Draft:Jean Baptiste Cadot
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Last edited by CycoMa2 (talk | contribs) 0 seconds ago. (Update) |
Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest policy, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. CycoMa2 (talk) 20:38, 10 June 2025 (UTC)
Jean Baptiste Cadot | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 5, 1723 Batiscan, Quebec |
| Died | November 1, 1800
(aged 77) Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan |
| Other names | John Baptiste Cadotte, Ke-che-sub-ud-ese |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Augustin, Charlotte, Joseph, Marie, Marie Renée, Charlotte, Jean Baptiste Jr, Michel,Joseph |
| Family | Cadotte Family |
| Signature | |
 | |
Jean Baptiste Cadot[a] (1723-1800) was a Métis voyageur and fur trader.
Haven’t finished adding all the information on this guy yet from the book by Silbernagel. The book is extremely unorganized, give me a break!!
Sources I need (Not part of article)
[edit]https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Ojibwa_of_Western_Canada_1780_1870/Q48LOQTwPjwC?hl=en
Kellogg, Louise Phelps (1935). The British régime in Wisconsin and the Northwest. Wisconsin Historical Society. ISBN 9780788427114. Archived from the original on 2023-05-05. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Source to use[1]
Need access to this source.[2] The source is below:
Brown, Jennifer S. H.; Eccles, William J.; Heldman, Donald P. (May 1994). The Fur Trade Revisited: Selected Papers of the Sixth North American Fur Trade Conference, Mackinac Island, Michigan, 1991. Michigan State University Press. ISBN 978-0-87013-348-0.
Source I need access to below:
Hyde, Anne F. (February 15, 2022). Born of Lakes and Plains: Mixed-Descent Peoples and the Making of the American West. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393634099.
Early life
[edit]Cadot was born on December 5, 1723 in Batiscan, Québec. He was the son of Jean-Francois Cadot and Marie-Josephe Proteau.[3] He was baptized on the same day of his birth. Cadot possessed Huron ancestry from his great-grandmother, Catherine Anenontha[4] and his grandfather Mathurin Cadot moved to the New World from France.[5]
Many of his male relatives briefly engaged in the fur trade and used the money from the fur trade to buy farm land. However, Jean Baptiste had little interest in farming, so in 1741 at age 18 he enters the fur trade as a voyageur and becomes an apprentice to Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Roch de Ramezay for a few years. He was assigned to a post on Lake Nipigon.[6] He managed to adjust to wilderness when he took Athanasie Cadot to live with him.[7]
In 1750 he moved to Sault Ste. Marie. During the same year French officers Louis Legardeur de Repentigny and Louis de Bonne settled in the region to establish a fort and small farm, which would be a resting place for French travelers and fur traders. The Frenchmen trusted Cadot to be their resident agent.[8] Later that year Repentigny began to construct a fort on Sault Ste. Marie. At Sault Ste. Marie Repentigny found Cadot living there with Athanasie, Repentigny assigned the couple to start a farm. Eventually Repentigny would leave Sault in 1755 for France. There are disagreements on whether Cadot was left in charge of the land or Repentigny gave him the land.[9](I will get back to this part later. There are sources that talk about ownership of the land. There was something about a 1866 issue.)
Marriage to Athanasie and Seven Years' War
[edit]Marriage to Athanasie
[edit]After the birth of his daughter Marie Renée, Jean Baptiste Cadot and Athanasie decided to formalize their relationship in the European fashion and traveled to Michilimackinac.[10][11] They would get married at Sainte Anne Church on October 28, 1756.[12] The wedding was performed by Father Le Franc.[13]
This marriage with and his wife’s familial connection with Madjeckewiss would benefit his reputation as a friend and powerful figure among Ojibwe and other tribes in the area.[11]
Interpreter for the french
[edit]He became an interpreter for the French at Sault Ste. Marie at the time of the British conquest in the Seven Years' War. Alexander Henry the elder met him and spent the winter of 1762-63 with him and Athanasie.[14][page needed][15]
Pontiac's War
[edit]In the spring of 1763, Pontiac led an uprising against the British due to their mistreatment of the Natives.[11]
Cadot convinced the Ojibwe around Lake Superior to not join in Pontiac's War.[16] According to Alexander Henry:
They [the Ojibwa] considered M. Cadotte as their chief; and he was not only my friend, but a friend to the English. It was by him that the Chippeways of Lake Superior were prevented from joining Pontiac.[17]
— Alexander Henry, Alexander Henry's Travels and Adventures in the Years 1760-1776, 151
Saves Alexander Henry
[edit]1764
[edit]American Revolution and Second marriage
[edit]In 1765, Henry and Cadot entered into a partnership.(will add more later)[18]
1767 Cadot and Henry re-founded the post at Michipicoten.[14][page needed][15]
At the time of the American Revolution Cadot became an interpreter and operative for British Indian Department.[15] Before the Revolutionary War he had already gained the trust of the British. In a letter 1771 to Thomas Gage, George Turnbull called Cadot:
universall [sic] good character amongst both Canadians and Indians.[19]
The same year, Sir William Johnson called him:
two Most faithful Men amongst the French.[19]
I wish to access the letters from both of these men. They are most likely online.
In 1772, Cadot’s children were living with their mother in Montreal. Cadot was probably illiterate, which is evident by how he usually signs with a mark and rarely signs his name in the family account book. Despite this he would send his children to school and managed to develop a successful business in the fur trade.[20]
In 1775 Cadot and Henry took £2,236 worth of goods from Montreal to the region of the new Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) post at Cumberland House, Saskatchewan. Cadot went to Fort des Prairies while Henry went up the Sturgeon-Weir River.[14][page needed][15]
In 1776, Alexander Henry with Joseph Frobisher, Thomas Frobisher, and J. B. Cadotte travelled up Sturgeon-Weir River from Cumberland House and established a fort at the river's outlet from Amisk Lake, called Fort Beaver Lake.[21]
Marriage to Catherine
[edit]Jean Baptiste would marry Catherine after 1776 in the fashion of the land.[15] Unlike Cadot's previous marriage, this marriage wasn't recognized by the Catholic Church.[22]
Battle of St. Louis
[edit]Gonna add more here. Such as background and context behind this. The book the Cadottes touches on this, check the chapter on Jean Baptiste Cadotte.
A 1780 letter written by Patrick Sinclair to the lieutenant governor and commander of Michilimackinac stated that the Indians viewed Cadot:
as a great village orator[11]
— Patrick Sinclair, Haldimand Papers, 530
So during that year Patrick Sinclair decided to dispatched Cadot to help recruit Ojibwe and other Native Americans near Lake Superior to help out in the Battle of St. Louis. Cadot was not directly involved in the Battle of St. Louis.[23] Although the British lost the battle they still continued to trust Cadot and his skills in helping the natives in the area.[24]
1783 mission (title pending)
[edit]In 1783, Patrick Sinclair sent Cadot along with Madjeckewiss on a mission. They were tasked with stoping a war between the Ojibwe and the Dakota and Meskwaki.[24]
(Having a hard time finding more sources for this event.)
1784
[edit]1786
[edit]Later years
[edit]In 1786, Cadot largely retired from the fur trade.
In 1796, he turned his property over to sons Michel Cadotte and Jean Baptiste Cadotte Jr.[25]
Death
[edit]On October 31, 1800 at Sault Ste. Marie Jean Baptiste Cadot was laying up his death bed. He was surrounded by family with his 13 year old grandson Michel Cadotte, Jr and possibly his wife Catherine along with her children.[26] Cadot asserted to his family that the land with St. Mary's River (Sault Ste. Marie) running through it belonged to them.[27][b]
Cadot asked his grandson Michel Cadotte, Jr to see his sons Michel and Jean Bapiste Jr (they were both absent due to their trading activities), Cadot wished to see his sons:[26]
to counsel them to try if possible to find his lost papers relative to the gift of the South side of the Sault Ste Marie duly made to him by the Chippewa Chiefs and Warriors.
— Testimony of Michel Cadotte, Jr
Cadotte claimed that the documents disappeared or were taken. He begged his family to go to Montreal to get the documents to prove his ownership of the land.[11]
I am gonna try and see if I can see the Testimony of Michel Cadotte, Jr with my own eyes.
Jean Baptiste Cadot would later die the next day on November 1, 1800 at his home in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan[4] at age 77.[28] It was previously thought that Cadot died around 1803 or 1804, but then it was confirmed Cadot died on 1800 when the Testimony of Michel Cadotte, Jr was found in the Goldsmith Papers.[26][4]
Children
[edit]Children (with Catherine) [15][29]
- Augustin Cadotte (ca. 1770-1825)
- Charlotte Cadotte (ca. 1779-1851)
- Joseph Cadotte (ca. 1778- ca 1836)
- Marie Cadotte (ca. 1791-1851)
Children (with Athanasie)[10]
- Marie Renée Cadotte (1756-1786)
- Charlotte Cadotte (1759-1768)
- Jean Baptiste Cadotte Jr
- Michel Cadotte
- Joseph Cadotte (1767-1773)
Appearance
[edit]As of 2020, there is so no known portraits of Cadot. But if he was like most French Canadian voyageurs, he would have been short no more than 5 feet and 8 inches.[8]
Name
[edit]The British spelled his name as John Baptist Cadotte.[30] Ojibwe referred to him as Ke-che-sub-ud-ese, it possibly means Great or Big Jean Baptiste according to Schenck it means “Great Strong One”.[4]
Legacy and Recognition
[edit]Places named after him
[edit]The village of Codotte in Canada is named in honor of Jean-Baptiste Cadot.
The town gained its name in 1924 after the Canadian Pacific Railway bought the town-site. In a meeting they decided to name the village after Jean-Baptiste Cadot, they chose the name Cadotte Station was chosen as the name. However the paperwork to incorporate the town misspelled his surname as Codotte resulting in the town’s current name. Back then it was believed that Cadot drowned in the river near the town. [31]
In Popular Culture
[edit]Louis-Honore Fréchette tells the story titled Le drapeau Fantôme, in this story Cadot died defending the fort at Sault Ste. Marie against the English with the flag of France wrapped around him. In reality Cadot collaborated with British and he died after the British conquered Canada.[17]
The website for Algoma School District has song lyrics about Cadot.[32]
Jean-Baptiste Cadot is a character in numerous historical fictional novels from:
- Michilimackinac: A Tale of the Straits by David A. Turrill.[34]
- The Conquerors: A Narrative by Allan W. Eckert.[35]
- My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island by Carrie Fancett Pagels.[36]
- The White Islander by Mary Hartwell Catherwood.[37]
Ownership of Sault Controversy
[edit]On the day of Cadot’s death his grandson Michel Cadotte Jr, told his father and his uncle the news about the alleged documents for Cadot’s ownership of Sault Ste. Marie.
Years later according to the Testimony of Michel Cadotte Jr, Jean-Baptiste Cadotte Jr went to Montreal:
for the express purpose of searching the Records.
— Testimony of Michel Cadotte, Jr
But was unsuccessful. This event probably took place in 1805.
Source says more.[26]
Existence and what happened to the documents
[edit]This source goes more in depth on the ownership of the land.
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Witgen, Michael John (2021-12-16). Seeing Red: Indigenous Land, American Expansion, and the Political Economy of Plunder in North America. UNC Press Books. ISBN 978-1-4696-6485-9.
- ^ Fisk, Jo-Anne (2011-06-01). The Fur Trade Revisited: Selected Papers of the Sixth North American Fur Trade Conference, Mackinac Island, Michigan, 1991. MSU Press. ISBN 978-0-87013-912-3.
- ^ Tobola 1974, p. 68.
- ^ a b c d DuLong 2020, p. 200.
- ^ Silbernagel 2020, p. xxii-xiv,28-29, 55-56.
- ^ Silbernagel 2020, p. 54-56, viii-x.
- ^ "CADOT (Cadotte), JEAN-BAPTISTE". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 2025-07-02.
- ^ a b Silbernagel 2020, p. 56.
- ^ Silbernagel 2020, p. 58.
- ^ a b Silbernagel 2020, p. 57, 59, viii-ix, x.
- ^ a b c d e Silbernagel 2020, p. 59.
- ^ DuLong 2015, p. 190-191.
- ^ Tobola 1974, p. 122.
- ^ a b c Arthur S Morton, A History of the Canadian West
- ^ a b c d e f John, DuLong (2019). "Jean-Baptiste Cadotte's Neglected Second Family" (PDF).
- ^ DuLong 2015, p. 192.
- ^ a b DuLong 2020, p. 202-203.
- ^ Morton 1939, p. 266.
- ^ a b Silbernagel 2020, p. 57.
- ^ Silbernagel 2020, p. 57-58.
- ^ Cooke, Alan; Holland, Clive (May 1971). "Chronological list of expeditions and historical events in northern Canada. IV. 1763–89". Polar Record. 15 (98): 699 721. Bibcode:1971PoRec..15..699C. doi:10.1017/s0032247400061805. S2CID 163418688. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ^ Silbernagel 2020, p. 65.
- ^ Silbernagel 2020, p. 63-65.
- ^ a b Silbernagel 2020, p. 65-66.
- ^ Silbernagel 2020, p. 66.
- ^ a b c d Schenck, Theresa. "Who owns Sault Ste. Marie?". go.gale.com. Michigan Historical Review. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ^ Silbernagel 2020, p. 206.
- ^ 2020 & Silbernagel, p. 60.
- ^ Silbernagel 2020, p. 57, viii-ix.
- ^ Warren 1885, p. 147.
- ^ Schulze, Aaron. "Village of Codette celebrating landmark event". saskNOW | Saskatchewan | News, Sports, Weather, Obituaries, Classifieds. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ "Song Lyrics". www.adsb.on.ca. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
- ^ Acland, Eric (1967). Adventure Westward. T. Nelson. Archived from the original on 2022-08-26.
- ^ Turrill, David A. (1989). Michilimackinac: A Tale of the Straits. Wilderness Adventure Books. ISBN 978-0-923568-04-7.
- ^ Eckert, Allan W. (1970). The Conquerors: A Narrative. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-553-25820-2.
- ^ Pagels, Carrie Fancett (2017-07-01). My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island: Maude's Mooring. Barbour Publishing. ISBN 978-1-68322-089-3.
- ^ Catherwood, Mary Hartwell (1900). The White Islander. Century Company.
Bibliography
[edit]- Silbernagel, Robert (May 13, 2020). The Cadottes: A Fur Trade Family on Lake Superior. Wisconsin Historical Society. ISBN 9780870209413.
- DuLong, John P. (2020), Jean-Baptiste Cadotte's First Family: Genealogical Summary, University of Saskatchewan
- DuLong, John P. (2015), Jean-Baptiste Cadotte's Second Family: Genealogical Summary, University of Saskatchewan
- Tobloa, Thomas (1974). "Cadotte Family Stories". Cadott Printing.
- Warren, William (1885). History of the Ojibway People. Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN 9780873516433.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - Morton, Arthur Silver (1939). A History of the Canadian West to 1870-71. Archived from the original on 2020-04-24.