Collection #

M 0289

OM 0060

F 0655-0657

 

 

 

francis vigo
PAPERS, 1751–1873

Collection Information

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Series Contents

Cataloging Information

 

 

 

Processed by

Paul Brockman
1 December 1999

Revised 27 June 2003

Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269

www.indianahistory.org

 

COLLECTION INFORMATION

VOLUME OF
COLLECTION:

3 boxes, 2 oversize folders, 3 reels of microfilm

COLLECTION
DATES:

Inclusive 1751-1873, bulk 1783-1820

PROVENANCE:

Francis Vigo Chapter, D.A.R., Vincennes, Indiana, June, 1949.

RESTRICTIONS:

None

COPYRIGHT:

 

REPRODUCTION
RIGHTS:

Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society.

ALTERNATE
FORMATS:

Microfilm

RELATED
HOLDINGS:

Northwest Territory Collection (M 0367)

ACCESSION
NUMBER:

1949.0642

NOTES:

 

BIOGRAPHiCAL SKETCH

Joseph Maria Francesco Vigo (1747?-1836) was born in Mondovi, Italy and served with the Spanish Army in New Orleans.  In 1772 he established a fur trading business in St. Louis and in 1778 he was engaged in a secret business partnership with the Spanish lieutenant governor, Fernando de Leyba.  During the American Revolution Vigo provided financial assistance and intelligence information to George Rogers Clark and was instrumental in the capture of Vincennes in 1779.  In 1783 Vigo moved to Vincennes and operated a fur trading business being associated with the Miami Company  and Todd, McGill & Company during the 1780s.  In the 1790s Vigo traded with American merchants on the East Coast.  He also served as a colonel in the Knox County Militia from 1790-1810 and assisted Anthony Wayne and William Henry Harrison in negotiations with the Native Americans.

Source:

A Guide to Manuscript Collections of the Indiana Historical Society and Indiana State Library, p. 189.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The collection consists of Vigo's business and personal papers, primarily from the period 1783-1820.  Included are papers relating to the fur trade at Vincennes, Fort Wayne, Detroit and Montreal; Vigo's relations with John Askin and the Miami Company; his business dealing with the Piankeshaw and other midwestern Native Americans; his land transactions at Vincennes, particularly regarding donation lands granted by Congress in 1789 to the old French inhabitants of Vincennes; financial affairs of the French inhabitants of the Illinois Country and the American settlers around Vincennes; his work on behalf of Generals Anthony Wayne and William Henry Harrison; and his efforts to collect repayment from Congress for loans to George Rogers Clark during the American Revolution.  Also included is the inventory of the estate of Fernando de Leyba (1780).

The collection includes papers of John Askin, John Badollet, Bishop Simon Brute de Remur, Lewis Cass, August Chouteau, John W. Ewing, John Hay Farnham, Pierre Gibault, John Francis Hamtramck, William Henry Harrison, Andrew Holmes, General Washington Johnson, John Law, Manuel Lisa, Pierre Menard, Benjamin Parke, Bartholomei Tardiveau and William Wells.

series CONTENTS

Series 1: Correspondence 1783-1840

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Correspondence 1783-1786

Box 1, Folder 1

Correspondence 1787-1790

Box 1, Folder 2

Correspondence 1791-1802

Box 1, Folder 3

Correspondence 1804-1809

Box 1, Folder 4

Correspondence 1814-1830

Box 1, Folder 5

Correspondence 1831-1840

Box 1, Folder 6

Correspondence n.d.

Box 1, Folder 7

Series 2: Land Documents 1768-1841

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Land Documents 1768-1801

Box 1, Folder 8

Abstract of Donation Rights 1788-1797

OM 0060, FF 11-f

Land Documents 1786-1801

OM 0060

Land Documents 1785-1786

Box 1, Folder 9

Land Documents 1787

Box 1, Folder 10

Land Documents 1788-1790

Box 1, Folder 11

Land Documents 1791-1792

Box 1, Folder 12

Land Documents 1793-1802

Box 1, Folder 13

Land Documents 1803-1819

Box 1, Folder 14

Land Documents 1825-1841

Box 2, Folder 1

Land Documents n.d.

Box 2, Folder 2

Series 3: Business Records 1751-1840

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Merchant Accounts, John Askin 1783-1807

Box 2, Folder 3

Merchant Accounts, John Askin 1784-1795

OM 0060

Merchant Accounts 1784-1789

Box 2, Folder 4

Merchant Accounts 1787; 1790

OM 0060

Merchant Accounts 1791-1803

Box 2, Folder 5

Merchant Accounts 1804-1815

Box 2, Folder 6

Merchant Accounts 1816-1840

Box 2, Folder 7

Merchant Accounts n.d.

Box 2, Folder 8

Promissory Notes, Bills & Receipts 1778-1793

Box 2, Folder 9

Promissory Notes, Bills & Receipts 1794-1802

Box 2, Folder 10

Promissory Notes, Bills & Receipts 1803-1820

Box 2, Folder 11

Promissory Notes, Bills & Receipts 1821-1839

Box , Folder 12

Promissory Notes, Bills & Receipts n.d.

Box 2, Folder 13

Series 4: Legal Documents 1751-1836

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Legal Documents 1787-1836

Box 3, Folder 1

Legal Documents 1792

OM 0060

Wills & Estate Documents 1784-1834

Box 3, Folder 2

Wills & Estate Documents, Don Fernando De Leyba 1778?

Box 3, Folder 3

Military Appointments 1801-1805

Box 3, Folder 4

General Items & Fragment 1751-1808; n.d.

Box 3, Folder 5

Translations of Letter 1787; 1827; 1833; 1834; n.d.

Box 3, Folder 6

Transcriptions & Translations

Box 3, Folder 7

Series 5: Court Claims, 1873

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Photostats of Court Claim Records 1873, Folder 1

Box 3, Folder 8

Photostats of Court Claim Records 1873, Folder 2

Box 3, Folder 9

Photostats of Court Claim Records 1873, Folder 3

Box 3, Folder 10

Photostats of Court Claim Records 1873, Folder 4

Box 3, Folder 11

Photostats of Court Claim Records 1873, Folder 5

Box 3, Folder 12

Photostats of Court Claim Records 1873, Folder 6

Box 3, Folder 13

Photostats of Court Claim Records 1873, Folder 7

Box 3, Folder 14

Photostats of Court Claim Records 1873, Folder 8

Box 3, Folder 15

Photostats of Court Claim Records 1873, Folder 9

Box 3, Folder 16

Series 6: Microfilm of Collection

CONTENTS

CONTAINER

Reel 1: Calendar; Correspondence, 1783-1840; Land Documents, 1768-1787

F 0655

Reel 2: Land Documents, 1788-1841; Merchant Accounts, 1783-1840

F 0656

Reel 3: Promissory Notes, Legal Documents, and Miscellaneous

F 0657

CATALOGING INFORMATION

For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:

1.      Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog:  http://157.91.92.2/

2.      Click on the "Basic Search" icon.

3.      Select  "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.

4.      Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, M 0289).

5.      When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.