Francis Godfroy
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Francis Godfroy (Palaanswa, c. 1788–1840) was a chief of the
Miami people The Miami ( Miami–Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking the Miami–Illinois language, one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is no ...
. He negotiated treaties with between his tribe and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
."Miami Removal: Francis Godfroy."
''William Holmes McGuffey Museum.'' Retrieved 10 Feb 2012.


Background

Francis (or François) Godfroy was born at
Little Turtle Little Turtle () (1747 July 14, 1812) was a Sagamore (chief) of the Miami people, who became one of the most famous Native American military leaders. Historian Wiley Sword calls him "perhaps the most capable Indian leader then in the Northwes ...
's village (now Ft. Wayne, Indiana) in about 1788, the son of Jacques Godfroy, a French trader, and a Miami woman. His Miami name, Palonswah, was the Miami approximation of the name François. The Miamis were involved in comparatively few frontier grievances in the period leading up to the War of 1812, but their resistance to further land cessions in Indiana Territory after 1809 led to American attacks on their villages along the lower
Mississinewa River The Mississinewa River is a tributary of the Wabash River in eastern Indiana and a small portion of western Ohio in the United States. It is long and is the third largest tributary behind the White and Little Wabash Rivers, only slightly larger ...
near today's
Peru, Indiana Peru is a city in, and the county seat of, Miami County, Indiana, Miami County, Indiana, United States. It is north of Indianapolis. The population was 11,073 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous community in Miami County. Peru is loc ...
. Francis Godfroy was one of the leaders in a Miami counterattack on an American army led by Lieutenant Colonel John Campbell in the
Battle of the Mississinewa The Battle of the Mississinewa, also known as ''Mississineway'', was an expedition ordered by William Henry Harrison against Miami Indian villages in response to the attacks on Fort Wayne and Fort Harrison in the Indiana Territory. The site is n ...
on December 17–18, 1812.


Trading career

After the War of 1812, Godfroy turned increasingly to trade, in partnership with the Miamis' principal 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 ...
. In 1823 he had a two-story trading post built at the mouth of the Mississinewa, which was kept well stocked with merchandise. Until 1827 he alternated residences between the post, known as Mount Pleasant, and the Godfroy treaty reserve in today's Blackford County, Indiana. As a mixed-blood trader well aware of the value of land and merchandise, he became influential with Richardville in brokering the sale of tribal land at treaty councils held in 1826, 1834 at the Treaty at the Forks of the Wabash, and 1838. From 1818 to 1838, Godfroy was given a total of seventeen sections of land (10,880 acres) and $17,612 in payment for services as chief and for the debts of tribespeople to his trading post, as well as a house and other gifts. Though Godfroy was well rewarded for his services as an intermediary between the
Miami tribe The Miami ( Miami–Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking the Miami–Illinois language, one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is no ...
and American officials, he was no mere pawn of American interests. Along with Richardville, he was able to frustrate the efforts of General
John Tipton John Shields Tipton (August 14, 1786 – April 5, 1839) was from Tennessee and became a farmer in Indiana; an officer in the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe, and veteran officer of the War of 1812, in which he reached the rank of Brigadier General; ...
, Governor Lewis Cass, and various Indian agents to bring about rapid land cessions and Miami removal. In conjunction with traders such as the Ewing brothers, Godfroy and Richardville were able to wrest much larger payments for land ceded by treaty and to postpone the Miamis' removal longer than that of most other midwestern tribes. Godfroy, Richardville, and another Miami chief named Meshingomesia were able to get exemption from removal for their families. These small family groups of Miamis became the core population of today's Indiana Miami tribe.


War chief

In 1830, Francis Godfroy was elected war chief of the Miamis, though the post was largely honorary at that time. He died in May 1840 at his Mount Pleasant trading post and was buried nearby in what is now
Peru, Indiana Peru is a city in, and the county seat of, Miami County, Indiana, Miami County, Indiana, United States. It is north of Indianapolis. The population was 11,073 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous community in Miami County. Peru is loc ...
. The Godfroy cemetery continues as a Miami burial ground today. Through his two wives he left a large number of descendants. A large man, he dressed in a mixture of European and native clothing, often wearing a vest and a blue waistcoat over a ruffled shirt, with a breechcloth, leggings, and moccasins. He was pictured by two amateur artists, George Winter and
James Otto Lewis James Otto Lewis (February 3, 1799 – November 2, 1858) was an American engraver and painter who was noted for his portraits of Native American leaders and other figures of the American frontier. Lewis began his engraving career in Philadelp ...
. Godfroy was a key figure in the continuing persistence of the Indiana Miamis as a tribe through his landholdings and the leadership of his descendants. After his death, his treaty grant surrounding Mount Pleasant became a refuge for landless Miamis returning from Kansas after Miami removal in 1846. His youngest son, Gabriel (Wapanakekapwah, "White Blossoms"), became a leader of the Indiana Miamis until his death in 1910. His many children and grandchildren married among all the Miami kinship groups to the extent that over one-fourth of the current Indiana Miami tribe can claim descendency from him. Later descendants have continued in leadership roles in the tribe to this day. Ira Sylvester Godfroy (Mihtohseenia, "Indian"), a great-grandson of Godfroy's, was a chief of the Indiana Miamis from 1938 to 1961, and was a leader in gaining tribal awards in Miami land claims. Another great-grandson, Clarence Godfroy (Keepaahpwa, "Looking over the Top"), was a noted Miami storyteller and one of the last fluent speakers of the Miami language. In 1977, in federal circuit court in
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...
, another great-grandson, Oliver Godfroy (Swimming Turtle), won tax exemption on seventy-nine acres of remaining Francis Godfroy treaty ground.


Death and legacy

Francis Godfrey died May 1, 1840. He was described as being over 6 feet tall and weighed about 350 pounds. He had two wives, buried outside of Peru, Indiana in the Francis Godfroy Cemetery, have a photo that was printed in "History of Miami County, Indiana" edited by Mr., Arthur L. Bodurtha Volume I, published by The Lewis Publishing Company Chicago, & New York 1914. The Francis Godfroy Cemetery was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1984.


See also

*
Tetinchoua Tetinchoua was chief of the Miami people in the 17th century. Nicolas Perrot, a French traveler, met him in Chicago in 1671. He said Tetinchoua was "the most powerful of Indian chiefs". Perrot stated that Tetinchoua could easily manage approximatel ...
*
Pacanne Pacanne (c. 1737–1816) was a leading Miami chief during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Son of The Turtle (Aquenackqua), he was the brother of Tacumwah, who was the mother of Chief Jean Baptiste Richardville. Their family owned and ...
*
Francis La Fontaine Francis La Fontaine, or Toohpia (Miami: "frost on leaves") (c. 1810 – 1847) was the last principal chief of the unified Miami tribe, and oversaw the split into the Western and Eastern Miami tribes. La Fontaine's grandfather, Peter LaFontai ...
*
Frances Slocum Frances Slocum (March 4, 1773 – March 9, 1847) (Ma-con-na-quah, "Young Bear" or "Little Bear") was an adopted member of the Miami people. Slocum was born into a Quaker family that migrated from Warwick, Rhode Island, in 1777 to the Wyoming ...
*
William Wells (soldier) William Wells (c. 1770 – 15 August 1812), also known as Apekonit ("Carrot top"), was the son-in-law of Chief Little Turtle of the Miami tribe, Miami. He fought for the Miami in the Northwest Indian War. During the course of that war, he ...


References


Notes


References

* Anson, Bert. ''The Miami Indians''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1970. * Feest, Christian F. and R. David Edmunds. ''Indians and a Changing Frontier: The Art of George Winter.'' Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1993. {{DEFAULTSORT:Godfroy, Francis Miami people 1780s births 1840 deaths 19th-century Native American leaders People from Fort Wayne, Indiana Politicians from Fort Wayne, Indiana Businesspeople from Indiana