. Pierre Lebeau, Professor of History Emeritus, North Central College

The purpose of this bibliography is to help the serious reader get started in exploring the French colonial period in the Illinois Country. It provides a list of basic, sometimes picturesque works that are accessible through public and academic libraries. Several of the works are out of print and may be obtained through interlibrary loans. Suggestions for changes or additions should be sent to cfcs@noctrl.edu.

PRIMARY SOURCES:

Alvord, Clarence W., and Carter Clarence E., eds. The Critical Period, 1763-1765. Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. Vol. X, British Series,Vol. I. Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1915.
French and British documents illustrate the difficult transition from French to British sovereignty and include the banishment of the Jesuits, the tensions between the British and the Indians, and descriptions of the Illinois Country at that time.
Beckwith, H. W., ED. Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. Vol. I. Springfield: The H.W. Rokker Company, 1903.
This work contains major portions of Father Marquette's journal, various papers regarding La Salle, Hennepin's narrative, Tonti's memoir of 1693, Aubry's report concerning the building of Fort Massac, the account of George Rogers Clark's conquest of Illinois, and a number of letters from the Canadian Archives covering the English period.
Brown, Margaret F., and Dean, Lawrie C., eds. The Village of Chartres in Colonial Illinois 1720-1765. Published for La Compagnie des Amis de Fort de Chartres. New Orleans: Polyanthos, 1977.
Selected documents relating to the village of Fort de Chartres. Ste. Anne church records, records of the Chapel of the Visitation, land and notarial records from Randolph County Archives. A large number of the documents are presented in the original French. All documents are in English translation.
Finiels, Nicholas de. An Account of Upper Louisiana. Edited by Carl J. Ekberg and William E. Foley. Translated by Carl J. Ekberg. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1989.
Written by an expatriate French engineer who served the Spanish monarchy in Louisiana during the late colonial era, this memoir "provides important information about Upper Louisiana in the late 1790's on subjects ranging from great issues of geopolitics to details of domestic life."
The Kaskaskia Manuscripts, 1714-1816. Microform: civil documents of colonial Illinois in Randolph County Archives, Chester, Illinois.
Compiled with introduction by Laurie Cena Dean, Margaret Kimball Brown. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Archives. Documents of the French settlements on the banks of the Mississippi. Mostly manuscripts of notarial transactions, wills and other legal documents. Calendar is included.
Pease, Theodore C., ed. Anglo-French Boundary Disputes in the West 1749-1763. Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. Vol. XXVII, French Series, Vol. II. Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1936.
In addition to the selected British and French documents, the lengthy introduction by T. C. Pease analyses the diplomatic struggles between England and France for dominance in North America. This volume is useful for the understanding of France's policy towards her possessions in the Mississippi valley.
--- and Jenison, Ernestine, eds. Illinois on the Eve of the Seven Years; War, 1747-1755. Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. Vol. XXIX, French Series, Vol. III. Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library,1940.
This volume presents a fairly complete description of the political and commercial scene in Illinois for the period going from the end of the War of the Austrian Succession to the eve of the French and Indian War.
--- and Werner, Raymond C. eds. The French Foundations,1680-1693. Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. Vol.XXIII, French Series, Vol. I. Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1934.
Most of the documents pertain to the commercial and financial affairs of La Salle and Tonti. The volume also includes the so-called "De Gannes Memoir", actually an account by Pierre Liette of his experiences in the Chicago area between 1698 and 1702. The period between 1693 and 1747 is not covered in the French Series.
Peyser, Joseph L., trans. and ed. On the Eve of the Conquest. The Chevalier de Raymond's Critique of New France in 1754. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 1997.
A critical view by an officer of the Troupes de la Marine of French trade practices, relations with the native Americans, and French social customs.
Schultz, James, ed. Father Marquette's Journal. Lansing, Michigan: Bureau of History, Michigan Department of State, 1990.
A first-hand account of Father Jacques Marquette's missionary explorations between 1673 and 1675. Short, but instructive introduction. Maps.

SECONDARY SOURCES:

Allain, Mathé. "Not Worth a Straw" French Colonial Policy and the Early Years of Louisiana. Lafayette: University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1988.
Well documented, compact and clearly written account of French official policies with regard to Louisiana from its founding to 1831. Useful for the understanding of the political and economic background of early Louisiana.
Alvord, Clarence Walworth. The Illinois Country 1673-1818. The Centennial History of Illinois, Vol. I. Springfield: The Illinois Centennial Commission,1920; reprint ed., Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987.
Although dated, this is still the best introduction to the early history of Illinois. Treatment of the subject is broad and generally accurate. Although presented in a scholarly form, the work is easily read and should appeal to the general reader.
Arnold, Morris S. Unequal Laws Unto a Savage Race: European Legal Traditions in Arkansas, 1686-1836. Fayetteville, Arkansas: The University of Arkansas Press, 1985.
The first chapter describes the French legal system and practices in use in the Mississippi Valley. The important role of notaries is explained.
________. Colonial Arkansas, 1686-1804. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press, 1991.
This well researched and elegantly told social history of French Arkansas is very useful to understand the lifestyle of the French and their social and governmental structures in the whole Mississippi Valley.
Balesi, Charles J. The Time of the French in the Heart of North America. Chicago: Alliance Française Chicago, 1991.
This survey of French Colonial Illinois, from the French viewpoint, is well documented and makes use of recent scholarship. It includes interesting chapters on the French habitants, their Black slaves, and their relations with the Indians.
Beers, Henry Putney. The French & British in the Old Northwest. A Bibliographical Guide to Archive and Manuscript Sources. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1964.
Describes records of the French Regime available in the U.S., Canada, and France. Of importance to any one interested in local, social, and religious history.
Belting, Natalia Maree. Kaskaskia Under the French Regime. Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences, Vol. XXIX, No. 3. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1948; reprint ed., New Orleans: Polyanthos, 1975.
This work describes the daily life in Kaskaskia. Based on the Kaskaskia Manuscripts and Parish Registers, it reconstructs the social structure, activities, and customs of the French. Includes extracts from the Parish Registers and notes on the 1752 census.
Briggs, Winstanley. "The Forgotten Colony: Le Pays des Illinois." Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Chicago, 1985.
A comparison of the social structure, economy, government and mentalité of French Illinois with the societies of early Canada, colonial New England and Ancien Regime France.
________. "Slavery in French Colonial Illinois." Chicago History 18 (Winter 1989-90): 66-81.

Brown, Margaret Kimball. "Allons, Cowboys." Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 76 (1983): 273-282. Cattle and horse drive from Illinois to Fort St. Francis, Arkansas River, 1739.

________ and Lawrie Cena Dean. The French Colony in the Mid-Mississippi Valley. American Kestrel Books. Carbondale, Illinois: American Resources Group, 1995.
A short, but well documented and illustrated depiction of the settlements in the French Colonial District.
Caruso, John Anthony. The Mississippi Valley Frontier. The Age of French Exploration and Settlement. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1966.
Chapters on Indian history, the French explorers, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Creole society. Maps, bibliography. Dated.
Clark, John G. La Rochelle and the Atlantic Economy during the Eighteenth Century. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981.
This work is essential for persons interested in the trade between France and the American colonies.
Clifton, James A. The Prairie People. Continuity and Change in Potawatomi Indian Culture 1665-1965. Lawrence: The Regents Press of Kansas, 1977.
Provides more detailed information than Edmunds regarding the influence of the French on tribal structure and customs.
Donnelly, Joseph S. J. Jacques Marquette. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1968.
Still the standard work on the life of Father Marquette.
Eccles, William J. France in America, 2nd ed. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 1990.
Still the most authoritative study of the French presence in North America from 1500 to 1783. Essential reading to understand the social, economic and political structures in New France and Louisiana. Besides corrections and revisions throughout the book, chapter 8 has been completely rewritten.
Edmunds, R. David. The Potawatomis Keepers of the Fire. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1978.
The first five chapters provide important information on the relations between the French and the Indians from the 17th century through the beginning of the 19th century.
________ and Joseph L. Peyser. The Fox Wars. The Mesquakie Challenge to New France. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993.
A narrative of the conflict between the Fox and the French over trade with the Sioux. As the French attempted to annihilate the Fox, much of the action took place in the northern part of the Illinois Country.
Ekberg, Carl J. Colonial Ste. Genevieve. An Adventure on the Mississippi Frontier, 2nd ed. Tucson, AZ: The Patrice Press, 1996.
An impressively well researched social history of Ste. Genevieve, a French village on the west side of the Mississippi during the second half of the 18th century.
________. French Roots in the Illinois Country. The Mississippi Frontier in Colonial Times. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998.
The definitive work regarding social structures and agricultural life in the Illinois Country during the colonial period.
________. "Agriculture, Mentalités, and Violence on the Illinois Frontier." Illinois Historical Journal 88 (1995): 101-116.
The purpose of this article is to show that the communal system of agriculture in colonial Illinois resulted in a "remarkable degree of community solidarity" which reduced violent activities in contrast with the traits displayed by the Anglo-Americans who came later.
________ with Anton J. Pregaldin. "Marie Rouensa and the Foundations of French Illinois." Illinois Historical Journal 84 (1991): 146-160.
Marie Rouensa was the daughter of Chief Rouensa of the Kaskaskia tribe. Converted to Catholicism, she married Michel Accault, a voyageur. After his death she married Michel Philippe, a French settler. The story of her family reflects the social and economic changes in early French Illinois.
________. Louis Bolduc. His Family and His House. Tucson, AZ: The Patrice Press, 2002.

________. François Vallé and His World. Upper Louisiana Before Lewis and Clark. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 2002.
This biography of one of the wealthiest individuals in Upper Louisiana is based entirely on primary source documents. It sheds additional light on life in Ste. Genevieve during the French and Spanish colonial periods. Of special interest is the chapter that deals with “Missouri’s Original Black Families.”
Foley William E. The Genesis of Missouri. From Wilderness Outpost to Statehood. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1989.
The first six chapters present an account of early French settlements in Missouri under both the French and Spanish crowns. It becomes quickly evident to the reader that the French played an important role in the growth of the Missouri Territory.
Galloway, Patricia K., ed. La Salle and His Legacy. Frenchmen and Indians in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1982.
This collection of essays examines various aspects of the La Salle's expedition of 1682, including an important article on the sources of the accounts of the expedition. Other essays look at the colonial policies of France as well as the English and Spanish reactions to French expansion in America.
Giraud, Marcel. A History of French Louisiana. Vol. I. The Reign of Louis XIV, 1698-1715. Joseph C. Lambert, trans. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1974.
This and the next two titles are the partial translation of the history of French Louisiana by Marcel Giraud that was originally published in France in five volumes. Giraud's work represents the most exhaustive and authoritative scholarly study of France's establishments in the lower Mississippi Valley. This work includes a number of references to the Illinois Country.
______. A History of French Louisiana. Vol. II. Years of Transition, 1715-1717. Brian Pearce, trans. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1993.

______. A History of French Louisiana. Vol. V. The Company of the Indies, 1723-1731. Brian Pearce, trans. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1991.

Halvord, Peter W. Le Français des Canadiens à la veille de la conquête. Témoignage du Père Pierre Philippe Potier, s.j. Collection Amérique française. Ottawa: Les Presses de l'Université d'Ottawa, 1994.
Written in French and primarily intended for lexicologists and linguists, this work enriches considerably the studies of Mississippi French by John Mc Dermott. It is nevertheless quite accessible to the general reader who will discover the richness of the French language in New France.
Hauser, Raymond E. "The Fox Raid of 1752. Defensive Warfare and the Decline of the Illinois Indian Tribe." Illinois Historical Journal 86 (1993): 210-224.

Hoffhaus, Charles E. Chez les Canses. The French foundations of Metropolitan Kansas City. Kansas City: The Lowell Press, 1984.
An interesting investigation of Fort d'Orléans, Fort de Cavagnial and the fur trade on the Missouri River. It includes a chapter describing the Custom of Paris, the legal system in effect in French Colonial America.
McDermott, John Francis. A Glossary of Mississippi Valley French 1673-1850. Washington University Studies. New Series. Language and Literature. No. 2. St. Louis: Washington University, 1941.
Indispensable in order to understand the language of the period.
________, ed. The French in the Mississippi Valley. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1965.
This collection of essays is focused on the study of French architecture in the Mississippi Valley.
________, ed. Frenchmen and French Ways in the Mississippi Valley. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1969.
A collection of papers on major figures in the Mississippi Valley, Fort Massac, Ste. Genevieve, etc.
Moogk, Peter N. La Nouvelle France. The making of French Canada: A Cultural History. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2000.
This important study of French-Canadian culture during the colonial period challenges traditional views regarding the character and customs of the inhabitants of New France.
Norall, Frank. Bourgmont Explorer of the Missouri 1698-1725. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988.
The most comprehensive biography of the sieur de Bourgmont to date. Bourgmont was the first white man to explore the lower and middle Missouri valley. He established the Fort d'Orléans on the north bank of the Missouri in 1723 (Carroll County, Missouri).
Parkman, Francis. La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1894.
A now controversial but seminal study of La Salle's life and accomplishments.
Peterson, Charles E. Colonial St. Louis. Building A Creole Capital. Tucson: The Patrice Press, 1993.
This work is required reading for persons interested in the French colonial architecture of the mid-Mississippi Valley. It includes many illustrations.
______. Notes on Old Cahokia. Tricentennial Commemorative edition. Cahokia, Illinois: Jarrot Mansion Project, Inc., 1999.
Peterson's well researched articles are still today the only summary of the history of the town of Cahokia.
Peyser, Joseph L. "The 1730 Fox Fort. A Recently Discovered Map Throws New Light on its Siege and Location." Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 73 (Autumn 1980): 201-213.

_______, trans. and ed.. Letters from New France. The Upper Country, 1686-1783. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992.
Excerpts from historical documents dealing with French colonial military, religious and mercantile life and illustrating the chain of events that led to the French and Indian War.
_______, trans. and ed.. On the Eve of the Conquest. The Chevalier de Raymond’s Critique of New France in 1754. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1997.
This extensively documented edition of the report by the Chevalier de Raymond on the corruption and favoritism found in the French posts in Canada at the end of the French period provides an insight into the differences between theory and practice in colonial policies.
Severin, Timothy. Explorers of the Mississippi. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1968.
Concentrates on character of explorers. Covers Joliet, Marquette, La Salle, Tonti, Hennepin, etc. Bibliography. Dated.
Tanner, Helen Hornbeck, ed. Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.
The text and thirty-three maps describe the locations and movements of Indian communities in the Great Lakes area from 1640 to the early 1870s. This work is most important in order to understand the interactions between Europeans and Indians.
Thomas, Rosemary Hyde. It's Good to Tell You. French Folktales from Missouri. Illustrated by Ronald W. Thomas. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press, 1981.
Story telling was the main form of entertainment during the colonial period and through the 19th century in the French settlements of Missouri. These stories collected in the local dialect in the 1930's have retained the themes, form, and flavor of French folktales going back to the medieval period.
Walthall, John A. French Colonial Archaeology. The Illinois Country and the Western Great Lakes. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1991.
The book presents descriptions of excavations at all the important sites of French forts and villages. It includes much information on architecture, trade patterns and diet.
Waselkov, Gregory A. The Archaeology of French Colonial North America English French Edition. Guides to Historical Archaeological Literature, Number 5. The Society for Historical Archaeology, 1997.
A comprehensive if not exhaustive analysis of archaeological publications of French sites in North America.
Weddle, Robert S. Wilderness Manhunt. The Spanish Search for La Salle. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1999.
A narrative of the numerous Spanish expeditions in search of La Salle's settlement on the Texas coast (1685-89). First published in 1973, the new edition includes insights gathered from the recent excavation of one of La Salle's ships, Belle.
White, Richard, ed. The Middle Ground. Indians, Empires, and Republics in the great Lakes Region, 1650-1815. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
This prize-winning work examines the evolution of the interactions between native peoples and Europeans in the Great Lakes region. The first six chapters, or the first half of the book, deal with the French colonial period.