Archange Chevallier Ouilmette was born in approximately 1781 at Sugar Creek, Michigan. She was the daughter of Pierese Chevallier, a French fur trader, and his Potawatomi wife, Chopa. She was among the earliest recorded residents of Chicago, having settled there prior to its official incorporation. In either 1796 or 1797 she married Antoine Ouilmette, a French-Canadian fur trader. Together they would ultimately have eight children (sons Louis, Joseph, Michael and Francis; daughters Elizabeth, Archange, Josett and Sophia), the last being born in 1808.