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Acton Family


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 …

Anderson Family


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 …

Aptewen [Cane]


36.5 in L X 1.75 in W Currently on loan from the Kansas State Historical Society and on exhibition at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center is Abram Burnett’s cane. The wooden cane is painted black, with an iron bottom tip and a non-ferromagnetic metal handle. The metal handle is attached to a dirk [small dagger], concealed in the …

Beaubien Family


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 …

Beaubien, Jean Baptiste


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 …

Benache, Mary Ann


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 …

Bergeron, Francis Xavier


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 …

Bertrand, Benjamin Hendre


Benjamin Hendre Bertrand was born June 25, 1812 in Berrien Country, Michigan to Madeline Bourassa and Joseph Bertrand. Like his cousins Joseph and Jude Bourassa, Benjamin attended the school at Carey Mission at the age of 7. He later transferred to a private school in Detroit, Michigan and then reunited with his Bourassa family at the Choctaw Academy at White …

Bourassa I, Daniel


Daniel Bourassa was the son of French-Canadian fur trader Rene Bourassa and Anne Chevalier. He was born on October 8, 1752 on Mackinac Island, Canada. After the French and Indian War, Daniel and his family moved to Fort Detroit. With the British now controlling the fur trade in the region, more lucrative opportunities became available. At the age of 34, …

Bourassa II, Daniel


Born June 22, 1780, Daniel II was the son of Daniel Bourassa and Marguerite Bertrand. Descending from a family of fur traders, Daniel took after his father and became an agent for John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company. On March 15, 1808, Daniel married a Nishnabe woman named Theotis Pisange. Theotis’ father was Ojibwe and her mother was Odawa, believed …