Legend has it that Peshewa—the “Wildcat” (Richardville’s Indian name) was born under an ancient apple tree at Kekionga or current Fort Wayne. His birth in approximately 1761 was toward the end of the French and Indian War. Copied from The Voice of the Miami by Visit Fort Wayne on Nov. 09, 2014. Nephew of the great war chief Little Turtle who defeated General Arthur St. Clair November 2, 1791 in battle that drove St. Clair’s army from Kikionga to Fort Recovery. It was the worst defeat of the U.S. Cavalry by any Indian Tribes. Richardville House - May 24, 2011 from the The History Center "Today, Michael Galbraith and Angie Quinn are heading to Washington DC, to present a nomination of the Akima Pinsiwa Awiiki (Chief Jean-Baptiste de Richardville House) to the National Park Service." National Historic Landmark Nomination.
Receipt to Tipton for 190 bushels of salt due to the Miami and Eel River tribes of Indians for 1823 by the treaties of 1803 and 1818. Signed (by their marks) triplicate by 9 Miami chiefs.
Subject
Receipts (Acknowledgements); Indians of North America; Indians of North America--Government relations; Miami Indians; Eel River Band of Miami Indians; Fort Wayne (Ind.); Tipton, John, 1786-1839; Indian agents--Indiana; Kercheval, Benjamin B., 1793-1855; Salt;
Receipt from Richardville for one Barshear plow and another agricultural implement; Richardville also known as Peshewa, chief of the Miami people.
Subject
Receipts (Acknowledgements); Plows; Richardville, Jean Baptiste, 1761?-1841; Miami Indians; Indians of North America; Tipton, John, 1786-1839; Indian agents--Indiana; Fort Wayne (Ind.); Barron, Joseph, 1773-1843;
Born in 1761, Jean Baptiste Richardville (Pinšiwa) was the son of a French fur trader father and a Miami Indian mother named Tacumwa, sister to the Miami war chief Little Turtle. Richardville and his mother built a trading empire based on control of the “long portage” between the St. Mary’s and Wabash Rivers, joining two water systems and thereby completing a pathway for commerce that extended from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. His 1827 home is now recognized as one of the oldest Native American structure in the Midwest, one of the first Greek Revival style houses in Indiana and the only surviving Treaty Houses in the nation. As principal Chief of the Miami, Richardville signed six treaties by 1840 that ultimately ceded over 950,000 acres of land in Indiana to the United States. At the time of his death, he held a fortune that included $200,000 in gold and silver, the equivalent of over $6.8 million today. On August 13, 1841, exactly 181 years ago today, Chief Richardville died in the East Bedroom of his magnificent mansion, still located in southwest Fort Wayne and stewarded by the History Center since 1991. Pinšiwa was first buried in the Cathedral Square Catholic cemetery in Fort Wayne beneath a splendid monument purchased by his daughters; however, with the construction of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in 1860, his gravesite and headstone were moved to the auxiliary Catholic cemetery southwest of downtown. Although there is some question as to whether his remains were disturbed, his monument was relocated, where, unfortunately due to its size and distinctiveness, became a favored target for passenger pistoleers riding along the nearby railway. The monument was then moved a final time in 1873 to the current Catholic cemetery along Lake Avenue, where is sits to this day.#sociallyhistory
THE CHIEF RICHARDVILLE MONUMENT. The monument raised over the burial place of Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville, in the present Cathedral square (the south half of which was used originally for a burial ground), was, at the time of the removal of the bodies to the Catholic cemetery in the southwestern part of the city, taken to the new burying ground, although the body of the Miami chief was allowed to remain in its original grave. Later, the monument was removed to the present Catholic cemetery, northeast of Fort Wayne. The small shaft of white marble was erected by the chief's daughters, Catherine, La- Blonde and Susan. While standing in the old cemetery, on the bank of the St. Mary's river, directly south from the Pennsylvania tracks, the monument became marred by sportsmen, who used it for a target in order to carry away its chips as souvenirs. It was removed to its present site by a granddaughter. Mrs. Archangel Engelmann, of Huntington, Indiana (daughter of Catherine, the wife of Chief LaFontaine). One panel bears the inscription: "Here Rest the Remains of John B. Richardville. Principal Chief of the Miami Tribe of Indians. He Was Born in Fort Wayne. Indiana, About the Year 1760, and Died in August. 1841." The resting place of the body of Richardville is described as a spot "just at the edge of the Cathedral, between the forward side door and the first buttress of the wall."
When Chief Richardville and his three daughters removed from Fort Wayne, they took up abode on the reservation four miles south of the town, where, in later times, they lived amidst all the luxuries of the life of the time. After twenty-six years of rule of the Miamis, the chief died August 31, 1841. He was about eighty years of age. The body was placed in the present Cathedral square, the south half of which was then used as a cemetery. Rev. Father Clark, of Peru, Indiana, conducted the funeral services in St. Augustine's Catholic church. Although the body of the chief remains in its original grave, the monument which was erected there was removed later to the
former Catholic cemetery near the St. Mary's river, south of the Pennsylvania railroad bridge, at Swirmey park. From this site to the present Catholic cemetery, northeast of Fort Wayne, the monument was removed by his grand-daughter, Mrs. Archangel Englemann. The monument was the tribute of the chief's three daughters, Catherine (the wife of Chief LaFontaine), LaBlonde and Susan.
From Vivian Sade of the Journal Gazette March 8, 2012" Chief’s home gains federal status The Waynedale home of a rich and famous Miami Indian chief has been named a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, part of the Department of the Interior. Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville’s home at 5705 Bluffton Road – the oldest Native American dwelling in the Midwest – was one of 13 new National Historic Landmarks recognized this week by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The brick and limestone home, also known as the akima Pinifiwa Awiiki, is a rare surviving example of a treaty house – a site where numerous treaties were negotiated and signed – in the U.S., according to Salazar. The historic home was built by the Miami chief in 1827. Richardville was a successful businessman and was the richest man in Indiana when he died in 1841. Born in 1761, Richardville was the son of a French fur trader father and a Miami Indian mother – Tacamwa, sister to the Miami war chief Little Turtle. Richardville was best known for his strong negotiating skills, in particular with the U.S. government, according to the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society website."
Finally, #TBT to 2005 when Linda Booher, Rose Lantz, Carol Linton, Aaron Nagy, and descendants of Chief Richardville created Mini Don for Mastodons on Parade!
Richardville descendant dies in county originally named for chief by Editorial board Sep 3, 2022 in The Journal Gazette newspaper. A great-great-great-grandson of Miami Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville, whose Fort Wayne home is a National Historic Landmark, has died. Richard “Dick” Moore, father of Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore, passed away Aug. 24. He was 75. A Huntington native, Dick Moore moved to Kokomo in 1972 to work as manager of Anderson Abstract Co., the Kokomo Tribune reports. He bought the business in 1985, and in 1998 renamed it Moore Title & Escrow. He was a member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and took pride in his Native American ancestry. Sarah Siders, tribal secretary of the Miami Tribe of Indiana, said it is “significant” that a descendant of Richardville is mayor of a city where the Miami chief would have been the ultimate authority.
With November being Native American Heritage Month, WANE 15 decided to lookback at a prominent Native American in Fort Wayne’s history: Miami ChiefJean Baptiste de Richardville.
This 1884 case involves a dispute over taxes not paid on land which was bequeathed from the estate of Jean Baptiste Richardville (Pinšiwa), the akima (civil chief) of the Myaamia (Miami) Nation Of Indiana. Wau-pe-man-qua, also known as Mary Strack, was descended from Richardville, and was a member of the Miami Tribe but not considered a citizen of the United States. She claimed immunity from paying taxes due to the agreements in the treaties signed by Richardville. The land was deemed delinquent because of unpaid taxes, and the defendant, Charles H. Aldrich, bid on the land. The court ruled that the Miamis were exempt from taxation.
The treaty house the U.S. built as part of the terms of the 1826 Treaty between the Myaamia (Miami) and the United States became a National Historic Landmark in Fort Wayne, IN in 2012. It is named the akima Pinšiwa Awiiki.
From the series Mixed Admiralty, Law, Chancery, and Criminal Case Files, 1833–1912, Indianapolis, U.S. Circuit Case 7883 NAID 297910175
In 1825, a man by the name of C.C. Trowbridge was sent by Gov. Lewis Cass to northern Indiana to investigate the culture of the Miami Indians found along the Wabash River. In making his report Trowbridge sought out two informants: Chiefs LeGros and Richardville. From them he gathered as much oral history of the Miami’s as his informants would share with him. His findings were later printed in a book entitled “MEEARMEEAR TRADITIONS.” A copy of this book can be found in the Wabash Carnegie Public Library’s Indiana History and Genealogical collection.
One story that Chief LeGros shared concerned an encounter that his grandfather had while on a raiding party. They had planned to sneak up on a neighboring village some distance from there own village. They were surprised and a short but bloody engagement took place leaving his grandfather morally wounded with many tomahawk wounds and knife cuts. As they left the field of battle, hotly pursued by the enemy, he could not keep up. He directed those who were assisting him to leave him so that they might escape. He asked them to sit him with his back to a tree and him face towards his village. They obeyed him and fled.
Somehow the pursuing enemy did not find him. In the evening something happed which he could not explain. While in a very weak state, nearly at deaths door, a sudden strange feeling came over him. Painfully, he turned to the side expecting a sudden quick death but instead he saw what appeared to be a man over six feet tall with straight hair standing out from his head, no eyebrows, bow-legged and long arms that ended in rod-like appendages instead of hands wrapped in metal. Two more such humanoids appeared. One reached into his own body bringing out what appeared to be plates of brass and iron and used them to stop the bleeding and bind the wounds on his body. Within a few days his grandfather recovered and managed to return to his village where all of his wounds were healed and there was no scaring on his body. He was looked upon as the object of a great miracle. All of his wounds were healed and there was no scaring on his body.
What did Chief LeGros’s grandfather encounter? Who were the strange persons he saw? We shall never know. Can you explain it?
Pictured here is a rendition of what Chief LeGros looked like as portrayed in a lithograph made of the Native American chiefs who attended the Treaty of Mississinewa in 1826, by Heather Malott Middaugh.
LeGros also known as LeGris, Big Body and Machekeoltah, was a Miami who had a village located near the mouth of the Salamonie River where it enters into the Wabash Ri ver. He signed treaties of 1795 (first Treaty of Greenville), 1814, 1818 (Treaty of St. Mary’s) and 1826 (Treaty of Mississinewa). LeGros was possibly born around Picawillany, Ohio, circa 1750. His father was also known as LeGros. In an interview with C.C. Trowbridge he said his family originally came from the St. Joseph’s River area. In 1747 LeGris moved his people from Kekionga to Picawillany. In 1752, the tribe was forcibly removed back to Kekinga. LeGros grew up in one of the villages that made up Kekionga. His village was located on present day Spy Run in Fort Wayne.
LeGros was present and received presents from Col. Hamilton “the Hair buyer” on his way from Detroit to retake Vincennes.
In 1780 a force of men led by LaBalme attempted an attack on Detroit. LaBalme with 104 men were attacked by a force led by Little Turtle accompanied by LeGros on the Aboite River. Forty of LaBalme’s men were killed out right while some managed to escape in the darkness while the rest were captured. By 1786 LeGros emerged as a principal chief of the tribe.
The 1790s was a period known as the “Indian Wars” with the Miami and other tribes of the Old Northwest. On October 19, 1790 Little Turtle defeated American forces under General Harmer.Harmer’s Defeat took place at present day Fort Wayne just a few miles from LeGros village on Spy Run. One account states that Little Turtle along with LeGros and Blue Jacket paraded the streets of Detroit “uttering yelps while bearing long poles strung with the scalps of many American soldiers.” On Nov. 4 Little Turtle with two thousand warriors, defeated American forces under General St. Clair at present day Fort Recovery, Ohio, the largest defeat the U.S. Army ever had inflicted upon them. It is assumed that LeGros was with him. At the Treaty of Greenville (Aug. 3, 1795) Little Turtle and LeGros concluded a treaty with the American government being the only Miami representatives to sign the treaty.
Sometime around 1820, LeGros’ power waning with the death of Little Turtle, he moved to the area at “the mouth of the Salamonie” now called LaGro. From 1823 to 1826 he received annuity payments. In the 1825 annuity payment list, Chief LeGros was given $175.00 which was to be shared among the 15 people living with him. There were two families his and possibly his son, LeGros’ Son, with thirteen women and children. In October of 1826 in a memorandum of Indians Drawing Rations made by John Tipton the LaGro band was listed as having 18 members and LeGros’ son is listed as having 12 members.
February of 1825 Chief LeGros expressed a desire to visit the president in Washington, D.C. and paid for out of their annuity. His concern being a rumor then in circulation that the president wished the removal of all Indians to beyond the Mississippi. On Jan. 3, 1826 LeGros left with John Tipton on his journey to Washington, D.C. At Piqua he was given a horse to ride and later on took a stage. He arrived on Jan. 20th staying at the Queens Hotel.
On Jan. 27th LaGros made a speech at the War Office. On February 8 he went to see the President and in the evening attended a levee held by Mrs. Adams. He returned to Fort Wayne on February 24th. Part of the return home was by steamboat.
LeGros participated in the Treaty of the Mississinewa signed at the Treaty Grounds in October of 1826. That treaty granted him four sections of land. The treaty also agreed to build a house for Chief LeGros. His “brick house” was located was in the heart of the town of LaGro. The “public pump” located on the north side of Washington St. was located was in one corner of his lot and dug by the government when the house was built. The house, consisting of two rooms cost less than $500 built by Moses Scott in 1828. The brick was burned at the site for its construction. LeGros also had about ten acres of land in corn.
LeGros died December 22, 1826 at “½ past l oclock.” LeGros’ will dated October 30, 1826, gave all his land (2,560 acres) to John Tipton. The will was filed in Allen County, Indiana on January 15, 1831.
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