HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-01-12 PACKET 05.C.
Joseph LaBathe – Settlers' Island
From time of first contact with the Europeans and then Americans, a blending of cultures and lives began.
The life of Joseph LaBathe (1825-1914), one of Grey Cloud Island's settlers, reflected not only his Dakota
and French-Canadian ancestry but also his family's direct ties to these islands.
LaBathe was born in 1825 at Mendota, Minnesota. He was the son of Francois LaBathe and
Tranamimirsavaii (or Tranamimirsawin), known as Nana Cousi. Joseph LaBathe was a grandson of
Wabasha II and great-nephew and cousin to Grey Cloud Woman I and II.
LaBathe's parents separated in 1829; both remarried that same year. Joseph was raised by his mother and
stepfather, Joseph Monjeau. The family lived at Wabasha's village, at Point Douglas, and they all worked
for Philander Prescott at his trading post and ferry at Prescott, Wisconsin. In July of 1839, Mathias Loras,
Bishop of Dubuque, stopped at Prescott to baptize Joseph and the Monjeau children.
As a young man, LaBathe worked in the fur trade for Joseph Rollette in Prairie du Chien. After his family
purchased land in 1852, south of Hastings, using their Lake Pepin Script, Joseph farmed to support his
ever growing family.
Like many of his relatives after the 1862 U.S. - Dakota War, LaBathe served as a military scout for Col.
Pfaender protecting settlers in western and southern Minnesota.
Joseph LaBathe married Genevieve (Ellen Sarah Turpin) in 1856. They were parents to six children. After
her death in 1878, he married for a second time to Mary McLaine in 1879. Two children were born to this
union.
In an 1894 St. Paul Pioneer Press biography, LaBathe was described as "... as another of the mixed-blood
farmers on Grey Cloud. He owns a good little farm whereon stands a neat, comfortable house, and he is a
genial, hospitable gentleman, and a good citizen."
Joseph LaBathe was like the thousands who helped settle Minnesota, who came and stayed on their
precious land, contributing through diligence and hard work.
Many of LaBathe's direct and extended family live in Cottage Grove, in St. Paul Park, Woodbury, St.
Paul, and Minneapolis and are honored that their ancestor is recognized through the naming of this island.
Jacob V. Brower, founder of Itasca State Park, interviewed and photographed Joseph LaBathe in 1890.
Brower traveled to meet and visit with LaBathe, to learn about the life Joseph had experienced - living in
Wabasha II's village along the Mississippi at Winona, learning about hunting, trapping, and the fur trade,
working for Philander Prescott, his farm, his family, and especially about the world of change that LaBathe
had seen in his lifetime.
From: Herb Reckinger, Jr. and Corinne L. Monjeau Marz