Cobmoosa

Cobmoosa was born in 1768 at a Rapids of Grand River village. Cobmoosa said of his father, a Frenchman from Montreal named Antoine, "At an early period of the Revolution my father espoused the cause of liberty with the Americans and remained firm to the end." He grew into a tall man, with "long strides." He had four to six wives, three of whom were the daughters of his fellow leader Wabiwindego. Cobmoosa had three daughters: Ne-gance, Mrs. Cub-as-ka and Mrs. Ne-gak. His sons were Henry, Antoine, and James. ==Ojibwe chief==

, a tributary of the Grand River. Cobmoosa's ancestral home was near the mouth of Flat River on land that is now Lowell, Michigan Cobmoosa was well-respected among the natives of the Grand River Valley He lived in an Odawa village near the mouth of the Flat River, Cobmoosa was the second-in-command of the Flat River bands of Native Americans in 1833. That year, the village of Ionia was founded by 63 people from Eastern New York and needed a place to live while they built their log cabins. Cobmoosa's village moved about three miles away to another place along the river and the newcomers took over Cobmoosa's village after they bought the tribe's wigwams. ==Merchant==

Cobmoosa operated a trading post at the mouth of the Flat River. ==Treaty of 1855==

More white settlers moved into the area over the next several years and there was pressure to make a treaty for Native American land. The treaty of 1836 was not abided once the tribes learned that they were required to relocate to Kansas, which was a problem due to the distance and change in habitat. The treaty then was renegotiated for members of the Ottawa and Chippewa tribes to relocate to Oceana and Mason Counties in Michigan. In 1855, Cobmoosa signed the Treaty of Detroit with the federal government which meant that his tribe would relocate to Oceana County, Michigan. It was to be paid out over 10 years. Reluctant to move to the reservation in Elbridge Township, Michigan, he waited until all of the tribe had relocated and stayed near the graves of his forefathers as long as he could. He did, though, make trips to Oceana County to be with members of his tribe. ==Later years and death==

Cobmoosa's cabin was located on 80 acres allotted to him in Oceana County along Cobmoosa Lake, He lived at his cabin with one of this daughters and her husband, Joe Bailey. He also lived part of the time with another daughter Wassia and her husband Jerome Ne-gake, who had a farm across the lake from his cabin. A monument was erected to Cobmoosa at the location of the initial schoolhouse that had been built by the government. The Daughters of the American Revolution's Ionia chapter had the monument created with the inscription: "Ottawa Indian Chief and Great Speaker of the Tribe. Born at the Rapids of the Grand River, 1768. Died on this reservation, 1866." ==Legacy==

''Cobmoosa's Lament was written in memory of the chief by Alden Jewell of Grand Rapids. It was published in an article by Lewis Bates in 1854 in the Grand Rapids Eagle''. The "Cobmoosa Stone", a stone monument in his honor at Hart, Michigan, was dedicated by the Daughters of the American Revolution's Ionia chapter in 1927. He was recognized in part for his role in the Treaty of Detroit of 1855 that required the Odawa people to move to Mason and Oceana counties of Michigan. A commemorative monument was erected at the Ionia Fairgrounds by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1922. The plaque says that Cobmoosa's band lived in a seasonal village near the present town of Ionia. ==Notes==