Editing Jean Baptiste Point du Sable (section)

===Missouri River and burial===
After Point du Sable sold his property in Chicago, he moved to [[St. Charles, Missouri|St. Charles]], west of St. Louis, which at that time was still part of [[Louisiana (New Spain)|Spanish Louisiana]].<ref name="Cohn2009" /><ref name="Pacyga13">{{Harvnb|Pacyga|2009|p=13}}</ref> He was commissioned by the [[List of colonial governors of Louisiana|colonial governor]] to operate a [[ferry]] across the [[Missouri River]].<ref name=Intellegencer/> In St.{{nbsp}}Charles, he may have lived for a time with his son, and later with his granddaughter's family. Late in life, he may have sought public or charitable assistance.<ref name=Oxford/> He died on 28 August 1818<ref>{{Harvnb|Baumann|2005|p=62}}</ref> and was buried in an unmarked grave in St.{{nbsp}}Charles Borromeo Cemetery. His entry in the parish burial register does not mention his origins, parents, or relatives; it simply describes him as ''nègre'' (French for ''negro'').<ref>{{Harvnb|Baumann|2005|p=64}}</ref>

The St.{{nbsp}}Charles Borromeo Cemetery was moved twice in the 19th{{nbsp}}century. Oral tradition and records of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis|Archdiocese of St. Louis]] suggested that Point du{{nbsp}}Sable's remains were also moved. On 12{{nbsp}}October 1968, the Illinois Sesquicentennial Commission erected a granite marker at the site believed to be Point du{{nbsp}}Sable's grave in the third St.{{nbsp}}Charles Borromeo Cemetery.<ref>{{cite news|last=Leonard|first=William|title=Grave of Chicago Pioneer Dedicated|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=27 October 1968|page=A14}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Baumann|2005|p=65}}</ref>

In 2002 an archaeological investigation of the grave site was initiated by the African Scientific Research Institute at the [[University of Illinois at Chicago]].<ref name="Baumann59" /> Researchers using a combination of ground-penetrating radar, surveys, and excavation of a {{convert|9|x|9|ft|m|adj=on}} area did not find any evidence of any burials at the supposed grave site, leading the archaeologists to conclude that Point du{{nbsp}}Sable's remains may not have been reinterred from one of the two previous cemeteries.<ref>{{Harvnb|Baumann|2005|pp=72–75}}</ref>