A young Victoire Mirandeau Porthier lived near Fort Dearborn in 1812, but left for Milwaukee before the massacre. She described herself in 1883: "My mother was an Ottawa woman; my father was a French-man. He was a good scholar, a very handsome man, and had many books. He taught us children to speak French, and We all learned to speak Indian. . . ."

Source: Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-15043)