Follow
Introduction and data entry by William Arthur Allen_ Genealogical Reference: https://www.geni.com/family-tree/canvas/6000000033239086683
Potawatomi Migration Project as a Special Collections Project: This project is designed to meet the criteria of a Geni Special Collections Project per https://www.geni.com/projects/Geni-Special-Collections/32210 .
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to identify names of Potawatomi people who migrated from the USA to Canada shortly after the international boundary was established in accordance with the London Convention of 1818, a wide scale migration driven largely by the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. See https://www.fcpotawatomi.com/culture-and-history/treaties/september... .
Logic of the Project: After 1818 regions south of the Great Lakes previously part of Canada became part of the USA. Included in the inventory of names are descendants of the migrants known and documented as of 1907 when the Wooster Roll listed those Potawatomi descendants then living and known. The Wooster Roll does not record deceased persons as of 1907 since signatories of the 1833 Treaty of Chicago were all deceased by 1907 and are identified on the roll only through reported relationships by their Potawatomi decendants, often with gaps in the reports. The Wooster Roll is not a complete record of the descendants of all Potawatomi migrants since some people lived away from First Nations communities by 1907 and some wished to refute their Potawatomi ancestry even if their children wished to re-establish their Potawatomi roots. Some of those names not on the 1907 Wooster Roll do appear on the 1919 Chisholm Roll as is the case for Canadian World War 1 veteran George Sturgeon. See https://www.academia.edu/15722696/1919_Chisholm_Roll_of_Descendants... . Since the people who "signed" the 1833 Treaty of Chicago were identified by the English recorder hearing the spoken names there are differences between the 1833 spellings and the 1907 reports of the same person. For instance, the person recorded as "Nah-che-wan" on the 1833 Treaty of Chicago is almost certainly the same person whose name was spelled "Nadjiwan" in 1907 (grandfather of Louis Nadjiwan # 1074, born circa 1848).
The 1907 Wooster Roll also identifies names of 411 Potawatomi residents of Wisconsin and Michigan (over 300 of them from Carter, Phlox, Minocqua, Star Lake, Wausaukee, Keshena and Crandon Wisconsin), 92 of them from Bark River and St. Jaques, Michigan (and 4 from Kansas). Many of these American residents were either born in Canada or had relatives who moved to Canada. The logo chosen to identify the Bark River, Michigan personalities shows an undated early large bark roof lodge from Bark River.
One potential outcome of the Potowatomi migration project is determination of common Potawatomi ancestors of 1907 era and modern Canadian and American people with the same surname (variously spelled). For instance, how is Chief Charles Kisheck (age 64 in 1907) of Carter, Wisconsin (#001 on the Wooster Roll) related to the Keeshig family of Cape Croker, Ontario where a significant number of Potawatomi migrants settled?
A helpful resource in cross matching the 1907 names reported by Wooster is the 1901 Census of Canada which has an automated genealogy feature. See http://automatedgenealogy.com/census/Province.jsp?province=ON
Also included in the project are Potawatomi people not recorded in the Wooster Roll but influened by the 1833 Treaty of Chicago through family connections in Canada or personal time spent in Canada.
Although they are not included in the Potawatomi Migration project the research is mindful of other Michigan and Wisconsin-centred Indigenous genealogies such as the genealogy of Chief Nay-na-ong-gay-bee Chief Nenaa'angebi . In time there may be personalities found who are common to both genealogies.
Country Wife Genealogical Complications: In the decades prior to the 1833 Treaty of Chicago a practice followed in the Great Lakes fur trade by French Canadian men, and to a lesser degree by English speaking men, was to take a Native wife. Such marriages often were in addition to the man's marriage back home to a woman from his own culture. The so called "country wife" or "femme du pays" often bore children so the polygamous relationships make genealogy complex. For more details see Gottfred's "Women of the fur trade 1774-1821" http://www.northwestjournal.ca/XIII2.htm
Phonetic English Recording of Anishinaabemowin Names: The 1907 Wooster Roll is a key census type of document which records personal names and somtimes a person's different "traditional name", known typically within Anishinaabe communities as "spirit name". The Wooster Roll contains data written by hand by an English speaking person who likely was quite unfamiliar with the language spoken by Potawatomi speakers of the Anishinaabemowin language. Consider one example. Paul Pedoniquot is # 812 on the 1907 Wooster Roll. He is identified as the son of Henry Pedoniquot # 415. His traditional name is recorded as "Pedonikwad" meaning "Coming Cloud" so his traditional name and surname are the same but are spelled differently in different columns of the roll. The Anishinaabemowin word for cloud is "anakwad" (Baraga 1878:51) and is very common as part of the traditional names of different Anishinaabe people, including Potawatomi people. When people utter their traditional name English speaking recorders who are not familiar with the Anishinaabemowin language record what they think they hear as ending in "quot", "quott","quod", "kwat", "kwad" etc. . These English speaking imperfect recorders also think they hear different vowel sounds preceding the final syllable, so for one utterance for the Anishinaabe word for "cloud" we inherit records ending in "aquot", "iquot", "equot", "oquot", "oquott", "uquot", aquod", "equod", "iquod", "oquod", "uquod", "akwad", "ekwad", ikwad", "okwad", "ukwad", "akwat", ekwat", "ikwat", "okwat", "ukwat" etc. Modern computer databases such as Geni's do not distinguish the different phonetic forms so a search for "Pedoniquot" will not reveal "Pedonikwad". Extreme caution is advised in making what may seem to some like corrections. Throughout the Potawatomi migration project the actual word recorded on the historic handwritten (somewhat scawled and sometimes illegible) Wooster Roll is entered in the Geni database, often with additional comment in the "About" section of each profile. In cases where the magnificent and thorough 2014 Wyckoff transcript has transcription errors (and it has many) the wording of the original handwritten roll is used for entry to the Geni database.
Traditional Names Included as Middle Names: Following a practice established by the United Kingdom branch of Ancestry.com the traditional names of individuals are entered as middle names. This practice has two advantages. First it allows quicker location of personalities in electronic searches where only the traditional name is known. Secondly it reduces the massive stream of proposed Geni Smart Matches which are anything but smart and are extremely time consuming to eliminate as suggested matches. This, in turn, prevents careless speculative inaccurate merges so the database's accuracy remains untainted by falsehoods.
Wooster's use of "Indian Names" is a Misnomer: Wooster uses the term "Indian name" but that is a misnomer since such a name often is considered a "spirit name" which exists prior to birth and persists after death and cannot be assigned or used as a translation of a person's given name and surname. The traditional or spirit name usually reflects the core essence of a person's personality. Spirit names are never "given" but are only "revealed" by those with sufficient spiritual powers to understand a person's true essence so it may take several years of an elder's observation of a person's actions before he/she can reveal the name. Where the traditional name is a dodem, usually an animal or bird, the dodem serves as a personal guide to live a balanced and healthy life, known in Anishinaabemowin as "Bimaadiziwin". See http://www.ojibwe.org/home/pdf/episode4_teacher_guide.pdf).
Cross referencing of Wooster Traditional Names with the Same Traditional Names from Other Sources: In the reporting on names of Potawatomi people, especially from the early and mid 1800's, the records of Ancestry.com in the United Kingdom provide traditional names only. The 1907 Wooster Roll, which records traditional Anishinaabe names as well as English names for most 1800's Potawatomi people, is required to do accurate cross referencing. Such cross referencing requires skill in recognizing atypical letter formations in early handwritten documents and also requires skill in understanding Potawatomi pronunciation and common Anishinaabe word forms. Indeed typwritten transcipts of both Wooster and Ancestry.com contain many errors that are best identified by those familiar with nuances of the Anishinaabmowin language.
Duplicate Entries: In a few cases one personality is entered on the Wooster Roll twice, sometimes with minor alterations in the spelling of the name and children's names and with different ages reported as of the 1907 entry on the roll. For instance, Lizette Jacob # 1366 (age 60 in 1907) has entries for two separate daughters named Catherine. One daughter, age 43 in 1907, is recorded as Catherine Pahwakodado # 1401 and the other daughter , age 38 in 1907, is recorded as Catherine Park # 1373. Potawatomi people sometimes truncated their surnames so "Park", an uncommon name among the Potawatomi, seems to be an abbreviated form of "Pahwakodado". Catherine Park's children have the same names as Catherine Pahwakodado's children. Tillie Park, age 18 # 1374 seems to be the same person as Mrs. Therese Tabassige, age 20 # 1405. Louie Park, age 16 # 1375 seems to be the same person as Louie Pahwakodado, age 15 # 1402. Annie Park, age 14 # 1376 seems to be the same person as Ann Pahwakodado, age 13 # 1403. Lizzie Park, age 12 # 1377 seems to be the same person as Elizabeth Pahwakodado, age 9 # 1404. For the purposes of the Geni database Catherine Park and Catherine Pahwakodado are assumed to be the same person so only one entry is made.
Modern Links: Some of the migrants of the 1830's travelled only relatively short distances such as those who accessed Canada by crossing the Detroit or St. Clair Rivers from Michigan to southwestern Ontario and settled near the new international border at locations such as Walpole Island, Kettle Point and Stoney Point, Ontario. Other migrants travelled great distances such as those who travelled from the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin northward via Mackinaw Island then eastward and southward to Manitoulin Island, Bruce Peninsula, French River and Georgian Bay. This latter group became known as "People of the Great Arc", a phrase which has survived and is celebrated in an annual forum centred at Neyaashiinigmiing (Cape Croker), Ontario on the Bruce Peninsula south of Manitoulin Island. In 2015 the forum was held in collaboration with groups in the Green Bay area of Wisconsin. The 2016 forum was held from April 29 to May 1 at Tobermory, Ontario with a visit to the "Nochemoweniing" archaeological site near Hope Bay to sit with Elders and learn from them. For details see http://www.sourcesofknowledge.ca/peoples-of-the-great-arc-two-ways-...
Background: Early 19th century American government policy had a mission of removal from their homeland (mostly in current day Michigan and Wisconsin) of Native American Chippewa (Otchipwe/Ojibwe/Ojibway), Odawa (Ottawa/Ottowa) and Potawatomi (Potawatomie, Pottawatomie) to make way for American settlement. Accordingly a treaty was entered. It was known as the "Treaty of Chicago September 26, 1833" with the "United Nation of Chippewa, Ottowa, and Potawatomie", often referred to as the "Three Fires Confederacy". Some Potawatomi people were not represented at the treaty negotiation. From a genealogical perspective the names of the Native Americans on the 1833 document provide a source for research. See https://www.fcpotawatomi.com/culture-and-history/treaties/september... . The three groups within the Three Fires Confederacy shared a tradition of a common origin, have remained allied until this day and have Anishinaabemowin language and lifestyle virtually indistinguishable from one another (McMillan 1995:104).
A term of the treaty was removal of the people from their western Great Lakes homeland and way of life (largely based on a fishing economy) to locations west of the Mississippi where the environment required a completely different pattern of life and also was territory of other Native American groups who were traditional enemies of, or traders with, the Three Fires Confederacy. Members of the Three Fires Confederacy were not welcome as permanent residents west of the Mississippi. Faced with that reality and the further reality that the American government did not honour its commitment to provide annuities, some Native Americans stayed in their homeland and some moved to Canada.
The Potawatomi were welcomed in Canada by both the colonial government and by individual First Nations, many of whom had family relationships with some of the Potawatomi. Indeed, some 200 years earlier Potawatomi people were documented by the Jesuits as attendees at a 1641 Feast For the Dead at a location in what is now Central Georgian Bay near Shebeshekong Bay. In the 1830's host Canadian First Nations often had a predominant Chippewa/Otchipwe population and identified themselves as such. The Chippewas, like the Potawatomi, were part of the Three Fires Confederacy so a feeling of brotherhood existed among all three of its members - Chippewa/Otchipwe, Potawatomi and Odawa. Some Chippewa/Otchipwe chiefs in Canada, such as Chief Aisance of Beausoleil First Nation, issued formal invitations to the Potawatomi to join their community as "storm clouds" appeared on the horizon just prior to the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. The colonial government in Canada was well aware that the area south of the Great Lakes where the Potawatomi lived had been part of Canada before the aggressive movement of Americans westward. Pre 1833 treaties covering that area provided for certain protections for First Nations people, including the Potawatomi, and the colonial government of Upper Canada had a responsibility to uphold those treaties.
Four Categories of Profiles Included in the Project: The project identifies the Potawatomi migrants as one group (including their descendants) but also documents non Potawatomi people who were involved in the migration organization and resettlement. The migrants and their descendants are identified by a logo that was used on the cover of a report by the Canadian Indian Claims Commission. http://iportal.usask.ca/docs/ICC_CD/Chippewas%20Tri-Council/hist_do...
The non Potawatomi second group, some of whom have Geni profiles already, retain their own profile identifiers and are not assigned the logo used for individual migrants and their descendants. This second group includes people such as Chief John Aisance_ http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/aisance_john_7E.html _, Thomas Gummeresall Anderson_ Thomas Gummersall Anderson _ and Sir Francis Bond Head, 1st Baronet _ Sir Francis Bond Head, 1st Baronet
A third group consists of Potawatomi migrants who were force marched to Kansas in 1839 as part of what became known as "The Trail of Death". See http://www.potawatomi-tda.org/ptodhist.htm and http://www.potawatomi-tda.org/ and https://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/pottawatomie-indian-research.... The experience of the people on The Trail of Death serves as counterpoint to the fate of those who moved to Canada.
The fourth group is comprised of Potawatomi people living in the decades prior to the 1833 Treaty of Chicago including those living in the territories if Ohio, Indiana and Illinois (and their descendants), some of whom have established Geni profiles. These people retain their existing Geni visual identifiers.
For example: The great intertribal leader, Ottawa Chief Pontiac (c1720-1769) Chief Pontiac had close associations with and support of the Potawatomi people of the time including during Pontiac's War (1763-64), a combined resistance against the British just as the British were assuming control from the French in the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi and less than 15 years before the American War of Independence. At the time of Pontiac's death in 1769 at Cahokia (currently Illinois but part of Canada at the time) the Potawatomi has a significant presence in Illinois and significant associations with and intermarriage with French Canadians. The 1775 Ross map of the Mississippi River, created 6 years afdter Pontiac's death, includes revealing labels such as "Canadian Islands" between the Chikasaw's River and Prunes River. See http://www.mapofus.org/_maps/atlas/1776-MS.html.
For the Potawatomi migration project descendants of Pontiac have been assigned a generic Potawatomi logo of a fire since the Potawatomi were "Keepers of the fire" and this symbol distinguishes those people as NOT being listed on the 1907 Wooster Roll even though they may be proven eventually to be relatives of those on the roll.
Another Potawatomi Chief in this category is Waabaanizii Wabaunsee William Smith (Waubonsie, Wah-bahn-se etc,) (c. 1756-c1848) who was one of the signatories of the 1833 Treaty of Chicago which precipitated the Potawatomi migration (Holmgren 2009).
A third Potawatomi Chief in this category is Shabbona who was fighting as a colleague of Tecumseh when Tecumseh fell during the Battle of Moraviantown, a location in current day Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Chief Shabbona aka Shabonne
Some Potawatomi people and their relatives already have been documented in the Geni database. Although they did not move to Canada they may have spent time in Canada, had Potawatomi and/or French Canadian roots north of the Great Lakes, and had relationships with those who did undertake the migration. If those people already have an identifying logo in the Geni database that logo is retained. An example is Archange-Marie Chevalier (1781-1840) at Archange-Marie Chevalier .
Development of the 1907 Wooster Roll as a Gateway to Other Documented Potawatomi Migrants to Canada: Larry M. Wyckoff (2014) describes some of the dynamic which unfolded for a portion of the Three Fires Confederacy in Michigan and Wisconsin of the 1830's. https://www.academia.edu/14147654/1907_Wooster_Roll_of_Wisconsin_Po...
"In 1902 the Potawatomi of northern Wisconsin sent a memorial to Congress claiming payment for annuities and other provisions they never received under the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. Under provisions of that treaty, they were supposed to remove west of the Mississippi River. They never removed; and the Indian Office claimed that by not doing so, they forfeited their rights to payments under any provisions of the September 26, 1833 Chicago treaty. The Potawatomi then hired a Washington D.C. attorney by the name of R.V. Belt to prosecute their claims. This action generated more interest in Washington ...... The result was an act passed by Congress in 1906 directing the Secretary of the Interior to investigate the Potawatomi claims and to determine what number of Indians continued to reside in Wisconsin after the treaty of 1833. He was also directed to make out a census roll of those Potawatomi. An attempt at making out a roll was made in 1906 by Agent Churchill but was found to be incomplete. Walter M. Wooster, a clerk in the office of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, was then ordered to proceed to Wisconsin to prepare a roll. His roll lists 1880 individuals. Of these, 457 resided in Wisconsin and Michigan and the remainder resided in twenty-nine different locations in Ontario, Canada (these locations ranged from Thessalon in the north, to Walpole Island in the south). After the 1833 treaty, many Michigan and Wisconsin Potawatomi moved to Canada, with the encouragement of Canadian officials, in an effort to avoid being removed west. Wooster’s roll lists the names of each individual (English name and "Indian" name [often called "traditional" name or "spirit" name which is a different name than the given name so is not a translation of the given name], age, sex, relationship to other members in the family, their residence, status of "rights" in Canada, and gives a translation of the Indian name." The translations provided in the Wooster Roll frequently are inaccurate so require close scrutiny and comment by those who have expertise in nuances of the Anishinaabemowin language. Also some of the letter formation in the handwritten 1907 original Wooster Roll is atypical and easy to mistranscribe. The 2014 Wyckoff transcript is extremely helpful but has multiple mistranscriptions so double checking with the original handwritten copy is required to check for accuracy.
However, the Wooster Roll of 1907 is a significant source of names for genealogical research. A subsequent roll taken in 1919, known as the Chisholm Roll of 1919, allows for futher genealogical tracking. One branch of the genealogical research is determination of relationships between those listed on the 1907 Wooster Roll and earlier ancestors named in the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, in the 1828 resettlement of Voyageurs from Drummond Island, Michican, in War of 1812 documents and in family relationships during the French regime from the early 1600's to the time of Pontiac, a respected head chief of the Ottawa, Chippewa and Potawatomi in the 1760's Chief Pontiac.
Another branch of the genealogical research is documentation of Potawatomi people who moved to Canada for a number of years, had offspring born there but who, in small numbers and with only some of their Canadian family members, returned subsequently to the USA to locations as far away as Kansas where they spelled their identity as "Potttawatomies". At the time of the 1833 Treaty of Chicago the community of Chicago was only 350 people and the Three Fires Confederacy people outnumbered the first wave of newcomer settlers, US military and government officials although there was a much earlier history of Three Fires Confederacy trading and intermarriage relationships with eastern Indigenous and European colonial people.
A Broader Potawatomi Understanding: The 1907 Wooster Roll does not include all Potawatomi people. Although there was only minor Potawatomi occupation of the Ohio Territoty by the late 1700's the Potawatomi describe their history as follows (REF: http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Potawatomi_Indians?rec=619:)
"Potawatomi Indians The Potawatomi lived mainly in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Ontario, Canada at the time of European contact in the early 1600s. They spoke an Algonquian language. The Potawatomi were closely related to the Ojibwe and the Ottawa, and allied themselves together in a confederacy called the Council of Three Fires
During the late 1600s and the early 1700s, the Potawatomi struggled with the Iroquois over the Ohio Country. They also fought for territory with the Sioux in modern-day Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. By the mid 1700s, the Potawatomi had established villages in Illinois and in Indiana.
The Potawatomi sided with the French during the French and Indian War. Following France’s defeat, the Potawatomi assisted Pontiac in Pontiac’s Rebellion. During the American Revolution and again in the War of 1812, the Potawatomis allied themselves with the British. The nation feared that Anglo-American settlers would continue to occupy the Potawatomi land if they did not receive assistance from the British. The Potawatomi did not have a large presence in Ohio and, throughout the late 1700s and early 1800s, signed numerous treaties forsaking any land claims in Ohio. By 1841, under the U.S. Government's Indian Removal policy, many of the Potawatomi in Michigan, Wisconsin and the upper Midwest had been removed to promised U.S. government lands in Nebraska and Kansas. They were eventually forced to move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma), though some found ways to remain in Michigan.
Formal Recognition of Potawatomi Nation: According to Ohio History Central, the U.S. government recognizes 7 active bands of Potawatomi -- in Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas, Oklahoma and Indiana; and other bands of Potawatomi are federally recognized First Nations in Canada." REF: http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Potawatomi_Indians?rec=619 . However the Ohio History Central reference to Canada is inaccurate since no bands of Potawatomi are federally recognized in Canada as of 2017. Efforts to attain this status are in process. Potawatomi people from the United States sometimes think of Walpole Island, Ontario, Canada as the sole Canadian Potawatomi community but Potawatomis have lived continuously in multiple Canadian First Nations since the Potawatomi migration of the 1830's.
According to Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Oklahoma there are 9 bands of Potawatomi and they gather annually at "The Gathering of Potawatomi Nations" which is is hosted each year by one of the nine bands of Potawatomi, providing an opportunity for members of all bands to come together and celebrate their Potawatomi heritage. REF: https://www.potawatomi.org/culture/ . According to the Potawatomi Dictionary 8 Potawatomi communities are named as follows per REF: http://www.potawatomilanguage.org/dictionary/admin/index.php
Hannahville Indian Community, MI
Forest County Potawatomi, WI
Citizen Potawatomi Nation, OK
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, KS
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, MI
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Gun Lake Tribe, MI
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, MI
Walpole Island First Nation, Canada
Canadian Context of Wooster's Understandings: In 1907 Wooster, as an American official, did not have a thorough understanding of the Canadian First Nations communities to which the Potawatomi had moved 70 years earlier. This lack of understanding is reflected in many entries in the 1907 Wooster Roll so those issues need to be untangled. These issues include the distinction between reservations established by treaty and First Nations communities where no treaty existed so remained unceded territory, as at Wikwemikong, Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Wooster identifies Wikwemikong for some families, Sucker Creek for others but uses "Manitoulin Island" as the residence of others without documenting the exact community on Manitoulin Island where these families lived. Manitoulin Islandis the largest fresh water island in the world. To understand the many First Nations on Manitoulin Island alone researchers need to seek out sources such as the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation (OCF) at M'Chigeeng, Manitoulin Island. Helpful information and a useful map showing the location and names of 6 member communities of OFC are posted at http://www.ojibweculture.ca/ocf-member-first-nation/
Potawatomi migration to Canada came from locations other than Wisconsin and Michigan. One task of the project is to seek matches between known Canadian Potawatomi and Indigenous genealogies which include Canadians. One example is the list of deceased ancestors from 1720 onward as recorded at http://www.tribalpages.com/family-tree/area519786 . Another example is the story of the Potawatomi people from Indiana who decided to move to the Canadian side of the St. Clar River to avoid the 1839 forced march to Kansas which had such a high death toll that it became known as the Potawatomi Trail of Death. See https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries/ipperwash/polic... .
1907 Wooster Roll as a Source to Identify More Recent Potawatomi Migrants' Descendants: Over time the project will attempt to find death certificates for the people listed in the 1907 Wooster Roll and, if available, their ancestors. This aspect of the research requires meticulous checking of copies of original Ontario Government records. A start has been made with this research with the profile of Mrs. Annie Cousineau (#1561 on the 1907 Wooster Roll) whose Geni profile has been updated since her 1937 death certificate provides information which the 1907 Wooster Roll does not. See http://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000040132181136& . Eventually an inventory will be required to identify those people listed on the 1907 Wooster Roll who have official document entries for 100% of the fields in Geni organization.
Archaeology's Help with Understanding Pre-Contact Context: To show the resourcefulness of ancient pre contact people from the Wisconsin area we need to turn to archaeology. One amazing story is the archaeological find of "Gete-okosomin", "Big Old Squash" seeds of a previously presumed extinct variety of giant squash in an 800 year old pot. The story and photographs are at http://www.cfweradio.ca/on-air/blogs/dustin-mcgladrey-351668/entry/... . To date we have not made a genealogical connection between Potawatomi people of 200 years ago with people who shared the same landscape 800 years ago.
Personalities who joined the Potawatomi Migration Project through the Geni Team:
- Chevalier, Archange-Marie (c1781-1840)_William Arthur Allen Request January 28, 2016_Joined April 24, 2016
Archange-Marie Chevalier
- Greenbird, Louisa ( xxx)_William Arthur Allen Request Jan. 31, 2016_Joined February 1, 2016 Louisa Greenbird
- Meshahkodoo, Fanny_William Arthur Allen Request Jan. 31, 2016_Joined February 1, 2016 Meshahkodoo / Fanny
- Naunogee, Marianne Chopo Ann (c1738-1785)_William Arthur Allen Request January 28, 2016_Joined June 2, 2016 Marianne Chopo Ann Naunogee
- Ne Gah Kuh Me go Qua/Ellen Peters (Great granddaughter of Chief Pontiac_William Arthur Allen Request Jan. 31, 2016_Joined February 1, 2016 Ne Gah Kuh Me go Qua / Ellen Peters
- Pashshegeeshgwashkum (son of Chief Pontiac)_William Arthur Allen Request Jan. 29, 2016_Joined January 31, 2016 Pashshegeeshgwashkum Odawa
- Petogeehzhick (grandson of Chief Pontiac)_William Arthur Allen Request Jan. 31, 2016_Joined February 1, 2016 Petogeehzhick gheezhick Odawa
- Shawano, Oshawano (B?)_William Arthur Allen Request February 5, 2016_Joined February 6, 2016 Oshawano Shawano
- Waunajewahnooqua,Maria (Wife of Petogeehzhick, grandson of Chief Pontiac)_William Arthur Allen Request Jan. 31, 2016_Joined February 1, 2016 Waunajewahnooqua / Maria
Annotated References (in order of date of publication):
1878, Baraga, Frederic. A Dictionary of the Otchipwe Language Explained in English, Part 1. English-Otchipwe. Beauchemin & Valois, Montreal. This dictionary was written in a terrirory dominated by Ojibway people who described their language in terms of their own culture, not part of the larger Anishinaabe culture which includes non-Ojibway people such as the Potawatomi. It is important to note that several spellings of the word "Ojibway" are actually the same word (Ojibway, Ojibwe, Otchipwe, Chippewa). Available at https://books.google.ca/books?id=kn4rjgEACAAJ&dq=A+Dictionary+of+th...
1879. Beckwith, H.W. History of Iroquois County, together with Historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources. University of Illinois. https://archive.org/stream/historyofiroquoi00beck/historyofiroquoi0...
1880, Baraga, Frederic. A Dictionary of the Otchipwe Language Explained in English, Part 2. Otchipwe-English. Beauchemin & Valois, Montreal.
1880. Beckwith, H.W. History of Iroquois County, together with Historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources. University of Illinois. https://ia800300.us.archive.org/29/items/historyofiroquoi00beck/his... https://archive.org/stream/historyofiroquoi00beck/historyofiroquoi0...
1907 Wooster Roll, Wooster, W. M. This document has useful preamble and entries for 1,880 names and ages of Potawatomi people living in 1907 as well as numerous Anishinaabemowin traditional names of some individuals and their place of residence as of 1907. This roll forms the foundation of the Potawatomi migration project.
1976, Clifton, James A., A Place of Refuge For All Time: Migration of the American Potawatomi into Upper Canada 1830 to 1850, National Museum of Man Mercury Series, Ottawa, Canada
1993, Eckert, Allan W. A Sorrow In Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseth. Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-56174-6
1995, McMillan, D. Native Peoples and Cultures of Canada. Douglas and McIntyre. Vancouver, British Columbia.
1996 Chippewa Tri-Council Coldwater-Narrows Reservation Claim, Compilation of Documents, Volume 9 of 9, pages 2077 to 2303, Indian Claims Commission, Ottawa, Canada. This document has a wealth of transcripts of documents related to the Potawatomi migration to Canada along with detailed references to the archival sources where the original documents are available.
2001, McGill University, The Canadian County Atlas Digital Project. Available at http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/aboutatlases.html (Between 1874 and 1881 about 40 county atlases were published in Canada. Each of the county atlases consisted of a historical text, township and town maps, portraits, views and patrons' directory / business cards. But more importantly, names of residents were marked on the lots of the township maps in these county atlases. The McGill source allows researchers to search specific counties and specific names of landowners with zoom features with high resolution images.)
2006. McMullen, John William. The Last Blackrobe of Indiana and The Potawatomi Trail of Death. Charles River Press, Casper, Wyoming.
2008. Allen, William A., Liam M. Brady and Peter Decontie. Manaadjiyindj iyaa manidoo nayaagadjtoodj kije-asin mazinaakobiihiganan - Honouring the Spirits of Sacred Pictographs, pp, 277-289. In Preserving Aboriginal Heritage, Technical and Traditional Approaches: proceedings of a conference symposium 2007: Preserving Aboriginal Heritage, Technical and Traditional Approaches, Ottawa, Canada, September 24-28, 2007 / organized by the Canadian Conservation Institute; edited by Carol Dignard ... [et al].
2009. Allen, William A. Mazinaw Rock: An Open Letter to the Ontario Geographic Names Board by Bill Allen, Burk's Falls, Ontario March 6, 2005. The Ottawa Archaeologist 37:2, pp 6-9.
2009, Holmgren, David. "Waubonsie" The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press, 2009. Accessed Feb. 26, 2016 at http://uipress.lib.uiowa.edu/bdi/DetailsPage.aspx?id=396
2012_The Land Between: Mazinaw. Ontario Visual Heritage Project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlTyDonk5cI
2015, Wetzel, Christopher. Gathering the Potawatomi Nation: Revitalization and Identity, University of Oklahoma Press.
2016_Low, John N. Imprints: The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the City of Chicago. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, Michigan. This recent research has massive sourcing, a useful index, copies of original documents and photographs not available elsewhere and a readable flow of text identifying some key Potawatomi personalities of the nineteenth century.
2016+_Tribal Pages. Family Tree: SHAWNOO SHAWKENCE BRESSETTE HENRY GEORGE GREENBIRD MILLIKEN WOLFE. http://www.tribalpages.com/family-tree/area519786
https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries/ipperwash/repor...
Undated: Early Chicago Encyclopedia. http://www.earlychicago.com/encyclopedia.php?letter=c . This outstanding online resource has exceptionally fine vintage maps and information.
Historical Maps (in order of date of publication)
1720_Accurata delineatio celeberrimae Regionis Ludovicianae vel Gallice Louisiane. Seutter, Matthaeus and Gottfield Rogg. Available at: http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~268348~90...
This amazing map published in Augsburg, Germany at the height of the French Regime in North America shows Canada extending from the Atlantic coast westward beyond the Mississippi River, surrounding and including all of the Great Lakes and all of the current northern states of the USA. Canada is bounded on the southeast by "Nouv. Angleterre" (New England Colonies), on the south (south of the Ohio River) by "La Louisiane La Floride" and on the southwest by "Nouv. Mexique" (New Mexico). Several tribal names are entered but Potawatomi does not show on the map. "La Grande Nation Ilinois" dominates a large portion of the map centred on current day Illinois but extends to present day Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. The lake we know as Lake Michigan is labelled "Lac des Ilinois".
1775_Course of the River Mississippi from the Balise to Fort Chatres, Taken on an expedition to the Illinois in the latter end of the Year 1765 by Lieutenant Ross of the 34th Regiment: Inproved from the Surveys of That River made by the French, London, 1 June, 1775. Available at: http://www.mapofus.org/_maps/atlas/1776-MS.html
This outstanding map was created 16 years after the British overtook French Canada which included the upper Mississippi Valley (1759), 11 years after the Pontiac War (1763-64), 6 years after the death of Pontiac (1769) and one year before the American War of Independence (1776). It includes "the "Canadian Islands" in the Mississippi River between the mouth of the Chikasaw's River and the Prunes River. It also includes "Prairie deischi Village", the English author's understanding of "Prairie du Chien" which was prominent in the War of 1812 and the career of Thomas Gummersall Anderson who later was the Canadian Indian Agent who was so involved in the Potawatomi migration to Canada in the 1830's. Prairie du Chien currently is the county seat of Crawford County in southern Wisconsin. Prairie du Chien was established as a European settlement by French voyageurs in the late seventeenth century. It is located near the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers, a strategic point along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway that connects the Great Lakes with the Mississippi.
1822_Geographical, Statistical, And Historical Map of Illinois. Available at: http://www.mapofus.org/_maps/atlas/1822-IL.html
1831_Map of the States of Ohio, Indiana & Illinois and part of the Michigan Territory. Mitchell, Samuel Augustus. Available at: http://www.davidrumsey.com/maps2071.html and http://www.mapofus.org/_maps/atlas/1827-IL-IN-OH.html
This map shows the entire northern portion of "Indiana" abutting southern and southeastern Lake Michigan under the label "Pottowatomies". The main river running through this region is labelled "Kankakee or Theakiki".
Appendix 1: TREATY WITH THE POTAWATOMI (Precursor to the 1833 Treaty of Chicago) October 20, 1832 Proclaimed January 21, 1833
Articles of a treaty made and concluded at Camp Tippecanoe, in the State of Indiana, this twentieth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, between Jonathan Jennings, John W. Davis and Marks Crume, Commissioners on the part of the United States of the one part, and the Chiefs and Headmen of the Potawatamie Tribe of Indians of the Prairie and Kankakee, of the other part.
ARTICLE 1. The said Potawatamie Tribe of Indians cede to the United States the tract of land included within the following boundary, viz: Beginning at a point on Lake Michigan ten miles southward of the mouth of Chicago river; thence, in a direct line, to a point on the Kankakee river, ten miles above its mouth; thence, with said river and the Illinois river, to the mouth of Fox river, being the boundary of a cession made by them in 1816; thence, with the southern boundary of the Indian Territory, to the State line between Illinois and Indiana; thence, north with said line, to Lake Michigan; thence, with the shore of Lake Michigan, to the place of beginning.
ART. II. From the cession aforesaid the following tracts shall be reserved, to wit: Five sections for Shaw-waw-nas-see, to include Little Rock village. For Min-e-maung, one section, to include his village. For Joseph Laughton, son of Wais-ke-shaw, one section, and for Ce-na-ge-wine, one section, both to be located at Twelve Mile Grove, or Na-be-na-qui-nong. For Claude Laframboise, one section, on Thorn creek. For Maw-te-no, daughter of Francois Burbonnois, jun. one section, at Soldier's village. For Catish, wife of Francis Burbonnois, sen. one section, at Soldier's village. For the children of Wais-ke-shaw, two sections, to include the small grove of timber on the river above Rock village. For Jean B. Chevallier, one section, near Rock village; and for his two sisters, Angelique and Josette, one half section each, joining his. For Me-she-ke-ten-o, two sections, to include his village. For Francis Le Via, one section, joining Me-she-ke-ten-o. For the five daughters of Mo-nee, by her last husband, Joseph Bailey, two sections. For Me-saw-ke-qua and her children, two section, at Wais-us-kucks's village. For Sho-bon-ier, two sections, at his village. For Josette Beaubien and her children, two sections, to be located on Hickory creek. For Therese, wife of Joseph Laframboise, one section; and for Archange Pettier, one section, both at Skunk Grove. For Mau-i-to-qua and son, one half section each; for the children of Joseph Laframboise, one section, at Skunk Grove. For Washington Burbonnois, one section, joining his mother's reservation (Calish Burbonnois). For Ah-be-te-kezhic, one section, below the State line on the Kankakee river. For Nancy, Sally, and Betsey Countreman, children of En-do-ga, one section, joining the reserves near Rock village. For Jacque Jonveau, one section, near the reservation of Me-she-ke-ten- o. For Wah-pon-seh and Qua-qui-to, five sections each, in the Prairie near Rock village.
The persons to whom the foregoing reservations are made, are all Indians and of Indian descent.
ART. III. In consideration of the cession in the first article, the United States agree to pay to the aforesaid Potawatamie Indians, an annuity of fifteen thousand dollars for the term of twenty years. Six hundred dollars shall be paid annually to Billy Caldwell, two hundred dollars to Alexander Robinson, and two hundred dollars to Pierre Le Clerc, during their natural lives.
ART. IV. The sum of twenty-eight thousand seven hundred and forty-six dollars, shall be applied to the payment of certain claims against the Indians, agreeable to a schedule of the said claims, hereunto annexed. The United States further agree to deliver to the said Indians, forty-five thousand dollars in merchandise immediately after signing this treaty; and also the further sum of thirty thousand dollars in merchandise is hereby stipulated to be paid to them at Chicago in the year 1833. There shall be paid by the United States, the sum of one thousand four hundred dollars to the following named Indians, for horses stolen from them during the late war, as follows, to wit:
To Pe-quo-no, for two horses, eighty dollars. $80 To Pa-ca-cha-be, for two ditto, eighty dollars. 80 To Shaw-wa-nas-see, for one ditto, forty dollars. 40 To Francis Sho-bon-nier, for three ditto, one hundred and twenty dollars. 120 To Sho-bon-ier, or Cheval-ier, for one ditto, forty dollars. 40 To Naw-o-kee, for one ditto, forty dollars. $40 To Me-she-ke-ten-o, for one ditto, forty dollars. 40 To Aun-take, for two horses, eighty dollars. 80 To Che-chalk-ose, for one ditto, forty dollars. 40 To Naa-a-gue, for two ditto, eighty dollars. 80 To Pe-she-ka-of-le-beouf, for one ditto, forty dollars. 40 To Naw-ca-a-sho, for four ditto, one hundred and sixty dollars. 160 To Nox-sey, for one ditto, forty dollars. 40 To Ma-che-we-tah, for three ditto, one hundred and twenty dollars. 120 To Masco, for one ditto, forty dollars. 40 To Wah-pou-seh, for one horse, forty dollars. 40 To Waub-e-sai, for three ditto, one hundred and twenty dollars. $120 To Chi-cag, for one ditto, forty dollars. 40 To Mo-swah-en-wah, for one ditto, forty dollars. 40 To She-bon-e-go, one ditto, forty dollars. 40 To Saw-saw-wais-kuk, for two ditto, eighty dollars. 80
The said tribe having been the faithful allies of the United States during the late conflict with the Sacs and Foxes, in consideration thereof, the United States agree to permit them to hunt and fish on the lands ceded, as also on the lands of the Government on Wabash and Sangamon rivers, so long as the same shall remain the property of the United States.
In testimony whereof, the commissioners, and the chiefs, head men, and warriors of the said tribe, have hereunto set their hands, at the place and on the day aforesaid. Jonathan Jennings, John W. Davis, Marks Crume, Ah-be-te-ke-zhic, his x mark, Shaw-wa-nas-see, his x mark, Wah-pon-seh, his x mark, Caw-we-saut, his x mark, Shab-e-neai, his x mark, Pat-e-go-shuc, his x mark, Aun-take, his x mark, Me-she-ke-ten-o, his x mark, Shay-tee, his x mark, Ce-na-je-wine, his x mark, Ne-swa-bay-o-sity, his x mark, Ke-wah-ca-to, his x mark, Wai-saw-o-ke-ah, his x mark, Chi-cag, his x mark, Te-ca-cau-co, his x mark, Chah-wee, his x mark, Mas-co, his x mark, Sho-min, his x mark, Car-bon-ca, his x mark, O-gouse, his x mark, Ash-ke-wee, his x mark, Ka-qui-tah, his x mark, She-mar-gar, his x mark, Nar-ga-to-nuc, his x mark, Puc-won, his x mark, Ne-be-gous, his x mark, E-to-wan-a-cote, his x mark, Quis-e-wen, his x mark, Wi-saw, his x mark, Pierish, his x mark, Cho-van-in, his x mark, Wash-is-kuck, his x mark, Ma-sha-wah, his x mark, Capt. Heeld, his x mark, Man-itoo, his x mark, Ke-me-gu-bee, his x mark, Pe-shuc-kee, his x mark, No-nee, his x mark, No-che-ke-se-qua-bee, his x mark, She-bon-e-go, his x mark, Mix-e-maung, his x mark, Mah-che-wish-a-wa, his x mark, Mac-a-ta-be-na, his x mark, Ma-che-we-tah, his x mark, Me-gis, his x mark, Mo-swa-en-wah, his x mark, Ka-che-na-bee, his x mark, Wah-be-no-say, his x mark, Mash-ca-shuc, his x mark, A-bee-shah, his x mark, Me-chi-ke-kar-ba, his x mark, Nor-or-ka-kee, his x mark, Pe-na-o-cart, his x mark, Quar-cha-mar, his x mark, Francois Cho-van-ier, his x mark, Ge-toc-quar, his x mark, Me-gwum, his x mark, Ma-sha-ware, his x mark, Che-co, his x mark, So-wat-so, his x mark, Wah-be-min, his x mark.
Signed in the presence of -- John Tipton, Th. Jo. Owen, United States Indian agent, J. B. Beaubien, B. H. Laughton, interpreter, G. S. Hubbard, interpreter, William Conner, interpreter, Thomas Hartzell, Meadore B. Beaubien, James Conner, Henry B. Hoffman.
After the signing of this treaty, and at the request of the Indians, three thousand dollars was applied to the purchasing of horses; which were purchased and delivered to the Indians by our direction, leaving the balance to be paid in merchandise at this time, time, forty-two thousand dollars.
Jonathan Jennings, J. W. Davis, Marks Crume, Commissioners.
It is agreed on the part of the United States that the following claims shall be allowed, agreeably to the fourth article of the foregoing treaty, viz: To Gurdon S. Hubbard, five thousand five hundred and seventy three dollars. Samuel Miller, seven hundred and ninety dollars. John Bt. Bobea, three thousand dollars. Robert A. Kinzie, four hundred dollars. Jacque Jombeaux, one hundred and fifty dollars. Jacque Jombeaux, senior, fifteen hundred dollars. Medad B. Bobeaux, five hundred and fifty dollars. Noel Vasier, eighteen hundred dollars. Joseph Balies, twelve hundred and fifty dollars. Joseph Shawnier, one hundred and fifty dollars. Thomas Hartzell, three thousand dollars. Bernardus H. Lawton, three thousand five hundred dollars. George Walker, seven hundred dollars. Stephen J. Scott, one hundred dollars. Cole Weeks, thirty eight dollars. Timothy B. Clark, one hundred dollars. George Pettijohn, fifty dollars. Thomas Forsyth, five hundred dollars. Antoine Le Clerc, fifty-five dollars. James B. Campbell, fifty-three dollars. John W. Blackstone, sixty dollars. Alexander Robinson, ninety-one dollars. Francis Bulbona, jr. one thousand dollars. John Bt. Chevalier six hundred and sixty dollars. Joseph La Frombois four hundred and forty-one dollars. Leon Bourasau eight hundred dollars. Peter Menard, jr. thirty-seven dollars. Joseph Shoemaker, eighteen dollars. Tunis S. Wendell one thousand dollars. F. H. Countraman, forty dollars. Samuel Morris, one hundred and forty dollars. William Conner, two thousand dollars. John B. Bourie, twelve hundred dollars.
Jonathan Jennings, J. W. Davis, Marks Crume, Commissioners.
Sources: Fay, George E., ed. Treaties Between the Potawatomi Tribe of Indians and the United States of America, 1789 - 1867. Greeley, Colorado, University of Northern Colorado, 1971.
Kappler, Charles J., ed. Indian Treaties 1778-1883. Mattituck, New York, Amereon House, 1972.
- Potawatomi "tree starter" profile
Purpose:
The purpose of this project is to identify names of Potawatomi people who migrated from the USA to Canada shortly after the international boundary was established in accordance with the London Convention of 1818, thereby making areas previously considered Canada to become part of the USA.
Modern Links:
Some of the migrants of the 1830's travelled only relatively short distances such as those who accessed Canada by crossing the Detroit or St. Clair Rivers from Michigan to southwestern Ontario and settled near the new international border at locations such as Walpole Island, Kettle Point and Stoney Point. Other migrants travelled great distances such as those who travelled from the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin northward via Mackinaw Island then eastward and southward to Manitoulin Island, Bruce Peninsula, French River and Georgian Bay. This latter group became known as "People of the Great Arc", a phrase which has survived and is celebrated in an annual forum centred at Neyaashiinigmiing (Cape Croker) at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula just south of Manitoulin Island. In 2015 the forum was held in collaboration with groups in the Green Bay area of Wisconsin. The 2016 forum is scheduled for April 29 to May 1 at Tobermory, Ontario but with a visit to the "Nochemoweniing" archaeological site near Hope Bay to sit with Elders and learn from them. http://www.sourcesofknowledge.ca/peoples-of-the-great-arc-two-ways-...
Background:
Early 19th century American government policy had a mission of removal from their homeland (mostly in current day Michigan and Wisconsin) of Native American Chippewa (Otchipwe/Ojibwe/Ojibway), Odawa (Ottawa/Ottowa) and Potawatomi (Potawatomie, Pottawatomie) to make way for American settlement. Accordingly a treaty was entered. It was known as the "Treaty of Chicago September 26, 1833" with the "United Nation of Chippewa, Ottowa, and Potawatomie", often referred to as the "Three Fires Confederacy". Some Potawatomi people were not represented at the treaty negotiation. From a genealogical perspective the names of the Native Americans on the 1833 document provide a source for research. See https://www.fcpotawatomi.com/culture-and-history/treaties/september... .
A term of the treaty was removal of the people from their western Great Lakes homeland and way of life (largely based on a fishing economy) to locations west of the Mississippi where the environment required a completely different pattern of life and also was territory of other Native American groups who were traditional enemies of, or traders with, the Three Fires Confederacy. Members of the Three Fires Confederacy were not welcome as permanent residents west of the Mississippi. Faced with that reality and the further reality that the American government did not honour its commitment to provide annuities, some Native Americans stayed in their homeland and some moved to Canada.
The Potawatomi were welcomed in Canada by both the colonial government and by individual First Nations, many who had family relationships with some of the Potawatomi. Host Canadian First Nations often had a predominant Chippewa/Otchipwe population and identified themselves as such. The Chippewas, like the Potawatomi, were part of the Three Fires Confederacy so a feeling of brotherhood existed among all three of its members - Chippewa/Otchipwe, Potawatomi and Odawa. Some chiefs in Canada, such as Chief Aisance of Beausoleil First Nation, issued formal invitations to the Potawatomi to join their community as "storm clouds" appeared on the horizon just prior to the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. The colonial government in Canada was well aware that the area south of the Great Lakes where the Potawatomi lived had been part of Canada before the aggressive movement of Americans westward. Pre 1833 treaties covering that area provided for certain protections for First Nations people, including the Potawatomi, and the colonial government of Upper Canada had a responsibility to uphold those treaties.
Four Categories of Profiles Included in the Project:
The project identifies the Potawatomi migrants as one group (including their descendants) but also documents non Potawatomi people who were involved in the migration organization and resettlement. The migrants and their descendants are identified by a logo that was used on the cover of a reports by the Canadian Indian Claims Commission. http://iportal.usask.ca/docs/ICC_CD/Chippewas%20Tri-Council/hist_do...
The non Potawatomi second group, some of whom have Geni profiles already, retain their own profile identifiers and are not assigned the logo used for individual migrants and their descendants. This second group includes people such as Chief John Aisance_ http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/aisance_john_7E.html _, Thomas Gummeresall Anderson_ Thomas Gummersall Anderson _ and Sir Francis Bond Head, 1st Baronet _ Sir Francis Bond Head, 1st Baronet
A third group consists of Potawatomi migrants who were force marched to Kansas in 1839 as part of what became known as "The Trail of Death". The experience of these people serves as counterpoint to the fate of those who moved to Canada.
The fourth group is comprised of Potawatomi people living in the decades prior to the 1833 Treaty of Chicago and the resulting migration (and their descendants), some of whom have established Geni profiles. These people retain their existing Geni visual identifiers eg. Pontiac Chief Pontiac (c1720-1769) who died at Cahokia (Currently Illinois, but at the time of his death part of Québec). Descendants of Pontiac have been assigned a generic Potawatomi logo of a fire since the Potawatomi were keepers of the fire and this symbol distinguishes those people as NOT being listed in the 1907 Wooster Roll even though they may be proven eventually to be relatives of those on the roll.
Development of the 1907 Wooster Roll as a Gateway to Other Documented Potawatomi Migrants to Canada:
Larry M. Wyckoff (2014) describes some of the dynamic which unfolded for a portion of the Three Fires Confederacy in Michigan and Wisconsin of the 1830's. https://www.academia.edu/14147654/1907_Wooster_Roll_of_Wisconsin_Po...
"In 1902 the Potawatomi of northern Wisconsin sent a memorial to Congress claiming payment for annuities and other provisions they never received under the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. Under provisions of that treaty, they were supposed to remove west of the Mississippi River. They never removed; and the Indian Office claimed that by not doing so, they forfeited their rights to payments under any provisions of the September 26, 1833 Chicago treaty. The Potawatomi then hired a Washington D.C. attorney by the name of R.V. Belt to prosecute their claims. This action generated more interest in Washington ...... The result was an act passed by Congress in 1906 directing the Secretary of the Interior to investigate the Potawatomi claims and to determine what number of Indians continued to reside in Wisconsin after the treaty of 1833. He was also directed to make out a census roll of those Potawatomi. An attempt at making out a roll was made in 1906 by Agent Churchill but was found to be incomplete. Walter M. Wooster, a clerk in the office of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, was then ordered to proceed to Wisconsin to prepare a roll. His roll lists 1880 individuals. Of these, 457 resided in Wisconsin and Michigan and the remainder resided in twenty-nine different locations in Ontario, Canada (these locations ranged from Thessalon in the north, to Walpole Island in the south). After the 1833 treaty, many Michigan and Wisconsin Potawatomi moved to Canada, with the encouragement of Canadian officials, in an effort to avoid being removed west. Wooster’s roll lists the names of each individual (English name and Indian name), age, sex, relationship to other members in the family, their residence, and gives a translation of the Indian name." The translations provided in the Wooster Roll frequently are inaccurate so require close scrutiny by those who speak the Anishinaabemowin language.
However, the Wooster Roll of 1907 is a significant source of names for genealogical research. A subsequent roll taken in 1919, known as the Chisholm Roll of 1919, allows for futher genealogical tracking. One branch of the genealogical research is determination of relationships between those listed on the 1907 Wooster Roll and earlier ancestors named in the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, in the 1828 resettlement of Voyageurs from Drummond Island, Michican, in War of 1812 documents and in family relationships during the French regime from the early 1600's to the time of Pontiac, a respected head chief of the Ottawa, Chippewa and Potawatomi in the 1760's Chief Pontiac.
Another branch of the genealogical research is documentation of Potawatomi people who moved to Canada for a number of years, had offspring born there but who, in small numbers and with only some of their Canadian family members, returned subsequently to the USA to locations as far away as Kansas where they spelled their identity as "Potttawatomies". At the time of the 1833 Treaty of Chicago the community of Chicago was only 350 people and the Three Fires Confederacy people outnumbered the first wave of newcomer settlers, US military and government officials although there was a much earlier history of Three Fires Confederacy trading and intermarriage relationships with eastern Indigenous and European colonial people.
A Broader Potawatomi Understanding:
The 1907 Wooster Roll does not include all Potawatomi people. Although there was only minor Potawatomi occupation of the Ohio Territoty by the late 1700's the Potawatomi describe their history as follows
(REF: http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Potawatomi_Indians?rec=619:)
"Potawatomi Indians
The Potawatomi lived mainly in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Ontario, Canada at the time of European contact in the early 1600s. They spoke an Algonquian language. The Potawatomi were closely related to the Objibwe and the Ottawa, and allied themselves together in a confederacy called the Council of Three Fires
During the late 1600s and the early 1700s, the Potawatomi struggled with the Iroquois over the Ohio Country. They also fought for territory with the Sioux in modern-day Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. By the mid 1700s, the Potawatomi had established villages in Illinois and in Indiana.
The Potawatomi sided with the French during the French and Indian War. Following France’s defeat, the Potawatomi assisted Pontiac in Pontiac’s Rebellion. During the American Revolution and again in the War of 1812, the Potawatomis allied themselves with the British. The nation feared that Anglo-American settlers would continue to occupy the Potawatomi land if they did not receive assistance from the British. The Potawatomi did not have a large presence in Ohio and, throughout the late 1700s and early 1800s, signed numerous treaties forsaking any land claims in Ohio. By 1841, under the U.S. Government's Indian Removal policy, many of the Potawatomi in Michigan, Wisconsin and the upper Midwest had been removed to promised U.S. government lands in Nebraska and Kansas. They were eventually forced to move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma), though some found ways to remain in Michigan.
Today, the U.S. government recognizes seven active bands of Potawatomi -- in Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas, Oklahoma and Indiana; and other bands of Potawatomi are federally recognized First Nations in Canada."
Canadian Context of Wooster's Understandings:
Wooster, as an American official, did not have a thorough understanding of the Canadian First Nations communities to which the Potawatomi had moved 70 years earlier. This lack of understanding is reflected in many entries in the 1907 Wooster Roll so those issues need to be untangled. These issues include the distinction between reservations established by treaty and First Nations communities where no treaty existed so remained unceded territory, as at Wikwemikong, Manitoulin Island. Wooster identifies Wikwemikong for some families, Sucker Creek for others but uses "Manitoulin Island" as the residence of others without documenting the exact community on Manitoulin Island where these families lived. To understand the many First Nations on Manitoulin Island alone researchers need to seek out sources such as the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation (OCF) at M'Chigeeng, Manitoulin Island. Helpful information and a useful map showing the location and names of 6 member communities of OFC are at http://www.ojibweculture.ca/ocf-member-first-nation/
Potawatomi migration to Canada came from locations other than Wisconsin and Michigan. One task of the project is to seek matches between known Canadian Potawatomi and Indigenous genealogies which include Canadians. One example is the list of deceased ancestors from 1720 onward as recorded at http://www.tribalpages.com/family-tree/area519786 . Another example is the story of the Potawatomi people from Indiana who decided to move to the Canadian side of the St. Clar River to avoid the 1839 forced march to Kansas which had such a high death toll that it became known as the Potawatomi Trail of Death. See https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries/ipperwash/polic... .
1907 Wooster Roll as a Source to Identify More Recent Potawatomi Migrants' Descendants:
Over time the project will attempt to find death certificates for the people listed in the 1907 Wooster Roll and, if available, their ancestors. This aspect of the research requires meticulous checking of copies of original Ontario Government records. A start has been made with this research with the profile of Mrs. Annie Cousineau (#1561 on the 1907 Wooster Roll) whose Geni profile has been updated since her 1937 death certificate provides information which the 1907 Wooster Roll does not. See http://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000040132181136&
Archaeology's Help with Understanding Pre-Contact Context:
To show the resourcefulness of ancient pre contact people from the Wisconsin area we need to turn to archaeology. One amazing story is the archaeological find of "Gete-okosomin", "Big Old Squash"seeds of a previously presumed extinct variety of giant squash in an 800 year old pot. The story and photographs are at http://www.cfweradio.ca/on-air/blogs/dustin-mcgladrey-351668/entry/... . To date we have not made a genealogical connection between Potawatomi people of 200 years ago with people who shared the same landscape 800 years ago.
Annotated References:
1907 Wooster Roll, Wooster, W. M. This document has useful preamble and entries for 1,880 names and ages of Potawatomi people living in 1907 as well as numerous Anishinaabemowin traditional names of some individuals and their place of residence as of 1907. This roll forms the foundation of the Potawatomi migration project.
1976, Clifton, James A., A Place of Refuge For All Time: Migration of the American Potawatomi into Upper Canada 1830 to 1850, National Museum of Man Mercury Series, Ottawa, Canada
1996 Chippewa Tri-Council Coldwater-Narrows Reservation Claim, Compilation of Documents, Volume 9 of 9, pages 2077 to 2303, Indian Claims Commission, Ottawa, Canada. This document has a wealth of transcripts of documents related to the Potawatomi migration to Canada along with detailed references to the archival sources where the original documents are available.
2001, McGill University, The Canadian County Atlas Digital Project. Available at http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/aboutatlases.html
(Between 1874 and 1881 about 40 county atlases were published in Canada. Each of the county atlases consisted of a historical text, township and town maps, portraits, views and patrons' directory / business cards. But more important, names of residents were marked on the lots of the township maps in these county atlases. The McGill source allows researchers to search specific counties and specific names of landowners with zoom features with high resilution images.)
2015, Wetzel, Christopher. Gathering the Potawatomi Nation: Revitalization and Identity, University of Oklahoma Press.
2016_Low, John N. Imprints: The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the City of Chicago. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, Michigan. This recent research has massive sourcing, a useful index, copies of original documents and photographs not available elsewhere and a readable flow of text identifying some key Potawatomi personalities of the nineteenth century.
Undated: History of Stoney Point and Kettle Point. https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/inquiries/ipperwash/repor...
- Potawatomi "tree starter" profile