[4] Joseph made millions as real estate promoter and was a civil servant for Detroit.
[5] Other family members established trading posts in places that came to be known as Manlius (1825),[6] Eaton Rapids, Muskegon, Manistee, Lowell, and Hastings.
[10] The coat of arms for the Campau family shows that they descended from a Baron of the Middle Ages.
[1][2] Michel Campau left Montreal and settled at Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit on August 3, 1707.
Jacques' great-grandson, Joseph Campau (February 2, 1769 – July 23, 1863) [1] was among Detroit's leading citizens and wealthiest landowners at the dawn of the 19th century.
[15] Jacques' great-granddaughter and Joseph's sister, Marie-Cecile (Cecile) Campeau, was married to Thomas Williams by Arent DePeyster, commandant of Fort Detroit on May 7, 1781.
[22] Thomas Williams died on November 30, 1785,[23] and in July 1790, Cecile married Jaques Leson[23][24] (also spelled Loson[19] and Lauson[23]) and they lived in what is now St. Clair County, Michigan.
He played a key role in negotiating the Treaty of Saginaw in 1819 between Gen. Lewis Cass and Native American tribes of the Great Lakes region in which Native Americans ceded more than six million acres (24,000 km²) in the central portion of the Lower Peninsula of the state.
[citation needed] In 1826, Campau moved westward and established a trading post in what is today Grand Rapids.
Along with fellow pioneer Lucius Lyon, Campau is remembered as one of the founding fathers of Grand Rapids.
[30] According to James M. McClurken, Antoine has been believed to be the father of Odawa chief Cobmoosa,[31] who first lived near Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In 1855 he signed a treaty with the federal government to relocate to Oceana County, Michigan, in exchange for $540,000 in cash and goods.
[32] Charles Columbus "Count" Campau (October 17, 1863 – April 3, 1938) was a professional baseball player whose career spanned the years 1885 to 1905.
Campau was also a manager in minor league baseball for 19 years, including stints with the New Orleans Pelicans, Kansas City Blues, Detroit Tigers/Wolverines, Seattle Yannigans/Rainmakers, Grand Rapids Bob-o-links, Rochester Bronchos, and Binghamton Bingoes.