Pierre François Pinet died on this date in 1702 in present-day Missouri. He is the first documented person of French descent to have died in Missouri. Pinet was a French Jesuit missionary who lived during the 17th and 18th centuries, specifically from 1660 to 1702. Born in France, Pinet entered the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits, an order renowned for its dedication to education, missionary work, and scholarly pursuits. His calling led him to the New World, where he aimed to spread Christianity among the indigenous populations of North America.
Pinet arrived in New France, present-day Canada, around 1690. He was soon dispatched to the Illinois Country, a region along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. His mission was to work among the Illinois and Miami tribes, and he established the Mission of the Guardian Angel near what is now Chicago. Pinet’s efforts focused on converting the local indigenous tribes to Christianity, educating them in European ways of life, and mediating conflicts between different indigenous groups as well as between natives and European settlers.
Pinet was eventually ordered to abandon the mission and moved to near Cahokia. Eventually he settled with a group of Kaskaskia people, who established a settlement on the north banks of the River Des Peres. Pinet and his fellow missionaries set up their mission adjacent to the Kaskaskia settlement, as was their custom when establishing new missions, and Pinet remained there until his death on this date in 1702. He was buried by the river, becoming the first person of French descent to be documented as dying and being buried within the borders of modern-day Missouri, and perhaps the first European. The settlement was eventually abandoned, and no European settlements sprang up in the area until Ste. Genevieve was settled at least thirty years later.
Pinet’s legacy is remembered as part of the broader Jesuit efforts to evangelize and educate in North America. His life exemplifies the challenges and complexities of missionary work during this era, highlighting the interactions between European missionaries and indigenous populations in the early history of what would become the United States.
