Chapter 11 cont. ANTOINE LECLAIRE Scattered throughout these pages, here and there, the name of Antoine LeClaire appears.   He was a man so prominently identified with the territory, state and city of Davenport in their early stages of development, was so broad-minded, liberal in his views, enterprising, generous to friends and enthusiastic and helpful in the promotion of the city's advancement, and always at the head of and a liberal contributor to every public enterprise of his day, that necessarily his name was more frequently and respectflly used than any other man of this community.  Many incidents of his life are noted herein by those who knew him intimately, which leave the writer of this sketch naught to do but give a general outline of the life of that great pioneer. Antoine LeClaire was born December 15, 1797, at St. Josephs, Michigan.  He was the son of Francois LeClaire, who immigrated from France to Canada and eventually took up his residence in Detroit.  Francois LeClaire married the granddaughter of a Pottawattamie chief, who became the mother of Antoine.  At this time the territory of the northwest, out of which a half dozen mighty states have been formed, was peopled almost solely by the redmen, with here and there one of a different race, fearless enough to brave the perils of the frontier life among the dusky denizens of the wilderness.  Francois LeClaire was one of these.  In 1808 he established a trading post at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, exchanging manufactured articles for various kinds of furs.  In 1809 he engaged to some extent in the business in connection with John Kinzie, at Fort Dearborn, now Chicago, Illinois.  In 1812, though surrounded with the Indian tribes with whom he was trading and who through the influence of British emissaries were generally hostile to the United States, Francois LeClaire espoused the American cause, engaging actively in the service, and was in the contest at Peoria, where with others he was taken prisoner.  The prisoners were confined at Alton, Illinois, but were released druing the same year.  Debbie Clough G-erischer G-erischer Family Web Site http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/ Assistant CC, Iowa Gen Web, Scott County http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/ List Manager for: IASCOTT-L * G-erischer-L * D-encker-L Fitzpatirck-L * V-lerebome-L * Huntington-L * Otis-L * Algar-L EIGS-L * Pickens-L * McNab-L * Patris-L - Rankin-L