ROCHESTER — Julien Petit, a 28-year-old Frenchman who is a relative of Father Benjamin M. Petit, is coming to the Trail of Courage Sept. 16-18, arriving in time for the Potawatomi Trail of Death Association meeting Friday evening at the Fulton County Museum, Rochester.

Father Petit went with Chief Menominee’s band of Potawatomi on the 1838 Trail of Death from Indiana to Kansas and died in St. Louis on his way back. Father Petit was from France and became a missionary to the Potawatomi in northern Indiana, learning their language and enjoying their company, thus becoming very beloved by the Potawatomi. He became ill with typhoid, the disease that caused so many Potawatomi to die.

Julien Petit is age 28, the same age as Father Petit when he died. Julien’s grandfather, Andre Petit, 73, will be with him.