Aramepinchieue facts for kids
Aramepinchieue Rouensa (born around 1677 – died 1725) was a very important woman from the Kaskaskia people. She was also known by other names like Marie Rouensa. Her father was a powerful chief. She played a big role in spreading the Catholic faith and helping French settlers and Native Americans work together. This happened in a place called New France, along the Mississippi River. She was especially important near what is now Fort St. Louis. She married a French trader, and their children were some of the first Métis people. Métis are people with both Native American and European backgrounds.
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The Life of Aramepinchieue Rouensa
Early Life and Faith
Aramepinchieue was born in 1677. Her father was a Kaskaskia chief named Mamenthouensa. When she was young, Aramepinchieue and other Kaskaskia women became interested in Christianity. They learned about it from a Jesuit missionary named Jacques Gravier.
Jesuit missionaries often taught about the Virgin Mary. They also talked about being pure and unmarried. Many young women like Aramepinchieue became Catholic before they got married. Aramepinchieue was the first Native American woman to have a Catholic wedding with a Frenchman in the Illinois Country. She took her First Communion on a special day called the Feast of the Assumption.
A Special Marriage
Aramepinchieue's father wanted her to marry someone who would help their family's business. He wanted her to marry Michel Aco, a French fur trader. But Aramepinchieue was not interested. She said she had given "all her heart to God." She also knew that Aco was not a very good Catholic.
Her father was very angry that she chose her faith over his plans. He even made her leave their home. Aramepinchieue found help with Father Gravier. This shows how her Catholic beliefs gave her the strength to stand up to her father.
When she was seventeen, Aramepinchieue found a way to agree with her parents. She said she would marry Aco if he became a Catholic. Aco and her father agreed to this. Aco changed his ways and became Catholic. People at the time were very surprised by this change in the rough trader.
Aramepinchieue's marriage helped create a strong connection. It brought together the French traders, the Jesuit missionaries, and the Kaskaskia people. The children of French men and Kaskaskia women were among the first Métis people in the Americas.
Building a New Life
By this time, Aramepinchieue was mostly known as Marie Rouensa. As a married and very religious Catholic woman, she looked up to other Christian women. These women had also lived holy lives while being married. Some of them included St. Paula, St. Frances, St. Margaret, St. Elizabeth, and St. Bridget.
Later in her life, Aramepinchieue moved from Fort St. Louis. She first moved to Cahokia, and then closer to the town of Kaskaskia. After her first husband died, she married another French trader named Michel Philippe.
In total, she had eight children. She had two children with Aco and six with Philippe. She became very influential over the men in her family and her whole community. She also built up a large amount of property. This showed how she kept parts of her Native American heritage while also adopting French ways.
Her property included land and two large houses with stone fireplaces. These houses were in the Kaskaskia village. She also had two barns full of hay for her animals. She owned oxen, thirteen cows, three horses, thirty-one pigs, and forty-eight chickens. She also had carts and iron plows. She had many people working for her to manage her large estate. They likely planted and harvested crops like oats, wheat, and corn. They also cut wood, as there were nine tons of cut wood on her property. Her barns held a lot of wheat and oats, showing her great wealth.
Her Lasting Legacy
Aramepinchieue died in 1725. She was about forty to forty-five years old. She was buried under the floor of the Immaculate Conception church in Kaskaskia. This was a very special honor. She was the only woman, French or Native American, to be buried there.
After she died, Rouensa's will said that her large estate should be shared equally among all her children. This estate was built over many years of hard work.
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