Felicité Janis Bauvais

Tombstone of Felicité Bauvais and her husband, Vital.

NPS/Jana Irving

Quick Facts

Significance:

Daughter of Nicolas Janis, the original owner of Green Tree Tavern. 

Place of Birth:

Kaskaskia, French Illinois.

Date of Birth:

1752

Place of Death:

Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

Date of Death:

1839

Place of Burial:

Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

Cemetery Name:

Memorial Cemetery

Felicité married Vital St. Gemme Bauvais (1739-1816) on January 3, 1775. Vital was a prominent figure in town who owned his own business and an enslaved workforce. He is known for “renting” Marie-Louise, an enslaved woman, to his brother-in-law in St. Charles, Missouri, when the relationship was discovered between Marie-Louise and Felicité’s brother, Antoine. Their children were Joseph Vital Bauvais (1783-1856) and Marie (Bauvais) Bogy (1786-1876).

When Vital passed away, Felicité inherited his enslaved African Americans, one of whom was named Pélagie. Felicité emancipated Pélagie in 1832 after she had a child with a Frenchman named Benjamin Amoureux. Today, park visitors can learn more about the lives Pélagie and Benjamin by visiting the Bauvais-Amoureux House, operated by the National Park Service.