Speaker 1: But for now it's time for the Way Black History Fact.
Speaker 1: So today's Way Black History Fact is sponsored by Underground
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Speaker 1: today we're going to talk about a man named John
Speaker 1: Baptiste Point du Sable. No, I'm not saying that, right,
Speaker 1: but this guy is the man because he is a
Speaker 1: person who founded and settled Chicago. Didn't know this, so
Speaker 1: I will share it again. This comes from Wikipedia, So
Speaker 1: take this, you know how you take it. But it's
Speaker 1: more reputable source than me, right, but there are more
Speaker 1: reputable sources. This just kind of gave me the format
Speaker 1: I needed for today. Sure forgive me anyway. Jean Baptiste
Speaker 1: Point du Sable was is regarded as the first permanent
Speaker 1: non native settler of what would later become Chicago, Illinois,
Speaker 1: and is recognized as the founder of Chicago. A school, museum,
Speaker 1: Harbor Park, bridge, and road have been named in his honor.
Speaker 1: The site where he's settled, near the mouth of the
Speaker 1: Chicago River around seventeen eighty, is recognized as a National
Speaker 1: Historic Landmark. Now located in Pioneer Court Point Disable was
Speaker 1: of African descent, but little else is known of his
Speaker 1: early life prior to the seventeen seventies. During his career,
Speaker 1: the areas where he settled and traded around the Great
Speaker 1: Lakes and in the Illinois County country changed hands several
Speaker 1: times between France, Britain, Spain, and the United States. Described
Speaker 1: as handsome and well educated, Point Disable married a Pottawamie
Speaker 1: Native American woman, Kiti Hawa, and they had two children.
Speaker 1: In seventeen seventy nine, during the American Revolutionary War, he
Speaker 1: was arrested by the British on suspicion of being an American
Speaker 1: patriot sympathizer. In the early seventeen eighties, he worked for
Speaker 1: the British Lieutenant Governor Governor of Michill Mackinach on an
Speaker 1: estate at what is now Saint Clair, Michigan. Makes sense.
Speaker 1: Point Disables is first recorded as living at the mouth
Speaker 1: of the Chicago River in a trader's journal of early
Speaker 1: seventeen ninety. By then, he had established in an extensive
Speaker 1: and prosperous trading settlement in what would later become the
Speaker 1: city of Chicago. He sold his Chicago River property in
Speaker 1: eighteen hundred and moved to the port of Saint Charles,
Speaker 1: where he was licensed to run a ferry across the
Speaker 1: Missouri River. Point Disable's successful role in developing the Chicago
Speaker 1: River settlement was little recognized until the mid twentieth century.
Speaker 1: There are no records of point Disable's life prior to
Speaker 1: the seventeen seventies, though it is known from sources during
Speaker 1: his life that he was of African descent. His birth date,
Speaker 1: place of birth, and parents are unknown. Juliette Kinsey, another
Speaker 1: early pioneer of Chicago, never met Point DuSable, but said
Speaker 1: in her eighteen fifty six Menmoir that he was quote
Speaker 1: a native of Saint Domingo, the island of Hispanolia. This
Speaker 1: became generally accepted as his place of birth. Historian Milo
Speaker 1: Milton Quaif regarded Kinsey's account of Point Disable as largely
Speaker 1: fictitious and wholly unauthenticated, later putting forward a theory that
Speaker 1: he was of African and French Canadian in origin. A
Speaker 1: historical novel published in nineteen fifty three helped to popularize
Speaker 1: the claim that Point Disable was born in seventeen forty
Speaker 1: five in Saint Mark and Sante Do Ming later known
Speaker 1: as Haiti if he was born outside of continental North America.
Speaker 1: There are some competing accounts as to whether he entered
Speaker 1: as a trader from north through French Canada or from
Speaker 1: the south through French Louisiana. At some time in seventeen eighties,
Speaker 1: after the US achieved independence, Point Disable settled on the
Speaker 1: north bank of the Chicago River, close to its mouth.
Speaker 1: The earliest known record of Point Disabled living in Chicago
Speaker 1: is an entry that Heward made in his journal on
Speaker 1: May tenth, seventeen ninety during a journey from Detroit across
Speaker 1: Michigan through Illinois. Heward's party stopped at Point Disable's house
Speaker 1: and wrote to Chicago Portage. They swapped their canoe for
Speaker 1: a puroaqu that belonged to Point Disable, and they brought bread, flour,
Speaker 1: and pork for him. Parish Georgian, who visited Chicago in
Speaker 1: seventeen ninety four, described him as a large and wealthy trader.
Speaker 1: So they're Chicago for you.