Book about Cape Girardeau Garners Attention of the French

A native of the city of Cape Girardeau and docent at the Cape River Hertiage Museum, Charlotte Young Slinkard has long been interested in the origins of her hometown's name. Her curiosity deepened as museum visitors frequently inquired about the city’s history. The stories of Cape Girardeau’s past lacked evidence, and many were unsure of its truth. Thus, Slinkard set out on an eight-year journey to uncover the true story of Girardeau.

Now, her published book "The Girardeaus" has captured the attention of people from Moulins, France, a town of approximately 20,000 residents, where emigrant Jean Baptiste Girardeau, father of Cape Girardeau's founder, was born.

The French town’s interest in Jean Baptiste Girardeau stems partly from the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States, in which they are gathering information about Frenchmen who traveled to the U.S. from France to help fight for America’s independence. Slinkard noted Jean Baptiste Girardeau died before the American Revolution, but his sons, Jean Pierre and Pierre, lived to see American independence.

The international impact began to unfold after Slinkard shared her book with Marie Josèphe Chatelier, a volunteer at the church in Moulins where Jean Baptiste Girardeau was christened. Chatelier, who had previously assisted Slinkard in locating Jean Baptiste Girardeau’s birth record, is grateful to have helped contribute to this historical work and expressed admiration for the book.

“May your book interest all generations in the history of mankind and the world, which are the roots of the present,” Chatelier says.

Slinkard first connected with Chatelier in 2012 while researching the book.

While searching through French records in New Orleans, Slinkard and her husband Bill found a critical uncovering on a small scrap of paper: a 1747 court deposition in which the third husband of Jean Baptiste Girardeau’s widow simply stated he was born in Moulins, France, with no further details. Jean Baptiste Girardeau was christened at Saint-Pierre des Menestraux, a church in Moulins, France.

With hope, Slinkard found the name and address of the church in France and contacted them. Approximately three months later, Chatelier successfully located Jean Baptiste Girardeau’s birth record.

After receiving and reading the book herself, Chatelier shared Slinkard’s book with a local historian, Alain Compagnon, who was participating in a symposium in France focused on Frenchmen who emigrated to America in the 18th Century. Surprised by the absence of knowledge about Jean Baptiste Girardeau in France, Compagnon highlighted Slinkard’s book during the symposium.

According to the French historian, Jean Baptiste Girardeau is the earliest known Moulins resident to emigrate to North America, and no other Moulins residents have given their name to a city. The newfound attention has since sparked efforts in Moulins to reconstruct a Girardeau family tree and consider naming a street in his honor.

Reflecting on her journey, Slinkard says her first finding of the origins of the name of Cape Girardeau came on a cold, snowy day at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. in January 2012. She recalls thinking, “Oh my goodness, there really were Girardeaus here [in the U.S.],” upon discovering Jean Baptiste Girardeau’s French army record, which concluded that he served in North America.

With that discovery, Slinkard and her husband continued to travel extensively, meticulously combing through historical archives, piecing together Jean Baptiste Girardeau’s transatlantic life.

Piece by piece, Slinkard fabricated a trail of Jean Baptiste Girardeau. Encouraged by Dr. Frank Nickell, a retired history professor at Southeast Missouri State University, Slinkard began writing her book “The Girardeaus” as a detailed account of her research and discoveries.

The Girardeau story, spanning two continents and two generations throughout nearly a century, is captivating. Slinkard expressed feeling “overwhelmed and very pleased” by the French interest in the story.

“I think we can be very proud of our history here. We need to appreciate it more,” Slinkard says. Slinkard’s research suggests Jean Baptiste Girardeau died in 1730. The archives suggest one of his sons, Jean Pierre Girardeau who was born in Kaskaskia in 1723, was a fur trader who operated a trading post along the Mississippi River several decades later. Thus, Jean Pierre is the true namesake of Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Dr. Alice Strange, a former SEMO French professor who translated key French documents for Slinkard, found the experience fascinating.

“Many of the records, such as early church documents, had never been translated into English,” Strange says.

She describes these documents as crucial, as they often list witnesses and family connections.

Before Slinkard’s exploration, there was no concrete proof anyone named Girardeau had resided in the Cape Girardeau area, though it was generally accepted that a French military officer of unknown identity at an unknown date had an early trading post in Cape Girardeau.

Slinkard emphasizes the importance of her husband’s help throughout the process.

“He was with me every step of the way,” Slinkard says. “We would each take a stack of records and sort through them together — it saved so much time.”

In her book, Slinkard describes Jean Pierre Girardeau as more than a fur trader. Rather, he was a complex figure who skillfully interacted with the Indigenous people and was conversant in their native tongues. He had sufficient command of English to diplomatically engage with the newly-arrived influx of British and Anglo-Americans. He fought and survived the French and Indian War, endured the British and Spanish occupations of the Mississippi River Valley, and witnessed the American Revolution and the birth of the United States of America.

Proudly, Slinkard says, “His legacy lives on in the name of Cape Girardeau.”