Menasha Public Library (Elisha D. Smith)

Frenchtown Chronicles of Prairie du Chien, History and Folklore from Wisconsin's Frontier, edited by Mary Elise Antoine and Lucy Eldersveld Murphy

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

contains biographical information

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

Frenchtown Chronicles of Prairie du Chien

bibliography

946076103

edited by Mary Elise Antoine and Lucy Eldersveld Murphy

History and Folklore from Wisconsin's Frontier

"Albert Coryer, the grandson of a fur trade voyageur-turned-farmer, had a gift for storytelling. Born in 1877, he grew up in Prairie du Chien hearing tales of days gone by from his parents, grandparents, and neighbors who lived in the Frenchtown area. Because his mother's first language was English and his father's French, Albert was bilingual as well as bicultural. Throughout his life, Albert soaked up the local oral traditions, including narratives about early residents, local landmarks, interesting and funny events, ethnic customs, myths, and folklore. Late in life, this lively man who had worked as a farm laborer and janitor drew a detailed illustrated map of the Prairie du Chien area and began to write his stories out longhand, and gave an interview to a local historian and a folklore scholar. The map, stories, and interview transcript provide a colorful account of the old fur trade town of Prairie du Chien in the late nineteenth century, when it was undergoing significant demographic, social, and economic change. They provide a window into the ethnic community comprised of the old fur trade families, Native Americans, French Canadian farmers, and their descendants. Editors Mary Antoine and Lucy Murphy have collected these narratives into four sections: stories centering on agricultural life, tales about the more wide-ranging adventures and travels of his ancestors, a collection of ghost stories from the time, and the 1951 interview transcript. An introduction and a headnote accompanying each section offer historical background and context for Coryer's writings"--Provided by publisher

About the text -- Part 1. Rural life -- Short stories handed down to me, Albert Coryer, by my parents and grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Julian Coryer and Mr. and Mrs. Thaddeus Langford -- Part 2. Frenchtown people and culture -- Florence Bittner's interview with Albert Coryer -- Part 3. Voyageurs' world -- The life of Julian Coryer -- Part 4. Supernatural stories -- Coryer's ghost stories and a conversation about faith cures -- Appendix