Jean Baptiste Bissot was a Canadian explorer and officer in the Mississippi Valley.
Background
Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes was born on January 19, 1668, and was the son of Francois and Marie (Couillard) Bissot, the former a Norman from Pont-Audemer, who emigrated to New France before 1639.
In 1672, Francois was granted the seigniory of Vincennes, on the southern bank of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Quebec, where he had already established a mill and a tannery. The seigniory was to pass to his sons. At his death in 1673 his son-in-law, Louis Jolliet, became the guardian of the boys.
Education
Louis Jolliet placed Jean Baptiste in the seminary at Quebec, where Jolliet himself had been educated. The lad, now Sieur de Vincennes, remained at school for four years, 1676 to 1680, then, as "he was not fit for the ecclesiastical estate, " he was dismissed and in 1687 went to France.
There, through the patronage of his godfather, the former intendant, Jean Talon, Vincennes obtained a commission as ensign in the marine, the branch of the army that was stationed in New France.
Career
Just when Vincennes first visited the West does not appear, for when Governor Frontenac in 1696 sent him to command among the Miami Indians he was already well known to them and much beloved. In 1698, he accompanied Henry de Tonty to the West, leaving the party during its voyage on Lake Michigan to proceed to St. Joseph River, where the Miami dwelt. From this time until his death Vincennes continued to live among these Indians and to carry on trade with them.
In 1705, he was suspended from his position in the army, because he exported brandy for trade; but later he was pardoned because he had rescued Iroquois prisoners and assisted in maintaining the peace of 1701. Meanwhile, the Miami tribe had removed from St. Joseph River to the present Maumee, where a great village called Ke-ki-onga was built on the site of Fort Wayne, Indiana. This was Vincenne's headquarters, and there he lived and died.
In 1712, he went to the aid of Dubuisson of Detroit, who was involved in a contest with the Fox Indians at that post. After their defeat, Vincennes was sent to carry the news to Quebec, but he returned to his command the same autumn.
Achievements
Bissot's services in preventing the Miami from going over to the British were so important that thirty years after his death his name and influence were invoked to bring the Miami back to the French alliance.
For twenty years, he was the principal personage among the Miami and cooperated with other officers in maintaining French power in the W.
Connections
In 1696, Jean Baptiste married Marguerite Forestier, the daughter of the chief surgeon of New France. Francois Marie Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes, was their son.
Mother:
Marie Couillard
28 February 1633 - 22 June 1703
father:
François Byssot de la Rivière
1612–1673
Was an early figure in the New World, his presence being recorded at Île-aux-Ruaux in 1639 when the Jesuits took possession of the property.
Wife:
Marie-Marguerite Forestier
8 August 1675 - 27 September 1748
Son:
François-Marie Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes
17 June 1700 – 25 March 1736
Was a French explorer and soldier who established several forts in what is now the U.S. state of Indiana, including Fort Vincennes.
