The State Historical
Society of ND
http://www.state.
nd.us/hist/index
.html
Cindy's List for ND
http://www.
CyndisList.com
On-line indexes
of the State
Historical Society
of ND for
Census and
Naturization
Records
Minnesota
Historical Information
can be found at
Park
Genealogical
Books
and also the
Minnesota
Historical
Society
Be sure to check
the
USGenWeb
for the counties of
North Dakota and
other US States.
|
With
the October 2009 Closure of GeoCities this site is moving
Please update your bookmarks
http://sites.google.com/site/mycroteaugenealogy/
Father John F. Malo, a
pioneer of the area, was responsible for what would become St. John,
North Dakota. He was known to be in the area as early as 1879 when he
was a missionary. Born in St. Jean, Quebec, Father Malo was ordained
priest in Montreal and was later sent to Yankton, Dakota Territory to
work among the Metchif Indians. The Catholic Indian Bureau of
Washington, DC was assisted in its early years by the efforts of Father
Malo who was very familiar with the Metchif Indians of the Dakota
Territory.
Father Malo moved onto the south west corner of Section 3 and
started to build the mission St. Claude. This was the beginning of the
settlement of whites and was also the start of a movement to encourage
settlement and farming in the area. He had no legal title to the land
but none-the-less he quickly planted a garden and welcomed all.
In the beginning Father Malo traveled throughout the County
saying Mass in homes. Without a proper church he was even known to have
served a few open air Masses on sunny hillsides.
A log building was constructed which measured roughly twenty
by forty feet to serve as the Chapel. The floor was of dirt and its
three pews were made of sawn logs. The attic would be Father Malo’s
living quarters. The local families helped with the building; sawn logs
were used for framing and the first roof covering was made of sod. When
the population of the area grew another addition of equal size was
added and a room for the home-keeper added in the back. The contents of
St. Claude were very humble, a small table served as the first alter.
Once established he opened a school in the Chapel and asked
Felicia Mousette to assist in the teaching duties. Felicia was a
daughter of Ambrose and Victorine Lemay who lived in Mendota,
Minnesota. Ambrose and his family weres passing through, originally
intending to settle in Grafton the family was relocating to St. John.
Felicia was 15 years old when Father Malo asked her to begin
teachingduring his absence in the winter of 1882. Felicia’s father
decided to move the family again, resettling in the Butte St. Paul
region near Tarsus, Lordsburg Township, Bottineau County. In 1885
Felicia married Arcade Bergeron and soon after that she completed the
County Teaching Exams and received the first Teachers Certificate in
Bottineau County.
Father Malo’s personal account of his early days are
documented on the front page of the Baptismal Register No. 1 covering
the years 1882-1884. The first alter boys to assist Father Malo were
the two twin sons of Flavien and Zelia Croteau, Anthime and Emile.
The town grew as more settlers came to the
area. As the population increased the town developed southward towards
the current site of St. John. Mr. Martineau opened up the first general
store around 1883 which was known simply as the F. Martineau Store.
There was also an office built for the US Customs, St. John was one of
the first ports of entry into this unsurveyed region. Other businesses
such as a hotel, a saloon and a pool hall were quick to follow. A flour
mill, the first in Rolette County, was brought in and erected on land
in Section 22 which belonged to David Plaisance, an uncle of Zelia
Croteau.
Copies of the 1885 government survey map shown above are
available from the Montana
Bureau of Land Management Office
|