Biography of Mazar Jandreau

Mazar Jandreau, born on July 4, 1853, in Canada, descended from French lineage. His parents, Ferdinand and Estracia (Igout) Jandreau, moved to Sioux City, Iowa, when he was two, and then to Nebraska, where they became pioneers. Jandreau moved to Dakota Territory in 1871, working as a stage-driver between Fort Randall and Fort Thompson. In 1875, he married Louise Redfield, a quarter-blood Yankton Sioux. They had twelve children, seven surviving. The Jandreau family owned 508 acres of land primarily for grazing. A member of the Modern Woodmen of America, Jandreau and his family were also active in the Catholic Church.


Mazar Jandreau comes of staunch French lineage and was born in Canada on the 4th of July, 1853, being a son of Ferdinand and Estracia (Igout) Jandreau, whose five children are all living. When the subject was two years of age, his parents came from Canada to the northwest, settling in Sioux City, Iowa, which was then a small village, and there continued to reside for five years. They then removed into Nebraska, which state continued to be their home for forty years and up to the time of their deaths, while they were numbered among the sterling pioneers of that commonwealth, where the father devoted his attention to farming and stock raising. Our subject secured his early educational discipline in the schools of Nebraska and while still a boy set forth to carve out an independent career. In 1871, he came to the territory of Dakota and secured a position as stage-driver on the route between Fort Randall and Fort Thompson, being thus employed for a period of three years. In 1875, he was united in marriage to Miss Louise Redfield, a quarter-blooded Indian of the Yankton Sioux extraction, her father having been one of the early Indian agents in the government employ in Dakota. After his death, his widow became the wife of Lizzim Archambeau, of whom specific mention is made on another page of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Jandreau became the parents of twelve children, of whom seven are living. The subject and his family jointly own five hundred and eight acres of land, the major portion of which is used for grazing purposes. Mr. Jandreau is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and he and his family are members of the Catholic church.

Mr. Jandreau has traveled extensively through the west, both in the early days and in later years. At the age of twelve years, he left his father’s home in Nebraska and made the trip across the plains and mountains to Denver, Colorado, having driven a freight team from Nebraska City to Denver in 1866. Thereafter, he followed freighting along the Missouri River for a number of years, having been frequently attacked by the Indians.


Source: Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota: together with mention of Citizens of South Dakota, [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen, 1904.


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