Though Joseph Bailly looms large in the memory of Porter County as its first nonnative settler, the lives and work of three generations of Bailly women—Marie, Rose, and Frances—truly shaped the Bailly homestead and public perception of the family legacy.
Joseph Bailly became involved in the Great Lakes Fur Trade when he was eighteen years old, beginning with a British-owned company around Northern Michigan’s Mackinac Island. The fur trade bonded the French in North America to their Native American allies, who played integral roles in the fur trade operation and offered political value and critical support against the British attempts to expand into the Great Lakes Region.
When asked why Joseph Bailly moved to Porter County in a Radio Interview with PanoramaNOW, it’s quite possible that he moved here because of the prolific amount of beavers that lived here in Northwest Indiana’s unique Moraine Environment that has abundant shallow waterways perfect for beavers. Beaver felt was extremely fashionable for the hat market because it was so waterproof and was shipped to hundreds of European and Colonial Markets.
French traders like Bailly hired other French or metis laborers, known as voyageurs, to venture into the wilderness, usually by birchbark canoe, and exchange goods with Native American hunters and trappers for the prized pelts. Some common goods in this exchange included metal tools and weapons, foodstuffs, cloth textiles, and items of personal adornment.
Joseph met and married Marie LeFevre, a metis woman of Odawa and French Heritage, while they both lived on Mackinac Island in Michigan. “Mo-nee,” as here Algonquin friends and family called her, was Joseph’s second wife (or third, according to some sources) – she also had children from another marriage.
Marie and Joseph were devout Catholics, and their Faith was central to the family identity. Joseph’s lineage traces back six generations across the history of New France. Catholicism was both a connection to a religious worldview and a link to the cultural toots of his aristocratic ancestors.
“The lives and work of three generations of Bailly women – notably his widow Marie, daughter Rose, and granddaughter Frances – truly shaped the family’s legacy. The Baillys’ history is full of gritty truths and romantic mythmaking. Its mixed Native American-European heritage and its commitment to Roman Catholicism are key elements of the story,” stated Executive Director Kevin Matthew Pazour.
“The PoCo Muse believes that objects tell stories, and our new featured exhibit looks closely at artifacts from our Bailly Family Collection to shed new light on their legacy in Porter County,” said Jake Just, the museum’s Director of Exhibits and Publications. “An eclectic assortment of items are on display, including an eighteenth-century traveling trunk, various household utensils, Catholic devotional objects, souvenirs from a European vacation, and a gown that may have been worn to Abraham Lincoln’s Inaugural Ball.”
“While you’re at the museum, have a look at the new acquisitions and artworks from our permanent collection now on display in the Robert Cain Gallery,” added Pazour. “This small space features rotating exhibits that change frequently. It’s always worth a stop.”
The PoCo Muse believes objects tell stories, and our new featured exhibit, “From a Bailly Point of View” (expanded from a 2018 exhibit of the same name), looks closely at artifacts from our Bailly Family Collection to shed new light on their legacy in Porter County.
DID YOU KNOW? The first priest to say Mass at the Bailly Homestead, Fr. Stephen Badin, was also the first priest ordained in the United States.
Want to Know MORE?
Watch the PanoramaNOW 40 Minute Video with Quinn on Facebook here.
(This is a 40 minute video that goes into great detail about the women and the Baillys.)
(If this link does not work at a later date, you can find it on Facebook here)
The Museum is located downtown across from the Courthouse, on the corner at 20 Indiana Avenue, Valparaiso, IN, United States, Indiana.
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Susie Young Baxter, CEO, has published PanoramaNOW Magazine for 31 years. Her hobbies are Camping, Boating, Hiking, Nature, Gardening and Outdoor Activities. She is an Artist, Graphic Designer, an Avid Seamstress, Dabbles in Homemade Crafts and Landscaping. Since her Father was a Health Teacher, she also likes homeopathic Health Solutions. Since blogging started over 10 years ago, PanoramaNow has been added to Newsbreak – a national news affiliate.
