Watseka or Watchekee (c. 1810–1878) was a

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

Native American woman, born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, and named for the heroine of a Potawatomi legend. Her uncle was Tamin, the chief of the Kankakee

Indians. She was also known by the name of Josette (or Zozette) Bergeron.

Early life

Watseka was born around 1810 at Buncombe, an "Indian village site" in Illinois. The village was presided over by Tamin, her uncle; by 1880, the site was called Concord. Her father was Shabbona, who was an ally of

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

during the war of 1812; her mother was Monashki.

Biography

At age 10 or 11, she became engaged to

Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard (August 22, 1802 – September 14, 1886) was an American fur trader, insurance underwriter, and land speculator. He was influential in the development of the city of Chicago and responsible for its growth during the 19 ...

, whom she married in 1826 at age fourteen or fifteen. Hubbard and Watseka had a daughter who died in infancy. They mutually dissolved the union in 1826. Watseka married Noel Le Vasseur at age eighteen, and was described as "beautiful, intelligent and petite." She had three children with Le Vasseur, who learned to speak the

Potawatomi language Potawatomi (, also spelled Pottawatomie; in Potawatomi , , or ) is a Central Algonquian languages, Central Algonquian languages, Algonquian language. It was historically spoken by the Potawatomi, Pottawatomi people who lived around the Great Lake ...

. In 1836, she left for

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

, where her tribe had been removed in 1832 following the Treaty of Camp Tippecanoe. In 1840 Watseka married the French-Canadian Francis Xavier Bergeron. Her biography per the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center states: "French-Canadian Francis Xavier Bergeron arrived in the Great Lakes region as a young man where he met Watseka on one of her trips back to the region. In 1840, she received the Christian name Josette or Zozetta upon her baptism. She and Francis wed around that same time, but it was not her first marriage. Before marrying Bergeron, she had two other husbands named Noel LeVasseur and Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard. She had four children: Jean Batiste, Catherine (Kate), Matilda and Charlie." She is known for playing an "instrumental role" in Kankakee and Iroquois counties; and in particular, Bourbonnaise Grove, Illinois. She died in Council Bluffs in 1878.

Legacy

A city in East Central

was named in her honor. The Daughters of the American Revolution, Iroquois County Chapter was named in her honor. Watseka and Bergeron's daughter Catherine (Kate) married Joseph L. Melott, a Frenchman; they were the principal founders of the community Mission Hill, now known as

Wanette, Oklahoma Wanette is a town in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 279 at the time of the 2020 Census. Wanette is part of the Purcell-Lexington retail trade area and is within the Greater Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. His ...

Early life

Biography

Legacy

References

Further reading