Pierre Alphonse de Tonty, or Alphonse de Tonty, Baron de Paludy (c. 1659 – 10 November 1727) was an officer who served under the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

explorer

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

and helped establish the first

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

settlement at

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit on the Detroit River in 1701. Several months later, both Cadillac and Tonty brought their wives to the fort, making them the first

women to travel so deep into the new territory. He was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, ca. 1659, to Lorenzo de Tonti who was a financier and former governor of

Gaeta Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The town has played a consp ...

who was in France in exile. Lorenzo de Tonti was the inventor of the form of

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...

known as the

tontine A tontine () is an investment linked to a living person which provides an income for as long as that person is alive. Such schemes originated as plans for governments to raise capital in the 17th century and became relatively widespread in the 18 ...

. Henri de Tonti, involved in LaSalle's exploration of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

and the establishment of the first settlement in Arkansas, was his older brother. Tonty was commanding the fort in Detroit by 1717, but by 1727 numerous complaints, including those by the

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

led to his dismissal. Tonty was involved in numerous scandals and disreputable activities before he was eventually dismissed from his post as commandant of Fort Pontchartrain. He died before he could obtain another appointment or return to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Tonty was married twice. His first marriage in 1689 was to Marie Anne

Picoté de Belestre Picotee describes flowers whose edge is a different colour than the flower's base colour. The word originates from the French ''picoté'', meaning 'marked with points'.The Oxford Dictionary of English, page 1331. Oxford University Press, 2005. ...

with whom he had 13 children. She was the daughter of Pierre Picoté de Belestre.

References

1650s births 1727 deaths American city founders Canadian people of Italian descent People of New France {{NewFrance-stub

See also

References