April 28, 2019: At Worship

St Antoine sur la Riviere-aux-Raisins is the second Catholic Church in the Detroit Diocese, and the third oldest church in the United States. It stood on the banks of the River Raisin and was the first church in the area known to early French Canadians shortly after the founding of Fort Ponchartrain (Detroit) in 1701. It is on the De Couagne map of 1711.  One September 14, 1786 Francois Navarre obtained a piece of land from the local Native American tribe on the north side of the River Raisin. (Local anomaly: it is never known as Raisin River!  Always River Raisin!) This spot was near the modern Monroe, Michigan.  The purpose was expressly for building a house of worship.  There was even a curse, should anyone use it for any other purpose.  The first attempt at a church failed, and it was later built about 2 miles upriver.  The first missionary and pastor were Father Francois-Xavier Defaux. In 1788 Dufaux noted that there were at least 32 farms with dwellings. These faithful Catholics made the trek to Ste Anne, Detroit for their religious sacraments, including my 4^th GGF Pierre Tessier, who married at Ste Anne, Detroit on October 31, 1790.  The Ste Anne marriage records indicate that Pierre Thessie’s parents were of the parish of St Michel, Trois Rivières, (Quebec) and he that he resided at Riviere aux Raisins. 

In 1788 Father Pierre Frechette of Ste Anne, Detroit began organizing and preparing the River Raisin settles for a new mission and parish under the diocese of Quebec. After acquiring the land for a church and rectory the settlers wrote asking for a priest.

In mid-November 1794 Father Edmond Burke arrived at River Raisin.  He was not the priest the setters had requested. There was some revolt, which Burke quelled, and the parish was named St Anthony of Padua, and selected St Anthony as their patron saint on November 16, 1794. 

St Antoine sur la Riviere aux Raisins remained a parish until the mid-1800’s.  The original church burned and was rebuilt in a new location.  Graves were moved to the new location as well.  It was the second oldest church and cemetery in the archdiocese of Detroit from 1788 to 1845.  Up until the 1990’s all that remained was an historical marker at the site along the River Raisin.

Then in 1999 archaeologists excavated human coffin burials at St Antoine. After exhuming 45 coffins, the community became involved.  The remains were found when a contractor was attempting to build a new subdivision.  The controversy grew heated as conservationists and historians fought to save the history cemetery.  The formation of “The Friends of St Antoine’s” a nonprofit group dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the grounds had testing done to locate additional burials and the cemetery boundaries. The site was purchased from the owner and developer, securing the site from further disturbance. On November 28, 2000, a new memorial was dedicated on the grounds, marking the end of the struggle to save Monroe County’s first cemetery and the grounds which contain the human remains of the area’s first permanent settlers.

Among the many of my ancestors buried at St Antoine, were Pierre Tessier, and several of his infant children, and the infant children of my 3^rd GGF Dominique Tessier dit Santure. Pierre’s wife Barbe lived to the age of 101 and was buried at the new cemetery.