Seneca-Shawnee Indian census document
Collection — Folder: S1559
Identifier: S1559
Scope and Contents
This collection includes a two-page, handwritten census of the "mixed band" of Seneca and Shawnee led by Civil John (Me-tho-mea), possibly taken by an appointed Indian agent, in present-day Ohio circa 1810s-1830s, regarding the names of the heads of families, the number, age range, and gender of individuals per family, the number of horses per family, and any remarks.
Dates
- circa 1817-1831
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Historical Note
The Seneca people were one of the tribes of the Sixth Nations in the Iroquois Confederacy. The westernmost member of the Iroquois, the Seneca people lived in western New York and Ohio Territory (encompassing nearly all of present-day Ohio, northwestern West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, and eastern Indiana) prior to the American Revolution. The Shawnee, meanwhile, occupied areas spanning present-day Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Alabama, South Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania in the United States.
In 1817, the Ohio Shawnee signed the Treaty of Fort Meigs, gave up their remaining lands in exchange for three reservations in Wapaughkonetta, Hog Creek (near Lima today) and Lewistown, Ohio. Soon thereafter, a mixed band of Seneca and Shawnee formed near Lewiston, Ohio under the leadership of a Seneca chief, Civil John (Me-tho-mea or Mesomea). At one time, the group totalled 250 people and 162 horses. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 strong-armed the Shawnee and other Native American tribes to move west of the Mississippi River. In 1831, the Seneca-Shawnee band ceded their land in Ohio for land within the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma).
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Hamlin-Wilson, Gail, Donald Ricky, and Nancy K. Capace. Encyclopedia of Indiana Indians: Tribes, Nations and People of the Woodlands Areas. (St. Clair Shores, MI: Somerset, 1998), 117, 128, 240-242.
Kapper, Charles J., ed. "Treaty with the Wyandot, etc., September 8, 1815." Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, vol. 2, pp. 117-119. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1904. Accessed July 25, 2015. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/wya0117.htm.
Smith, Pamela A. "Shawnee, Eastern." Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Accessed July 25, 2015. http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SH018.
In 1817, the Ohio Shawnee signed the Treaty of Fort Meigs, gave up their remaining lands in exchange for three reservations in Wapaughkonetta, Hog Creek (near Lima today) and Lewistown, Ohio. Soon thereafter, a mixed band of Seneca and Shawnee formed near Lewiston, Ohio under the leadership of a Seneca chief, Civil John (Me-tho-mea or Mesomea). At one time, the group totalled 250 people and 162 horses. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 strong-armed the Shawnee and other Native American tribes to move west of the Mississippi River. In 1831, the Seneca-Shawnee band ceded their land in Ohio for land within the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma).
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Hamlin-Wilson, Gail, Donald Ricky, and Nancy K. Capace. Encyclopedia of Indiana Indians: Tribes, Nations and People of the Woodlands Areas. (St. Clair Shores, MI: Somerset, 1998), 117, 128, 240-242.
Kapper, Charles J., ed. "Treaty with the Wyandot, etc., September 8, 1815." Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, vol. 2, pp. 117-119. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1904. Accessed July 25, 2015. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/wya0117.htm.
Smith, Pamela A. "Shawnee, Eastern." Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Accessed July 25, 2015. http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SH018.
Extent
0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from an unknown donor on an unknown date.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing and finding aid completed 2015/04/02 by Nikki Stoddard Schofield.
- Title
- Seneca-Shawnee Indian census document
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
