Jacques Gravier (17 May 1651 – 17 April 1708) was a French

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

. He founded the Illinois mission in 1696, where he administered to the several tribes of the territory. He was notable for his compilation of the most extensive dictionary of Kaskaskia Illinois-French among those made by French missionaries. In 1705 he was appointed Superior of the mission.

Early life and education

Gravier was born in 1651 in

Moulins, Allier Moulins (; oc, Molins) is a Communes of France, commune in central France, capital of the Allier Departments of France, department. It is located on the river Allier (river), Allier. Among its many tourist attractions are the Maison Mantin, t ...

, France. He became well educated with the

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, entering the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in the fall of 1670. He made his

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

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 ...

."Jacques Gravier"
''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'', accessed 1 Mar 2010 From 1672 to 1680, Gravier taught and tutored in the Jesuit schools of Hesdin, Eu, and Arras. He then studied philosophy at the

Collège Louis-le-Grand In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

in Paris (1678–79). After teaching for a time, he returned there for his studies in theology (1680–84). After his third year of theology, Gravier was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. Upon completing his studies, he set out for Canada, where he would be a missionary.

Career in North America

Father Gravier carried out important tasks for the Jesuits in

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

, including the founding of the

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mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. Such a mission was first proposed by Father

Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Igna ...

. When Gravier arrived in New France, he first studied at the seminary at Sillery, then studied the

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

language during 1685–1686. In 1686 he was sent to

Michilimackinac Michilimackinac ( ) is derived from an Ottawa Ojibwe name for present-day Mackinac Island and the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire regio ...

.Lindsay, Lionel. "Jacques Gravier." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 24 October 2022 In 1687 he was called westward to the Ottawa tribes. In 1689 Gravier was assigned to succeed

Claude-Jean Allouez Claude Jean Allouez (June 6, 1622 – August 28, 1689) was a Jesuit missionary and French explorer of North America. He established a number of missions among the indigenous people living near Lake Superior. Biography Allouez was born in Sai ...

in the mission to the Illinois in the Mississippi Valley. First he worked among them at

Starved Rock Starved Rock State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Illinois, characterized by the many canyons within its . Located just southeast of the village of Utica, in Deer Park Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, along the south bank of the ...

on the

Illinois River The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the D ...

, where he started compiling a grammar and dictionary. He worked to convert the Kaskaskias. In 1694, he helped broker the marriage of the Kaskaskia

Aramepinchieue Aramepinchieue Rouensa (c. 1677 – 1725), also called Marie Rouensa, Marie Philippe, Marie Accault, Mary Aco, and Aramepinchone, was the daughter of a prominent Kaskaskia chief. She helped spread Catholicism and French-Indian cooperation in New Fra ...

to the French trader

Michel Aco Michel Aco (fl. 1680–1702, also known as Michel Accault) was a French explorer who, along with René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Father Louis Hennepin, explored the Mississippi River in 1679. Aco became La Salle's lieutenant becaus ...

, which helped to cement the alliance among the Jesuits, traders, and Kaskaskias. In 1696 Gravier was named to found the Illinois mission among the

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in t ...

and others of the

Illiniwek The Illinois Confederation, also referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini, were made up of 12 to 13 tribes who lived in the Mississippi River Valley. Eventually member tribes occupied an area reaching from Lake Michicigao (Michigan) to Iowa, Illi ...

confederacy situated in 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

valleys. Bishop Saint-Vallier (La Croix), the Bishop of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, named him vicar general of these missions. Gravier's most enduring work was his compilation of a Kaskaskia-French

dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies ...

, with nearly 600 pages and 20,000 entries. The manuscript is held by

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. It is the most extensive of dictionaries of the

Illinois language Miami-Illinois (endonym: , ) also known as Irenwa, or Irenwe is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous Algonquian languages, Algonquian language spoken in the United States, primarily in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, western Ohio an ...

compiled by French missionaries. The work was finally edited and published in 2002 by Carl Masthay, providing an invaluable source of the historic ''

'' language. "Review" of Carl Masthay, ''Kaskaskia Illinois-to-French Dictionary''
Saint Louis: Carl Masthay, 2002, ''International Journal of Lexicography'', 17(3):325-327, accessed 1 Mar 2010 In November 1700 Gravier traveled by canoe to minister to French settlers and Native Americans in

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

La Louisiane Louisiana (french: La Louisiane; ''La Louisiane Française'') or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682 to 1769 and 1801 (nominally) to 1803, the area was named in honor of King Louis XIV, ...

, the colony along the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

. There he befriended

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (; ; February 23, 1680 – March 7, 1767), also known as Sieur de Bienville, was a French colonial administrator in New France. Born in Montreal, he was an early governor of French Louisiana, appointed four ...

, later the founder of

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Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, who impressed him with his knowledge of Indian languages. In 1701 Gravier wrote a detailed account of the native Calumet ceremony. He left the colony and Mobile in February 1702 to return to the Illinois mission. After continuing work among the

, in 1705 Gravier was named Superior of the Illinois Mission. That fall during a time of tension, he was shot with an arrow and wounded by a Peoria warrior. Although Gravier sought treatment, the wound became infected and long caused him problems, through a return to

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, then a trip to France. In February 1708, he returned from France to Mobile, where he died April 16.

Early life and education

Career in North America

References

Further reading