Although the papers in this collection concern Charles A. Grignon and members of his family, in general they center about the activities of three men, rather than one: (1) Charles A. Grignon; (2) David P. Meade, father-in-law of Charles A. Grignon; and (3) Jacob B. Deuel, father of Charles A. Grignon's daughter-in-law, Catharine Deuel Grignon. There are some cross-references to be found between Charles A. Grignon and David P. Meade's family, but virtually none between Grignon and Deuel, or Meade and Deuel. It would appear that the Deuel papers were kept with the Grignon papers due to the relationship of Catherine Deuel to the Grignons, and not because the principals had dealings or correspondence with one another.
Charles A. Grignon
The man whose name is given to this collection, Charles Augustin Grignon, was the great-grandson of the famous Charles de Langlade, and the son of Augustin Grignon, early fur trader and founder of Kaukauna, Wisconsin. When Augustin moved to Butte des Morts from Kaukauna, or the Grand Cacalin as it was then called, his son Charles A. continued in his father's business at Kaukauna. There in 1837, he married Mary Elizabeth Meade, and in the next two years, built the house still known as the Grignon Mansion.
By the time Charles A. Grignon took over his father's business at the Grand Cacalin, the fur trade of the area was waning. This is reflected in the small number of letters and accounts found in the papers relating to fur trading. Grignon operated a store, as is shown by several bills and receipts; with his wife sold many parcels of land in the 1850s, especially to Timothy O. Howe; was an active, policy-making Democrat, and served as county treasurer for many years; and was appointed as Indian interpreter for the Federal government in 1847.
The Charles A. Grignon letters have little continuity except in relation to his work as an Indian interpreter. Between 1844 and 1855, his correspondence contains records of meetings and agreements with the Indians at the time of annuity payments, arrangements made with the sub-Indian agent at Green Bay, letters concerning his trips to Washington in behalf of the Menominees (1845 and 1850), and his claims for pay for services. In 1855, in a letter listing his grievances, he resigned his commission as an interpreter.
Several letters are concerned with the usual family affairs and are from or to other members of the immediate family. A contract of August 19, 1834, signed by Charles A. and his brother, Alexander, makes provision for the care of Augustin Grignon, his wife, two grandmothers, a sister, and Laurent Fily. Charles A. died in 1862, leaving his widow and nine children. Two of the children became teachers at Lawrence College, Appleton. Mrs. Grignon carried on the family affairs for many years, as is shown by an exchange of letters (1874-1881) between her and the U.S. engineers concerning the use of stone from the Grignon quarry for locks on the Fox River.
David P. Meade
David P. Meade, father-in-law of Charles A. Grignon, served as Justice of the Peace in Outagamie County in the 1840s and 1850s. In this collection are many orders and summonses issued by him. Because he was also postmaster of Kaukauna for a time, folders for the years 1853 and 1854 contain daily and quarterly reports of the Kaukauna post office.
John F. Meade was a son of David P., and an older brother of Mrs. Charles A. Grignon. His letters have continuity and content, and it is regretted that his death in 1850 cut short these informative accounts. John F. Meade served as County Clerk for Brown County, was U.S. Land Receiver at Green Bay, went to Madison to become Assistant Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives for the Territory of Wisconsin, and in 1849 was elected a member of the new state's assembly. In his letters, he wrote of business at Green Bay and affairs at Madison, and mentioned activities of Morgan L. Martin, and Charles A. Grignon.
Jacob B. Deuel
Charles A. Grignon had a son, Augustin David, who married Catharine Deuel, daughter of Jacob B. Deuel. Deuel was a lawyer, surveyor, and collector who became one of the early land promoters of Calumet County, Wisconsin. Folders in this collection covering the period between 1860 and 1864 contain numerous land contracts and mortgages handled by Jacob Deuel. There is evidence that he bought up much tax delinquent land in the 1850s and disposed of it at excellent profits in the 1860s. In 1863 he owned and had plotted the village of Brillion, Wisconsin. The original surveyor's map of this plot was with the papers and has been filed in the map section of the State Historical Society.
Other Correspondents
Between 1838 and 1854, there are about a dozen papers relating to correspondence or accounts with Morgan L. Martin, including a “confidential” communication on politics, May 6, 1848. Others with whom Charles A. Grignon had correspondence were Augustin, his father; Alexander, his brother; Albert G. Ellis, sub-Indian Agent; George W. Ewing, lawyer and fur dealer; John F. Meade; and Ben C. Eastman, a collector. On March 11, 1852 Grignon wrote to James Doty, in the House, and Henry Dodge, in the Senate, concerning his claim for payment of services at a treaty negotiation with the Menominee Tribes.
Papers in the collection subsequent to 1881 have little relation to one another and are of almost no consequence. Those of 1894, show that Mrs. Grignon received a pension as the widow of a soldier in the Black Hawk War.
Arrangement of the Papers
The papers are arranged in chronological order. Typed copies and photostats were made of many of the letters, receipts, and agreements, before the collection was turned over to the State Historical Society. Every original, one typed copy, and all photostats have been retained.
Some explanation is needed as to how these are marked and filed:
- The typed copies were made before the papers reached the Society. Although one copy of each of these is kept, these copies have not been checked nor corrected for inaccuracies and typographical errors.
- Whenever an original has one or more photostatic copies, the original is marked with a “P” and the photostat with a check mark.
- Letters of various dates are printed on both front and back of some photostats. These are filed by earliest dates, and are all in one folder labeled “Photostats-Multiple Dates”. This folder is at the end of Box 3.
