Zenobius Membre
Zenobius Membré, O.M.R. (1645 – c.1687), was a French Franciscan Recollect friar and missionary in North America.
Life
Membré was born at Bapaume, then in the ancient Province of Artois, and entered the local friary of the Franciscan Recollect Province of St. Anthony. He arrived in Canada in 1675, and in 1679 he accompanied Robert de La Salle to the country of the Illinois, of which he wrote a description.[1] His missionary work there had little success.[2]
In 1681 Membré descended the Mississippi River with La Salle to the Gulf of Mexico, returned with the leader of the expedition to Europe by way of Canada. There he became Guardian of the Franciscan friary in his native city.[2]
Membré returned to American and in 1684, along with two other Franciscans and three Sulpicians, sailed with La Salle, intending to found a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River, but inaccurate maps and navigational errors caused them to anchor 400 miles (644 km) west, off the coast of Texas near Matagorda Bay. La Salle erected Fort St. Louis, a 50-mile (80 km) overland trek from Matagorda Bay in 1685, near what is now Inez, Texas. Membre endeavored to establish a mission among the Cenis nation (Hasinai). In this he failed.[2]
After about two years Membre was killed, along with Father Maximus Le Cerq, Father Chefdeville, and the small garrison which La Salle had left at the settlement.[3]
From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia
Zenobius Membre — Born 1645 at Bapaume, Department of Pas-de-Calais, France, he was a member of the Franciscan province of St. Antony. He arrived in Canada in 1675, and in 1679 he accompanied Robert de la Salle to the country of the Illinois, of which he wrote a description. Though Membre laboured zealously for the conversion of the natives, owing to their moral degradation the success was small. In 1681 be descended the Mississippi with La Salle to the Gulf of Mexico, returned with the leader of the expedition to Europe by way of Canada, and became superior of the Franciscan monastery in his native city. In 1684 Membre with two Franciscans and three Sulpicians followed La Salle into Texas. The commander erected Fort St. Louis at Espiritu Santo Bay in 1685, but Membre endeavoured to establish a mission among the Cenis Indians. In this he failed. After about two years of toil he was killed by the savages, along with Fr. Maximus Le Cerq, Rev. Chefdeville, and the small garrison which La Salle had left at the settlement.
BARCIA, Ensayo Cronológico (Madrid, 1723); HENNEPIN, Description de la Louisiane (Paris, 1683); THWAITES, A New Discovery of a Vast Country (Chicago, 1903); SHEA, Cath. Church in Colonial Days (New York, 1886); Cath. Missions (New York, 1854); WALLACE, Illinois and Louisiana (Cincinnati, 1893).
References
- Back to citation Membre, Zenobius. "LaSalle's Exploration of the Mississippi (1682)", American History Told by Contemporaries, (Albert Bushnell Hart, ed.), The Minerva Group, Inc., 2002, ISBN 9781410201010, p. 140
- Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Back to citation occurrence 2.2 Engelhardt, Zephyrin. "Zenobius Membré." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 14 January 2018
- Back to citation Membré, Zénobius, 1645?-1687?, and Chrestien Le Clercq. Narrative of the first attempt by M. Cavelier de La Salle to explore the Mississippi.: Drawn up from the manuscripts of Father Zenobius Membré, a Recollect. New York, 1852. Pdf. Library of Congress website Retrieved 16 March 2022.
Bibliography
- Attribution
- Andrés González de Barcia, Ensayo Cronológico (Madrid, 1723)
- Louis Hennepin, Description de la Louisiane (Paris, 1683)
- Reuben Gold Thwaites, A New Discovery of a Vast Country (Chicago, 1903)