Antoine LeClaire Antoine LeClaire ( December 15 , 1797 - September 25 , 1861 ) was a US Army interpreter , landowner in Scott County , Iowa and Rock Island County , Illinois , businessman , philanthropist and principal founder of Davenport , Iowa Biography . Early life . LeClaire was born on December 15 , 1797 in present - day St . Joseph , Michigan , then in the Northwest Territory . His father , Francois LeClaire , was French Canadian and came to the Americas with Lafayette . His mother was a Native American from the Pottawatomie tribe . His father , Francois , opened a trading post in Milwaukee , Wisconsin where he traded with several Native American tribes . Francois fought on the side of the United States during the War of 1812 . He was captured by the British in Peoria , Illinois and held as a prisoner in Alton , Illinois . While his father was imprisoned , Antonie met General William Clark who was impressed with LeClaire ' s faculty with languages ; Clark sent Antoione to school to learn proper English , and he entered government service . LeClaire spoke English , French , Spanish and a dozen Native American dialects . He came to Fort Armstrong in 1818 where he became the interpreter for Col . George Davenport . A short time later he moved to Peoria , where he met and married his wife Marguerite LaPage in 1820 . She was born on October 16 , 1802 in Portage des Sioux , St . Charles County , Missouri . She was the daughter of a French Canadian , Antoine LePage , and the granddaughter of the Sac chief Acoqua . After Peoria the LeClaires spent a short time in Arkansas where he observed the movements of Native Americans before moving back to Fort Armstrong in 1827 . Landowner . In 1832 , at the end of the Black Hawk War , LeClaire was present at the peace treaty signing as an interpreter . Sac and Mesquakie territories west of the Mississippi River were purchased by the United States government . Because he was respected by the Native Americans , the LeClaires were given three parcels of land . One of the parcels was at the head of the Rock Island Rapids on the west side of the river . The second was given to Marguerite by Keokuk , the Sac chief . It was also located on the west side of the river and had been the location of the Mesquakie village . Keokuk stipulated that LeClaire build a house on the spot where the peace treaty was signed , or lose the land . After the United States Congress approved the peace treaty in 1833 , LeClaire built a house , known as the Treaty House . The third parcel of land was given by the Potawatomi e on the Illinois side of the river where present day Moline , Illinois is situated . LeClaire was named the postmaster and the justice of the peace in 1833 . His jurisdiction included all the lands that had been included in the Black Hawk Purchase . He was responsible for resolving disputes between the Native Americans and the white settlers . He generally took a hands - off approach which the independent - minded settlers found appealing . In 1834 he established the area ' s first ferry service across the river . LeClaire also served as Black Hawk ' s translator when the Sac warrior wrote his memoirs . Davenport . George Davenport gathered a group of investors at his home on February 23 , 1836 to create a company in order to develop a new town . It was to be located on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River opposite the town of Stevenson , Illinois , which is now the city of Rock Island . Antoine LeClaire was part of the group . While he owned a great deal of land , he did not have a great deal of money . The other investors paid him $ 1 , 750 for the site that now lies between the river and Seventh Street and between Harrison Street to just past Warren Street . While LeClaire was the driving force in the development of Davenport , the town was not named for him . Not only did he not have enough money to develop buildings on the land , but he was also a half - breed with a French surname and a devout Catholic . The other investors had English surnames , money to invest and government contracts . George Davenport also failed to have his name attached to the new town across the river ( Stevenson ) , and so the town on the Iowa side of the river was named after him . LeClaire had the town laid out in the conventional fashion of a grid pattern of 36 squares . Three of the squares were set aside for public squares : Lafayette Square , which is a public park today ; Bolivar Square , site of the Scott County Courthouse ; and Washington Square , present site of the downtown YMCA . The levee along the river was also left open for public use . The east - west streets but one were named for Native American tribes : Sac , Fox ( another name for the Mesquakie ) , Ottawa , Chippewa , and Potawatomie . Later those streets would be renamed Second through Sixth Streets . Front Street , now River Drive , was along the levee . The north - south streets retain their original names : Ripley , Scott , Western , Gaines , Brown and Warren . Businessman . LeClaire joined with George Davenport to develop the first public house in the area , which was named the LeClaire House . He also established the first foundry in the young town , and with A . C . Fulton he built the first mill . He was involved with a group of investors who brought the railroad to Davenport in the 1850s . On his property north of the Rock Island Rapids LeClaire owned and operated a sandstone quarry . Stone from this quarry was used for the Clock Tower on Rock Island Arsenal , the first buildings on the Augustana College campus in Rock Island , and the abutments on the Government Bridge . Philanthropy . When the first addition was made to Davenport , LeClaire set aside one of the squares for a Catholic church . In April 1837 he joined with the missionary priest Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli to lay the cornerstone for the original St . Anthony ' s Church . The title to the property , named Church Square , was deeded to Bishop Mathias Loras of Dubuque in 1839 to support the Catholic Church in Davenport . Because of this support Davenport was named a See City with its own bishop in 1881 . When the church decided to establish a third parish in Davenport , LeClaire donated another square on a bluff on the east side of the city for St . Marguerite ' s , also called St . Margaret ' s . The LeClaires also built and furnished the rectory , and provided financial support for building the new church . LeClaire donated property two miles outside of Davenport for St . Marguerite ' s Cemetery . Both St . Anthony ' s and St . Marguerite ' s were named in honor of the LeClaires for their generosity . Antoine LeClaire had also been a member of the St . Anthony ' s choir , where he played the bass viol . While they were devout Catholics their generosity was not limited to the Catholic Church . LeClaire also provided the land for the initial First Baptist Church , Edwards Congregational , and other churches . The LeClaires ' philanthropy existed in other areas of society as well . He donated Bolivar Square to Scott County , which sealed Davenport ' s attempt to be named the county seat . In 1846 he donated the land for the establishment of Iowa College , which eventually left Davenport and became Grinnell College . In 1855 he built a new house and donated the Treaty House to the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad and it became Davenport ' s first railroad station . The LeClaires hosted members of the Sac and Mesquakie tribes , who camped on their estate and were allowed to stay as long as they liked . Later life and death . The LeClaires had no children of their own . When his half brother Alexis died in 1849 Antoine and Marguerite informally adopted his son Louis . He even introduced Louis to former President Millard Fillmore as " my boy . " During the Panic of 1857 many banks in the Midwest failed , and the Cook and Sargent Bank in Davenport appeared to be in danger . LeClaire called for calm among the citizens of Davenport and to keep their money in the bank . He assured them the bank was secure and guaranteed its safety with his own money . The bank , however , failed for other reasons and LeClaire still made good on his promise . The strain may have hastened his death . Antoine LeClaire died on September 25 , 1861 . His funeral was held in St . Marguerite ' s Church and he was buried in the church yard . The Rev . J . A . M . Pelamourgues from St . Anthony ' s presided at the funeral with two other priests . The Rev . John Donlan preached the funeral sermon . Marguerite LeClaire died on October 18 , 1876 and was buried next to her husband . When Sacred Heart Cathedral was built in 1891 , and St . Marguerite ' s was torn down , the LeClaires ' bodies were moved to St . Marguerite ' s Cemetery , now Mount Calvary Cemetery . Legacy . Numerous places in the Quad City area of Iowa and Illinois are named for LeClaire . They include :