The Badeau family I am describing was founded by Michel Badeau. He became a noted Maître Charpentière trained to do carpentry in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father was a Frenchman born in Nantes, France. The circumstances of Francous leaving France and arriving probably on a ship in Port Au Prince are unknown until family members can travel to Nantes to do further research. Francois Badeau arrived in Haiti and developed a relationship with Rosalie Porter. They only had one child Michel. Michel was born the same year as John James Audobon, the noted ornithologist.His ethnicity was similar to Michel Badeau’s. Their French fathers became involved with Hatian ladies and they shared a similar heritage . I asked noted historian Judy Belford who served on the Board of Directors for the Saint Louis Genealogical Society if they might have crossed paths or known each other. She thought that it was possible but without documentary evidence there was no proof of this. I found out about Michel Badeau being my third great grandfather through Mrs. Belford. She had been hired to do research on important people who helped build the town of Sainte Genevieve. Michel built special types of cabins/homes which are described in Bonnie Stepenoff’s article “Faire une Maison: Carpenters in Sainte Genevieve, 1750-1850”. My Uncle,Leonard King had been searching for his Grandfather Charles Peter Badeau for years. He was a successful real estate agent and also was a National salesman for Nutrilite products to improve your health. On one of his nationwide trips he stopped in Saint Louis hoping to meet his grandfather Charles Peter. He had passed away but he met his two children with his second wife Edith Mordecai: Aminda and Langston Badeau. Of note, Aminda Badeau married legendary civil rights icon Roy Wilkins. I am posting this today to honor Aminda who graduated with a degree in Social Work. She first worked as a caseworker in Saint Louis, then she worked with the Red Cross in Kansas City. Thereafter, she worked as a social worker in Chicago. Later, she was an assistant commissioner at the New York Department of Welfare before retiring in 1971. Judy Belford has been doing research on the Badeau family which I hope to share at a later time. The surprising fact I learned was that although they were black, they were classified as free people of color. Aminda’s mother, Mary Eagleson, had to purchase a license for $1,000.00 in order to continue living in Missouri without being sold down the river(Mississippi) literally into slavery. Per “The Colored Aristocracy of Saint Louis” by Cyprian Clamorgan “ Henry Clamorgan and James D. Bonner pledged $1,000.00 for a license for Mary to continue to live in Missouri (page 77) and avoid becoming a slave in Mississippi. The Sainte Genevieve chapter of the DAR have selected her to be “The Woman of American History” for 2022. My brother and I are attending the ceremony to honor our great Aunt. My brother met Aminda when he was attending an NAACP meeting in Texas decades ago. So we are so happy to represent our ancestors for their struggles and persistence to gain equality for our people.
Badeau Family History 