Gauthier (Joseph) Store Ledgers, 1859-1871

Summary

Title:

Joseph Gauthier store ledgers

Dates:

1859-1871

Creators:

Gauthier, Joseph, 1818-approximately 1899

Abstract:

A collection of four store ledger books from the Keshena, Wisconsin, general store of Joseph Gauthier.

Extent:

0.42 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language:

Materials are in English.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Joseph Gauthier store ledgers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

A collection of four bound ledgers, with manuscript entries in various hands; the ledgers are associated with Joseph Gauthier's mercantile business, with the entries dating from 1859 to 1871, with a concentration in the years 1860 to 1861. Together they contain hundreds of records for dozens of customers, the great majority of whom were tribal members and are listed by their Menominee names. Among the range of recorded perishable goods are sugar, molasses, flour, cranberries, pork, tobacco, coffee, and tea; the household merchandise includes fabrics, sewing materials, goods for hunting and fishing, and general items such as smoking pipes, looking glasses, blankets, hats, shoes, copper pans, utensils, bowls, and soap. Besides the purchaser and items purchased, the price and quantity are listed for each purchase. The four volumes are all different styles and bindings, which suggests that Gauthier may have used whatever materials were available for his records.

Biographical / historical:

Joseph Gauthier (Joe Gokie in its Menominee rendering) was born on August 18, 1818, at Rock Island, Illinois. He was nearly full-blood Menominee; his father was Shaw-nah-quah-hah and his mother Sho-Sha-Quaer, who was a daughter of sub-chief Kanote and niece of the head-chief Tomah. Gauthier's Menominee father died when he was eight years old, and sometime after his mother married an employee of the American Fur Company named Antoine Gauthier, from whom he took his surname. The frontier schools at Rock Island provided Joseph with a rudimentary education, which he supplemented through his work among U. S. Army officers at Fort Armstrong during the Black Hawk War. In 1850, he left Illinois and rejoined the Menominee, who at the time, were situated at Poygan Lake just west of present-day Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Gauthier found work in a government-operated blacksmith shop and eventually was promoted to shop boss; the Menominee moved to Keshena, Wisconsin in 1852, and the shop was re-established in the new location. In 1857, Gauthier received his first appointment as an official interpreter for the tribe and tribal court, a position he kept for most of the rest of his life. In 1860 or 1861, he went into partnership with Charles Upham and opened a general store and trading post, though Gauthier soon took over the everyday operations of running the store until 1866 when he gained reappointment as tribal interpreter. In 1852, Gauthier married Mary Ann Mo-sha-quah-toe-kiew. They had one child, Frank, who died in infancy; the couple then adopted a small boy, Joseph F. Gauthier, and brought him up as their son. Mary Ann Gauthier died on July 12, 1892, and Joseph Gauthier died in approximately 1899.

Acquisition information:

Purchased from Primary Sources, Uncharted Americana, December 2022.

Processing information:

Processed by Gayle M. Richardson in January 2023.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Businessmen -- Wisconsin -- 19th century
General stores -- Wisconsin -- 19th century
Indians of North America -- Commerce -- History -- 19th century
Indians of North America -- Wisconsin -- History -- 19th century
Indians of North America -- Wisconsin -- Social life and customs
Menominee Indians -- History -- 19th century
Business papers -- Wisconsin -- 19th century
Ledgers (account books) -- Wisconsin -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- Wisconsin -- 19th century

Places:

Keshena (Wis.)
Menominee County (Wis.)
Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:

Gayle M. Richardson

Date Encoded:

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-01-04 11:55:27 -0800 .

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Joseph Gauthier store ledgers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:

Huntington Library, Manuscript Collections

1151 Oxford Road

San Marino, CA 91108, US

Contact:

(626) 405-2191

reference@huntington.org

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