M. 9 Jul 1779 in Vincennes, Virginia Territory
Wife: Marie-Madeleine Bordeleau
D. 29 Sep 1834 in Vincennes, Indiana
Jean-Baptiste Renaud dit Deslauriers lived a long life in Vincennes, seeing the transition from French trading post to 19th century Midwest town. He was born on November 6, 1754 to Jean-Baptiste Renaud dit Deslauriers and Marie-Therese Mallet, the second of their seven children. His mother died when he was about 8 years old.
Jean-Baptiste was a young man in his twenties when the events of the American Revolution reached Vincennes. The French had ceded control of Fort Vincennes to the British in 1763, but the British didn’t maintain too much authority until 1778, when it became strategically important against the American colonies. That year, the Catholic priest who served several French outposts, Father Pierre Gibault, learned that France had allied with the American rebels. He came to Vincennes to encourage the men there to sign an oath of allegiance to the American cause. The signing of the oath took place at St. Francis Xavier and Jean-Baptiste was among the men who attended, making his mark on the document.
In December 1778, the British sent a regiment to Vincennes to man the fort. The French people had no choice but to go along with the arrangement, but the Americans under Colonel George Rogers Clark were closing in. On February 20, 1779, Colonel Clark and his militia were six miles from Vincennes, trying to find a way to navigate through a flooded area, when they came upon a boat of five French men who were hunting ducks, one of whom was Jean-Baptiste. The hunters were taken prisoner, but quickly established they were on the side of the Americans, and they told Clark’s men that the British were unsuspecting of any sort of attack at that time of year. The French men helped guide Clark’s force toward Vincennes, a trek that took them through icy cold water that was chest-high in places.
The March to Vincennes in February 1779.
Colonel Clark later described what it was like the next day when the area looked impassible: “The Frenchmen we had taken on the river appeared to be uneasy at our situation. They begged that they might be permitted to go in the two canoes to town in the night. They said that they would bring from their own houses provisions without a possibility of any person knowing it; that some of our men should go with them, as a surety of their good conduct; that it was impossible that we could march from the place until the water fell; that (would not be) for a few days, for the plain, for upward of three miles, was covered two (feet) deep.”
The militia led by Clark made it through the flooded area anyway; they entered Vincennes on the evening of the 23rd, capturing the fort the next day despite being outnumbered by the British. The win at Vincennes was considered an important one because it gave the Americans a foothold in the West. The help of the French people who lived there was vital in making it happen.
Later that year, on July 9th, Jean-Baptiste married Marie-Madeleine Bordeleau at St. Francis Xavier church, the only wedding in the parish register for that year. Father Gibault performed the ceremony and it was attended by brothers Louis and François, his uncle Antoine Mallet, and his friends André Roy and Toussaint Godere. Marie-Madeleine had her parents, her godfather and two uncles. Their first child, Genevieve, was born in October, suggesting that Marie-Madeleine was already pregnant when they were married. This was common in a place where priests weren’t always available to perform marriages.
Jean-Baptiste and Marie-Madeleine went on to have a total of 12 children. They raised their family and lived out their lives in Vincennes. Jean-Baptiste was on the list of the 143 land claimants of Vincennes in 1790 and was entitled to 400 acres. Marie-Madeleine died February 21, 1819 in Vincennes. He lived on several more years, passing away on September 29, 1834, one of the last survivors of the men who took the Vincennes Oath of Allegiance. He is believed to be buried in the The Old Cathedral “French and Indian” Cemetery in Vincennes in an unmarked grave.
On November 13, 2017, as part of the U.S. Quarters America the Beautiful series, a coin was put into circulation depicting George Rogers Clark's march through the water to Vincennes. It's a tribute to all involved, including Jean-Baptiste Renaud dit Deslauriers.
The use of surnames in places like Vincennes was often not very consistent. Jean-Baptiste sometimes used the “Renaud” part of his name, which was also spelled “Renault,” but more often the second part of the surname was given as his name. Later generations in Vincennes dropped the first part altogether, using only the name Deslauriers, which had a wide variety of spellings.
Children:
1. Genevieve Deslauriers – B. 11 Oct 1779, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; D. before Feb 1819, (probably) Vincennes, Indiana; M. Joseph Marion Edeline (1774-1819), 18 Feb 1799, Vincennes, Northwest Territory
2. Marie-Desanges Deslauriers – B. 11 Jan 1782; M. William Tougas (1779-?), 6 Jul 1801, Vincennes, Indiana Territory
3. Archange Deslauriers — B. 22 Apr 1784, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; D. Feb 1793, Vincennes, Northwest Territory
4. Jean-Baptiste Deslauriers — B. 14 Feb 1786, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; D. 3 Jun 1789, Vincennes, Northwest Territory
5. Pierre Deslauriers – B. 13 Sep 1787, Vincennes, Virginia Territory; D. 2 Mar 1860, Vincennes, Indiana; M. Marie-Theotiste Ravellette (1795-?), 12 Nov 1813, Vincennes, Indiana Territory
6. Barbe Deslauriers — B. 2 Oct 1789, Vincennes, Northwest Territory
7. Victoire Deslauriers — B. 11 Jul 1791, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; D. Feb 1793, Vincennes, Northwest Territory
8. Marie-Anne Deslauriers — B. 1 Feb 1794, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; M. François Mallet (1790-?), 14 Aug 1818, Vincennes, Indiana
9. Françoise Deslauriers — B. 1 Feb 1794, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; D. Jun 1835, Vincennes, Indiana; M. Louis Lacoste dit Languedoc (1792-1838), 11 May 1816, Vincennes, Indiana
10. François Xavier Deslauriers – B. 13 Feb 1798, Vincennes, Northwest Territory; D. 8 May 1837, Vincennes, Indiana; M. Cecile Racine, 7 Aug 1820, Vincennes, Indiana
11. Adélaide Deslauriers — B. 20 Jan 1800, Vincennes, Northwest Territory, D. Jul 1829; M. François Racine (1786-?), 26 Jul 1824, Vincennes, Indiana
12. Catherine Deslauriers — B. 22 Jul 1803, Vincennes, Indiana Territory; D. 2 Mar 1865, Vincennes, Indiana; M. Joseph Cardinal (1799-?), 14 Jul 1823, Vincennes, Indiana
Sources:
“Records of the Parish of St. Francis Xavier,” Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, Vol. 12, 1901
The Colonial History of Vincennes Under the French, British and American Governments, Vol. 2, John Law, 1858
History of Knox and Daviess Counties, Indiana, 1886
Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio 1778-1783 and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark, William Hayden English, 1897
“A New Document Bearing on the History of George Rogers Clark in Vincennes,” Indiana Magazine of History, Stephen L. Cochran, 1998
Forts of Vincennes, Indiana (Wikipedia article)
Pierre Gibault (Wikipedia article)
Indiana Births and Christenings, 1773-1933, FamilySearch.org
Indiana Church Marriages, 1780-1993, FamilySearch.org
