Mc Cann Brothers - Arthur McCann

Arthur McCann

(1814 - 1844) In 1840, Arthur McCann joined his brothers in Menomonie. That year, he married Rosalie Demarie, a daughter of the well-known Métis fur trader Louis Demarie. In 1832-1833, the Demarie family had been the first settlers to live in Eau Claire over the winter months. Rosalie's half-sister, Mary, had married Hiram S. Allen in 1836, and another sister, Margaret, was married to Samuel Lamb, who built the first house in Dunnville, on the bank of the Red Cedar River, 12 miles south of Menomonie. Rosalie's mother, Angeline Collins, who was also Metis, was a well known healer, physician and medicine woman. Lamb's house became a popular tavern, but he lacked business acumen, the enterprise failed, and he sold the place to Arthur.

During Arthur's partnership with his brothers and J. C. Thomas, he hired an employee named Sawyer to work at the Blue Mill. One evening, Sawyer came to the tavern, where:

McCann offered him a drink. The first drink led to another and another. The two men sat down and began to play cards. "Art figured he'd get those wages back," brother Daniel McCann said, shaking his head. The cards led to an argument. McCann stood up and dropped Sawyer with his fists. Sawyer pulled himself to the door, swearing to get revenge. He went to the cabin of Philo Stone nearby, pulling a loaded rifle off the pegs above the door, and returned to McCann's place. Knocking on the door, Sawyer waited until McCann stood in the opening and he pressed the trigger. McCann fell, mortally wounded, on his own doorstep. The waters of Spring Creek (now located in what is Eau Claire County) ran red for days, but the murderer of Arthur McCann was never apprehended.

Consequently, Arthur McCann became known as the first white man to die at the hands of another white man in the Chippewa Valley. Shortly after Arthur died his widow remarried, and in 1862, she was married for a third time to George P. Warren