Francis La Fontaine, or Topeah (

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

: "frost on leaves" ) (1810 – 1847) or Me-Shine-go-me-she-a, was the last principal chief of the unified

Miami tribe The Miami ( Miami-Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is now identified as North-central Indi ...

, and oversaw the split into the Western and Eastern Miami tribes. La Fontaine's grandfather, Peter LaFontaine, was a French trader from

Fort Detroit Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a fort established on the north bank of the Detroit River by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and the Italian Alphonse de Tonty in 1701. In the 18th century, Fre ...

who came to

Kekionga Kekionga (meaning "blackberry bush"), also known as KiskakonCharles R. Poinsatte, ''Fort Wayne During the Canal Era 1828-1855,'' Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1969, p. 1 or Pacan's Village, was the capital of the Miami tribe. It was ...

in 1776. He arrived with Charles Beaubien, and both men married Miami women and declared their loyalty to the Miami. In 1828, at age 18, La Fontaine became the chief of his Miami village. The same year, he married Catherine, the daughter of Chief

Jean Baptiste Richardville Jean Baptiste de Richardville ( 1761 – 13 August 1841), also known as or in the Miami-Illinois language (meaning 'Wildcat' or 'Lynx') or John Richardville in English, was the last 'civil chief' of the Miami people. He began his career in the ...

., ''Historic Forks of the Wabash.'' Website accessed 11 July 2010. Richardville and La Fontaine worked together on a treaty in 1840 which removed half of the Miami nation to an area west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. Chief Richardville died in 1841, and Chief La Fontaine became the new principal chief of the Miami. He moved his family into Richardville's house at The Forks Of The Wabash, which doubled as the tribal headquarters. In 1846, the Miami nation was forcibly split. Although the terms of the treaty allowed La Fontaine to stay in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

with the Eastern tribe, he first travelled with the Western tribe to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. On his return trip, he died in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

. Speculation exists that he may have been poisoned by a member of the Western Miami tribe who viewed La Fontaine with suspicion. La Fontaine's body was returned to the Forks of the Wabash, and his remains lie in Mt. Calvary Cemetery near

Huntington, Indiana Huntington, known as the "Lime City", is the largest city in and the county seat of Huntington County, Indiana, United States. It is in Huntington and Union townships. It is also part of Fort Wayne, Indiana's metropolitan area. The population wa ...

.Allison, 293 Catherine La Fontaine died two years later. Francis and Catherine had seven children: Esther (married John Zahn), Frances (married George Gawn), Archangel (married Chris Engleman), Louis, John, Joe, and Tom. The youngest of the children were placed in the care of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and the sons were educated at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

as payment for a mortgage Francis had granted the school to keep it financially stable. The family maintained ownership of the house until 1941, and it is currently maintained by Historic Forks of the Wabash, Inc.

Images

* A ditigal image of La Fontain (from a tintype in paper frame,) is available through th
George Winter Collection at the Tippecanoe County Historical Association

Images at Allen County / Fort Wayne Historical Society

Notes

* * Federal Writers' Project. ''Indiana: A Guide to the Hoosier State'' 3rd edition, 1947. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:LaFontaine, Francis American people of French descent Native American leaders Miami people 1810 births 1847 deaths Burials in Indiana People from Fort Wayne, Indiana 19th-century Native Americans