citizens of the United States, an event that did not occur until 1924. Pleasant was the sister of Donehogawa (aka Ely Samuel Parker).} Many had chosen to adopt the ways of the whites, hoping in this manner to improve their situation. Ely S. Parker was a Seneca leader who had a hand in ending the American Civil War. In addition, his humanitarian and just treatment of the hostile western Indians created many influential political enemies in Washington. Elizabethwas born in 1787, in Cattaraugus Territory, New York, United States. After the Civil War, Parker was commissioned as an officer in the 2nd United States Cavalry on July 1, 1866. Civil War service Near the […] But in 1857 he received an appointment from the Treasury Department to superintend the construction of a custom house and marine hospital in Galena. His mother was Elizabeth Johnson (Ga-ont-gwut-ywus, c. 1786-1862), a Seneca Indian and member of the wolf clan. Raised on the Tonawanda Reservation near Buffalo, Parker impressed others with his curiosity, intellect, and facility with languages. It was during his time in Galena that he became acquainted with U.S. Grant and others who would achieve recognition in the war to follow. A year later, on August 30, 1864, Parker was advanced to lieutenant-colonel and became Grant's military secretary. Parker then returned to the Tonawanda Reservation to request and gain his father's approval to go to war. Ely S. Parker was a Seneca Indian born in 1828 on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation in western New York. To the astonishment of many, he married a white woman young enough to be his daughter, Minnie Sackett. 978-1-64700-163-6 $15.54. In 1878, Ely and Minnie had a daughter, Maud Theresa Parker (d. 1956), from whom Ely Parker's descendants are derived. Ely Parker: Iroquois Chief and Union Officer When Robert E. Lee met with Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia, on the momentous morning of April 9, 1865, the Union commander insisted on introducing his staff members to Lee individually. |  Developed by Belstar Media, Garret Johnson – The Galena African-American Heritage Foundation, Toys through Time: Holiday Antique Toy Show, Galena River Wine & Cheese 2nd Annual Portfolio Tasting. Colonel Ely S. Parker, was an Iroquois of the Seneca tribe. Both Lee and Grant signed the official paperwork at … Williamwas born in 1793, in Cold Spring, Allegany Reservation, Cattaraugus, New York, USA. Realizing the significance of the law to his future and that of his people, he turned his attention in that direction. Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England . Ely Parker received his preliminary formal education at the Baptist boarding school which was associated with the mission church on the Tonawanda Reservation. He was commissioned a lieutenant colonel during the American Civil War, when he served as adjutant and secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant. He wrote the final draft of the Confederate surrender terms at Appomattox. Eventually, Parker was commissioned in the early summer of 1863 as captain of engineers and was briefly assigned to General J. E. Smith as division engineer of the 7th Division, XVII Corps. One such individual was Parker, who early in life determined to live and succeed in the white world. Olson, James C., Red Cloud and the Sioux Problem, University of Nebraska Press, 1965. Parker's early role during this period was critical in the fight by the Tonawanda Seneca to regain the title to their reservation which had been taken from them in the Buffalo Creek Treaty of 1832, which should have been null and void since the Tonawanda Seneca chiefs had not signed or participated in the treaty. Morgan acknowledged his great debt to the young Parker and his collaboration by dedicating this major scientific publication to him when Parker was still a teenager. He served in the vital role of translator and intermediary, accompanying his father and other Seneca chiefs on official trips. Copyright © 2020 LoveToKnow. General Grant and Staff - Lt. He spent his life bridging h… Parker was a member of the Southern Treaty Commissionthat renegotiated treaties with those Indian Tribes, mostly from the Southeast, that had sided with the Confederacy. When still a teenager, he was one of three chosen to meet with President James K. Polk to discuss grievances over the sale of reservation lands to a land developer. He again became the military secretary to Grant, with the rank of colonel, as the senior officer completed his appointment as commanding general of the U.S. Army. Ely Parker was born in 1828, during a jouncing, 30-mile buckboard ride as his parents sped home to their Tonawanda Reservation in western New York. Parker later reported that General Robert E. Lee was momentarily taken aback on seeing Parker in such a prominent position at the surrender. Parker was also a collateral relative of many major figures in the history of the Iroquois including the tribal leader Cornplanter, Governor Blacksnake, and the great orator Red Jacket. He moved on to engineering positions in Norfolk, Detroit, and finally, in 1857, he accepted the position of superintendent of construction for a number of government projects in Galena, Illinois, where he resided for a number of years. Ely Parker, the first Native American General and the first Native American to become Commissioner of Indian Affairs, suffered rejection many times but never gave in. Parker's value to the Seneca was formally recognized by his tribespeople and further enhanced in 1852 when he was designated to fill the vacant Seneca chief's wolf clan title of Do-ne-ho-ga-wa (Keeper of the Western Door), one of the major titles in the Iroquois Confederacy. Working first as a tribal diplomat, and later forming a close friendship with Ulysses S. Grant during the civil war, he came to be the first Native American to hold the position of Head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Parker met Morgan during one of his visits to Albany in 1844, in the company of his maternal grandfather Sachem Jimmy Johnson and Chief John Blacksmith. Strong-willed and forthright, Julia Grant also later claimed credit for helping to persuade her… Morgan, Lewis Henry, League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois, Sage and Company, 1851; reprinted, Corinth Books, 1962, 1990. Ely S. Parker was born Hasanoanda, also known as Donehogawa. He was commissioned a lieutenant colonel during the American Civil War, when he served as adjutant to General Ulysses S. Grant. Ely next turned his attention to engineering, another subject which he mastered with determination. Parker became the major informant for the continuing anthropological data that provided the ethnographic basis of Morgan's famous League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois (1851), considered to be the first and one of the finest ethnographies of an American Indian group. Angel when he had served as sub-agent from 1846 to 1848 for the New York Indian Agency. 1828-1895, " in American Indian Intellectuals: 1976 Proceedings of the American Ethnological Society, West Publishing Co., 1978, pp. Originally called Hasanoanda, he was baptized as Ely Samuel Parker. He is best known for writing the final draft of … Especially troublesome was the relationship with the Sioux and the implementation of the provisions of the Fort Laramie Treaty which had bee signed in 1868, ending Red Cloud's War of 1866-1868. Later, Parker served with the New York City Police Department. Parker turned his attention to the field of civil engineering, attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Parker entered the stock market on Wall Street and made a fortune which he eventually lost in settling a defaulted bond of his business partner. By 1863, two years into the Civil War, Parker found himself on Grant’s personal staff. Because of his loyalty and impressive record, he was appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Indian ever to hold the office. Other attempts as business opportunities also proved unsuccessful. Chief William Parker owned a large farm on the reservation and became a converted member of the newly formed missionary Baptist church. Ely S. Parker was a Seneca Indian born in 1828 on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation in western New York. In 1897, his remains were reinterred with those of Red Jacket and his ancestors in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, New York. This meeting with the Seneca delegation provided the initial opportunity for Morgan to begin the collection of data on the Seneca, with Parker serving as interpreter. Finally, accused of defrauding the government, a committee of the House of Representatives tried Parker in February, 1871. Apparently initially believing Parker to be a black man, Lee finally shook hands with Parker and said, "I am glad to see one real American here." 0 Reviews . The house that Parker occupied during his stay in Ellicottville remains. The charges against Parker involved the assignment of contracts at the Spotted Tail Agency (formerly the Whetstone Agency) on the White River. He was taken to Canada for several years where he was taught to hunt and fish, returning to the Tonawanda Reservation at the age of twelve resolved to learn English and to further his formal education. Ely S. Parker (1828-1895) was the first Native American commissioner of Indian affairs. Recognizing Parker's abilities in his early teens, the Seneca chiefs designated him to assist the numerous Seneca tribal delegations to Albany and Washington, D.C. They would eventually have one daughter. Ely Parker was born in New York in 1828. The Senecas were one of the tribes of the great Iroquois Confederation called the Six Nations. And so ended an incredible career. Parker resigned from the army on April 26th. On Christmas Day, 1867, with Ulysses S. Grant as best man, Parker married Miss Minnie Orton Sackett (1850-1932) of Washington, D.C., the stepdaughter of a soldier who had died in the war. Parker retained his title and the medal for the remainder of his life. Waltmann, Henry G., "Ely Samuel Parker, 1869-71, " in The Commissioners of Indian Affairs: 1824-1977, edited by Robert M. Kvasnicka and Herman J. Viola, Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 1979, pp. Working first as a tribal diplomat, and later forming a close friendship with Ulysses S. Grant during the civil war, he came to be the first Native American to hold the position of Head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. During the Civil War, Parker, a close friend and colleague of General Ulysses S. Grant, served the Union cause and penned the final copy of the Confederate army's surrender terms at the Appomattox Courthouse in 1865. Ely S. Parker, a Native American, Drafted the Surrender Documents for the Civil War. Ely Samuel "Open Door" Parkerwas born in 1828, at birth place, New York, to William Jonoesdona "Dragonfly" Parkerand Elizabeth Gaontgwuttwus Parker (born Johnson). He was named Ha-sa-no-an-da and later baptized Ely Samuel Parker. Oh, he also penned the document that effectively ended the Civil War. Ely S. Parker was born to a prominent Seneca family on an Indian reservation near New York, and to many was considered a man between two worlds. The house that Parker occupied during his stay in Ellicottville remains. Local storyteller, Native American advocate pens book on Ely Parker Joseph Bruchac's "One Real American" will be discussed Jan. 15 in an event sponsored by … In fact, Parker drafted the Confederate surrender documents with his own handwriting. 22 early life @emaze_tweets is the … One Real American: The Life of Ely S. Parker, Seneca Sachem and Civil War General by Joseph Bruchac Middle School Abrams 248 pp. His father was a miller and a Baptist minister. Ely Samuel Parker died on August 31, 1895, at his home in Fairfield, Connecticut, where he was initially buried. He carried on, one step at a time. Although a strong advocate for assimilation of the American Indian and supporter of Grant's Peace Policy, directed to the improvement of the American Indian, Parker also sought major reform and restructuring of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, an unpopular policy in some political quarters. Known by his Seneca name, Do-Ne-Ho-Geh-Weh meaning “Keeper of the Western Door,” Parker had a front-row seat to some of the greatest moments in … Places Ireland. The few accounts of the Appomattox meeting that note Parker’s presence usually mention simply that his was the hand that wrote the final draft of the surrender document. Ely S. Parker (1828-1895) was the first Native American commissioner of Indian affairs. In addition, two years later, on March 2, 1867, Parker's gallant and meritorious service was recognized through his appointment as first and second lieutenant in the cavalry of the Regular Army, and brevet appointments as captain, major, lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and brigadier-general, also in the Regular Army. Later that year, on September 18th, Parker became Grant's staff officer at Vicksburg. Grant did not forget Parker when he became President. He eventually was assigned the job of interpreter for the school and the church. By the time of Parker’s birth, this once powerful confederation had been reduced to a scattering of reservations struggling for identity and survival. Tooker, Elisabeth, "Ely S. Parker, Seneca, ca. Ely Samuel Parker (Ha-sa-no-an-da) was born in 1828 at Indian Falls on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation, near Akron, New York, the second of six children of a distinguished Seneca family. Ely s. parker By: Leenah Robinson11 ely s. parkerSeneca Chief, lawyer, engineer, Lieutenant- Colonel, loyal, This is Ely Samuel Parker. During treaty negotiations between the United States and Native American nations , Parker was responsible for interpreting on behalf of Native American leaders and certifying the signatures of Native leaders on … Angel when he had served as sub-agent from 1846 to 1848 for the New York Indian Agency. Ely had a classical education at a missionary school, was fully bilingual, and went on to college. It was during one of these trips to Washington that Ely was to attend a dinner in the White House at the invitation of President James K. Polk. It was Parker who made draft corrections in the terms of surrender at Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865, and penned the final official copies that ended the Civil War. Parker replied, "We are all Americans.". Ely S. Parker was born to a prominent Seneca family on an Indian reservation near New York, and to many was considered a man between two worlds. Parker, Arthur C., The Life of General Ely S. Parker: Last Grand Sachem of the Iroquois and General Grant's Military Secretary, Buffalo Historical Society Publication, 1919. The decision resulted in his resignation in 1862. He was completely exonerated of any misconduct, but nevertheless resigned from government service in July feeling that the office of commissioner had been greatly reduced in authority and effectiveness. Ely excelled in school and became extremely fluent in English. 123-131. By the time of Parker’s birth, this once powerful confederation had been reduced to a scattering of reservations struggling for identity and survival. In September 1861, Ely S. Parker, a Tonawanda Seneca from western New York and a close friend of the Union general Ulysses S. Grant, approached Seward requesting a commission. Parker, how… This firm had represented the Seneca Indians in several cases, and Parker had been previously acquainted with W.P. They established a lifelong friendship. Armstrong, William H., Warrior in Two Camps: Ely S. Parker, Union General and Seneca Chief, Syracuse University Press, 1978. The Seneca were one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy). Ely Parker was a Seneca leader, brigadier general, attorney, engineer, and friend of General Ulysses S. Grant. The 12 Rungs of Ely’s Ladder of Distinction According to Arthur C. Parker in a biography, William Parker, his two brothers, and Elizabeth Johnson, Ely's mother, had migrated to Tonawanda from the Allegany Reservation at the same time that Handsome Lake was driven from Allegany to Tonawanda. Once again, his race proved to be an obstacle to obtaining a army commission from either the governor of New York or from the Secretary of War. It was here that Parker initially became acquainted with a store clerk and army veteran, Ulysses S. Grant. As a supervisor of government projects in Galena, Illinois, he befriended Ulysses S. Grant, forming a strong and collegial relationship that was useful later. The Buffalo History Museum Podcast is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. All Rights Reserved. Ely Parker - Chief, Lawyer, Engineer, and Brigadier General. Nov 29, 2013 - Ga-ha-no (aka Caroline G. Parker-Mt. At the conclusion of the Civil War, Parker continued as Grant's military secretary. In fact, Secretary William H. Seward informed Parker that the rebellion would be suppressed by the whites, without the aid of Indians. This firm had represented the Seneca Indians in several cases, and Parker had been previously acquainted with W.P. He also made a small fortune on Wall Street, only to lose it a few years later. Lewis Henry Morgan (1818-1881), who had previously attended Cayuga Academy in Aurora, New York, assisted Parker in being admitted to the institution. Arthur Caswell Parker. But Parker’s story was bigger than that: it represented the Union’s vision for the nation. Parker resigned from the army with the brevet rank of b… The Tonawanda Reservation had not been restored to the Seneca in the so-called "Compromise" Treaty of Buffalo Creek of 1842 and occupied the diplomatic and legal attention of the Tonawanda Seneca for many years. Ely Samuel Parker (Hasanoanda), a member of the Seneca tribe, was born in Genesee County in about 1828. Ely S. Parker, the Seneca attorney, engineer, and tribal diplomat, as photographed by Civil War photographer Mathew Brady (National Archives) The friendship between Grant and Parker … Ely Parker's father, Seneca Chief William Parker (Jo-no-es-do-wa, c. 1793-1864), was a veteran of the War of 1812 and a grandson of Disappearing Smoke (also known as Old King) a prominent figure in the early history of the Seneca. 211 South Bench Street, Galena, IL 61036, © 2018 Galena History Museum  |  All Right Reserved. A portion of their former reservation was finally purchased in 1857, following a treaty of that year. Ely Cathedral; Ely Rural District, a former district surrounding Ely, Cambridgeshire on the west and north; Isle of Ely, a historic region and former county around the city of Ely Ely S. Parker. In this field he quickly became a recognized success, obtaining a number of important positions, beginning with work on the Genesee Valley Canal in 1849, and later with the Erie Canal. Ely Samuel Parker (1828 – August 31, 1895), (born Hasanoanda, later known as Donehogawa) was a Seneca attorney, engineer, and tribal diplomat. Parker, however, was denied admittance to the bar in the State of New York on the basis of his race, in that Indians were not Buffalo Historical Society, 1919 - Generals - 346 pages. Their friendship was to last for the rest of their lives. 219-220. It was a short-lived career, however, for after but two years he was charged with the misuse of federal funds. Other articles where Ely S. Parker is discussed: Ulysses S. Grant: Grant’s presidency: Notably, Grant named Ely S. Parker, a Seneca Indian who had served with him as a staff officer, commissioner of Indian affairs, and Grant’s wife persuaded him to appoint Hamilton Fish secretary of state. He was commissioned a lieutenant colonel during the American Civil War, where he served as adjutant to General Ulysses S. Grant. Parker ultimately left Cayuga Academy to, once again, accompany another Seneca delegation to Washington. After a political difference of opinion, Parker left the Canal Office in Rochester in June, 1855. Ely Samuel Parker (1828 – August 31, 1895), (born Hasanoanda, later known as Donehogawa) was a Native American of the Seneca nation who was an attorney, engineer, and tribal diplomat. Parker was born in 1828 as the sixth of seven children to William and Elizabeth Parker, of prominent Seneca families, at Indian Falls, New York (then part of the Tonawanda Reservation). Born in 1828 and named Ha-sa-no-an-da, Ely Samuel Parker was the son of a War of 1812 veteran who had fought for the United States. Ely reputedly received his first name from Ely Stone, one of the local founders of the mission. Although largely vindicated, he resigned and turned his attention away from government. During the Civil War, Parker, a close friend and colleague of General Ulysses S. Grant, served the Union cause and penned the final copy of the Confederate army's surrender terms at the Appomattox Courthouse in 1865. 14-29. Ely finally slid into an engineering post with the New York City Police Department, a position he held until his death in 1895. A year later he became Grant’s military secretary and served at the General’s side until Appomattox, where he copied the terms of surrender given to Robert E. Lee. Beginning in 1847, Ely Parker continued his education with the thought that he would become a lawyer by "reading of the law" in the offices of Angel and Rice in Ellicottville, New York, north of the Allegany Reservation. The Life of General Ely S. Parker: Last Grand Sachem of the Iroquois and General Grant's Military Secretary. Ely S. Parker (1828-1895) General Grant's staff officer and friend, Lt. Educated in missionary schools, Parker spoke both Seneca and English. Grant had to personally intervene to allow him to join the army since Indians were not allowed. Ely Samuel Parker (1828 – August 31, 1895), born Hasanoanda, later known as Donehogawa, was a Tonawanda Seneca U.S. Army officer, attorney, engineer, and tribal diplomat. His maternal grandfather, Jimmy Johnson (So-So-Ha'-Wa), was a grandson of the Seneca prophet Handsome Lake, one of the major "speakers" and authorities of the Longhouse Religion (Gaiwiio) of the Iroquois. At that time Parker received the Red Jacket medal that had been given to Red Jacket by President George Washington in 1792 and inherited by Jimmy Johnson, Parker's grandfather. But his hopes of becoming a lawyer were dashed when no way could be found around a New York State law which prohibited aliens from being admitted to the bar. Library of Congress Image Parker was educated as a lawyer, but being an American Indian had been unable to sit before the bar, as he was not a U. S. citizen. The Rebel leader, ever … Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely; Ely Place (Dublin), a street in Dublin United Kingdom. This title had previously been held by the venerable Chief John Blacksmith who had died in 1851. The Senecas were one of the tribes of the great Iroquois Confederation called the Six Nations. Ely Samuel Parker (born with the Native American name Hasanoanda and later known as Donehogawa) was a student of law, civil engineer and Seneca Indian leader who was a valuable informant of such well-known early anthropologists as Lewis Henry Morgan, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft … Later, he attended Yates Academy from 1843 to 1845 and Cayuga Academy from the fall of 1845 to 1846, where he received the typical classical education of the time, leaving school at the age of eighteen. Pleasant) the daughter of William and Elizabeth Parker, and the wife of the Tuscarora man known as John Mt. This familial background was a factor which influenced his later role in service to his people. Pleasant - Iroquois (Seneca) - 1860 {Note: Caroline G. Parker-Mt. Ely S. Parker : biography 1828 – August 31, 1895 As an engineer, Parker contributed to upgrades and maintenance of the Erie Canal, among other projects. www.neh.gov.Visit our website at www.buffalohistory.org His work dealt largely with the construction and maintenance of canals. In fact, Ely’s grandmother had been white, a fact of which few were aware. Following the election to the presidency, Grant appointed Parker as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, on April 13, 1869, the first American Indian to hold the office. Ely Parker’s family was well respected and well versed in the ways of the whites. Ely S. Parker was born a Seneca Indian in 1828 in Western New York on the then Tonawanda Reservation. Supposedly the Parker surname derived from a Congregational missionary friend of Chief William Parker, Reverend Samuel Parker (1779-1866), son of a Revolutionary War veteran, who briefly served in western New York until 1812 when he become prominent in missionary activities in the West. Leaving the mission school at ten years of age, Parker had only a rudimentary knowledge of English, being able to understand but not speak the language. He was also commissioned a brigadier-general of volunteers as of the date of surrender at Appomattox. He refused, telling Parker that the war was “an affair between white men.” “Go home, cultivate your farm,” Seward instructed. Beginning in 1847, Ely Parker continued his education with the thought that he would become a lawyer by "reading of the law" in the offices of Angel and Rice in Ellicottville, New York, north of the Allegany Reservation. Indians at this time were not citizens, despite being native born. Like most of his tribe, he had two names. As a Tonawanda Seneca Native, he became the first Native American Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs . Yeuell, Donovan, "Ely Samuel Parker, " Dictionary of American Biography, edited by Dumas Malone, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1934, pp. Colonel Ely S. Parker seated on far left. He became Do-ne-ho-ga-wa, or “Open Door”, as an adult, but his white name was Ely Parker, a name he readily adopted. The experience of direct involvement in Seneca and Iroquois political and diplomatic affairs was to provide Parker with a valuable and practical educational foundation and stand him in good stead later in life. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Parker tried to obtain a release from his engineering responsibilities at Galena but did not receive one. g 10/20 978-1-4197-4657-4 $18.99 e-book ed. Parker became Grant 's staff officer at Vicksburg, without the aid of Indians that effectively ended the Civil,! 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