Francis Vigo First Day Postcard issue

Francis Vigo statue at Clark Memorial

Francis Vigo

Francis Vigo was historically significant to the city of Vincennes in the state of Indiana. He was born on December 3, 1747 in the town of Mondovi in northern Italy. Vigo had three brothers but little is known of his early life. He became a Spanish merchant that traded fur. His wife was Elizabeth Shannon and they had eight children.

Francis Vigo was a soldier, trader, patriot, and trustee. Vigo entered the Spanish Army as a private and served at Havana and New Orleans. Francis Vigo commanded the Militia of Post Vincent. He was engaged in the fur trade with the Indians, and with whom he had very friendly terms. Vigo provided food and supplies for George Rogers Clark and his men as he arrived in Vincennes during the American Revolution. Vigo was elected as one of the trustees of the Catholic Church in 1807.

In Vincennes tourist can see a statue of Francis Vigo. In 1934 artist John Angle was commissioned to create a statue of Vigo. The statue was placed on the grounds of the George Rogers Clark Memorial. On May 4, 1936 the ten-ton work was placed where it overlooks the Wabash River. It is made out of West Chelmstord Granite. The pedestal that the statue sits on is three and a half feet tall. The statue is valued at thirty thousand dollars and was made in New York. In January of 1990, the nose on Vigo’s statue was broken. The sculptor, Harold Vogel restored Francis Vigo’s statue in October 1990.

Francis Vigo died of old age. Vigo died in 1836 at the age eighty-nine in the city of Vincennes. Vigo was buried at the Greenlawn Cemetery in Vincennes. Vigo was giving, and he helped George Rogers Clark to capture Fort Sackville from the British during the American Revolution.

Erin and Taylor