LEADER 04473nam 2200685 a 450 001 9910966419703321 005 20251117115939.0 010 $a0-8262-6344-5 035 $a(CKB)1000000000003081 035 $a(OCoLC)607909901 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10048221 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000157952 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11163995 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000157952 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10140449 035 $a(PQKB)10864468 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3570758 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3570758 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10048221 035 $a(OCoLC)56424875 035 $a(BIP)18688590 035 $a(BIP)7834621 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000003081 100 $a20020626d2002 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aFrancois Valle and his world $eUpper Louisiana before Lewis and Clark /$fCarl J. Ekberg 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aColumbia, MO $cUniversity of Missouri Press$dc2002 215 $a1 online resource (336 p.) 225 1 $aMissouri biography series 300 $aIncludes index. 311 08$a0-8262-1418-5 327 $aIntro -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Maps and Plans -- Tables -- Genealogical Charts -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1 Beginnings -- 2 The Old Town of Ste. Genevieve -- 3 Ascent to Power -- 4 The Vallé Household -- 5 Missouri's Original Black Families -- 6 Pillar of the Spanish Regime -- 7 Wealth, Death, and Eternity -- Conclusion -- Appendix -- Index. 330 $aIn Francois Valle and His World, Carl Ekberg provides a fascinating biography of Francois Valle (1716-1783), placing him within the context of his place and time. Valle, who was born in Beauport, Canada, immigrated to Upper Louisiana (the Illinois Country) as a penniless common laborer sometime during the early 1740s. Engaged in agriculture, lead mining, and the Indian trade, he ultimately became the wealthiest and most powerful individual in Upper Louisiana, although he never learned to read or write. Ekberg focuses on Upper Louisiana in colonial times, long before Lewis and Clark arrived in the Mississippi River valley and before American sovereignty had reached the eastern bank of the Mississippi. He vividly captures the ambience of life in the eighteenth-century frontier agricultural society that Valle inhabited, shedding new light on the French and Spanish colonial regimes in Louisiana and on the Mississippi River frontier before the Americans arrived. Based entirely on primary source documents wills and testaments, parish registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials, and Spanish administrative correspondence found in archives ranging from St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve to New Orleans and Seville, Francois Valle and His World traces not only the life of Francois Valle and the lives of his immediate family members, but also the lives of his slaves. In doing so, it provides a portrait of Missouri's very first black families, something that has never before been attempted. Ekberg also analyzes how the illiterate Valle became the richest person in all of Upper Louisiana, and how he rose in the sociopolitical hierarchy to become an important servant of the Spanish monarchy. Francois Valle and His World provides a useful corrective to the fallacious notion that Missouri's history began with the arrival of Lewis and Clark at the turn of the nineteenth century. Anyone with an interest in colonial history or the history of the Mississippi River valley will find this book of great value. 410 0$aMissouri biography series. 606 $aPioneers$zMissouri$zSainte Genevieve$vBiography 606 $aFrench Americans$zMissouri$zSainte Genevieve$vBiography 606 $aFrontier and pioneer life$zMissouri$zSainte Genevieve 607 $aSainte Genevieve (Mo.)$vBiography 607 $aSainte Genevieve (Mo.)$xSocial life and customs$y18th century 607 $aMissouri$xHistory$y18th century 607 $aIllinois$xHistory$yTo 1778 607 $aMississippi River Valley$xHistory$yTo 1803 615 0$aPioneers 615 0$aFrench Americans 615 0$aFrontier and pioneer life 676 $a977.8/692 676 $aB 700 $aEkberg$b Carl J$0872563 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910966419703321 996 $aFrancois Valle and his world$94474092 997 $aUNINA