The Groslouis Orphans

Local historians noted that the Groslouis brothers were born into a French Canadian fur trade family, headed by Charles Groslouis (described earlier). To learn what happened to the children after Charles died in 1833, I began to research the family in more depth, intent on tracing the whereabouts of family members over time.

All six Groslouis children grew up within the French Canadian community, tightly bound by shared ethnicity, experience in the fur trade, and Catholicism. Records from early Catholic missions document the general whereabouts of the children between 1838 and 1844. The map below sites the missions, including St. Francis Xavier on the Cowlitz prairie (northwest of Fort Vancouver) and St. Paul at Champoeg, French Prairie (southwest of Fort Vancouver).

It’s unclear what happened to the children’s mother,¹ however, the children most likely went to Fort Vancouver as orphans, where they would have been housed, fed, and schooled.² Also, based upon church records, Harriet Munnick lists the three youngest children: Peter, John, and Charles, among students who likely attended St. Joseph’s College for Boys in St. Paul, Oregon.³

Below, I summarize what I learned about the Groslouis children, so that in the next post, we can examine which brothers might have been at Randolph (at Whiskey Run) in 1853.

Sisters

Ursule (1821-1841), about twelve years old when her father died, married a fur trade employee, François St. Pierre, in an Anglican ceremony in June 1838. Six months later, Catholic priests baptized her and performed the marriage again.⁴ She appears to have stayed at or near Fort Vancouver until her death at the age of 19-20 years.⁵

Henrietta (1826-1844), about six years old when her father died, was baptized at Fort Vancouver,⁶ She appears to have stayed near the Fort until her death in 1844.⁷

Both Groslouis sisters died before the gold rush, so their part of the family story ends here. However, if you have further knowledge about either sister, please contact me or leave a comment below.

Brothers

Joseph “Joe” (1824-aft 1881), about nine years old when his father died, was baptized at the St. Paul Mission.⁸ He appears to have stayed near Fort Vancouver⁹ and French Prairie until 1846, when he enlisted as a private in a California Militia during the Mexican American War.¹⁰ He mined for gold in Siskiyou County, California,¹¹ and lived in Curry County, Oregon.¹² He also lived at Randolph—on the North Bank of the Coquille River—for some period of time.¹³ The last recorded location I found for him was in Curry County, where he supported another man’s land claim in 1881.¹⁴

Pierre “Peter” (1827-bef 1877), about five years old when his father died, was baptized the same day as Joseph, at the St. Paul Mission.¹⁵ He appears to have lived in Champoeg (Marion County, OR)¹⁶ until his 1846 enlistment as a private in a California Militia during the Mexican American War.¹⁷ Along with Joseph, he mined for gold in Siskiyou County, California.¹⁸ In his recollections, Herman Reinhart said that “Peter and John” were his Curry County neighbors in 1854,¹⁹ and that he visited Peter at his home in Fairfield, Marion County, Oregon, in 1858.²⁰ Peter had moved to Canyonville, Douglas County, Oregon by 1868,²¹ where he lived with his wife and children until his death, which occurred sometime between 1872^{22 23}and 1877.²⁴

Jean Baptiste “John” (1829-aft 1880), about three years old when his father died, was baptized at Fort Vancouver.²⁵ He seems to have stayed near Fort Vancouver and French Prairie—where he was recruited to serve as a private during the Cayuse War.²⁶ Seven years later, he briefly served in the military again, as a private in the 9th Oregon Mounted Volunteers (during the Yakima War).²⁷ He lived in Marion County,²⁸ perhaps until he married,²⁹ then moved to Canyonville, Douglas County,^{30 31}where he probably lived for the rest of his life.³²

Charles II (1832-aft 1844), about one year old when his father died, was baptized at St. Francis Xavier Mission,³³ where it appears he spent his childhood. Charles is still largely a mystery: I’ve not found any official records for him beyond the Catholic Church records.

So, based on the information that I’ve posted to the blog up until now, which brothers do you think discovered beach gold at Randolph? I’ll explore the possibilities and discuss my conclusions in the next post.

Notes

1. The baptism records for each of the Groslouis children (noted below) never name their mother but instead note her Indian ancestry. In the 1841 baptism records, the priests state that she was deceased. ↩︎
2. The Fort Vancouver school, opened by John McLoughlin in 1833, educated children of Hudson’s Bay Company employees and the fur traders’ children orphaned by the (malaria) epidemics of the 1830s. National Park Service, “School at Fort Vancouver.” ↩︎
3. Hill, The Expansion of Catholicism, 23. Also, O’Hara, Pioneer Catholic History of Oregon, 129. Fathers Blanchet and Demers arrived at Fort Vancouver in 1838 and began to set up Catholic missions to serve the predominantly French Canadian population. Five years later, they opened St. Joseph’s College for boys at St. Paul, Marion County, Oregon (at French Prairie). The school closed in 1849, after two-thirds of the local population left for the gold rush to northern California. ↩︎
4. Munnick, Catholic Church Records…Vancouver, 20th page; Watson, Lives Lived West of the Divide, 889. (Transcription of church records also published by Nichols.) Rev. Herbert Beaver officiated at the Anglican ceremony on 04 Jun 1838. The Catholic baptism and wedding occurred on December 27, 1838. ↩︎
5. Munnick, Catholic Church Records…Vancouver, 64th page. Church records do not show that Ursule gave birth to any children, although they show her as the godmother to eight children in 1840: once in July and seven times in September. Her death was recorded on March 18, 1841: “deceased in the course of the winter.” ↩︎
6. Munnick, Catholic Church Records…Vancouver, 65th page. Date of baptism: June 13, 1841. ↩︎
7. Priests registered her death on March 21, 1844: “deceased of sickness.” Based upon the date of her death, Munnick determined that Henrietta was buried in the Stella Maris Cemetery at Fort Vancouver. (Published online by Flora, “Pioneer Cemeteries — Stella Maris Mission”). ↩︎
8. Nichols, The Mantle of Elias, 290. Date of baptism: July 25, 1841. ↩︎
9. Joseph witnessed the baptism of a child in November 1842, and a marriage in January 1843, at Saint Francis Xavier Mission. ↩︎
10. Palo Alto Battlefield, “Groslouis, Joseph”; also, “Calendar of the Major Jacob Rink Snyder Collection,” 14. ↩︎
11. 1852 California State Census; Roll #: 5; Repository Collection #: C144:5; Page: 11; Line: 19, Jos. Gruneway [Groslouis], California State Library, Sacramento, California; digital image, Ancestry.com [Image 11], accessed August 25, 2025. ↩︎
12. Enumeration of inhabitants of Curry County, 1857, Oregon State Archives, Transcribed & published in Coos Genealogical Forum Bulletin, 1991, Vol. 26, Issue 1, page 37, Jos. Groslouis. Also, Enumeration of inhabitants of Curry County, 1858, Oregon State Archives, Transcribed & published in Coos Genealogical Forum Bulletin 1990, Vol. 25, issue 1, page 45, Joseph Groslouis. And, his final census entry: 1880 US Federal Census, Oregon, Curry County, Floras Creek, ED 035, Sheet Number 423, line 19, dwelling number 43, family number 43, Groslouis Joseph. [indexed as “Problouis”]. Family Search, [Image 859]. Enumerated as 52 years old, “half breed,” bachelor, farmer, born in Oregon, father born in Canada, mother born in Montana. Although the recorded age doesn’t correlate with his estimated year of birth, the other data correlate with what’s known about Joe. ↩︎
13. 1870 United States, Census, Coos County, Oregon, Randolph, population schedule, page 27, line 27, Groslouis, J., digital image, Ancestry.com [Image 27]. ↩︎
14. Port Orford Post. (Port Orford, Oregon) 1880-1882, “Final Proof Notice,” July 21, 1881, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Image 2. The paper published the same proof notice in subsequent issues. ↩︎
15. Nichols, The Mantle of Elias, 290. Date of baptism: July 25, 1841. ↩︎
16. Champoeg County, Oregon Territory 1845, Territorial Census, Transcription Microfilm #24, Reel 77, Page 6, Line 13, Pierre Grosbuy [Groslouis]. 1845. https://www.us-census.org/pub/usgenweb/census/or/champoeg/1845/pg0001.txt. ↩︎
17. Palo Alto Battlefield, “Groslouis, Peter”; also, “Calendar of the Major Jacob Rink Snyder Collection,” 16. ↩︎
18. California State Library; Sacramento, California; 1852 California State Census; Roll #: 5; Repository Collection #: C144:5; Page: 11; Line: 23, Peter Gruleway [Groslouis], digital image, Ancestry.com [Image 11], accessed August 05, 2025. ↩︎
19. Reinhart, The Golden Frontier, 81. ↩︎
20. Reinhart, The Golden Frontier, 112. ↩︎
21. A legal document in which Peter testified on behalf of Narcisse Lavradore, to wed Martha Carson, places him in Canyonville, Douglas County by January 1868. Zybach, “The Search for Letitia Carson,” 36. ↩︎
22. 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Canyonville, Douglas, Oregon, Roll: M593_1285; Page 271B, line 10, “Grolouis, Peter.” Digital image, Ancestry.com [Image 4], accessed August 08, 2025. ↩︎
23. Peter died about 1872, according to the Groslouis “Family Group Record” compiled by Felsman, 1995. Oregon county marriage records support Felsman: Joe authorized the 1873 marriage of Peter’s daughter, Clementine; and, he also witnessed the wedding performed “at residence of Mrs. Groslouis” in Douglas County. ↩︎
24. In her will dated February 08, 1877, Peter’s mother-in-law, Julie Gregoire Gagnon, identified her daughter, Emerance Groslouis, as a widow. Wade, Genealogical Abstracts of the First 2500 Probate Records in Marion County, Oregon, p. 91. Emerance remarried: 1880 U.S. Census, Gervais, Marion, Oregon, Page 18, lines 20-26, household of Martin Reddick. Digital Image, Ancestry.com [Image 18]. Accessed August 12, 2025 ↩︎
25. Nichols, The Mantle of Elias, 296. Date of Catholic baptism: November 12, 1843. The priest noted that John had been “previously baptized by a Protestant minister.” ↩︎
26. Bancroft, History of Oregon, 702. Also, Oregon Spectator, 1848. ↩︎
27. Oregon State Archives; Salem, OR, USA; Muster Roll Cards, Oregon U.S. State Military Records, 1847-1977, “Groslois John”. Digital Image [2281]. Ancestry.com, accessed May 30, 2023. John’s service lasted 40 days. ↩︎
28. 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Marion County, Oregon Territory; Page 103A, line 30, Jean Groslouis (listed with Family No 1152, headed by Baptiste Diguere). Digital image, Ancestry.com [Image 58], accessed August 08, 2025. No real estate valuation recorded. ↩︎
29. John married “Margritt” [Marguerite?], of whom little is known except that she died of “consumption” in July 1869. U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules Index, 1850-1880, Douglas County, Oregon, 1870. Online database, Ancestry.com. ↩︎
30. 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Canyonville, Douglas, Oregon, The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653; Page (3?), line 10, “John Groslus.” Digital image, Ancestry.com [Image 4], accessed August 08, 2025. No valuation recorded for Real Estate or personal estate. ↩︎
31. John received an 1871 land patent in Douglas County, Oregon; the patent was canceled three years later. ↩︎
32. 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Canyonville, Douglas, Oregon, Roll: M593_1285; Page 271B, line 20, Grolouis, John. Digital image, Ancestry.com [Image 2], accessed August 08, 2025. See also 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Calapooia, Douglas, Oregon, Enumeration District: 039, Roll: 1081; Page 466D, line 41, Groslouis, John. Digital image, Ancestry.com [Image 20], accessed August 08, 2025. ↩︎
33. Munnick, Catholic Church Records…Saint Francis Xavier Mission, 73rd page. Date of baptism: January 29, 1843. Mission entries show that Charles witnessed five burials between December 1843 and June 1844. ↩︎

Works Cited

Bancroft, Hubert Howe. 1886. Bancroft’s Works: History of Oregon Vol. 1. With David O. McKay Library Brigham Young University-Idaho. San Francisco: The History Company Publishers. http://archive.org/details/historyoforegon00bancroft.

Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park, U.S. National Park Service. Groslouis, Joseph. Accessed June 3, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/paal/learn/historyculture/search-usmexwar-detail.htm?id=sv20937.

Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park, U.S. National Park Service. Groslouis, Peter. Accessed June 3, 2023. Accessed June 3, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/paal/learn/historyculture/search-usmexwar-detail.htm?id=sv20936.

“Calendar of the Major Jacob Rink Snyder Collection of the Society of California Pioneers, Northern California Historical Records Survey, The Online Books Page,” 1940, 14 and 16 [Images 53 and 57]. https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupid?key=olbp78316.

Flora, Stephenie. 2004. “Pioneer Cemeteries — Stella Maris Mission.” Informational. The Oregon Territory and Its Pioneers. Accessed March 27, 2024. http://www.oregonpioneers.com/StellaMarisMissionCem.pdf.

Flora, Stephanie. 2017. “Oregon Prior To 1839.” Emigrants to Oregon Prior to 1839. Informational. The Oregon Territory and Its Pioneers. Accessed March 27, 2024. http://www.oregonpioneers.com/1838.htm.

Fold3. n.d.-a. “Joseph Groslouis (Private) in Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Index.” Accessed June 3, 2023. https://www.fold3.com/record/641349798/joseph-groslouis-private-bounty-land-warrant-applications-index.

Fold3. n.d.-b. “Peter Groslouis (Private) in Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Index.” Accessed June 3, 2023. https://www.fold3.com/record/641349797/peter-groslouis-private-bounty-land-warrant-applications-index.

Hill, Cayla L. 2015. The Expansion of Catholicism: An Exploration of St. Joseph’s College, the First Catholic Boarding School for Boys within the Oregon Territory, 23. Education. Scholars Archive@OSU. https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/file_sets/c247dx50r.

Port Orford Post. (Port Orford, Oregon) 1880-1882, December 30, 1880, Image 2. Knight Library, University of Oregon. https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2024240276/1880-12-30/ed-1/seq-2/.

Munnick, Harriet Duncan. 1972. Catholic Church Records of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, Volumes I and II, and Stellamaris Mission. Internet Archive. St. Paul, Ore.: French Prairie Press. http://archive.org/details/catholicchurchre0000unse_d5s3.

Nichols, Marie Leona Hobbs. 1941. The Mantle of Elias: The Story of Fathers Blanchet and Demers in Early Oregon. Binfords & Mort. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005922254.

O’Hara, Edwin V. 1911. Pioneer Catholic History of Oregon. Catholic History of Oregon. Press of Glass & Prudhomme Company. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009571575,  p. 129 [Image 145].

Oregon Spectator. (Oregon City, O.T. [Oregon]) 1846-1855, April 06, 1848, Image 1, brought to you by University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR, and the National Digital Newspaper Program. 1848. Oregon City, March 24, 1848, “Names of Capt. McKay’s Company. https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn84022662/1848-04-06/ed-1/seq-1.  

Oregon Websites & Watersheds Project, Inc. 2019. ORWW: Oregon History: Letitia Carson, 1845-1888. Digital Archive for Historical Research and Documentation. Letitia Carson Historical Website. http://www.orww.org/History/Letitia_Carson/.

Port Orford Post. (Port Orford, Oregon) 1880-1882, “Final Proof Notice for Asa Carman,” July 21, 1881, Knight Library, University of Oregon, Image 2. https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2024240276/1881-07-21/ed-1/seq-4.

Reinhart, Herman Francis, Doyce B. Nunis, and Nora B. Cunningham. 2012. The Golden Frontier: The Recollections of Herman Francis Reinhart, 1851-1869. First paperback printing. University of Texas Press. Excerpts of this text also available online at https://truwe.sohs.org/files/reinhart.html.

Wade, Daraleen. 1985. Genealogical Abstracts of the First 2500 Probate Records in Marion County, Oregon, Volume 1, A Thru G, 91. Genealogy database, Family Search. https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/789078/  [Image 99].

Watson, Bruce McIntyre. 2010. Lives Lived West of the Divide: A Biographical Dictionary of Fur Traders Working West of the Rockies, 1793-1858. University of British Columbia, Okanagan. https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~goudied/genealogy/PDF/Goudie/Lives_Lived_Entire-Bruce-McIntyre-Watson.pdf.

Wilkes, Charles and Wyld, James. 1841. Map of the Oregon Territory, United States Exploring Expedition (1838-1842), David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, 🅮, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_the_Oregon_Territory_by_the_U._S._Ex._Ex.png

Zybach, Bob. Article “The Search for Letitia Carson in Douglas County, Oregon,” Part III, June 2015, Douglas County [Oregon] Pioneer 18. Digital Archive for Historical Research and Documentation. http://nwmapsco.com/ZybachB/Articles/Magazines/DCGS_Douglas_Pioneer/index.html. Also available at Oregon Websites & Watersheds Project, Inc. 2019. ORWW: Oregon History: Letitia Carson, 1845-1888. Digital Archive for Historical Research and Documentation. Letitia Carson Historical Website. http://www.orww.org/History/Letitia_Carson/.