THE GODFROY CEMETERY

The Francis Godfroy Cemetery is located on Indiana 124, four miles east of the city of Peru Indiana.  The Miami County Genealogical Society worked to get the cemetery added to the National Registry of Historic Places which it was placed onto on March 1st, 1984.  Francis Godfroy, the last primary War Chief of the Miami Indians of Indiana, and some of his descendants are buried in this cemetery.

Francis Godfroy was born near present day Fort Wayne Indiana in March of 1788 and was the son of a Miami woman and French trader Jacques Godfroy.  Like most French people of that time, Jacques was a Catholic, so Francis and the family practiced a mixture of the Catholic and Miami religious beliefs.

Following the War of 1812, Francis Godfroy became a wealthy and successful merchant and his trading post was located on the land directly across 124 from the cemetery. The trading post stood there until a tragic fire destroyed it in August of 2000.

Since the Tribe had its federal recognition illegally taken in 1898, we do not qualify to receive support and grants that federally recognized tribes do. Won’t you please consider  a donation to help the Miami of Indiana preserve the memories of some of Indiana’s original inhabitants and help us honor our ancestors?