Sauganash
Encyclopedia
Billy Caldwell, baptized Thomas Caldwell (March 17, 1782 – September 28, 1841), known also as Sauganash, was a British-Mohawk fur trader who was commissioned captain in the Indian Department of Canada. He negotiated a treaty for the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa
and Potowatomi with the United States, and was a leader of a Potowatomi band at Trader's Point (Iowa Territory). Born in a Mohawk refugee camp near Fort Niagara
, Billy was the son of a Mohawk mother and William Caldwell
, a Scots-Irish
immigrant to North America and a Loyalist
British officer during the American Revolutionary War
. He became multilingual, learning Mohawk, English, French and Potowatomi. As the Mohawk are matrilineal, he was born into his mother's clan
and had status in the Mohawk because of her.
After moving to the United States in 1818, Caldwell became a fur trader and negotiated with numerous tribes. He acted as a translator and negotiator between the government and American Indians. In 1829, Caldwell represented the Chippewa, Ottawa and Pottawatomie in negotiating the Treaty of Prairie du Chien
with the United States. For his work, the US granted him a 1600-acre tract, known as the Caldwell Reserve, along the Chicago River
. Eighty acres is included within the Cook County
Forest Preserve.
Together with Alexander Robinson, Caldwell also negotiated the Treaty of Chicago
in 1833 for the United Nations Tribes. This led to the final removal
of American Indians from that region, to west of the Mississippi River
. In 1835, Caldwell migrated with his people from the Chicago region west to Platte County, Missouri
.
As a result of the Platte Purchase
in 1836, Caldwell and his band were removed to the area of Trader's Point (Pointe aux Poules) on the east bank of the Missouri River
in the Iowa Territory
. While living at Trader's Point, Caldwell led a band of approximately 2000 Pottawatomi. Their settlement became known as Camp Caldwell. In 1841 Caldwell died; scholars believe it may have been because of cholera
.
immigrant to North America in 1773. His father fought as an officer with Lord Dunmore in Virginia in 1774, where he was wounded. After recovering, he went to Fort Niagara
in New York, where he fought with the partisan Butler's Rangers
against colonists in New York and Pennsylvania. He was resettled as a Loyalist
in Upper Canada, being granted land and helping develop the town of Amherstburg. His son Billy Caldwell lived his first several years with his mother and her family in a Mohawk refugee camp in Ontario near Fort Niagara.
In 1783, his father married Suzanne Baby (daughter of Jacques Baby dit Dupéron). In 1789, when Billy was seven, the senior Caldwell took the boy to live with him and his Canadian wife, to give him a Canadian education. Billy was given a basic Anglo-Canadian education, and his stepmother reared him and her own children in the Catholic faith. Billy learned to speak both English and French, in addition to his mother's language of Mohawk. Although Billy worked on his father's farm as he was growing up, he wanted a different life.
business (he traded for much of his life). He kept his British Canadian loyalties and learned Potowatomi, an Algonquian
language, for dealing with the peoples near Lake Michigan.
In 1812, after the Fort Dearborn Massacre
, Caldwell at age 30 returned to Canada to enlist in the British service and looked for his father's help to obtain a commission. The senior Caldwell by then was a Lieutenant Colonel and gained commissions for his sons by his wife. The regular army did not accept Billy Caldwell, but he was commissioned as a captain in the Indian Department. By then he had become influential among the Ojibwa
, Ottawa and Pottawatomi, who inhabited the area around Lake Michigan. Severely wounded in his first combat action, Caldwell, Jr. recovered and participated in several more battles along the northern frontier. He was disgusted that the First Nations allies were abandoned by the British at the Battle of the Thames
, when General Proctor
made an early retreat before the US forces.
In 1814 the Canadians appointed his father as Superintendent of Indians for the Western District, a position for which the younger Caldwell had competed as well. He was appointed second to his father. In 1815 Amherstburg, Ontario
's Commandant, Reginald James, suspended Caldwell, Sr. because of problems in supplying the Indians and appointed the younger Caldwell as Superintendent. The Indian Department quickly realized he could not manage the work and "eased him out" the following year, in 1816.
The younger Caldwell received a plot of land in early 1818 after his father's death, but decided to return to the US. He settled in the Fort Dearborn
area (now Chicago); he had long been recruited by Americans because of his influence with the local tribes. He worked hard to gain the Americans' trust. At the same time he continued to work with a local fur trade firm. In 1825 Caldwell sought an appointment to become a justice of the peace. In August 1826, Caldwell served as a judge in Peoria County, Illinois
's first election. Also in 1826, he was recommended to the Governor of Illinois to hold the Justice of the Peace position for Peoria County. That year, he became an appraiser for the estate of John Crafts, a local trader who passed away during the year of 1825. In 1827, Caldwell worked for the United States to secure information related to a possible Winnebago
uprising.
In 1829, Caldwell became one of several chiefs
to represent the United Nations of the Chippewa, Ottawa
, and Pottawatomie in negotiations with the United States in the Treaty of Prairie du Chien
. The Winnebago were negotiating a separate treaty at the same time. "Through his involvement in the process, he became recognized as a chief of the United Nations." As told later by Alexander Robinson, Caldwell's long-time friend, the US Indian Agent to the United Nations, Dr. Wolcott, arranged for both Robinson and Caldwell to be promoted as chiefs to fill two vacant positions. Wolcott wanted to have chiefs who would favor the treaty, fearing that without all the chiefs' positions filled, the United Nations would not sign. Robinson and Caldwell each received large land grants from the US under the treaty for their part in influencing the other chiefs to sign the land cession.
Caldwell was given 1600 acres on the Chicago River
. In 1833 he helped found the first Catholic Church in Chicago, Saint Mary of the Assumption. It was located at what is now Lake Street west of State Street.
That same year, again with Robinson, Caldwell was one of the chiefs representing the United Nations of the three tribes in negotiating the Treaty of Chicago
. By this the Pottawatomie ceded the "last of their Illinois and Wisconsin lands and their last reservations in Michigan." This resulted in Caldwell and his band migrating west to Missouri. The treaty provided for a $10,000 payment each to Caldwell and Robinson, with Caldwell to receive a $400 lifetime annuity and Robinson one of $300 annually. Before the US Senate ratified the treaty in 1835, it reduced the lump-sum payments to the men to $5000 each, but left their annuities intact.
. The land patent was not completed until 1839, and the deeds did not gain a president's signature until 1841, after Caldwell and his band had left the area for the West.
In all, six land sales took place from Caldwell's Reserve. These land transactions included: 80 acres to George W. Dole and Richard Hamilton in June 1833 for $100; 160 acres to Richard Nicolas, Sarah Amantus, Eleanor Hamilton, and infant heirs of Richard Jo and Diana W. Hamilton in July 1833 for $200; 160 acres to Philo Carpenter
in July 1833 for $200; 720 acres to Arthur Bronson in 1833 for $900; 160 acres to Captain Seth Johnson in November 1833 for $200; 80 and 160 acres, respectively, to Julius B. Kingsbury in November 1834 for $300. To date, the Northwest 80 acres of Caldwell's Reserve were never legally conveyed for sale with a president's signature of approval. They are included within the Cook County Forest Preserve.
.
Caldwell married again, but his second wife also died within a year after the birth of their first child.
Before leaving the Chicago area, Caldwell married a third time, on November 18, 1834. His bride was Saqua (also called Masaqua) LeGrand, a woman of Pottawatomi and French descent. They had a daughter and son born after they migrated west. Only the son, Pe-y-mo, survived to adulthood. Later in the nineteenth century, Pe-y-mo entered the historical records when trying to sell the last 80 acres of Caldwell's Reserve in Chicago.
In 1835, Caldwell and his band of Potawatomi left the State of Illinois for Platte County, Missouri
.
In 1836 as a result of the Platte Purchase
, Caldwell and his band were removed from this reservation to Trader's Point on the east bank of the Missouri River
in the Iowa Territory
. The Potawatomi band of an estimated 2000 individuals settled in a main village called "Caldwell's Camp", located where the later city of Council Bluffs, Iowa
developed. (This was on the opposite bank from the present-day city of Omaha, Nebraska
.)
From 1838 to 1839 Caldwell and his people were ministered to by the notable Belgian Jesuit missionary Pierre-Jean De Smet
. The Jesuit priest was appalled at the violence and desperation that overtook the Potawatomi in their new home, in large part due to the whiskey trade. After De Smet returned to St. Louis, the mission was abandoned by 1841.
Caldwell died on September 28, 1841, and his wife Masaqua in the winter of 1843. Together they had one surviving son, Pe-y-mo. Pe-y-mo had his own family, living for some time with the Kickapoo
in Kansas. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in the late nineteenth century.
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
and Potowatomi with the United States, and was a leader of a Potowatomi band at Trader's Point (Iowa Territory). Born in a Mohawk refugee camp near Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
, Billy was the son of a Mohawk mother and William Caldwell
William Caldwell
William Caldwell may refer to:*William Caldwell , English cricketer*'William Caldwell', Field Maple cultivar named for eponymous nurseryman.*William W. Caldwell , U.S...
, a Scots-Irish
Scots-Irish
Scotch-Irish or Scots-Irish may refer to;* Ulster Scots people, an ethnic group in the Ulster province of Ireland which ultimately traces its roots back to settlers from Scotland and northern England....
immigrant to North America and a Loyalist
Loyalist
In general, a loyalist is someone who maintains loyalty to an established government, political party, or sovereign, especially during war or revolutionary change. In modern English usage, the most common application is to loyalty to the British Crown....
British officer during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. He became multilingual, learning Mohawk, English, French and Potowatomi. As the Mohawk are matrilineal, he was born into his mother's clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
and had status in the Mohawk because of her.
After moving to the United States in 1818, Caldwell became a fur trader and negotiated with numerous tribes. He acted as a translator and negotiator between the government and American Indians. In 1829, Caldwell represented the Chippewa, Ottawa and Pottawatomie in negotiating the Treaty of Prairie du Chien
Treaty of Prairie du Chien
The Treaty of Prairie du Chien may refer to any of several treaties made and signed in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin between the United States, representatives from the Sioux, Sac and Fox, Menominee, Ioway, Winnebago and the Anishinaabeg Native American peoples.-1825:The first treaty of Prairie du...
with the United States. For his work, the US granted him a 1600-acre tract, known as the Caldwell Reserve, along the Chicago River
Chicago River
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of the same name, including its center . Though not especially long, the river is notable for being the reason why Chicago became an important location, as the link between the Great Lakes and...
. Eighty acres is included within the Cook County
Cook County
- Counties :*Cook County, Georgia, US*Cook County, Illinois*Cook County, Minnesota, US*Cook County, New South Wales, Australia*Cook County, New Zealand, one of the former counties of New Zealand on the North Island...
Forest Preserve.
Together with Alexander Robinson, Caldwell also negotiated the Treaty of Chicago
Treaty of Chicago
The Treaty of Chicago may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in Chicago, Illinois between the United States and the Ottawa, Ojibwe , and Potawatomi Native American peoples.-1821 Treaty of Chicago:...
in 1833 for the United Nations Tribes. This led to the final removal
Indian Removal
Indian removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
of American Indians from that region, to west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. In 1835, Caldwell migrated with his people from the Chicago region west to Platte County, Missouri
Platte County, Missouri
As of the census of 2000, there were 73,781 people, 29,278 households, and 20,231 families residing in the county. The population density was 176 people per square mile . There were 30,902 housing units at an average density of 74 per square mile...
.
As a result of the Platte Purchase
Platte Purchase
The Platte Purchase was a land acquisition in 1836 by the United States government from Native American tribes all of which was east bank lands along the Missouri River that added to the northwest corner of the state of Missouri. The area acquired is almost as large as the states of Delaware and...
in 1836, Caldwell and his band were removed to the area of Trader's Point (Pointe aux Poules) on the east bank of the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
in the Iowa Territory
Iowa Territory
The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Iowa.-History:...
. While living at Trader's Point, Caldwell led a band of approximately 2000 Pottawatomi. Their settlement became known as Camp Caldwell. In 1841 Caldwell died; scholars believe it may have been because of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
.
Early life and education
Billy Caldwell was born in 1782 to a Mohawk mother, the daughter of a chief named Rising Sun, and William Caldwell, a Scots-IrishScots-Irish
Scotch-Irish or Scots-Irish may refer to;* Ulster Scots people, an ethnic group in the Ulster province of Ireland which ultimately traces its roots back to settlers from Scotland and northern England....
immigrant to North America in 1773. His father fought as an officer with Lord Dunmore in Virginia in 1774, where he was wounded. After recovering, he went to Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
in New York, where he fought with the partisan Butler's Rangers
Butler's Rangers
Butler's Rangers was a British provincial regiment composed of Loyalists in the American Revolutionary War, raised by Loyalist John Butler.Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York...
against colonists in New York and Pennsylvania. He was resettled as a Loyalist
Loyalist
In general, a loyalist is someone who maintains loyalty to an established government, political party, or sovereign, especially during war or revolutionary change. In modern English usage, the most common application is to loyalty to the British Crown....
in Upper Canada, being granted land and helping develop the town of Amherstburg. His son Billy Caldwell lived his first several years with his mother and her family in a Mohawk refugee camp in Ontario near Fort Niagara.
In 1783, his father married Suzanne Baby (daughter of Jacques Baby dit Dupéron). In 1789, when Billy was seven, the senior Caldwell took the boy to live with him and his Canadian wife, to give him a Canadian education. Billy was given a basic Anglo-Canadian education, and his stepmother reared him and her own children in the Catholic faith. Billy learned to speak both English and French, in addition to his mother's language of Mohawk. Although Billy worked on his father's farm as he was growing up, he wanted a different life.
Career
In 1797 at the age of 15, Billy Caldwell entered United States territory for the first time, to learn the fur tradeFur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
business (he traded for much of his life). He kept his British Canadian loyalties and learned Potowatomi, an Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
language, for dealing with the peoples near Lake Michigan.
In 1812, after the Fort Dearborn Massacre
Fort Dearborn massacre
The Battle of Fort Dearborn occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn, Illinois Territory during the War of 1812. The engagement followed the evacuation of the fort as ordered by the U.S. General William Hull...
, Caldwell at age 30 returned to Canada to enlist in the British service and looked for his father's help to obtain a commission. The senior Caldwell by then was a Lieutenant Colonel and gained commissions for his sons by his wife. The regular army did not accept Billy Caldwell, but he was commissioned as a captain in the Indian Department. By then he had become influential among the Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
, Ottawa and Pottawatomi, who inhabited the area around Lake Michigan. Severely wounded in his first combat action, Caldwell, Jr. recovered and participated in several more battles along the northern frontier. He was disgusted that the First Nations allies were abandoned by the British at the Battle of the Thames
Battle of the Thames
The Battle of the Thames, also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, was a decisive American victory in the War of 1812. It took place on October 5, 1813, near present-day Chatham, Ontario in Upper Canada...
, when General Proctor
Proctor
Proctor, a variant of the word procurator, is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The word proctor is frequently used to describe someone who oversees an exam or dormitory.The title is used in England in three principal senses:...
made an early retreat before the US forces.
In 1814 the Canadians appointed his father as Superintendent of Indians for the Western District, a position for which the younger Caldwell had competed as well. He was appointed second to his father. In 1815 Amherstburg, Ontario
Amherstburg, Ontario
Amherstburg is a Canadian town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario. It is approximately south of the U.S...
's Commandant, Reginald James, suspended Caldwell, Sr. because of problems in supplying the Indians and appointed the younger Caldwell as Superintendent. The Indian Department quickly realized he could not manage the work and "eased him out" the following year, in 1816.
The younger Caldwell received a plot of land in early 1818 after his father's death, but decided to return to the US. He settled in the Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. The original fort was destroyed following the Battle of...
area (now Chicago); he had long been recruited by Americans because of his influence with the local tribes. He worked hard to gain the Americans' trust. At the same time he continued to work with a local fur trade firm. In 1825 Caldwell sought an appointment to become a justice of the peace. In August 1826, Caldwell served as a judge in Peoria County, Illinois
Peoria County, Illinois
Peoria County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 186,494, which is an increase of 1.7% from 183,433 in 2000. Its county seat is Peoria....
's first election. Also in 1826, he was recommended to the Governor of Illinois to hold the Justice of the Peace position for Peoria County. That year, he became an appraiser for the estate of John Crafts, a local trader who passed away during the year of 1825. In 1827, Caldwell worked for the United States to secure information related to a possible Winnebago
Winnebago
Winnebago can refer to:* The former name of the Ho-Chunk tribe of Native Americans with reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin*A popular brand of recreational vehicles, manufactured by Winnebago Industries, of Forest City, Iowa...
uprising.
In 1829, Caldwell became one of several chiefs
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
to represent the United Nations of the Chippewa, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, and Pottawatomie in negotiations with the United States in the Treaty of Prairie du Chien
Treaty of Prairie du Chien
The Treaty of Prairie du Chien may refer to any of several treaties made and signed in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin between the United States, representatives from the Sioux, Sac and Fox, Menominee, Ioway, Winnebago and the Anishinaabeg Native American peoples.-1825:The first treaty of Prairie du...
. The Winnebago were negotiating a separate treaty at the same time. "Through his involvement in the process, he became recognized as a chief of the United Nations." As told later by Alexander Robinson, Caldwell's long-time friend, the US Indian Agent to the United Nations, Dr. Wolcott, arranged for both Robinson and Caldwell to be promoted as chiefs to fill two vacant positions. Wolcott wanted to have chiefs who would favor the treaty, fearing that without all the chiefs' positions filled, the United Nations would not sign. Robinson and Caldwell each received large land grants from the US under the treaty for their part in influencing the other chiefs to sign the land cession.
Caldwell was given 1600 acres on the Chicago River
Chicago River
The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of the same name, including its center . Though not especially long, the river is notable for being the reason why Chicago became an important location, as the link between the Great Lakes and...
. In 1833 he helped found the first Catholic Church in Chicago, Saint Mary of the Assumption. It was located at what is now Lake Street west of State Street.
That same year, again with Robinson, Caldwell was one of the chiefs representing the United Nations of the three tribes in negotiating the Treaty of Chicago
Treaty of Chicago
The Treaty of Chicago may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in Chicago, Illinois between the United States and the Ottawa, Ojibwe , and Potawatomi Native American peoples.-1821 Treaty of Chicago:...
. By this the Pottawatomie ceded the "last of their Illinois and Wisconsin lands and their last reservations in Michigan." This resulted in Caldwell and his band migrating west to Missouri. The treaty provided for a $10,000 payment each to Caldwell and Robinson, with Caldwell to receive a $400 lifetime annuity and Robinson one of $300 annually. Before the US Senate ratified the treaty in 1835, it reduced the lump-sum payments to the men to $5000 each, but left their annuities intact.
Caldwell Reserve
The United States awarded Caldwell's Reserve, 1600 acres on the Chicago River, to Sauganash as a result of his services in negotiating the 1829 Prairie du Chien treaty. In 1833, likely due to the declining fur trade and development opportunities, Caldwell began selling off his land by contracting with the land speculator Arthur Bronson from New York. According to his land patent, to be legally binding, each deed had to have a president's endorsed signature upon it. All unsold parcels were to be reserved for Caldwell's heirs forever, in trust with the Bureau of Indian AffairsBureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
. The land patent was not completed until 1839, and the deeds did not gain a president's signature until 1841, after Caldwell and his band had left the area for the West.
In all, six land sales took place from Caldwell's Reserve. These land transactions included: 80 acres to George W. Dole and Richard Hamilton in June 1833 for $100; 160 acres to Richard Nicolas, Sarah Amantus, Eleanor Hamilton, and infant heirs of Richard Jo and Diana W. Hamilton in July 1833 for $200; 160 acres to Philo Carpenter
Philo Carpenter
Philo Carpenter was Chicago, Illinois' first pharmacist, and an outspoken abolitionist.Born in Savoy, Massachusetts, February 27, 1805, young Philo learned medicine and the pharmaceutical trade in Troy, New York in the drugstore of Amatus Robins, eventually gaining a half interest in the business...
in July 1833 for $200; 720 acres to Arthur Bronson in 1833 for $900; 160 acres to Captain Seth Johnson in November 1833 for $200; 80 and 160 acres, respectively, to Julius B. Kingsbury in November 1834 for $300. To date, the Northwest 80 acres of Caldwell's Reserve were never legally conveyed for sale with a president's signature of approval. They are included within the Cook County Forest Preserve.
Marriage and family
Caldwell married La Natte about 1804, who died after the birth of their first child, Alexander. She was the niece of the powerful Potowatomi chief, Mad Sturgeon. Alexander died in 1832 in his twenties from alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.
Caldwell married again, but his second wife also died within a year after the birth of their first child.
Before leaving the Chicago area, Caldwell married a third time, on November 18, 1834. His bride was Saqua (also called Masaqua) LeGrand, a woman of Pottawatomi and French descent. They had a daughter and son born after they migrated west. Only the son, Pe-y-mo, survived to adulthood. Later in the nineteenth century, Pe-y-mo entered the historical records when trying to sell the last 80 acres of Caldwell's Reserve in Chicago.
Indian Removal
Platte County, Missouri
As of the census of 2000, there were 73,781 people, 29,278 households, and 20,231 families residing in the county. The population density was 176 people per square mile . There were 30,902 housing units at an average density of 74 per square mile...
.
In 1836 as a result of the Platte Purchase
Platte Purchase
The Platte Purchase was a land acquisition in 1836 by the United States government from Native American tribes all of which was east bank lands along the Missouri River that added to the northwest corner of the state of Missouri. The area acquired is almost as large as the states of Delaware and...
, Caldwell and his band were removed from this reservation to Trader's Point on the east bank of the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
in the Iowa Territory
Iowa Territory
The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Iowa.-History:...
. The Potawatomi band of an estimated 2000 individuals settled in a main village called "Caldwell's Camp", located where the later city of Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
developed. (This was on the opposite bank from the present-day city of Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
.)
From 1838 to 1839 Caldwell and his people were ministered to by the notable Belgian Jesuit missionary Pierre-Jean De Smet
Pierre-Jean De Smet
Pierre-Jean De Smet , also known as Pieter-Jan De Smet, was a Belgian Roman Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus , active in missionary work among the Native Americans of the Midwestern United States in the mid-19th century.His extensive travels as a missionary were said to total...
. The Jesuit priest was appalled at the violence and desperation that overtook the Potawatomi in their new home, in large part due to the whiskey trade. After De Smet returned to St. Louis, the mission was abandoned by 1841.
Caldwell died on September 28, 1841, and his wife Masaqua in the winter of 1843. Together they had one surviving son, Pe-y-mo. Pe-y-mo had his own family, living for some time with the Kickapoo
Kickapoo
The Kickapoo are an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe. According to the Anishinaabeg, the name "Kickapoo" means "Stands here and there". It referred to the tribe's migratory patterns. The name can also mean "wanderer"...
in Kansas. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in the late nineteenth century.
Legacy and honors
- The Sauganash Hotel in Chicago in 1831 was named after Caldwell.
- He was awarded a 1600-acre reserve on the Chicago River, which he started selling off in 1833. Eighty acres of the reserve was never sold and is now part of the Cook CountyCook County- Counties :*Cook County, Georgia, US*Cook County, Illinois*Cook County, Minnesota, US*Cook County, New South Wales, Australia*Cook County, New Zealand, one of the former counties of New Zealand on the North Island...
Forest Preserve. - A son named Pe-y-mo, who married and had a family.