Jean Baptiste Richardville

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Jean Baptiste de Richardville (c. 1761–13 August 1841), also known as Peshewa ("Wildcat") and Joseph Richardville, was the last chief of a united Miami tribe.

He was born in the village of Kekionga, present day Fort Wayne, Indiana, to a French merchant named Joseph Drouet de Richerville and Tacumwah, sister of the Miami chief Pacanne. He was well educated, and could speak Miami, French, and English, although he later refused to speak white languages or wear white clothing.^[1]

In 1818, Richardville signed the Treaty of St. Mary's. The treaty punished the Miami for their lack of support during the War of 1812, and took away most of central Indiana.^[2] However, Richardville negoiated an legal land grants to individual Miami families, and often offered his private lands as a refuge for other Miami. This allowed about half of the Miami people to remain in Indiana when the tribe was officially removed in 1846, five years after Richardville’s death.^[3]

After signing the Treaty of Mississinwas, Richardville lived in the Richardville House, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The federal government donated $600 to the building, which was a stipulation of the treaty. Richardville used his own funds towards the house, and in 1827 it became the first Greek Revival house in Indiana.^[4]

Richardville is considered to have been the richest man in the state of Indiana at the time of his death in 1841. He was succeeded by his eldest daughter's husband, Francis Lafontaine.^[5] The Richardville house remained in the family until 1894. The land around it was mined for gravel in the 20th century. In 1991, the house was acquired by the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, which has restored the remaining property.

[edit] Named in his honor

Richardville County, Indiana (Later re-named to Howard County)
Richardville, Indiana (Mis-spelled as Russiaville to today)

[edit] References

^ Anson, pg 189
^ Carter, pg 242
^ Carter, pg 243
^ Chief Richardville House, link below
^ Carter, pg 243

Anson, Bert. The Miami Indians. ©2000. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-806-13197-7.

Carter, Harvey Lewis. The Life and Times of Little Turtle: First Sagamore of the Wabash. ©1987, Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-01318-2.

Edmunds, R. David. "Jean Baptiste Richardville". Encyclopedia of North American Indians, 549–550. Ed. Frederick E. Hoxie. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996. ISBN 0-395-66921-9.