Charles Beaubien
Encyclopedia
Charles Beaubien was a French Canadian
trader in the 18th century who became British Agent to the Miami Nation
.
. He was baptised the same day as Charles Francois Hubert beaubien.
He married luz, the mother of Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville
, after a bitter divorce in 1774 from her husband, Antoine Joseph Drouet de la Richerville, a trade rival. The cause of the divorce was control of a profitable 8 mile portage between the Maumee
and Wabash
Rivers that connected the Great Lakes and Canada to the Mississippi River
. The portage belonged to Tacumwah's family, but had recently been taken over by the brother Alexander and Francis Maisonville. When the arguments turned to physical abuse, Tacumwah moved in with Beaubien, and he sided with her family in the court proceedings at Fort Detroit
. Tacumwah not only retained all her property from the divorce, but British oversight of the portage was taken from the Maisonville brothers and given to Beaubien. Charles Beaubien and Tacumwah had one daughter, Josetta Beaubien Roubidoux, but her descendants were struck from the tribal roll in 1867.
Beaubien was appointed British Agent to the Miami tribe
of Native Americans, and he seems to have been loyal both to the Miami and to the British. He accompanied or led raids against settlements on the Ohio
and Wabash
rivers, and he supplied weapons to Indians allies. In one case, the Miami refused to go on a raid to Kentucky, so Beaubien recruited Shawnee
under Chief Blackfish
, who then captured Daniel Boone
in the Siege of Boonesborough
in 1778
. Nevertheless, there is some evidence that Beaubien, while on a trip to Kaskaskia
with the Wea
, warned George Rogers Clark
of an Ottawa
plot to kill him. Clark, after his capture of Vincennes
, told Henry Hamilton that Beaubien had provided the Americans with information against the British.
Whatever his role with Clark, Beaubien retained his British office and was disliked by French residents and the new American settlers. When La Balme
came to the area in 1780 with a plot to take Fort Detroit
, he promised to arrest Beaubien and take him to Fort Pitt for trial. When La Balme arrived in Kekionga
, however, Beaubien and his family were not there, so the band of French residents raided the his storehouses for 12 days, long enough for Little Turtle to mount a defense that killed nearly every man and restored all stolen goods to Beaubien.
Arent De Peyster, commander at Fort Detoit, concluded that the Miami fought La Balme's band of French residents not because of their loyalty to the British, but because of their loyalty to Beaubien. The British thereafter trusted Beaubien, and when all other traders were ordered to Fort Detroit, he was allowed to stay at Kekionga, reinforced with British rangers.
Little is known about Beaubien after the American Revolution
. He was not among the Miami when they were forced to surrender to Anthony Wayne
in 1795.
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
trader in the 18th century who became British Agent to the Miami Nation
Miami tribe
The Miami are a Native American nation originally found in what is now Indiana, southwest Michigan, and western Ohio. The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is the only federally recognized tribe of Miami Indians in the United States...
.
Biography
Charles was born 5 April 1742, the son of Hubert beaubien (a tailor) and Marie Catherine Roy of MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. He was baptised the same day as Charles Francois Hubert beaubien.
He married luz, the mother of Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville
Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville
Jean Baptiste de Richardville , also known as Peshewa and Joseph Richardville, was the last chief of a united Miami tribe.-Biography:...
, after a bitter divorce in 1774 from her husband, Antoine Joseph Drouet de la Richerville, a trade rival. The cause of the divorce was control of a profitable 8 mile portage between the Maumee
Maumee River
The Maumee River is a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States. It is formed at Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, and meanders northeastwardly for through an agricultural region of glacial moraines before flowing into the...
and Wabash
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
Rivers that connected the Great Lakes and Canada to 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...
. The portage belonged to Tacumwah's family, but had recently been taken over by the brother Alexander and Francis Maisonville. When the arguments turned to physical abuse, Tacumwah moved in with Beaubien, and he sided with her family in the court proceedings at Fort Detroit
Fort Detroit
Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Détroit was a fort established by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. The location of the former fort is now in the city of Detroit in the U.S...
. Tacumwah not only retained all her property from the divorce, but British oversight of the portage was taken from the Maisonville brothers and given to Beaubien. Charles Beaubien and Tacumwah had one daughter, Josetta Beaubien Roubidoux, but her descendants were struck from the tribal roll in 1867.
Beaubien was appointed British Agent to the Miami tribe
Miami tribe
The Miami are a Native American nation originally found in what is now Indiana, southwest Michigan, and western Ohio. The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is the only federally recognized tribe of Miami Indians in the United States...
of Native Americans, and he seems to have been loyal both to the Miami and to the British. He accompanied or led raids against settlements on the Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and Wabash
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
rivers, and he supplied weapons to Indians allies. In one case, the Miami refused to go on a raid to Kentucky, so Beaubien recruited Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
under Chief Blackfish
Chief Blackfish
Blackfish , known in his native tongue as Cot-ta-wa-ma-go or Mkah-day-way-may-qua, was a Native American leader, war chief of the Chillicothe division of the Shawnee tribe.-Biography:...
, who then captured Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...
in the Siege of Boonesborough
Siege of Boonesborough
The Siege of Boonesborough took place in September 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. The attack on the Kentucky settlement of Boonesborough was led by Chief Blackfish, a Shawnee leader allied to the British. Months before the battle, Blackfish had captured and adopted Daniel Boone, the...
in 1778
. Nevertheless, there is some evidence that Beaubien, while on a trip to Kaskaskia
Kaskaskia
The Kaskaskia were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation or Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in the Great Lakes region...
with the Wea
Wea
The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking tribe originally located in western Indiana, closely related to the Miami. The name Wea is used today as the a shortened version of their many recorded names...
, warned George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark was a soldier from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the Kentucky militia throughout much of the war...
of an 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...
plot to kill him. Clark, after his capture of Vincennes
Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 18,701 at the 2000 census...
, told Henry Hamilton that Beaubien had provided the Americans with information against the British.
Whatever his role with Clark, Beaubien retained his British office and was disliked by French residents and the new American settlers. When La Balme
Augustin de La Balme
Augustin Mottin de la Balme was a French cavalry officer who served in Europe during the Seven Years War and in the United States during the American Revolution...
came to the area in 1780 with a plot to take Fort Detroit
Fort Detroit
Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Détroit was a fort established by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. The location of the former fort is now in the city of Detroit in the U.S...
, he promised to arrest Beaubien and take him to Fort Pitt for trial. When La Balme arrived in Kekionga
Kekionga
Kekionga, also known as Kiskakon or Pacan's Village, was the capital of the Miami tribe at the confluence of the Saint Joseph, Saint Marys and Maumee rivers on the western edge of the Great Black Swamp...
, however, Beaubien and his family were not there, so the band of French residents raided the his storehouses for 12 days, long enough for Little Turtle to mount a defense that killed nearly every man and restored all stolen goods to Beaubien.
Arent De Peyster, commander at Fort Detoit, concluded that the Miami fought La Balme's band of French residents not because of their loyalty to the British, but because of their loyalty to Beaubien. The British thereafter trusted Beaubien, and when all other traders were ordered to Fort Detroit, he was allowed to stay at Kekionga, reinforced with British rangers.
Little is known about Beaubien after the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. He was not among the Miami when they were forced to surrender to Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of Mad Anthony.-Early...
in 1795.
Sources
- Anson, Bert. The Miami Indians. ©2000. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-806-13197-7.
- Birzer, Bradley J. French Imperial remnants on the middle ground: The strange case of August de la Balme and Charles Beaubien. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Summer 2000.
- 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.
- Magnin, Frédéric. Mottin de la Balme, cavalier des deux mondes et de la liberté. Paris: L'Harmattan, 2005. ISBN 2-7475-9080-1.