Here is another humble offering--this a HISTORY OF ST. ANNE TOWNSHIP & VILLAGE, all one article taken from musty old photocopied pages in notes of my cousin Sylvester Beaupre (pp. 751-753 of a “History of Kankakee County”--alas, date and source of original not indicated). Maybe libraries in KKK have lots more of this kinda thing? Cousin Bob B. inspired me to share this with the ILSTANNE folks, so here it is. . . . ST. ANNE TOWNSHIP St. Anne township contains thirty sections of land, being the south one-half of Township 30 North, Range 12 West, and the north one- third of Township 29 North, Range 12 West. As first organized, March 11, 1864, it included thirty-five sections of the south part of the town of Pembroke, which was taken from it February 17, 1877. There is some timber land in the northeast and northwest, but in the southwest is rolling prairie, consisting of rich black loam, with a good clay sub-soil, draining mostly to the southwest. The balance of the town to the east and middle north is low prairie land, draining to the north and to the southeast. The soil in these portions is a black sandy loam with a generally uniform sandy sub-soil which is very productive when drained, easily cultivated, and particularly adapted to truck gardening. The latter fact is being demonstrated by a. colony of Hollanders who live In the north central part of the town and are successful in raising all of the garden products which will grow In a temperate climate. Mrs. Ambrose Allain, aged seventy-five years, says that she and her husband came from Canada to Bourbonnais grove in October, 1948, and that in the spring of 1850, the two brothers, Ambrose and Antoine Allain, were the first to settle where the village of St. Anne now stands. They were followed in a few weeks by John Duclos, F. and L. Francouer, Francois Clement, John B. Belangea Sr. and Jr., Frances Biesette, John B. Brouillette, Pierre Tatro and his son in law, Eusebe Patnode, and the Martin family, all from Bourbonnais grove. There was a gradual growth of the colony from this time until the coming of Rev. Father Charles Chiniquy, in June, 1851, his visit resulting in his return in the following fall, having chosen this locality as a place to found a colony. A short sketch of Mr. Chiniquy will be of interest in connection with the history of the town and village of St. Anne. Charles Chtniquy, more widely known as Father Chiniquy, is the most conspicuous and unique character in the pioneer life of Kankakee county. He was born at Kamouraska, Canada, July 30. 1809, and was educated in the College of St. Nicolet, which he attended from 1822 to 1833, and from which he graduated with distinguished honors. He was ordained a priest at Quebec, in 1833. In 1848 a tide of emigration set in toward the fertile lands of Illinois, and In June, 1851, be was selected by the bishop of Montreal to proceed thither to found a Catholic colony in the very heart of the United States, and thus to realize the dream of Father Marquette and his fellow voyageurs, who, as missionaries, carried the cross, the emblem of the church, to the Kankakee valley in 1642. Locating first in St. Anne, Father Chiniquy in 1853 was assigned to the church at Burbounnais [sic] grove, remaining there until August, 1856, when because of differences with the bishop of Chicago, he was restrained by the latter from performing his priestly duties. He then returned to St. Anne, which in the meantime had become a great center of Canadian immigration. At this period of his work, Bishop O'Reagan visited St. Anne, and found Father Chiniquy conducting a church and parochial school in a manner that the bishop held was a violation of the church policy. The sentence of suspension against Father Chiniquy having never been removed, he was contumacious of church authority, and as a result, in November, 1857. the bishop of Chicago came to St. Anne, and pronounced the sentence of excommunication against him, stripping him of all priestly authority. From this time until his death in 1901, at Montreal, at the age of ninety-two years, he conducted an aggressive warfare against the Catholic church in all parts of the world. He traveled more miles and delivered more public addresses and addressed more people and larger audiences than any other person in the nineteenth century. His literary works have been translated into many languages, and have been published in every civilized nation. Two railroads pass through St. Anne. The Chicago & Eastern Illinois railroad enters the town from the north on Section 23, runs in a southwesterly direction to the east side of the village of St. Anne and thence south, crossing the county line on Section 10. This road was built in 1871 by Joseph Young. It was the original intention of Mr. Young to run the road a few miles east of the village, but an in- ducement of $30,000 was voted by the citizens of St. Anne and the road constructed as it now is. The town authorities executed and signed the bonds, but they were never delivered to the company. The road has a length of 23,585 feet in this town. The Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland & St. Louis railroad enters the south boundary of the town on Section 10, passing in -a north-westerly direction and crossing the Chicago & Eastern Illinois railroad in the northleast corner of the village. This railroad was built in 1872, and is 658 feet above the sea level at the crossing of the roads. It has a. length of 24,138 feet of track in the town. One depot is used for both roads. (To be continued)