Cheboygan's Beginnings

Cheboygan's Beginnings. The Name "Cheboygan". The name "Cheboygan" probably comes from the Annishinaabe or Chippewa word "zhiibaa'onaii," meaning a channel or passage for a canoe. This mural depicts some of the earliest known individuals to have made Cheboygan home during its beginnings. , Robert Rogers (1731-1795) , was a frontiersman whose ambitions led him to the Straits region as an officer in the British Army. Major Robert Rogers served as Commandant of Fort Michillimackinac from 1765 to 1767. As Commandant, Roger's desire to create alliances with the region's Chippewa people brought him to the Cheboygan River settlement to better understand its leaders Matchekewis, Comishinegan and Petowishnam. , Nissowaquet (1715-1797) , was an Ottawa warrior who grew up near Fort Michilimackinac at present day Mackinaw City. His sister, Domitilde was mother of Charles Langlade, a prominent trader in the Straits area. Nissowaquet's family rescued several English soldiers and traders during the 1763 Chippewa attack against the British at Michilimackinac , Rendezvous: , Each summer hundreds of fur traders from all over the Great Lakes region gathered at present day Mackinaw City to sell the tons of furs they had collected during the winter months. Some of the traders travelled the Inland Waterway and Cheboygan River on their way to rendezvous at Michilimackinac. , Matchekewis (1735-1805) , was an important Cheboygan Chippewa warrior and leader who witnessed three immigrant cultures sweep into and settle in Northern Michigan. In his youth Kaigiwaidosa, as he was called by his parents, was familiar with French voyageurs and fur trappers going to and from Fort Michillimackinac. By the time Matchekwis was in his twenties Great Britain controlled Fort Michillimackinac laying claim to its fur trade. At the age of 28 in 1763, Matchekewis led a successful attack on the Fort as part of "Pontiac's Rebellion", an attempt to drive the British from the region. In 1796, when the Michigan region was finally lost by the British, Matchekewis saw the first "Americans" begin to settle in Northern Michigan. , Charlotte Ambroisine Bourassa (1743-1818) , was daughter of Rene' Bourassa, a land-owner and fur trader at Michilimackinac. Charlotte married prominent trader Charles Langlade in 1754 and lived at times on the Cheboygan River in the 1760s.