|
m Dating maintenance tags: {{Citation needed}}
|
added content, inline citations, copyedits, and subheadings to Biography section
|
||
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
==Biography== |
==Biography== |
||
===Early life and education=== |
|||
Jean Baptiste de Richardville was born about 1761 in the [[Miami people|Miami]] (Myaami) village of [[Kekionga]] (present-day [[Fort Wayne, Indiana]]), son of [[Tacumwah]], sister of the Miami chief [[Pacanne]], and Joseph Drouet de Richerville, a [[French people|French]] [[fur trader]] from Quebec. The boy was well educated, and learned to speak [[Miami language|Miami]], an [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]] language; [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquois]], [[French language|French]], and [[English language|English]]. He gained his status in the tribe from his mother's people, as it had a [[matrilineal]] system. As an adult, Peshewa later refused to speak white/European languages or wear European-style clothing.<ref>Anson, p. 189</ref> |
|||
Jean Baptiste de Richardville (Peshewa or Pinšiwa, meaning "[[Wildcat]]" or "[[Lynx]]" in the [[Miami-Illinois language]]) was born about 1761 in the [[Miami people|Miami]] (Myaami) village of [[Kekionga]] (Miamitown), present-day [[Fort Wayne, Indiana]].<ref name=Chaput114>{{cite journal| author=Donald Chaput| title =The Family of Drouet de Richeville: Merchants, Soldiers, and Chiefs of Indiana | journal =Indiana Magazine of History | volume =74 | issue =2 | page=114 | publisher =Indiana University | location =Bloomington | date =June 1978| url =https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/10088/ | accessdate =December 12, 2019}}</ref><ref name=Rafert48>{{cite book | author= Stewart Rafert | title =The Miami Indians of Indiana: A Persistent People, 1654–1994 | publisher =Indiana Historical Society | series = | volume = | edition = | year =1996 | location =Indianapolis | page=48 | url = | isbn =0871951118}}</ref> He was the [[Métis in the United States|métis]] (half [[French people|French]] and half Miami) son of [[Tacumwah]], an influential Miami chieftess of the Atchatchakangouen band and the sister of the Miami chief [[Pacanne]], and Antoine-Joseph Drouet de Richerville, a French-[[Canadians|Canadian]] [[fur trader]] at Kekionga from about 1750 to 1770. By the late 1780s, Antoine-Joseph de Richerville had permanently settled at [[Trois-Rivières]] (Three Rivers) in [[Quebec]], [[Canada]].<ref name=Anson189>{{cite book | author=Bert Anson | title =The Miami Indians | publisher = University of Oklahoma Press | series = | volume = | edition = | year =2000 | location =Norman | page=13 (footnote 28) and 189 | url = | isbn =0-8061-3197-7}}</ref><ref name=Rafert48/><ref name=Chaput112>Chaput, p. 112.</ref><ref>{{cite book | author= Wallace A. Brice | title =History of Fort Wayne, from the Earliest Known Accounts of This Point, to the Present Period | publisher =D. W. Jones and Son | year =1868 | location =Fort Wayne, Indiana | page=315 | url = | isbn =}} (1971 reprint; Unigraphic)</ref> Historian Donald Chaput described the Drouets as "one of the most significant families of officers-traders in the western [[Great Lakes region]]."<ref>Chaput, p. 104.</ref> Through his mother's family, Jean Baptiste de Richardville was also the nephew of two Miami chiefs, [[Little Turtle]] and Pacanne.<ref name=Chaput113>Chaput, p. 113.</ref> |
|||
Richardville spent part of his childhood with his father in Quebec, where he received a few years of formal education before returning to Kekionga in late 1770s to live among the Miamis with his mother.<ref name=Rafert48/><ref name=GS290-91>{{cite book | author=Linda C. Gugin and James E. St. Clair, eds. | title =Indiana's 200: The People Who Shaped the Hoosier State | publisher =Indiana Historical Society Press| year =2015 | location =Indianapolis | pages =290–91 | url = | isbn =978-0-87195-387-2}}</ref> During his youth, Richardville learned to speak fluent [[Miami language|Miami]] (an [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]] language), as well as [[French language|French]] and [[English language|English]]. By the time that Richardville returned to Kekionga, his mother, Tacumwah, had married Charles Beaubein, a French trader in the area. Tacumwah operated her own trading house at Kekionga, where her son learned to became successful a trader. Richardville also joined his mother's tribal community.<ref name=Anson189/><ref>Chaput, pp. 112–13.</ref> |
|||
Richardville and his mother made most of their income from the [[fur trade]] and control of a [[portage]] connecting the [[Maumee River]] to the [[Little River (Indiana)|Little River]], known today as the Little Wabash River. The [[Northwest Ordinance]] of the United States Congress declared that all important portages in the region were to be free for use. The Miami lost control of the portage in the [[Treaty of Greenville]] (1795), which ended the [[Northwest Wars]] by which a coalition of Native Americans had tried to repulse the European Americans from the region west of the Appalachians and north of the Ohio River. |
|||
Richardville was initially reluctant to take part in Miami tribal affairs, preferring instead to culturally identify himself as a [[Creole peoples|creole Frenchman]], dress in French clothing, and take an interest in European culture. Because his tribe had a [[matrilineal]] power system, Richardville gained leadership status in the tribe from his mother's people, meaning he gained authority through his mother’s brother, Chief Pacanne. Richardville became more politically active in Miami affairs as an ally of his uncles, Chief Pacanne and Chief Little Turtle.<ref>Gugin and St. Clair, eds., pp. 233 and 290.</ref> After the [[War of 1812]], Richardville began to culturally identify more with the Miami people, instead of the creole French, and became a "prominent leader of the tribe."<ref name=GS291>Gugin and St. Clair, eds., p. 291.</ref> As an adult, Richardville refused to speak English or French languages or wear European-style clothing.<ref name=Anson189/> |
|||
But, Richardville acquired a trade license in 1815 which gave him a monopoly on carry-over services at the portage. He earned considerable profits again from trading traffic at the portage.<ref>Poinsatte, 79-80</ref> |
|||
===Fur trader and entrepreneur=== |
|||
Richardville began his career as a trader and operated a successful trading post at Kekionga (Miamitown), near present day Fort Wayne, Indiana, while his mother ran a trading post at the Forks of the Wabash.<ref name=Chaput113/> These two outposts along the [[Maumee River]] and [[Wabash River|Wabash]] Rivers dominated trade between the two waterways, which connected the [[Great Lakes]] to the [[Mississippi River]] Valley. Richardville and his mother made most of their income from the [[fur trade]], but they also established a profitable business charging fees to transport goods over |
|||
and control of a [[portage]] connecting the Maumee River to the [[Little River (Indiana)|Little River]] (known in the present-day as the Little Wabash River).<ref name=Rafert48/><ref name=GS291/> |
|||
Under the terms of Article 4 of the [[Northwest Ordinance]] (1787), the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] declared that all navigable waters and portages between the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] and the [[Saint Lawrence River|Saint Lawrence]] Rivers were free for all to use. Although the Miamis lost control of the portage in the [[Treaty of Greenville]] (1795), Richardville acquired a trade license in 1815 that gave him a monopoly on carry-over services at the portage, which earned him considerable profits from the trading traffic.<ref>The Treaty of Greenville (1795) also ended the [[Northwest Indian Wars]] in which a coalition of Native Americans had tried to repulse European Americans from the region west of the [[Appalachian Mountains]] and north of the [[Ohio River]]. See {{cite book |author=Charles Poinsatte |title=Outpost in the Wilderness: Fort Wayne, 1706-1828 |publisher=Allen County, Fort Wayne Historical Society |pages=79–80 |year=1976 |OCLC=3801775}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| author=|title=Northwest Ordinance| work =|publisher=Library of Congress | date =|url=https://cdn.loc.gov/service/rbc/bdsdcc/22501/22501.pdf | format =PDF| accessdate =December 11, 2019}}</ref> In 1824 Richardville had gained sufficient wealth to be among the first to purchase a lot in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that would serve as a site for his home and trading post.<ref>Poinsatte, pp. 97–98.</ref> By 1831 he had relocated the Miami tribal headquarters and his trading post in Fort Wayne to a site at the Forks of the Wabash, which was closer to the Miami villages and tribal reserve lands.<ref>Headings and Leonard, "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: de Richardville, Chief Jean-Baptiste, House," p. 24 (Section 8).</ref> |
|||
===Tribal leader and landowner=== |
|||
In 1818, Richardville signed the [[Treaty of St. Mary's]] with the US. The treaty punished the Miami for their lack of support to the US during its [[War of 1812]] against the British, and forced them to cede most of their land in central [[Indiana]] to the United States.<ref>Carter, p. 242</ref> At the time, Richardville negotiated legal land grants in the area to individual Miami families, including for himself. He eventually controlled more than 20 square miles along the St. Joseph, St. Mary's, Mississinewa, Salamonie and Wabash rivers.<ref name="History">[http://www.fwhistorycenter.com/chiefRichardvilleHouse.html "Chief Richardville House"], History Center, Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, accessed 26 March 2012</ref> |
In 1818, Richardville signed the [[Treaty of St. Mary's]] with the US. The treaty punished the Miami for their lack of support to the US during its [[War of 1812]] against the British, and forced them to cede most of their land in central [[Indiana]] to the United States.<ref>Carter, p. 242</ref> At the time, Richardville negotiated legal land grants in the area to individual Miami families, including for himself. He eventually controlled more than 20 square miles along the St. Joseph, St. Mary's, Mississinewa, Salamonie and Wabash rivers.<ref name="History">[http://www.fwhistorycenter.com/chiefRichardvilleHouse.html "Chief Richardville House"], History Center, Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, accessed 26 March 2012</ref> |
||
Jean Baptiste de Richardville (c. 1761 – 13 August 1841), known as Pinšiwa in Miami (meaning Wildcat, also spelled Peshewa) and John Richardville, was the last akima (civil chief) of the Miami people.[1] He was a signatory to the Treaty of Greenville (1795) and later treaties with the United States through the Treaty of Mississinewas (1826). A fur trader who controlled an important portage connecting the Maumee River to the Little River, by his death in 1841 he was considered the wealthiest man in Indiana. He had acquired more than 20 square miles of property along the rivers.
In 1827 he completed construction of a treaty house partially funded by the United States. The Richardville House is the first in northeastern Indiana to be built in the Greek Revival style, the oldest Native American house in the state, and one of the few surviving treaty houses in the United States. It was designated in 2012 as a National Historic Landmark.
Jean Baptiste de Richardville (Peshewa or Pinšiwa, meaning "Wildcat" or "Lynx" in the Miami-Illinois language) was born about 1761 in the Miami (Myaami) village of Kekionga (Miamitown), present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana.[2][3] He was the métis (half French and half Miami) son of Tacumwah, an influential Miami chieftess of the Atchatchakangouen band and the sister of the Miami chief Pacanne, and Antoine-Joseph Drouet de Richerville, a French-Canadian fur trader at Kekionga from about 1750 to 1770. By the late 1780s, Antoine-Joseph de Richerville had permanently settled at Trois-Rivières (Three Rivers) in Quebec, Canada.[4][3][5][6] Historian Donald Chaput described the Drouets as "one of the most significant families of officers-traders in the western Great Lakes region."[7] Through his mother's family, Jean Baptiste de Richardville was also the nephew of two Miami chiefs, Little Turtle and Pacanne.[8]
Richardville spent part of his childhood with his father in Quebec, where he received a few years of formal education before returning to Kekionga in late 1770s to live among the Miamis with his mother.[3][9] During his youth, Richardville learned to speak fluent Miami (anAlgonquian language), as well as French and English. By the time that Richardville returned to Kekionga, his mother, Tacumwah, had married Charles Beaubein, a French trader in the area. Tacumwah operated her own trading house at Kekionga, where her son learned to became successful a trader. Richardville also joined his mother's tribal community.[4][10]
Richardville was initially reluctant to take part in Miami tribal affairs, preferring instead to culturally identify himself as a creole Frenchman, dress in French clothing, and take an interest in European culture. Because his tribe had a matrilineal power system, Richardville gained leadership status in the tribe from his mother's people, meaning he gained authority through his mother’s brother, Chief Pacanne. Richardville became more politically active in Miami affairs as an ally of his uncles, Chief Pacanne and Chief Little Turtle.[11] After the War of 1812, Richardville began to culturally identify more with the Miami people, instead of the creole French, and became a "prominent leader of the tribe."[12] As an adult, Richardville refused to speak English or French languages or wear European-style clothing.[4]
Richardville began his career as a trader and operated a successful trading post at Kekionga (Miamitown), near present day Fort Wayne, Indiana, while his mother ran a trading post at the Forks of the Wabash.[8] These two outposts along the Maumee River and Wabash Rivers dominated trade between the two waterways, which connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River Valley. Richardville and his mother made most of their income from the fur trade, but they also established a profitable business charging fees to transport goods over and control of a portage connecting the Maumee River to the Little River (known in the present-day as the Little Wabash River).[3][12]
Under the terms of Article 4 of the Northwest Ordinance (1787), the U.S. Congress declared that all navigable waters and portages between the Mississippi and the Saint Lawrence Rivers were free for all to use. Although the Miamis lost control of the portage in the Treaty of Greenville (1795), Richardville acquired a trade license in 1815 that gave him a monopoly on carry-over services at the portage, which earned him considerable profits from the trading traffic.[13][14] In 1824 Richardville had gained sufficient wealth to be among the first to purchase a lot in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that would serve as a site for his home and trading post.[15] By 1831 he had relocated the Miami tribal headquarters and his trading post in Fort Wayne to a site at the Forks of the Wabash, which was closer to the Miami villages and tribal reserve lands.[16]
In 1818, Richardville signed the Treaty of St. Mary's with the US. The treaty punished the Miami for their lack of support to the US during its War of 1812 against the British, and forced them to cede most of their land in central Indiana to the United States.[17] At the time, Richardville negotiated legal land grants in the area to individual Miami families, including for himself. He eventually controlled more than 20 square miles along the St. Joseph, St. Mary's, Mississinewa, Salamonie and Wabash rivers.[18]
Pinšiwa often offered his private lands as a refuge for other Miami. This enabled about half of the Miami people to remain in Indiana when the tribe was officially removed by the US in 1846 to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River, five years after Richardville died.[19]
After signing the Treaty of Mississinewas (1826), Richardville was given $600 by the United States toward building the Richardville House in present-day Fort Wayne, where he lived the rest of his life. Richardville used his own funds for the remainder of the total estimated cost at the time of $2200 to build the house; when completed in 1827, it was the first Greek Revival-style house in northeastern Indiana.[18]
At the time of his death in 1841, Richardville is considered to have been the richest man in the state of Indiana. He was succeeded as chief by his eldest daughter's husband, Francis La Fontaine.[20] The Richardville House remained in the family until 1894. It was then acquired by a gravel company that mined all but about an acre surrounding the house. The structure was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012, as it is one of the few surviving treaty houses and the oldest Native American house in the Midwest.
In 1991, the house was acquired by the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society. It has restored the exterior, opens the house monthly during the summer season for visitors, and operates a variety of programs on Miami history at the site.
{{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
