Joseph Creely (1773-1866) and Francoise Antaya (?-?)

Joseph Creely Parents

Born: 7 September 1773 in Kaskaskia, Randolph, Illinois.¹

Christened: 7 September 1773 in Kaskaskia, Randolph, Illinois.¹

Married: Francoise Antaya, ?²

Died: 27 January 1866 in Portage, Columbia, Wisconsin.^3,4

Francoise Antaya

Born: ?

Died: ?

Children

1. Julie Creely.

2. Marie Louise Creely (born May 1796,⁵ and christened 12 April 1798 in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri).⁵

3. Therese Creely (second marriage) (third marriage).

4. Joseph Creely (born 1803).⁶

5. Josette Creely.

Notes on Joseph Creely

Joseph Creely is probably the best documented person of the first four generations of Creelys. During his lifetime he exaggerated his age until he was believed to be the oldest living man at the time. In the 1860 Federal Census of Caledonia, Columbia, Wisconsin, he lists himself as 145-years-old!⁷ Joseph and his family members knew, though, that he was never even one hundred.⁸
Joseph and his descendants seem to have adopted the spelling "Crelie" for their surname.
Moses Paquette, Joseph Creely's grandson, said, "I remember my maternal grandfather, Crelie, quite well, but am certain that he was not as old--one hundred and thirty years--as many have made him out to be; in 1845, he told me that he was then eighty years of age, and as he died at Caledonia in 1865 [sic], he was by his own showing not over a hundred. As the years went on, having no fixed knowledge of his age, he doubtless innocently fell into the habit, common enough with old men in his station of life, of claiming an age that he had never reached. He may have been over a hundred, but certainly not much over that."⁹
The Wisconsin Historical Society has a helpful short biography on Joseph Creely. There is also a painting of him by Samuel D. Coates (1826-1907). This is the only known painting of anyone from the first four generations of the Creely family and was probably done between 1850 and 1866. The painting is currently owned by the Wisconsin Historical Museum.
In an 1857 article in the Argus & Democrat (published in Madison, Dane, Wisconsin), he is listed as 117-years-old. The article is interesting, though, in that it gives interesting information about what Joseph was like in his eighties. He spoke "badly mixed and hybridized"¹⁰ French as his first language--despite living in American territory for decades. His front teeth were missing, which caused him to speak with a lisp, and, "It is evident that he was never possessed of much mental cultivation, but his physical organization must have been compact and of the durability of oak and iron." The authors estimate him to have been 5'10" when young, and say that he walked without a cane. Not aware that he was untruthful about his age, the authors naïvely state, "Altogether, he is a character of extraordinary interest, but a decided problem to the best of our historical antiquarians."
During his younger years, he was a mail carrier in Prairie-du-Chien, Crawford, Wisconsin in 1826.⁴
He likely married Francoise Antaya in Kaskaskia, although I cannot prove this.
There is also some evidence that he had another marriage to the widow of Jean Marie Cardinal in about 1820 in the Prairie du Chien area of Wisconsin.³ However, the only source that I have for this marriage is hearsay in 1882 and I cannot find any independent documentation. Even if the marriage actually occurred, it supposedly only lasted 3 days. Any clarification on this issue from other Creely descendents would be appreciated.

Notes on Francoise Antaya

I do not know who Francoise's parents were. However there was a Pelletier dit Antaya family in Kaskaskia starting about the 1730's or 1740's, which came from France via Canada. However, I cannot conclusively link Francoise Antaya to this family.

Sources

1. Beauregard, Marthe F. La population des forts fraçais d'Amérique, v. 1, p. 123.

2. Register of Old Cathedral parish, St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri (christening record, 3 December 1796).

3. Draper, Lyman Copeland. Wisconsin Historical Collections, vol. IX, "Birbois's Recollections," p. 292-293.

4. Portage Democrat, 21 February 1913, Portage, Wisconsin.

5. Register of Old Cathedral parish, St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri (christening record, 12 April 1798).

6. Rentmeester, Les & Jeanne. The Wisconsin Creoles, p. 231.

7. This seems to be the oldest age assigned to Joseph Creely while he lived.

8. Draper, p. 293.

9. Thwaites, Reuben Gold (ed.), Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisonsin, v. XII, p. 400-401.

10. The French of Kaskaskians doesn't seem to have been very proper. Belting says in Kaskaskia Under the French Regime, p. 36, "The contract [for the construction of a stone house] drawn March 2, 1739, which describes the house, almost defies translation, the French is so bad."