Joseph Campau (February 20, 1769 – May 13, 1863) was among the leading citizens and wealthiest landowners in

Detroit, Michigan 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 ...

, at the beginning of the 19th century. Campau had three trading posts and a store in Detroit until the early 1800s. He then embarked on a real-estate career that made him very wealthy. Campau was also a newspaper man, establishing a newspaper with his nephew, John R. Williams. He held several city public offices for the city. Campau was an officer in the

Michigan Territory Militia The Michigan Territory Militia was the predecessor to the Michigan Army National Guard and existed from 1805-1837 as an entity concurrent with Michigan Territory's existence in the United States. Colonial and pre-Territorial militias In the F ...

and during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. Campau was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

until he was excommunicated for selling whiskey to Native Americans and having joined the Masons.

Early life

Campau was born on February 2, 1769, in Detroit. His parents were Jacques Campau and Catherine Ménard. Campau's great-grandfather, Jacques Campau (1677–1751), left

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and settled at

Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a fort established on the north bank of the Detroit River by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and the Italian Alphonse de Tonty in 1701. In the 18th century, Fr ...

in 1708, one year after his brother Michel. Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit in 1701 and sold 68 land grants between 1707 and 1710, two of which were sold to the Campau brothers. Jacques had previously served as a secretary and an officer to Cadillac. Jacques sold furs, grains, and bread at "one of the finest merchant stores" in Detroit by the 1740s, according to Clarence M. Burton. In his youth, Joseph Campau traded with the Native Americans. His younger brother, Barnabé aka Barnabas, was also a wealthy businessman. He was a fur trader, merchant, and landowner. One of his properties was Belle Isle.

Career

Campau began his business career as a merchant. He purchased goods from Boston, the first person to do so in Detroit, and sold them at his store on Atwater. Campau spoke the dialects of several Native American tribes, French and English to his customers at his three trading posts at

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

, on

Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day ...

, and on

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

. He was called Chemokamun ("big shot") by Chief Wawanosh of Sarnia and Chief Maccounse of Lake St. Clair. Campau was the first in the city's real estate industry to sell and lease houses that had been built on vacant lots. He was sometimes considered a "slum lord" who was likely to charge late fees with high interest rates to delinquent tenants. However, an obituary stated of Campau, " the honest and industrious, he was always lenient." C. M. Burton asserts that he was the state's first millionaire. He had become the state's largest landowner, owning property worth more than $10 million. Campau held a large percentage of the stock in

Michigan Central Railroad The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in ...

and Bank of Michigan. Campau held multiple public office positions. He was City Trustee in 1802, City Treasurer, City Inspector of water barrels and City Assessor, appraiser, and over-seer of the poor. In 1802, he was an original trustee of Detroit and its incorporation. He served in the

as captain in 1806. During the

, he was a major in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. With his nephew, John R. Williams, Campau operated the ''Democratic Free Press and Michigan Intelligencer'', which eventually evolved into the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

''.

Personal life and death

Campau was married to Adelaide Dequindre on May 18, 1808. Their children, born through 1829, were Joseph, Adelaide, Dennis, Catherine, Jacques Joseph, Theodore Joseph, Matilda, and Alexander Timothy. His daughter Catherine married

Francis Palms Francis Palms (1809–1886) was the largest landholder in Michigan during the mid-1850s. He had major business interests as well and was given the nickname "Croesus" because of his wealth. Life and career He was born in Antwerp, Belgium December ...

, the largest landowner in Michigan during the mid-1850s. Campau bought a nine-year-old African boy in Montreal as a slave who was to be freed at 21 years of age. Campau and Father

Gabriel Richard Gabriel Richard (pronounced rish-ARD) October 15, 1767 – September 13, 1832, was a French Roman Catholic priest who ministered to the French Catholics in the parish of Sainte Anne de Détroit, as well as Protestants and Native Americans liv ...

, the priest of St. Anne's Church, engaged in "heated disagreements" about Campau's having sold whiskey to Native Americans and joining the Masons. As a result, he was excommunicated from the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in 1817. Campau died on July 23, 1863, and was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit. The Masons held the largest funeral in the city's history until that time for Campau. His wife was buried at Catholic Mount Elliott Cemetery, as are some of his children. His estate was worth $3 million.

Joseph Campau Street Joseph Campau Street, also known as Joseph Campau Avenue, is a city street in Hamtramck and Detroit in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Michigan. Jos. Campau Historic District is located along the street in Hamtramck. Along Joseph Camp ...

in Hamtramck and Detroit was named for him, and by association, Jos. Campau Historic District.

Joseph Campau residences

Campau lived in a log house on the south side of Jefferson Avenue, between Shelby and Griswold, that was built after the fire of 1805. Frederick E. Cohen made a painting in 1853 of Campau house that was built in 1815. It was also located between Shelby and Griswold on Jefferson Avenue. The Joseph Campau House on 2910 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit is attributed to Campau, but it is said that he never lived there. One of the oldest residences in Detroit, it was built on land that was originally part of the Joseph Campau farm. It came into the Campau family in 1734 when it was awarded to his grandfather.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campau, Joseph 1769 births 1863 deaths People from Detroit 18th-century American landowners History of Detroit Campau family 19th-century American landowners Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit)