- The Brother-in-Law of Solomon Juneau, Milwaukee Pioneer.
One of the Last of the Old French Traders of Wisconsin to Pass Away-
The Story of His Life.
On Tuesday, October 30th, 1888, the death of Andrew J. Vieau occurred at Ashwaubenon. He had been ill for two months or more prior to his death with phthisis*. The surviving members of the family are the widow, Rebecca R. Vieau, and eight children, as Follows: Mrs. L.G.. Pauquette(sic), Fort Howard; Mrs. Andrew Vieau Seymour; Henry Vieau, Little Kaukauna; Jerome G. Vieau, Green Bay; Ramsey C. Vieau, Sheboygan; Andrew J. Vieau, Jr.; Ashwaubenon; Frank Vivaldi Vieau, Ashwaubenon; Mrs. Napoleon Jonbert, Fort Howard. The funeral occurred on the following Friday at the French Catholic church, Rev Fr. Madden officiating. THe interment was at Allouez.
In June,, 1837, Reuben G. Thwaites, corresponding secretary of the State Historical Society, visited Mr. Vieau and gathered from him a most valuable chapter of history. The following interesting sketch, taken from the Milwaukee Sentinel, is undoubtebly from his pen:
Madison, Nov.. 7--News has been received here of the death at his home in Fort Howard, of Andrew J. Vieau, a son of old Jacques Vieau, who opened a fur trading station at the mouth of MIlwaukee river in 1795. Andrew, born in Green Bay in 1818, assisted his father in the Indian trade in and around Milwaukee, as early as 1830. Later while still a mere lad, he clerked for the Irwins, fur-traders at Green Bay, in 1833, seeing there the Sac chief, Black Hawk, upon the latter's famous journey as prisoner to President Jackson in Washington.
In September, 1831, young Vieau commenced clerking in Milwaukee for his brother-in-law Solomon Juneau; but in February following went to Chicago whre he clerked for Medore b. Beaubien, a well-known pioneer of that city.
In Deccember, 1836, he returned to Milwaukee and bought out Juneau. This was during the big real estate boom, and Vieau made considerable money both in his Milwaukee establishment and in trade with the Indians and whites at Prairieville, now Waukesha. In fact, this Prairieville store-the firm was McDonald, Maliby & Vieau-was the first established in that section of the state.
Vieau was a restless character and fond of starting new enterprises. In June, 1837, he sold out all his interests to Juneau and traded during the summer at Green Bay and Mackinaw. In the fall he was back again in Milwaukee, dealing in lumber, serving as village auctioneer and officiating as collector of county taxes,-his fee as collector being 5 percent, on his collections and levies.
In the fall of 1838 he went to Port Washington to prosecute the Indian trade and was psotmaster(sic) there. He did well from his winter's trade, and took into MIlwaukee in the spring a large boat-load of peltries and maple sugar, while during the sleighing weather he had frequently brought into Milwaukee ox-team loads of wild turkeys and venison gathered from the Indian hunters.
In the winter of 1839-40 he again traded in partnership with Juneau, but the following summer set up for himself a store of general supplies and an adjoining lumber-yard, his plant being on the east side of East Water street, between Huron and Michigan.
In the fall of 1843 he started in at Two Rivers, with a stock of Indian goods, and while there superintended a pioneer saw-mill owned by his father-in-law, the well-known John Lawe, of Green Bay.
Here he stayed until 1846, when he took to farming at Neshoto village, and became chairman of the Manitowoc county board. He was afterward in the Indian trade at New Denmark, and, later, at the Bay Settlement, northwest of Green Bay. But, in 1860, he removed to his family land-claim on the bank of Fox river, at Fort Howard. He had, finally, like so many of his kind, lost all of his money in the fur trade, and thenceforth gained a scanty living from his little home farm, after the manner of the old habitants.
Mr. View(sic) was a genial, kindly man, when not crossed, and had the suave manners and expressive gesture so peculiar to those having French blood in their veins. His father, old Jacques, was a full-blooded Frenchman, but his mother was the niece of Onaugsa a celebrated Pottowattomie chief. A year ago, Secretary Thwaites, of the Historical Society, interviewed the old man at his home in Fort Howard, and the result is that entertaining and valuable contribution to the history of the state, known as "the Narrative of Andrew J. Vieau, Sr.," in Vol. XI, of the Wisconsin HIstorical collections.
Mr. Vieau had seen and keenly observed much of pioneer life and the habits of the aborigines, he was a walking encyclopedia of information regarding he details of the early forest trade, the movements of Indian tribes, the characteristics of leading pioneers and incidents of early times and being a vivacious though modes raconteur was recognized as a jolly comrade among those who knew him well.
His death removes about the last old French fur trader in Wisconsin, certainly the last whose recollections are valuable as material for history.
Green Bay Press-Gazette (Green Bay, Wisconsin); Monday, November 12, 1888; page 3, column 4
*phthisis is pulmonary tuberculosis
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Jindra and Chaloupka Families
1818 - 1888 (70 years)
