BILLY CALDWELL (SAUGANASH, THE ENGLISHMAN) – EARLY CHICAGO LEADER

Although Billy Caldwell was an educated man, written records of his life, obtained mostly from interviews, contain contradictions, and are subject to debate. He is represented as both a hero and an opportunist. We do know he had significant effect on the development of Northern Illinois and the Potawatomi nation.

No pictures of Billy Caldwell exist, and few descriptions of his personality or physical characteristics have survived. From interviews we learned that he was lean, approximately six feet tall, at 155 pounds. He was a well-respected, generous, and kindly man.

Billy Caldwell was born near Fort Niagara in 1780, whether in the U.S. or Canada is debated. His mother was the daughter of a Mohawk chief, Sarah Rising Sun, and his father was Captain William Caldwell, a British officer of Irish descent. When Billy was two years old, his father moved to Amherstburg in Ontario, Canada about 25 miles from Detroit, deserting Billy and his mother. Soon he married Suzanne Baby of Detroit.

At some point in the late 1780s Suzanne became aware of Billy and sent her husband to take Billy from his mother. Billy was raised with their family of eight children. He received a formal education in the home that included English and French, was instructed in the Catholic faith, and had strong British loyalties.

His fluency in Native American, French, and English languages made him an asset to the fur trade. French, British, Americans and Indians were all involved in the trade at that time, and there was much competition. In 1797 Caldwell entered the trade as an apprentice to Thomas Forsyth at the St. Joseph and Wabash Rivers. Forsyth joined his half-brother, John Kinzie, in 1803, moving their fur trading partnership to what was to become Chicago, with Caldwell as chief clerk. The relationship between the three men lasted until 1833.

In 1804 Caldwell married a Potawatomi woman. According to custom, with the marriage he became a member of the powerful Potawatomi Fish Clan.

From 1808 until 1812 Billy ran operations for Forsyth-Kinzie’s trading post near Peoria, with much business being conducted near Lake Michigan. During this time he was also said to have been a runner for Tecumseh. It is possible that his relationship to Tecumseh was exaggerated.

Governor Harrison tried to get Caldwell to join the American cause in the War of 1812, but, having been raised in Canada with strong British loyalties, Caldwell sought a commission as captain in the British Indian Department. He was highly influential among the Potawatomi, Ottawa and Chippewa tribes, and took arms with Tecumseh against the Americans. After the Battle of the Thames (where Tecumseh was killed), Caldwell was discouraged when the British retreated and left the Indians alone to finish the battle.

In 1816 the British appointed Caldwell Superintendent of Indians for the Western District. This position was short-lived, but he was offered a large salary and trade rights if he agreed to keep the tribes friendly to the British. This time Caldwell refused.

Caldwell’s objective had always been to define a boundary line to separate Indian Territory from that of the Americans. Britain had promised to do that, but reneged, handing over Indian land to the Americans at the conclusion of each war.

In 1818, Caldwell came back to the Chicago area, then to Peoria, and set out to earn the Americans’ trust. He continued to work for Kinzie and Forsyth, he became a Justice of the Peace and later a judge at Peoria.

Caldwell played an influential role in treaties, obtaining fair benefits for the Indians. In 1829 the tribes gathered to negotiate a treaty at Prairie du Chien. Caldwell, and his close friend Alexander Robinson (also of mixed Potawatomi and white blood) were appointed by the Indian agent, Dr. Wolcott, to fill the vacancies of two chiefs who had recently died. Both men had white instincts coupled with a history of favorable actions on behalf of the Indian nations, and would have more influence among the tribes. Without their recommendation and vote, the Indians would not have been likely to sell their land.

Caldwell became recognized as Chief of the United Indian Nations. The result was that peaceful negotiations were concluded first at Prairie du Chien in 1829 and later at the Treaty of Chicago in 1833. By then, the remaining Indian lands were essentially surrounded by land ceded to the Americans in earlier treaties. The Americans argued that it made sense for the Indians to move west where they would have more land and be happier. All remaining land in northern Illinois was ceded in exchange for goods valued at $1,000,000 and land west of the Mississippi.

Both Caldwell and Robinson were well-compensated by the U. S. Government for their actions during the negotiations. Some have claimed that the chiefs played both sides against each other for personal advantage. But for Caldwell, the treaty of Chicago brought his dream of a boundary line, and a place for his people to live, to reality.

Caldwell continued to encourage peaceful relationships between the tribes and the Americans. During the Black Hawk wars, he urged his people not to join Black Hawk, and advised them to move their women and children closer to Chicago. He commanded scouts and sent them to warn settlers of hostile aggression, and after the rebellion he helped the military escort Black Hawk back across the Mississippi.

He guided surveyors who were laying out the course of the I & M Canal. He paid from his own resources to educate Indian children. He was instrumental in founding the first Catholic Church in Chicago, Saint Mary of the Assumption, in 1833. The first tavern in Chicago, built by Mark Beaubien, was named Sauganash in his honor.

When Caldwell’s people left Illinois in 1838 for their new home in the west, he went with them. He relocated to land that later became Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he became leader of a Potawatomi band of 2000, and where he died three years later in 1841 at the age of 61.

He ordered the lands he had obtained for his actions in treaty negotiations to be sold. These were located on the north side of Chicago, on both sides of the north branch of the Chicago River. Some of this area is now the Chicago neighborhood of Sauganash. A portion of the land that was not sold became the property of the Cook County Forest Preserves, which today includes Caldwell Woods and the Billy Caldwell Golf Course.

Since writing this article, I have found that there is dissention regarding the history of Billy Caldwell. Some of the sites I used in my research have been taken down, and the Wikipedia site has had some changes. For those interested in researching Billy Caldwell further, I would refer to Billy Caldwell(1780-1841): Chicago and the Great Lakes Trail, by Susan L. Kelsey, or the website livinghistoryofillinois.com.

References: Chief Billy Caldwell, His Chicago River Reserve and Only Known Surviving Heir: A 21st Century Biography: Peter T. Gayford.

sites.google.com/site/chiefbillycaldwellhistory: Peter T. Gayford

Wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy-Caldwell

www.chicagohistorytoday

During the two years I conducted research for The Mystery at Black Partridge Woods, I encountered a number of little-known but remarkable Native American persons. I thought my readers would be interested in knowing more about their lives. Today’s post is about Billy Caldwell, the Potawatomi Chief who became Chief of the United Indian Nations and negotiated the Treaty of Chicago in 1833. Caldwell Woods and Billy Caldwell Golf Course is held today by the Cook County Forest Preserves. My previous posts have included Marie Rouensa, a very interesting woman born in 1677, and Black Partridge who rescued residents during the Massacre at Fort Dearborn.

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