Jean Pierre Roman Bureau facts for kids

Jean Pierre Romain Bureau, also known as John Peter Roman Bureau, was an important person in the early history of the United States. He helped start the town of Gallipolis, Ohio. He also served in the government of Ohio. His daughters married two famous men: Samuel Finley Vinton, a congressman, and Francis Julius LeMoyne, a doctor who built the first crematory in the U.S.

Early Life and the French Revolution

Jean Pierre Romain Bureau was born in March 1770 in a French area called Île-de-France. When he was young, he worked as a silk merchant. He was in Paris when the French Revolution began. He even helped tear down the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789. This was a big event in French history.

Moving to America and Founding Gallipolis

Soon after the revolution, Bureau joined a group of French settlers. They wanted to escape the chaos in France. They hoped to settle in the Northwest Territory of the new United States. When they arrived in October 1791, they faced a problem. The company that sold them land, the Scioto Company, had never paid for it.

Instead of going to their planned spot, about 170 settlers were taken to what became Gallipolis. Simple huts had been built for them there. This land belonged to the Ohio Company of Associates. This company had started the settlement of Ohio in 1788 with the town of Marietta, Ohio.

Public Service in Ohio

Bureau found it hard to find work in Gallipolis. So, he traveled upriver to Marietta. There, he became friends with Edward W. Tupper. Bureau lived with Tupper for several months. The next year, Bureau returned to Gallipolis. He worked as a commissary, helping to supply troops fighting in the Northwest Indian War.

Later, Bureau and J. Matthieu Berthelot were chosen to talk with the Ohio Company. They wanted to buy the land where the settlers were living. In 1795, the Ohio Company agreed to sell the land. The United States also gave the settlers more land in 1795 and 1798. Bureau and Berthelot helped survey this land. They divided it into lots for each settler.

Bureau held many important jobs in Gallipolis. He was a postmaster, a justice of the peace, and a clerk for the courts in Gallia County, Ohio. This county was created in 1803. He also served in the Ohio government. He was a member of the Ohio Senate from 1808 to 1811. He was also in the Ohio House of Representatives in 1815. Besides this, he surveyed land in Ohio and Virginia.

Jean Pierre Romain Bureau passed away in 1851. He was 81 years old. He is buried in the Pine Street Cemetery in Gallipolis.

Family and Legacy

In 1799, Bureau married Madeleine Françoise Charlotte Marret. She was 16 years old. There was no justice of the peace in Gallipolis to marry them. So, they hired one from nearby Point Pleasant, West Virginia. They were married on a boat on the Ohio River. Madeleine died in June 1834 at age 51. She is also buried in the Pine Street Cemetery.

Their children included:

• Madeleine Romaine Bureau (1799–1873): She married Francis Julius LeMoyne (1798–1879). LeMoyne studied medicine. He became a well-known doctor and philanthropist in Washington, Pennsylvania. He also supported the movement to end slavery. In 1876, he built the LeMoyne Crematory, which was the first crematory in the United States.
• Romaine Madeleine Bureau (1802–1831): She married Samuel Finley Vinton (1792–1862). Vinton served ten terms in the United States House of Representatives. He helped create the United States Department of the Interior. He was also known for his knowledge of how government meetings should be run.
• Charles Louis Valcaulon Bureau (1812–1848): He also studied medicine. He married Margaret Hughes. He worked as a doctor in Gallipolis until he passed away.
• Mary Bureau: She is buried with her parents in the Pine Street Cemetery.

One of Roman Bureau's namesakes was John Peter Roman Bureau Smith (1838–1911). Smith worked as a court clerk in Mason County, West Virginia, for many years. Before the American Civil War, he was a colonel in the Virginia Militia. During the war, he served in the Home Guard. He was also a deputy sheriff and a county court clerk.

In 1890, Gallipolis celebrated its 100th birthday. Many of Roman Bureau's belongings were shown in a special room. This room had items from the early settlers. His chair, a snuff-box with a picture of the U.S. Constitution, and a picture of the Virgin Mary were among the items displayed.