THE BIOGRAPHY OF PIERRE MENARD Transcribed by ©Kim Torp ©Illinois Genealogy Trails History Group http://www.genealogytrails.com/ill/kaskaskia PIERRE MENARD, the first lieutenant-governor of Illinois, was born at Quebec in 1767. He came from Canada to Vincennes in 1786 and attached himself to Colonel Vigo in the Indian trade, partly supplying the American troops in the West with food supplies. In 1790 Pierre and one Du Bois of Vincennes entered into a partnership and established a store in Kaskaskia. Pierre Menard was a very conspicuous character among the men of his time. He had been well educated in Canada, but his experiences in the world had greatly developed his judgment and enlarged his outlook on life. He commanded great respect from the white people who knew him, and the Indians looked to him as their white father. Menard grew very wealthy and commanded the trade with the Indians and whites from Kaskaskia. He served in the Territorial Legislatures of both Indiana and Illinois, presiding with great dignity over the council of the Legislature in 1812. When the state was admitted into the Union in 1818 he was selected lieutenant-governor, which position he held for four years. He was a patriotic citizen and laid stress upon the value of the civil and political institutions under which he lived. He lived in great style in an old French mansion on the east side of the Kaskaskia River opposite the Town of Kaskaskia. Towering above his home were the great bluffs on top of which are the remains of the old fort called Fort Gage. He raised a large family of sons and daughters whose descendants are to be found in Randolph County. Pierre Menard died in 1844, aged seventy-seven years. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp) Return To The Main Kaskaskia Page