Jesse Chisholm

It's been a while since I've blogged here at Historic Kansas. The following is a re-post from my Renee Lynn Scott blog. I thought it would be a good set up into some fairly unknown Kansas history.

One look at Jesse Chisholm and you can see he's not your ordinary white man. Born around 1805 in Tennessee to a Scottish father and a Cherokee mother, it's no surprise Jesse was a good business man. When the Cherokees began moving themselves to Arkansas, Jesse and his mother went. Later, and I can only imagine the circumstances, they moved into what is now known as Oklahoma.

Jesse set up a trading post in Council Grove, OK (near Oklahoma City). From all accounts, Jesse was a friendly man, and very diplomatic. One of the things I found very interesting about Jesse is that he spoke many languages. Somewhere there is an account that he spoke over fourteen of the tribal languages, making him an ideal man, not only for trading, but for diplomacy when it came to negotiations among the various tribes.

One thing of note here, when we think of Indian tribes and treaties we tend to think of those treaties in terms of the white man. But sometimes issues arose between the tribes. Jesse was known for listening to both sides, really listening, before seeking out a solution.

Although Jesse had left TN well before the Trail of Tears began, you should understand that it still could not have been easy for him. There was a distrust of the white man, as well there should have been, and there was a lot of prejudice against mixed breeds (sounds harsh, but it was the reality). I'm pretty sure Jesse's friendliness and willingness to listen gained him a lot of trust with those he encountered.


Jesse wasn't only a trader, and negotiator, he was also a trail guide. It was during one of his trail guiding trips in 1836 that led him to Wichita, KS where he set up another trading post. It is this trail he used between Council Grove and Wichita that would become known as the Chisholm Trail.


Some believe the Chisholm Trail had begun and ended as a cattle drive to Abilene, but that isn't the case. When the Civil War threatened to tear apart the United States, it also divided many of the Indian tribes. The greatest division seemed to be amongst the Cherokees themselves (this topic deserves a blog of its own). The result of the division was a mass exodus of Indians to the north, settling into Kansas. Jesse used his trail to Wichita to bring those who wished to flee the south.

I hadn't a second thought about the Chisholm Trail, until the conductor of our train ride mentioned Jesse. My attention grew as the conductor spoke about Jess and his death. It was during my research of his death that I discovered what a wonderful man Jesse Chisholm was. During a time when kidnappings and ransoms were common place amongst the tribal nations, Jesse often ransomed hostages himself, especially when children were involved. His actions spoke his heart. He cared for people, no matter who they were.

Jesse died in 1868, only a year after the Chisholm Trail was used to drive cattle all the way to Abilene, KS, the first real 'cow town'.

As for Jesse's death, he died of accidental food poisoning. Supposedly, Jesse's favorite meal was bear grease and honey. I've searched around to find exactly what this was, but no luck. From what I gather it was bear meat, honey, and possibly nuts. Jesse's wife, of Cherokee blood, often made this for him in a brass pot. It was after one of their travels where she had bought a copper pot that she made Jesse's favorite meal. Something in the food had a chemical reaction with the copper pot and poisoned him.

Jesse Chisholm was one of a kind. And very hero worthy.

Kansas Genealogy Part 1

I imagine it is the writer in me that delights in digging through the past. It's like digging for treasure. Over the last few days I've been researching my ancestry. Some of it right here in Kansas. One of the cool things about the Internet is that you can search through archives (sometimes) or ask local volunteers to.

The first stop is Turon, KS. My great grandfather was born here in 1889. He was married here too. In 1912 to Martha Williamson by Probate Judge Lee T. Fischer. Their first daughter was born December 17, 1917 in the same town.

This photo is from Wichita State University Library, dated 1912. I can't help but wonder if my great grandfather is one of the men pictured. The place is right, the time is right.

There are two more pictures posted here.

Of course I don't know for sure if grandpa is posing along with the rest. Because in all actuality, besides the marriage record and a listing of John Jeffers along with all of his sibling on the LDS site, there is nothing. And if it weren't for entires placed in my father's baby book, I'd have no way of knowing for sure that their John Jeffers is my John Jeffers, not even with both Jeffers marrying Martha Williamson.

My genealogy research doesn't just stop at looking for names, places, and dates. I want to know what brought them to their destinations. Obviously, grandpa's decision to venture to Turon, Kansas wasn't his to make since his parents had arrived sometime before (possibly) 1866. So what brought his parents to a town in the middle of High Plains?

Well given the dates they arrived, who knows what brought them to the territory. But since the county wasn't even open for settlement until 1868 I'm betting it had nothing to do with the railroad.

I'm still digging for information, but after reading several bios from the first settlers, it's a good bet they came to Turon to farm. Apple trees, peach orchards, and plenty of cattle.

Historical Fiction

I'm a writer. That's all there is to it. One of the reasons I started this blog was to have a place for all my Kansas related research. Then I got this grand idea to write my posts in a linear fashion. At least up to a point. I knew eventually I'd have to trail off that grand idea.

We're a homeschooling family. One of the perks of homeschooling is that we can take some extra time to study a topic further. My son has been working through the Civil War. He's read Uncle Tom's Cabin and Across Five Aprils. Since we live in Kansas, I wanted to focus on some of our own Civil War history. So we picked up Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith.

Rifle for Watie is a winner of the Newbery Medal. I'm not going to review it at the moment. The writing, to me, isn't the best, but it keeps the kids' attention. And we've gotten so much fascinating historical information. It's wonderful.

The First Territorial Capitol of Kansas

Judging by the title of this post, you can assume that Kansas had more than one territorial capitol. In fact, I read somewhere that Kansas actually had five before it entered into the Union.

Why? The Kansas territory was in the midst of a serious tug-of-war between anti and pro-slavery factions.

Andrew H. Reeder was appointed territorial governor of Kansas in June 1854. And avid supporter of Democratic Senator Stephan Douglas from Illinois and his popular sovereignty policies, pro-slavery advocates cheered the appointment. What the pro-slavery party hadn't counted on was Reeder's determination to hold up  the idea of popular sovereignty and maintain a middle ground.

In the summer of 1855, nearly a year after his appointment, Reeder moved his executive office in Leavenworth, KS, situated near the Missouri border, to Pawnee, KS, a small town nearly one hundred-twenty miles away. (Now, I'm not sure why he chose this town other than one, it was far from Missourian interference, and two, it was close to Fort Riley, which was necessary to keep a capitol safe from the so-called savages settlers feared.)

 Let me back up a few months.


If you recall the concept of popular sovereignty, you know it was set up for the people to decide whether or not a state would enter the Union as free or slave. The idea was good, but. . . pro-slavery advocates weren't taking chances. So when an election was held for the Kansas Territory Legislature in March 1855, the good ol' Bushwhackers crossed the territorial line and pretended to be Kansas settlers, electing representatives with pro-slavery sympathies. 

Reeder wasn't blind to the voter fraud and refused to certify the votes and called for a new election. 

So fast forward to July 2, 1855, Reeder called to order the First Territorial Legislature in Pawnee, KS, the appointed territorial capitol. On July 4, after the governor's veto, the legislature voted reconvene at the new territorial capitol. On July 16, the capitol was moved back near the Missouri border in a place called Shawnee Mission, KS, where they adopted the slave laws of Missouri.

It may come as no surprise that President Pierce dismissed Reeder as territorial governor by the end of July. (Of course it had nothing to do with Reeder's political policy at fair vote and everything to do with some sort of illegal activities concerning land speculation.)

But this wasn't the end of Reeder's political career, at least not yet. Nor was the territorial capitol set in stone. 

Kansas-Nebraska Act

May 30, 1854 the United States Congress passed a law enabling the good people of the Nebraska and Kansas territories to decide for themselves whether or not they would allow slavery.

A Democratic Senator from Illinois by the name of Stephen Douglas had good intentions. But since the Transcontinental Railroad was involved too, I can't help but wonder if some palms were greased when Douglas proposed the act. No, I haven't done any research on that particular fact, but the more research I do on the era the more I find the railroad was a tad ruthless.

Seriously though, Douglas had hoped to ease the escalating tension between the North and the South. Hmm hmm, sure... he was a Southerner after all.  Recall in the previous post that the Missouri Compromise had just been passed four years earlier, which prohibited slavery north of the parrellel 36 degree 30' except within the state of Missouri. Some people were irate. Mainly all those Northerners who thought the Missouri would last forever. I'm seriously scratching my head here. Strong opposition came against the proposal obviously not enough believing that such an Act would eventually nationalize slavery. 

The Northerners saw the balances tipping hard and fast. The Southerners were rubbing their hands together in eager anticipation. Soon, pro-slavery states would outweigh the hypocritical anti-slavery states. Uh huh, right! Of course, there was a lot of bickering back and forth that went on for quite some time (think Lincoln-Douglas debate, I'm not even going there). It was beginning to look like more and more settlers would be able to vote on this issue. That's a good thing, right? Well, Missouri started shoving people west of the state line, all in the name of slavery. 

Anti-slavery Northerners were packing up and heading west, too. It was a race to the ballot box. 

 




 

The Missouri Compromise

There was at least one pivotal event that occurred in United States before Kansas became a state. This event was like a lit fuse on a stick of dynamite. Make that several fuses on several sticks of dynamite.

The event I'm talking about, The Missouri Compromise. In the year 1820, pro-slavery and anti-slavery representatives in the United States Congress agreed that slavery would not be allowed in the Louisiana Territory north of approximately 36 degrees North of the Equator, except, EXCEPT within the proposed boundaries of what would become the state of Missouri.

If you know your geography Missouri borders Kansas. The fact that Missouri was able to maintain pro-slavery status, would cause problems for anti-slavery settlements in Kansas. In fact, a chain reaction of events would lead to what we know as 'Bleeding Kansas'.

If you click on the this link you'll see a cool animated image. Missouri Compromise  (You'll have to scroll down just a little, but it's there).

Welcome to Historic Kansas

I'm a writer. I was born and raised in NE Kansas, and I spent most of my life longing to leave. It took one persistent character to show me the way, and now there is no looking back. This blog will be dedicated to the research I find along the way. My hope is to not only provide you with well known facts but also with cool stories like what Grandma told. And, yes I might even write a tale or two from my own grandma.

Although much of Kansas had become part of the United States with the signing of the Louisiana Purchase, it wasn't until May 30, 1854 that the Kansas-Nebraska Act was signed. And it wasn't until January 29, 1861 that Kansas was admitted into the Union as a free state. During the years preceding admittance into the Union, Kansas was a volatile territory. And although many settlers feared the unknown I'm sure none expected the violence especially from their very own neighbors, and I'm not talking about the local natives. 

Welcome to Kansas!