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 …
31in W x 25in H x 19in D The camel back trunk was used as a footlocker by David P. Johnson when he attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School [Pennsylvania] from 1895-1899. The trunk is made of wood, metal and leather. Embossed on the latch is the patent date, July 9, 1872. Stenciled on the side of the trunk is, Indian …
Born on June 25, 1842 at Sugar Creek, Kansas, Theodore Santa Anna was the son of Jude Bourassa and Catherine Charet. With the Bourassa’s closely associated with the Catholic Missionaries, church records indicate that Father Christiaan Hoeken christened Theodore on June 27, 1842 at two days old. During the Civil War, Theodore volunteered to fight for the north and was …
The Bourbonnais Cabin is a culturally significant home located on Tribal land near the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center. Many see it as a physical connection to the past and cherish the experience to stand where their ancestors once stood. The Bourbonnais were one of the first families that moved from Kansas to Indian Territory, establishing Citizen Potawatomi in …
Like many French-Canadian settlers with ties to the Potawatomi, the Brunos were once successful fur traders and trappers. Anthony Bruneau was the son of a French settler and an unknown Blackfoot woman from around Browning, Montana. Anthony was born in Canada, and family records indicate the Potawatomi may have adopted him. Anthony married a woman named Julia, and they had …
The Burnett family has a long, rich history with the Potawatomi people. French fur trader William Burnett settled on the St. Joseph River near Niles, Michigan, after the Revolutionary War. He established two successful trading posts and eventually married Kaukima, daughter of revered Potawatomi leader Nanaquiba and sister to Topinabee. Kaukima and William had seven children: James, Abraham, John, Isaac, …