The French Colonial Period In the Illinois Country, 1673-1765:  A Select Bibliography By B. Pierre Lebeau, Professor of History Emeritus, North Central College      The purpose of this bibliography is to help the serious reader get started in exploring the French colonial period in the Illinois Country.  It provides a list of basic, sometimes picturesque works that are accessible through public and academic libraries.  Several of the works are out of print and may be obtained through interlibrary loans.  Suggestions for changes or additions should be sent to bplebeau2@cs.com.

Beckwith, H. W., ED.  Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library.  Vol. I.  Springfield: The H.W. Rokker Company, 1903.
This work contains major portions of Father Marquette's journal, various papers regarding La Salle, Hennepin's narrative, Tonti's memoir of 1693, Aubry's report concerning the building of Fort Massac, the account of George Rogers Clark's conquest of Illinois, and a number of letters from the Canadian Archives covering the English period.

Brown, Margaret F., and Dean, Lawrie C., eds.  The Village of Chartres in Colonial Illinois 1720-1765.  Published for La Compagnie des Amis de Fort de Chartres.  New Orleans: Polyanthos, 1977.
Selected documents relating to the village of Fort de Chartres. Ste. Anne church records, records of the Chapel of the Visitation, land and notarial records from Randolph County Archives.  A large number of the documents are presented in the original French.  All documents are in English translation.

Finiels, Nicholas de.  An Account of Upper Louisiana.  Edited by Carl J. Ekberg and William E. Foley.  Translated by Carl J. Ekberg.  Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1989.
Written by an expatriate French engineer who served the Spanish monarchy in Louisiana during the late colonial era, this memoir "provides important information about Upper Louisiana in the late 1790's on subjects ranging from great issues of geopolitics to details of domestic life."

The Kaskaskia Manuscripts, 1714-1816.  Microform: civil documents of colonial Illinois in Randolph County Archives, Chester, Illinois.  Compiled with introduction by Laurie Cena Dean, Margaret Kimball Brown.  Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Archives.
Documents of the French settlements on the banks of the Mississippi.  Mostly manuscripts of notarial transactions, wills and other legal documents.  Calendar is included.

Pease, Theodore C., ed.  Anglo-French Boundary Disputes in the West 1749-1763. Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. Vol. XXVII, French Series, Vol. II.  Springfield:  Illinois State Historical Library, 1936.
In addition to the selected British and French documents, the lengthy introduction by T. C. Pease analyses the diplomatic struggles between England and France for dominance in North America.  This volume is useful for the understanding of France's policy towards her possessions in the Mississippi valley.

---  and Jenison, Ernestine, eds.  Illinois on the Eve of the Seven Years; War, 1747-1755.  Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. Vol. XXIX, French Series, Vol. III.  Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library,1940.
This volume presents a fairly complete description of the political and commercial scene in Illinois for the period going from the end of the War of the Austrian Succession to the eve of the French and Indian War.

________  and Werner, Raymond C. eds.  The French Foundations,1680-1693. Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. Vol.XXIII, French Series, Vol. I.  Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1934.
Most of the documents pertain to the commercial and financial affairs of La Salle and Tonti.  The volume also includes the so-called "De Gannes Memoir", actually an account by Pierre Liette of his experiences in the Chicago area between 1698 and 1702.  The period between 1693 and 1747 is not covered in the French Series.

Peyser, Joseph L., trans. and ed.  On the Eve of the Conquest. The Chevalier de Raymond's Critique of New France in 1754.  East Lansing, MI:  Michigan State University Press, 1997.
A critical view by an officer of the Troupes de la Marine of French trade practices, relations with the native Americans, and French social customs.

Schultz, James, ed.  Father Marquette's Journal.  Lansing, Michigan: Bureau of History, Michigan Department of State, 1990.
A first-hand account of Father Jacques Marquette's missionary explorations between 1673 and 1675.  Short, but instructive introduction.  Maps.