Jean Gabriel Cerre

Background

Jean-Gabriel Cerré was born on August 12, 1734 at Montreal, Canada. He was the son of Joseph and Marie (Picard) Cerre.

Education

Little is known of his childhood, except that he received a good education.

Career

In 1755 he was established at Kaskaskia. He pursued the vocation of merchant and trader, spending fifty years in the fur trade. In his extensive operations he went annually from Kaskaskia to Montreal. His many adventures, and the strategies used by him in dealing with Indians and protecting his goods, form an interesting story of pioneer life. The earliest hunters in the Missouri River country, excepting some occasional parties of adventurers, were men sent by Cerre from Kaskaskia. Although he may have felt the traditional hatred of the French for the English, and is supposed to have served under Montcalm in defense of Quebec, he received many favors from the English commanders. Even after his espousing the American cause the British sought to break him away from his new alliance. George Rogers Clark in his "Memoir" devotes a great deal of space to his experiences with Cerre. Clark says that he had heard that Cerre was a man of great importance; that he was one of the most inveterate enemies of the American revolutionists. He also states that Cerre ultimately allied himself with the Americans, took the oath of citizenship, and was of infinite service to the United States. He gave financial aid to Clark and furnished provisions to the troops. From Clark's account of the measures taken to gain the cooperation of Cerre, there is room for suspicion that it was first gained through a species of mental coercion. When the Virginia commandant, Col. John Todd, who had jurisdiction over the Illinois country, caused an election to be held by the people to choose magistrates, Cerre headed the list of those elected. It is doubtful if he served very long, as he appears to have turned his face westward soon thereafter and to have made St. Louis his home. If he moved in order to get out of the United States he was doomed to disappointment, as he lived to see St. Louis ceded by France. He was a soldier in the first company of St. Louis militia in 1780, and one of eight syndics in 1782. In answer to questions propounded to him by a committee of Congress in July 1786, he stated that although the people had chosen magistrates in 1779, the power of the magistrates had been annihilated and everything had fallen into a state of anarchy and confusion after the withdrawal of Todd's troops. When he came to St. Louis many of his relatives in Canada joined him, and these, with his family connections, were so extensive, and his band of employees was so numerous, that he became the patriarch of a considerable portion of the inhabitants. In 1780 he founded New Madrid, when he established a trading post at that point, then called L'Anse-. .. -la-Graisse, and in 1781 he sent a trader to the Indians in Tennessee.

Achievements

• He became one of the wealthiest men in the Illinois country; a man of such eminence and influence among the people, that his assistance was enlisted by both the British and the Americans during the Revolution.

Personality

He was a man distinguished for his courtesy, humor, and kindness of heart.

Connections

He was married in 1764 to Catherine Giard and had four children, one of whom, Marie Therese, married Auguste Chouteau.

Spouse:

Catherine Giard

Daughter:

Marie Therese