Noel Le Vasseur
Noel Le Vasseur (December 25, 1799 - 1879) was a trader and merchant born in St. Michel d`Yamaska, Canada. In 1817, he became a voyageur working for John Jacob Astor, eventually moving to Bunkum, Illinois in 1820, where he established a trading post for the American Fur Company. The post was placed under the supervision of Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, and when Hubbard left in 1827, Le Vasseur took over as his replacement. Le Vasseur also married Hubbard's ex-wife, Watseka, and had three children with her. He remained at the Bunkum post until 1835. In 1837, he married Ruth Bull of Danville, Illinois and in 1861, he married Elenor Franchere of Chicago, Illinois. When the Potawatomi left the area of Bourbonnais in 1838, La Vasseur persuaded many Quebecois to migrate to the region. These efforts have given him the epithet "Father of Kankakee."
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