The Acton Potawatomi family connection begins with Chief Ashkum (More and More) — Christian name James Acton Sr. — and his two marriages to first wife Madeline Oscum and second, Angeline Bellaire, Azhnick. He had six children with Madeline: Mary Ann, Susan, Harrison, Cassie, John J. and Joseph Acton; and four children with Angeline: Helen, Zoa, and twins, Mary Louise …
The Anderson family’s Potawatomi roots began in 18th century Peoria, Illinois, when a Potawatomi woman named Mary C. Tremblay married a blacksmith named John Anderson. They had three children: John Charles, Mary Ann and Peter. John Anderson’s family settled in downtown Peoria, Illinois, where he partnered with William Tobey to establish a plow manufacturing facility. The duo perfected plows specific …
Ashkem was considered a traditional headman and distinguished speaker among the Indiana Potawatomi. He was the principle orator and leading voice of the Wabash Potawatomi, always lecturing on the rights of his people. Ashkem was one of many who resisted the United States’ encroachment into the Great Lakes as well as the Christian conversion of the Potawatomi. Due to his …
David Joe Barrett is a native of Tecumseh, Oklahoma, and descendant of Marguerite Bourassa, Mnitoqua “Spirit Woman,” a full blood Potawatomi who married Leon Bourassa who was a boatman for American Fur Co. and clerked for his uncle Joseph Bertrand. His Potawatomi name is Mnedobe, meaning, “Sits with Spirit.” He has served as the legislator for District 10 since June …
John A. Barrett, Jr. is a native of Shawnee, Oklahoma, and a graduate of Shawnee High School. His Potawatomi name is Kiweoge, meaning, “He Leads Them Home.” Chairman Barrett has served as an elected official for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation since 1973 when he was first elected as Vice-Chairman. Tribal Chairman since 1985, Barrett is the eighth generation of his …
The Beaubien family’s roots in North America begin with fur trader Bertrand Farfard Suier de La Frambois. He married Marie Sedilot in Three Rivers, Canada, on Dec. 20, 1640. Together, they had a son named Jean Baptiste. The family moved from Quebec to Vermont and New York. Jean wed Francois Marchand, and their son Jean Baptiste LaFrombois III married Genevieve …
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Jean Baptiste Beaubien was a well-known trader in the country around Lake Michigan. He gained experienced in trading and an education from noted Michigan trader William Bailly. By 1800, Jean had established his own lucrative trading house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This would be the first of many around the Milwaukee and Green Bay regions. It was …
Madore Beaubien was the son of Jean Baptiste Beaubien who moved the Chicago area in 1816, after the Battle of Fort Dearborn. Jean Baptiste was a well-known fur trader, learning the business from Joseph Bailly. He married Mahnawbunokwe, the daughter of respected warrior and leader Shabbone, and had two children: Charles Henry and Madore. He then married Josette LaFromboise, daughter …
Mary Anne was the daughter of noted warrior and leader Segnak or Benache. She was the wife of local trader Edward McCartney, who was the business partner of Logansport, Indiana founder Alexis Coquillard. After her divorce from McCartney, Mary Ann married Potawatomi warrior Peashwah. Upon her father’s death, she inherited his vast land holdings and became one of the most …
Francis Xavier Bergeron was a French-Canadian born near Quebec, Canada, and arrived around the Kankakee area in the late 1830s. After removal west of the Mississippi, a Potawatomi tribal member named Watchekee or Watseka often made trips back to Illinois. She and Francis met on one of these excursions and wed around 1840. They had four children: Jean Batiste, Catherine …