Richard Prickett
Richard Prickett was an early settler of Michigan and Wisconsin. He was a fur trapper and an interpreter for the United States government during its early contacts with the Menominee tribe. Early life It is often said that Richard Prickett was born about 1777. The 1830 Brown County, Michigan Territory federal census, however, shows him to be between the sges of 60 and 70 and it seems more likely that he was born in the late 1760. He was born in Fayette County, now Greene County, Pennsylvania. His parents were Josiah and Mary Elliott Prickett; his paternal grandfather was Abraham Prickett, a New Jersey Quaker who migrated to Maryland, then to Frederick County, Virginia, and finally to Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Richard's older brother Josiah served in the American Revolution, at times as an Indian spy. At age 13, Richard was captured by Shawnee Indians on Bear Creek, northeast of Fort Pitt, in present-day Armstrong County, Pennsylvania and later taken to Ohio by the Stockbridge tribe. After a number of years, he was given to the Chippewa tribe and Prickett moved to Michilimackinac and worked in the fur trade for 20 years. In 1804/05 Prickett was employed by the Northwest Company