Joseph Campau

Campau was born on February 2, 1769, in Detroit. Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit in 1701 and sold 68 land grants between 1707 and 1710, two of which were sold to the Campau brothers. Jacques had previously served as a secretary and an officer to Cadillac. Jacques sold furs, grains, and bread at "one of the finest merchant stores" in Detroit by the 1740s, according to Clarence M. Burton. In his youth, Joseph Campau traded with the Native Americans. His younger brother, Barnabé aka Barnabas, was also a wealthy businessman. He was a fur trader, merchant, and landowner. One of his properties was Belle Isle. ==Real estate business==

Campau began his business career as a merchant. He purchased goods from Boston, the first person to do so in Detroit, and sold them at his store on Atwater. Campau spoke the languages of several Native American tribes, French and English to his customers at his three trading posts at Saginaw, on Lake St. Clair, and on Lake Erie. He was called Chemokamun ("big shot") by Chief Wawanosh of Sarnia and Chief Maccounse of Lake St. Clair. Campau was the first in the city's real estate industry to sell and lease houses that had been built on vacant lots. He had become the state's largest landowner, owning property worth more than $10 million. He served in the Michigan Territory Militia as captain in 1806. During the War of 1812, he was a major in the U.S. Army. With his nephew, John R. Williams, Campau operated the Democratic Free Press and Michigan Intelligencer, which eventually evolved into the Detroit Free Press. ==Death==

Campau died on July 23, 1863, and was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit. His wife was buried at Catholic Mount Elliott Cemetery, as are some of his children. His estate was worth $3 million. ==Personal life==

Campau was married to Adelaide Dequindre on May 18, 1808. Their children, born through 1829, were Joseph, Adelaide, Dennis, Catherine, Jacques Joseph, Theodore Joseph, Matilda, and Alexander Timothy. Campau bought a nine-year-old African boy in Montreal as a slave who was to be freed at 21 years of age. Campau and Father Gabriel Richard, the priest of St. Anne's Church, engaged in "heated disagreements" about Campau's having sold whiskey to Native Americans and joining the Masons. As a result, he was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1817. ==Joseph Campau residences==

, a National Register of Historic Places listing Campau lived in a log house on the south side of Jefferson Avenue, between Shelby and Griswold, that was built after the fire of 1805. It was also located between Shelby and Griswold on Jefferson Avenue. The Joseph Campau House on 2910 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit is attributed to Campau, but it is said that he never lived there. One of the oldest residences in Detroit, it was built on land that was originally part of the Joseph Campau farm. It came into the Campau family in 1734 when it was awarded to his grandfather. ==Notes==