Monette (slave) facts for kids

Monette, also known as Manette, was a Native American woman who lived in the 1760s. She was held as an enslaved person by a fur trader named John Askin. Monette had three children who grew up free and received a good education. Her children later married into important families in the Great Lakes area, which is now parts of Michigan and Ontario, Canada.

Monette's Life and Freedom

Monette was acquired by John Askin from René Bourassa. This happened before 1762 at the Straits of Mackinac, a busy place for trading goods. A family member later wrote that Monette was a Pawnee woman who had been captured during a war. She was described as a Panis, a term used for Native American people who were enslaved by tribes like the Seneca people and their allies.

Fort Michilimackinac was a key trading post.

Monette lived with John Askin at L'Arbre Croche, an important Odawa village in Michigan. This village was near Lake Michigan, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Fort Michilimackinac. Askin ran his fur trading business from the fort. Having Monette with him helped Askin build good relationships with Native American groups who knew her. It was common for traders to have children with Native American women to create ties with their tribes.

John Askin held several people, both Native American and Black, as enslaved workers. These workers helped fur traders with many tasks. They handled furs, grew food, cooked, and cleaned. Sometimes, enslaved Native American women also became partners to the traders.

Monette gained her freedom on September 9, 1766, in Detroit. This act of giving freedom is called manumission. Askin later moved to Detroit by 1781.

Monette's Children and Their Education

Monette had two daughters and one son. John Askin treated them well, and they all grew up free and received an education. They also went on to marry into important families. Monette's children had nine half-siblings from Askin's later marriage in 1772 to Marie Archange Barthe.

John Askin Jr.

Around 1772, John Askin Jr. was sent away to get an education. He was looked after by Robert Ellice, who helped him enroll in a school in Schenectady, New York. John Jr. also learned about the trading business as an apprentice in New York and Montreal. By 1778, he was studying in Montreal when his father asked him to return home to work.

John Jr.'s education, his training in trade, his Native American background, and his ability to speak Native American languages made him a very valuable trader. In 1801, he became a customs collector in Amherstburg, Upper Canada. Six years later, he worked for the Indian Department at St. Joseph Island.

Catherine Askin Robertson Hamilton

Catherine, often called Kitty, was educated at a convent in Montreal run by the Congrégation de Notre Dame. She first married Captain Samuel Robertson, who worked with Askin's boats. Later, she married Robert Hamilton, who founded the town of Queenston.

The Hamiltons lived in a large house in Queenston and sent their children to school in Scotland. Catherine passed away in December 1796.

Madeline Askin Richardson

Madeline was born in L'Arbre Croche and also studied at the Congrégation de Notre Dame in Montreal. In the winter of 1793, she visited her sister Catherine. There, she met and married Dr. Robert Richardson, a surgeon for the Queen's Rangers at Fort George.

Their son, John Richardson, was born on October 4, 1796, either at his aunt Catherine's home in Queenston or at Fort George. Two years later, the family moved to Fort Erie, then to York, Ontario, and later to Fort Joseph in northern Upper Canada.

Their son John went to live with John Askin and his wife Marie in Detroit. He was cared for and educated there. John returned to his parents when they moved to Amherstburg, where Dr. Richardson was stationed at Fort Malden. Their son Robert was born there. John received a good education in Amherstburg, studying subjects like Latin and Euclid.

Madeline often traveled to visit the Askins, who lived about 20 miles away at Strabane. John Askin lived on the Canadian side of the Detroit River after 1783. The Strabane mansion was named after John Askin's birthplace in Ireland. Madeline passed away in January 1811. Soon after, her ninth child also died.

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  Fort Michilimackinac was a key trading post.