Nicolas Janis House: The Green Tree Inn/Tavern, Ste. Genvieve, Missouri





Nicolas Janis House / The Green Tree Inn (c 1790)
244 Old St. Mary's Road, Sainte Genevieve, Missouri

Nicolas-Francois Janisse (Janis), my 6th-great-grandfather, was a French-Canadian fur-trader, born in Quebec City in 1720. He traveled much during his life, ultimately settling in what was then Spanish Territory, now known as Sainte Genevieve, Missouri. During his life he was a French, British, American, and Spanish citizen due to territories changing hands many times. I do not yet know the names of those whose labor and skill built this house in 1790, but they were enslaved men. This was the Janis home and was also used as a tavern for travelers. An outstanding work of construction, the home still stands today and is open seasonally for tours. It is believed to be the oldest verified vertical log building in Sainte Genevieve. The home can be see on the television series Who Do You Think You Are?, Season 6, Episode 8, featuring another descendant, Melissa Etheridge.




 



Photographs: Nicolas Janis House; Jack E. Boucher, creator; Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Popular posts from this blog

Joseph Antoine Janis (1824-1890)

Image
Standing: Joe Merrivale; Young Spotted Tail; my relative, (Joseph) Antoine Janis. Seated: Touch-the-Clouds; Little Big Man; Black Cool; and another man. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Image is in the public domain.   *****  Joseph Antoine Janis (hereafter referred to as Antoine) was born in 1824 at St. Charles County, Missouri to Antoine St. Charles Janis and Marguerite Thibaut of French and blended French-African ancestry respectively - Marguerite's grandmother having been born a slave and described as mulatto. Antoine was a successful fur trader and traveled to Colorado where he was the first white settler and founded the town of Laporte in 1858. He married First Elk Woman, who was Oglala Sioux, and they have many descendants today in this and related Sioux tribes.  Ancestry.co.uk member Nushalee posted a document in 2012 entitled "Statement of Henry Cottier Concerning Eleonitte Iott", dated 20 Novembe...
Read more

Russells from Linn County, Missouri

Image
Image is of a tintype photograph and might be dated anywhere between 1865-1900. However, in researching the mat/frame, I have discovered one that is identical that dates without question to 1873. Similar frames/mats can be found from the early 1860s to the mid 1870s. This may be the image of Judia Russell, a possible ancestor of ours from Linneus, Linn, Missouri. It might also be of another woman who may have known Judia or was related to Amanda Russell a direct ancestor of ours. Both Judia and Amanda had been slaves of Thomas Russell in Linn County. There were only three adult women on the slave schedules of Thomas Russell and all three were discussed by name in his will. They were Judia, Katy (believed to have died in late 1861 to early 1862), and Louisa who had two children by 1861 named Maria and Jordan. Judia and Katy may have both been of mixed European and African heritage. Louisa's ethnicity and coloring has not been described in any documents I have seen to-date. Ju...
Read more

Jean-Baptiste Barbeau, the Younger & The Bluff at Barbeau's Creek

Image
  Jean-Baptiste Barbeau (Image Source: Access Genealogy, artist not yet known)   Jean-Baptist Barbeau may have been born 27 Sep 1726/27/28. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, District of New France (now New Orleans, Louisiana, USA). His parents were Jean-Baptiste Barbeau dit Poitevin*, a master joiner born in France, and Sylvie Le Moine. Jean-Baptiste was known as "the Younger", not after his father, but after his brother of the same name who was known as "the Elder". Jean-Baptiste, the Younger, was, for a time, a captain in the militia at Prairie du Roche. He married  Marie-Jeanne LeGras 29 Oct 1748 at Fort de Chartres, Kaskaskia (now Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, USA) on 29 Oct 1748. The couple had seven known children (a son and then six daughters): Jean-Baptiste (1755-1798, Marie Jeanne (1760-1842), Rene Julia (1763-1814), Suzanne (1766-1835), Marie Louise (1769-1796), Constance (1772-1820), and Ursulla (1744-1820). Most sources say Jean-Baptiste passed away...
Read more