Lt Michael Antoine De La Scour GAROUTTE

1750 - 1829  (79 years)

• Name	Michael Antoine De La Scour GAROUTTE  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Title	Lt
  Birth	12 Apr 1750	Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France   [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Gender	Male
  Burial	Pleasant Mills, Atlantic, New Jersey, USA   [2, 3, 4, 5]
  Death	29 Apr 1829	Pemberton, Burlington, New Jersey, USA   [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Burial	Estellville, Atlantic, New Jersey, USA   [1]
  Person ID	I26604	Bari Ancestors
  Last Modified	28 Jul 2025

  
  

  Family
  Children	1. Michael GAROUTTE,   b. 17 Feb 1784, Gloucester, New Jersey, USA d. 31 Mar 1853, Lynchburg, Highland, Ohio, USA (Age 69 years)  [Father: natural]   2. Bethia GAROUTTE,   b. Between 1783 and 1786   d. 1855 (Age 72 years)  [Father: natural]   3. William David GAROUTTE,   b. 13 Apr 1798, New Jersey, USA d. 19 Mar 1863, Billings, Christian, Missouri, USA (Age 64 years)  [Father: natural]   4. Elizabeth Ann GAROUTTE,   b. 21 Jul 1802, Burlington, New Jersey, USA d. 22 Nov 1869, Greeneville, Greene, Tennessee, USA (Age 67 years)  [Father: natural]   5. Mary M GAROUTTE,   b. 12 Apr 1798, USA d. 5 Jan 1880, New Jersey, USA (Age 81 years)  [Father: natural]   6. Samuel J GAROUTTE,   b. 17 Apr 1796, New Jersey, USA d. 15 Sep 1857, Greene, Missouri, USA (Age 61 years)  [Father: natural]   7. David Anthony GAROUTTE,   b. 20 Nov 1800, New Jersey, USA d. 1861, Greene, Missouri, USA (Age 60 years)  [Father: natural]   8. James Smith GAROUTTE,   b. 22 Jul 1792, Pleasant Mills, Atlantic, New Jersey, USA d. 31 May 1875, Republic, Greene, Missouri, USA (Age 82 years)  [Father: natural]
  Family ID	F10079	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	28 Jul 2025

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 12 Apr 1750 - Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France Burial - - Pleasant Mills, Atlantic, New Jersey, USA Death - 29 Apr 1829 - Pemberton, Burlington, New Jersey, USA Burial - - Estellville, Atlantic, New Jersey, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Excerpt from The Garoutte History 1775 - 1985, by Ellan Douglas Thiesen The American History of Michael Garoutte, son of Antoine Garoutte and Anne D'Lascour Garoutte In 1775, Michael Garoutte outfitted one or two ships at Marseilles, at his own expense and brought a large number of men to America to aid the Colonists in their fight for freedom. He landed on the New Jersey shore, probably near Pleasant Mills, and during the early years of the Revolutionary War, he assisted the colonial government. On account of the burning of the New Jersey Archives covering this war period, we are unable to obtain an authentic record of his help to the government, but it has been handed down and generally understood that he loaned money to the government and outfitted and manned ships which he gave to the government. One ship was burned and sunk by the British at the Mullica River, at or near a place called Sand Point. A part of the wreck could be seen at low tide within the last few years. One ship is said to have been burned at Quebec. He was a volunteer officer on the brig "Enterprise" and the sloop of war, "Race Horse." Michael Garoutte was riding with a party of American and French officers during fighting when they met a party of British officers. In the fight that followed, Michael was wounded in the head and left for dead. An old Quaker passing by with his wagon saw signs of life, carried him home and nursed him back to life, and Michael married his daughter, Sophia Smith. He never received a pension. The records of the Pension Bureau at Washington, D.C. show that the pension he asked for was refused because his service was on ships instead of the continental Government. Michael Garoutte married Oct. 26, 1778, at Pleasant Mills, NJ, Sophia Smith, born Sept. 23, 1759, the daughter of James Smith, an inn-keeper. Her brothers and sister were: Bethia Smith, born 1754, died 1783, married a Mr. Gale; James Smith, Jr., and Isaac Smith. We have no further record of her mother or her family but it is known that they were Quakers. Innkeepers in that day were appointed. They were responsible men of good morals and upstandingness. They were selected for the responsible position of "Host" to the strangers who came to that particular settlement. He was expected to decide on the qualities of the guest, whether a desirable member of the community or not, if he wanted to stay, and the report if they were a "menace to the morals." Michael and Sophia Garoutte spent their married life in New Jersey, living at various places including Pleasant Mills and Tuckahoe, according to the data handed down. They had 13 children, all born in New Jersey. In 1787, Michael Garoutte made a trip to France and visited his sister, Magdalene D'Espinassy, and her daughter, Charlotte D'Espinassy, at which time they wrote letters to Michael's wife, Sophia, in America, copies of which [are contained in the books]. (see pg. xx) It is generally understood that Michael was educated for the Priesthood and that he attended the same military schools as Lafayette, and that he was highly educated. It is a fact that they were close friends, and the age of 25, in the year 1775, Michael Garoutte outfitted his own ship and left his home in Marseilles and came to America to aid the colonies in gaining Thier independence.

  
  

• Sources

  [S1513] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;). Record for Bethia McAfee http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=FindAGraveUS&h=93722795&indiv=try [S1513] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;). Record for David Anthony Garoutte https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=60525&h=90286228&indiv=try [S1513] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;). Record for James Smith Garoutte https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=60525&h=104691372&indiv=try [S1513] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;). Record for Lt Michel Antoine Sr Garoutte https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=60525&h=129829606&indiv=try [S1513] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;). Record for Michael Jr Garoutte https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=60525&h=60668206&indiv=try