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
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