From Jefferson County, MO
Shortly before France lost her possessions in the New World by the Treaty of Paris in 1763, King Louis XV sent a relative, Phillippe de Mundi (note spelling of Phillippe), to a region near Mine La- Motte (near Valle Mines, Mo.) in search of silver. There proved to be very little silver, but young Mundi made a friend of the Indian chief (Osage) whose territory extended from Fredericktown to Festus and from the Mississippi to Richwoods. Phillippe fell in love with the chief's daughter. They were married according to the tribal custom, and he took her with him when he returned to France. She created a sensation at the French court where she was known as Margaret, the Indian Maiden. But she was ill adjusted to the life of royalty. She tore off the expensive shoes her husband bought for her and appeared at formal gatherings in her bare feet. She could not learn French and was so unhappy that Phillippe in despair decided to bring her back to America. After a hazardous voyage they arrived in Fredericktown to find that the chief was off on hunting foray. Phillippe set out to find him, following his trail through the forest by day and sleeping on the ground at night. One morning he awoke to see six Indian braves standing in a circle around his bed of leaves, with nocked arrows pointing directly at his head. He tried to convince them he had no intention of abandoning Margaret, but the young men shadowed the pair until they saw them permanently settled in their home near what is now Fredericktown, MO. Margaret and Phillippe had one son whose name was also Phillippe Mundi, but he Anglicized it to Philip Monday (note spelling!). The house that he built was still standing on Highway H until two or three years ago, a two-room log cabin with a fireplace in each room and a dogtrot, or breezeway. Here he lived with his wife, Catherine Govereau. Among their many descendants in the county are Lucy Graham, Alice O'Farrell, Louise Wilson, Charles Woods, and Tina Duperet Wynn. Their daughter, Ann Monday, married Dr. Samuel Denny, a homeopathic physician known as the "herb doctor." He, with his brother, Judge Robert Denny, had come from Delaware about 1825 and settled near Old Ditch. The doctor and Ann Monday were the ancestors of Letty Denny Burk (my aunt Sis - my father's sister) who lived on Hematite Road for many years.
From: Our Jefferson County Heritage, by Zoe Ruth Rutledge.
(This is an interesting story about my great grandfather and my great-great grandfather and grandmothers. We do have Osage blood in our veins. The Osage were great Indian warriors of the Sioux Nation. You may want to read about them someday.)
Copyright, Graphicraft, December 23, 2004.