People of Detroit:
Pierre Alphonse de Tonty

Pierre Alphonse de Tonty was born in 1659 to Laurent and Angelique (de Liette) de Tonty. He had an older brother, Henri, who was part of La Salle's expedition to the Mississippi. Henri was known to the Native Americans as "the man with the iron hand" due to an artificial hand.

On February 17, 1689, Tonty married Marianne de Belestre, daughter of Picote de Belestre (not sure which one - we know of two: one who born in 1677, and his son who was born after 1710).

Some time after 1689 and before 1701, Tonty married Marianne la Marque, daughter of Francois la Marque. This was Marianne's third marriage. On May 3, 1669, Marianne's first husband, J.B. Nolan, died. Her second husband was Antoine de Fresnel (Fruel?) de Pipadiere.

Tonty was the Captain of Cadillac's party which founded Fort Ponchratrain du Detroit in 1701. He was a loyal, trusted officer.

In 1703, Tonty admitted to a plot with the Jesuits of Michilimackinac to establish a new post in St. Joseph on Lake Michigan. He was pardoned by Cadillac.

In 1704, Cadillac while was in Quebec, Tonty acted (unofficially) as Commandant. At thie time, Tonty was caught embezzling company goods, along with a company commissioner, for illegal fur trade. He was removed from Fort Ponchartrain, but was later pardoned by Cadillac and returned. Tonty continued to plot against his former friend with some Native Americans.

In July 1717, Tonty was named commandant of Fort Ponchartrain. Tonty was personally responsible for all expenses at the fort, including salaries for a missionary, surgeon, soldiers and interpreters, presents for Native Americans, and clothing. He was to use the profits from trade to pay these expenses. He was neither good with finances, nor business, however, and before long, he found himself with a debt he couldn't pay off. His solution was to farm out the trade business to two men: Francois la Marque (his father-in-law?) and Louis Gastineau. The men took on three partners of their own: Thierry, Nolan, and Gouin. The fee they paid Tonty covered fort expenses.

The new trade "bosses" weren't much better than Tonty and while he was commandant, annual trade "fairs" which offered twenty or more stores in Cadillac's day, never grew above two stores -- and those were owned by the same person. The trade business declined enough that community and tribal leaders filed complaints to Quebec. Tonty was called to Quebec to answer the complaints in the winter of 1721-22. Sieur de Belestre maintained the fort in his absence.

Tonty's mistakes didn't end there. It seems that Cadillac had given certain rights to Francois La Marque, one of the men to whom Tonty sold the trading business. For unknown reasons, Tonty didn't honor these rights, and thus La Marque filed a compplaint with officials at Quebec. In 1724, Tonty was called to Quebec to answer to these new charges.

In 1727, Tonty went to Qeubec to welcome the new Governor of New France, Marquis de Beauharnois. He also asked the new governor for help in improvements to Fort Ponchartrain. The governor was not pleased with Tonty. His attitude worsened when Hurons settled near the fort threatened to leave if Tonty wasn't replaced. Tonty was relived of duty effective spring 1728. He died before that date (November 10, 1727).

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Glossary:
Algonquin

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes (and others): Delaware, Fox, Huron, Miami, Ojibwa (Chippewa), Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sac, Shawnee and Winnebago.
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Glossary:
arquebus

A 39 pound (approximate) musket that two men would prop on a tri-pod and fire with a small torch. The arquebus was used by Champlain's men against the Iroquois to defend the Hurons. This may be the cause of decades of Iroquois abuse of the Hurons.
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Glossary:
clay and wattle

Building technique used in the construction of chimneys in the early days of Fort Ponchartrain. The technique involved piling sticks and packing them - inside and out - with clay and mud.
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Glossary:
Colbertism

Name for early French mercantilism in America, which Jean-Baptiste Colbert was influential in developing.
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Glossary:
conges

Trade permits issued by the Canadian government/court of France in the late 1600s to early 1700s.
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Glossary:
coureurs de bois

Very early French inhabitants of the current US and Canada who gave up their farmsteads for lives in the fur trade. They often lived with Native Americans.
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Glossary:
District of Hesse

Land district provisioned by the Canadian Council on July 24, 1788. The area was on the east side of the Detroit River.
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Glossary:
Fox

"Properly ""Mesh-kwa-ki-hug"". Native American tribe living in the area between Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay at the time Detroit was founded. The French called the tribe Renyard. An allied tribe of the Sacs and Mascoutin."
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Glossary:
Huron

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.
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Glossary:
Iroquoian

General term sometimes used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca.
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Glossary:
Iroquois

"A Native American tribe known for antagonizing and brutalizing the Hurons (see also arquebus)"
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Glossary:
Mascouten

Native American tribe living in the Grand Traverse Bay area at the time Detroit was founded. An allied tribe of the Foxes and Sacs. Also spelled Mascoutin.
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Glossary:
Miami

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.
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Glossary:
Muskhogean

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek.
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Glossary:
New York Currency

First standard currency used in Detroit (first used in 1765).
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Glossary:
Ottawa

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.
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Glossary:
Outagamies

Native American tribe living in the Grand Traverse Bay area at the time Detroit was founded. An allied tribe of the Foxes (and Sacs?).
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Glossary:
Plains Indians

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, and Pawnee (Pani).
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Glossary:
Potawatomi

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.
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Glossary:
Quebec Act

Act of June 22, 1774, in which British Parliament decides to exercise English law in criminal cases and old French provincial law in civil cases in western settlements. The idea was to discourage people from settling in the west.
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Glossary:
Renyard

See Fox
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Glossary:
ribbon farms

Original land grants given by Cadillac. The lots were typically around 200 feet wide at the river front, with lengths up to 3 miles.
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Glossary:
Sac

See Sauk
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Glossary:
Sakis

See Sauk
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Glossary:
Sauk

Native American tribe living in the area between Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay at the time Detroit was founded. The French called the tribe Sakis; English and Americans generally call them Sacs. An allied tribe of the Foxes/Renyards and Mascouten.
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Glossary:
Shoshonean

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Bannock and Shoshone.
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Glossary:
Treaty of Montreal

Treaty ending the war between the Iroquois and France and England. Negotiations began in July of 1698 and the treaty was signed in August of 1701.
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Glossary:
Treaty of Ryswick

September 20, 1697 treaty ending war between France and England.
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Glossary:
voyageurs

Early French explorers who traveled mainly by water.