Sometime between 1852 and 1856 Edward La Grandeur and perhaps others from the same family settled in the French Canadian community of Somerset, Wisconsin. Some of the family members apparently changed their names to “Grant.” On September 24, 1881, three members of the Grant (La Grandeur) family (Edward, E.W., and Henry A.) purchased a general store from Samuel Harriman, Civil War hero and a leading citizen in Somerset. Apparently in 1887 several of these Grants (La Grandeurs) or other members of the family established the first cheese factory in St. Croix County. Records of the cheese factory, known as the Grant and Son Cheese Factory, are cataloged separately (call number River Falls Mss N). The general merchandise store, however, remained in the La Grandeur (Grant) family and as recently as 1956 was known as the “La Grandeur Red and White Store,” operated by Fred La Grandeur.
References to different members of the La Grandeur (Grant) family in town politics and community life, as well as a picture of the store dating about the time of purchase from Samuel Harriman, and related information are found on various pages of John T. Rivard's, Triple Centennial Jubilee Souvenir Book: Containing the History of [the] Village of Somerset, Somerset Township, and St. Anne's Church With Family Histories and Pictures and Occasional Descriptions Both Past and Present (n.p., 1956). A copy of this book is in the library of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin.
