He came to America as early as 1835 settling in New York state. John Roy enlisted in the Mexican War in 1848 and after peace was declared he came to Dane County in about 1850. Roy at once wrote back to his neighbors at Haute-Saone telling them of the cheap lands and the opportunities that America offered. Then the French emigration to Dane County began. Immigration has now ceased.
Lands are too high to attract poor people.
The colony has grown by natural increase. The French families tend to be large. There are often ten to a dozen children. In all there must be some 400 or 500 in the French district here now. August Tisserand is among the first who arrived after the letters of John Roy started the movement westward from Haute-Saone.