Kilsoquah/ Kiilhsoohkwa Grave

Born 1810 in what is now Huntington County. She was a granddaughter of Miami Chief Little Turtle. Her second husband was Antoine Revarre; her son Anthony Revarre, lived with her near Roanoke and acted as interpreter since she spoke only Miami. Most Miami were removed from Indiana 1846; 1850 act of Congress exempted her only son and other Miami people.

Kiilhsoohkwa (also spelled Kilsoquah, the Setting Sun) is considered by many historians to be the last full blooded Miami Nation member to die in Indiana. She was the granddaughter of Chief Little Turtle. She was born in 1810 at what is now known as the Forks of the Wabash. She first married at 16, but unfortunately he passed away in their first year of marriage. She later married Antoine Revarre. Two of the children born of this union survived to adulthood. Mary, her daughter, left with the majority of the Miami Indians in the relocation to Kansas-Oklahoma in the 1840s. Her son, Anthony (also known as Wahpinmonwah, White Loon) stayed with her in Huntington. In part due to their family’s status, they were allowed to stay on their land in Huntington County.

In the winter months, she lived in a small cabin and in the summer months lived in a wigwam. In 1899, the log cabin burned and only a few mementos from her life were saved. She then lived in a two room frame house, with a sleeping loft for her son.

In July of 1910, the town of Roanoke held a large gala in honor of her 100^th birthday. It is thought over ten thousand people attended the mass, speeches, refreshments and food. While it is said her son forgot her pipe (as she did enjoy it after a meal), he was resourceful and found her a cigar. She is said to have laughed and then smoked it.

In 1913, her daughter Mary was able to journey from Oklahoma to visit Kilsoquah. She was overjoyed as she had long feared her daughter dead. Kilsoquah died in 1915 at the age of 105. Due to the kindness of her friend Dr. Koontz, she was buried with the remains of her husband Antoine.

For twenty years, her grave was unmarked in the I.O.O.F cemetery at Roanoke. Fred Becker, a monument dealer in the city, offered to provide and maintain the marker. The marker is in the form of a tree trunk and is approximated five feet tall. 

1. “Kiihsoohwka (Kilsoquah),” IN.gov, accessed June 24, 2021, https://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/find-a-marker/kiilhsoohkwa-kilsoquah/
2. “Kilsoquah Newspaper Articles,” Roanoke.lib.in.us, accessed June 24, 2021, https://roanoke.lib.in.us/history/kilsoquah/kilsoquah-newspaper-articles/
3. Redding, Nellie. “Kilsoquah, Miami Princess.” Right Here, February 1989, pp. 10-12.
4. "Miami Indians Princess Grave to be Marked.” Herald Press [Huntington, IN], 4 July 1934, p. 1.
5. "Kil-So-Quah Celebration.” Evening Herald [Huntington, IN], 5 July 1910, p. 1.
6. "Reunion Kil-So-Quah and Daughter After Years.” Huntington Herald [Huntington, IN], 20 June 1913, p. 8.
7. Pence, Robin. “Kil-So-Quah: Last Miami princess.” Herald Press [Huntington, IN], 17 November 1993, p.q.
8. Photos by Keefer Center Staff, 8 May 2021.