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Post by mn1972 on Oct 21, 2007 14:49:16 GMT -5
The following information was kindly sent to me from: Edith Macdonald History Dept University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida and Director of The Meriwether Society ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WORK IN PROGRESS THE SEARCH FOR JOSEPH DESMET LEWIS
On June 18, 1872, Joseph DeSmet (Desomet) Lewis presented himself, his wife, two sons and two grandsons to Reverend Joseph W. Cook, the Episcopal Missionary for the Yankton Indian Agency Mission in Dakota Territory, for baptism. Sixty-eight year old Joseph DeSmet Lewis identified his father as Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and his mother as Winona. Lewis is listed two other times in the Mission records and each time the parental identification is the same.1 Joseph DeSmet LewisÕ grave marker in the cemetery at St. AlbanÕs Episcopal Church, Fort Hale, South Dakota gives a birth year of 1805 and death year of 1889 while identifying him as the Òson of Meriwether Lewis of the famed Lewis & Clark Expedition.Ó 2
My research is directed to finding oral and written records that substantiate the baptismal and grave maker assertions. In this effort I have collected the published information about DeSmet Lewis and his family and have started to probe unsearched primary source documents which may contain additional information. In this I have been help very much by Harry Meriwether in searching the records in St.Louis and vicinity repositories. Harry F. Thompson, director of research collections and publications at the Center for Western Studies of Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who wrote the most comprehensive survey of DeSmet Lewis information, has been more than generous in searching the Episcopal Mission records held there and in obtaining a clear copy of the entries regarding DeSmet-Lewis which are faint due to their age.
Was the opportunity present for cohabitation between Meriwether Lewis and a Yankton (or Teton) Sioux woman (Ikpsa pe win or possibly Willow Bark and later Wionona) during the time that would produce a son in 1805 (descendants add Òsummer of 1805Ó)?3
There was contact between the Corps of Discovery and Sioux Indians on several occasions during August and September 1804. In entries for September 26, 27 and 29, Clark writes that Indian Women were offered as temporary wives, a custom among these Indian tribes.
While the extant journals do not specifically state that Meriwether Lewis accepted the offer, Sergeants and enlisted men in the corps did accept and the response from the two captains is difficult to ascertain.4 This is the proper time frame to produce a child in the Òsummer of 1805.Ó Oral history among the Sioux tell of Lewis and an Indian woman, Willow Bark, who were together in a canoe for three days but there is no time reference.5
In April 1981, historian Roscoe E. Dean, speaking at the 13th Dakota History Conference held at Dakota State College, Madison, South Dakota, presented a paper entitled ÒA Visit with Amy Lewis Carpenter.Ó In his summation, Dean write, ÒI am now convinced that Amy is truly a Teton Sioux and that her great Grandfather, Joseph Lewis was conceived during Lewis and ClarkÕs brief visit with the Tetons just north of Fort Pierre on September 26 and 27, 1804.Ó6 Interestingly, in her interview Amy Lewis Carpenter seems most interested in finding more about another family line that includes the renound interpreter Antone Zephyr Recountre and maternal grandfather, a German merchant name Beman who married RencountreÕs daughter Lillian. 7
DeanÕs interviews with Carpenter are included in Òcondensed verbatimÓ in the paper. Answers given when she was in her nineties lead us into the DeSmet Lewis Family History and give a start to their family tree. I summarize:
Meriwether LewisÕ son was Joseph Lewis and his son was John DeSmet, my father. (The name DeSmet Lewis) got started quite early in his life because Father DeSmet used to come out in Dakota Territories...and in order to get around, I donÕt know how he got my Grandfather to take him, but my Grandfather, a young man then, and he knew the country, he knew the people, he could talk. He could, well, everything, so he used to take him on his trips while he was out there. ...just because he is with Father DeSmet so much, ...they called him Young DeSmet....And later on they got to surveying the land...and each person gets an allotment with their name on it. Well, the government employees that come to look after the business called him Young DeSmet..So that is how the name stuck.8
The DeSmet name carried through the family of Joseph DeSmet LewisÕ son John and was still used by family members at the time of DeanÕs interview.9
When asked what she had heard about Meriwether Lewis, Carpenter replied:
Well, in 1804 when he came across the country, thatÕs where he met my grandmother, and he still went on his trips but grandmother didnÕt go with him. She just stayed right in the Dakota Terrritory. ThatÕs when my fatherÕs father was born, Joseph Lewis. (My grandmother was) a Teton Sioux (and was) in Cheyenne Country....He (Meriwether Lewis) was around Fort Pierre. Fort Pierre is where they met, I think.10
Carpenter goes on to say that she is not aware of any contact with Meriwether Lewis after he returned East from his journey. Joseph DeSmet Lewis lived in the Cheyenne Sioux area and this is where John DeSmet was born. John came to Fort Hale after marrying and after his motherÕs death brought Joseph DeSmet Lewis to live with his family at Fort Hale. Carpenter remembers her grandfather as light skinned with a white beard. She says, ÒWell you know how the mixture goes. He had white blood, he had Indian blood and the mixture makes you a shade darker or something.Ó 11
Roscoe Dean writes that there is Òno question that Martin Charger..was a brother of John Lewis DeSmet.Ó 12 This gives us another son of Joseph DeSmet Lewis to prove into the family tree.
The name Martin is not part of the 1872 baptismal register.
Dean adds one more tantilizing supposition as he concluded his paper,Ó Doane Robinson believed that Joseph Lewis of Turkey head might be the son of Reuben Lewis, a fur trader from St. Louis.Ó
It cannot be ascertained if this Joseph Lewis is the same as Joseph DeSmet Lewis and we surely know that Reuben Lewis, brother of Meriwether, was NOT in the Dakotas in 1804.13
Let us now turn to other ÒsightingsÓ of Joseph DeSmet Lewis.
Lieutenant G. K. Warren led topographical surveys of Sioux or Dacota country in 1855, 1856 and 1857. In his 1855 report to the Senate, Warren credits Michael Desomet Òfor information about portions of the country I have not visited.Ó14 WarrenÕs Journal for 1855 and W.H. HuttonÕs journal for 1856 identify DeSomet as a half-blood Sioux hunter Òwho says his father was Lewis & Clarke.Ó15 This is the description we are looking for but where did ÒMichaelÓ come from?
Harry Meriwether found an M.d.(perhaps for deSmet) Lewis in the Choteau Fort Pierre accounts around 1826, to which James A. Hanson, editor of the Warren Journals directed us through end notes. Lewis was always listed in connection with M. Brown. Perhaps our Michael (Joseph) DeSmet Lewis or perhaps not.16
Another possible sighting is in the Dakota Territory census for 1860. Michael Derzannette and his family is listed as living at the Yankton Agency. However, Derzannette lists his age as 58 which does not accord with the baptismal record of 1872 and family members listed in his household, including wife, Josette, do not match whatsoever with the baptismal record or with Amy CarpenterÕs family tree. This is probably a different half-Indian man who may have had French ancestry. Or he could have been the Michael DeSomet and was fathered by a member of the Corps of Discovery other than Lewis but DerzannetteÕs age puts this into doubt.17
The Indian census of 1886 is said to list ÒLouis De SmetÓ, a mixed blood Indian who wife was Indian. The 1887-1892 Indian Cences are said to list ÒJohn DeSmitÓ, a white man. The Indian censes and agency lists and land grants to Òhalf breedÓ need to be fully searched.18
Much more research on Joseph DeSmet Lewis remains to be done. Harry Meriwether is surveying the papers of Father Peter John deSmet at the Jesuit Archives in St. Louis for any mention of a half blood Sioux who assisted him and claimed the Lewis paternity. Papers of Reuben Lewis, MeriwetherÕs brother; John Marks, his half-brother; and William D. Meriwether who was the Lewis family representative at the time of Meriwether LewisÕ death; need to be researched for any allusion to a son. There may be information in Nicholas BiddleÕs papers if information on a liason between Lewis and a Sioux woman were edited out of the published journals. And then there are William ClarkÕs letters which may be as numerous as Father DeSmetÕs but for Father DeSmet we have a time range to search. The cemetery at St. Albans near Fort Hale, South Dakota, needs to be charted for the other thirteen or more DeSmet Lewis family burials.19
And lastly there could be a DNA comparison between direct male descendants of Meriwether LewisÕ paternal first cousins and direct male descendants of Joseph deSmet Lewis. I have not at this time identified any of the latter as the rather numerous descendants of the DeSmet-Lewis family about which I know, appear to be through the female lines. And any such DNA comparison requires willingness from both descendant lines to participate.
Following is the assumptive family tree of Joseph DeSmet Lewis as constructed from the Yankton Mission registers, Amy Lewis CarpenterÕs memory, Lyman County local history books, and recent published interviews about living descendants in South Dakota.
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JOSEPH DESMET LEWIS FAMILY TREE 20
A. Meriwether Lewis, b. 18 Aug. 1774, d. 11 Oct. 1809.
and Ikpsa pe win aka Winona (or Willow Bark)
a Yanton or Teton Sioux woman who met in the
Fall of 1804.
AA. Joseph DeSmet (Desomit) Lewis, b. Summer 1805 near Fort
Pierre, Dakota Territory, d.1889. Known among the
Indians as Zombie and Turkey Head.
m. Her Good Road a member of the Sans Arc band. Samuel
Charger writes she was the mother of Martin Charger and
John DeSmet (Little Hawk)
m. Annie Tomakea, b. ?? at Ft. Pierre, Dakota, d. 1879.
Her parents were Hunkanwicasa and Wisdo per
baptismal record of 18 June 1872.
Marriage solemnized in Yankton Episcopal Mission 27
December 1874.
(note, it had been suggested that Joseph m. Lillian
Recountre but she m. a Beman and was the maternal
grandmother of Amy Lewis Carpenter and her siblings, not
the paternal grandmother who was Annie Tomakea.
Samuel Charger writes that Joseph DeSmet Lewis was
employed at times by the American Fur Company and also
engaged in the Indian trade with the Rees and Mandans.
AAA. John DeSmet (DeSomit) Lewis, b. about 1841 or 1842, d.1930. (Indian name: Litle Hawk.)
m. Makipagewin before 1864 (She was the mother of
John and Edwin according to their baptismal records
of 18 June 1872.
m. (2) Henrietta Beman, b. 1855, d. 1920, m. 1881.
her mother Lillian Recountre m. a Beman from
St. Louis. Lillian was the daughter of
Antone Zephier Recountre and his Indian wife Lali
Lali d. 1849 - she was scalped. See story in
Amy Lewis Carpenter interview
AAAA. John Paddock Matowakpana, b. about 1864 at Matewapa,Dakota,
baptized at age 8 on 18 June 1872. d. ???.
AAAB. Edwin Kemble Ehakekis, b. about 1866 at Medicine, Dakota,
baptized at age 6 on 18 June 1872. d. ???.
AAAC. Oliver, b. 1882, d. 1885.(mother Henrietta Beman)
AAAD. Amy, b. 5 Aug. 1884 at Fort Hale
m. Phillip Carpenter b. ?? who d. July 1832
AAAE. Mamie, b. 1889, d. Sept 1964.
m. Harry Thompson of Fort George and then
lived at Fort Hale. They had 12 children.
AAAEA. Lawrence Thompson
AAAEB. Clarence Thompson
AAAEC. Wilber Thompson
AAAED. Harry Thompson
A son or grandson is Avery Thompson m. Dixie.
They live near the St. Joseph Indian School in Old
Fort Hale vacinity
Roberta Thompson Fletcher and her son
Sheldon Fletcher of Chamberlain, South Dakota.
AAAF. Mose(s), b. Nov 1891, d. ??
m. Ellen Lundquist
They had 6 children
AAAG. Winnie, b. April 1900, d. 1935
m. Philip LaRoche
They had 4 children
Possible descendants are:
Alex LaRoche
Sylvester LaRoche
Note: some of the above children of John DeSmet Lewis used the DeSmet
last name because this was the name in which John DeSmet Lewis
received his land allocations.
AAB. Martin Charger (Waanatan) of the ÒFool SoldiersÓ,
As a youth called Wowacinye meaniong Dependable. b.about 1833 at the
Racing Road around Sturgis and Rapid City., d. 27 (16?) August 1900 at
age 59 at the Cheyenne RiverAgency. m. Eliza or Lizzie (Wasumaniwin).
Also m.Walking Hail, a Yankton Sioux in 1851. His son writes
Martin had more than one wife in the Indian way.
AABA. Samuel Charger b.15 May 1882 at Cheyenne River Agency, SD.d.???. Wrote a biography of his father.m. Rosa Red Weasel at LaPlante, SD.
AABAA. Philip E. Charger b. 27 October 1909.
AABB. Sophie Left Handed Bear
AABC. Jane Grey Bear
AABD. Harry Charger
AAC. Frances Saswena Lewis, b. about 1851 at Fort Pierre, Dakota, d. ???. His age is recorded as 21 in baptismal record of 18 June 1872.
AAD. Joseph Wanikiya Lewis, b. about 1853 at Crow Creek, Dakota,d. ???. His age is recorded as 19 in baptismal record of 18 June 1872.
NOTES
1. Yankton Mission Register, Vol. 1, 10-11 and Vol. 2, 48-49, Archives of the Diocese of South Dakota, the Center of Western Studies, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. These records are reproduced in Thompson, Harry F., ÒMeriwether Lewis and His Son: The Claim of Joseph Desomet Lewis and the Problem of History,Ó North Dakota History, Vol 67, No. 3, 2000, 24,28.
2. Thompson, ÒMeriwether Lewis,Ó 26. Olson, Jeff, ÒFamily Proud of Ancestor,Ó Bismarck Tribune, Nov 26, 1998 (Thurs. Metro Edition.)
Dean, Roscoe E, ÒA Visit with Amy Lewis Carpenter,Ó a paper given at the 13th Dakota History Conference, April 9,10,11, 1981 and published in The Karl E. Mundt Historial and Educational Foundation Series 39, (Madison, SD, 1982), 279.
3. Ikpsa pe win in Dean, ÒA Visit,Ó 279. Winona listed as mother in baptismal and marriage record in Yankton mission Register, Vol. 1 10-11,
Vol.2, 48-49, 102-103. Willow Bark given as mother in Indian legend.
4. Biddle, Nicholas, ed. The Journals of the Expedition under the command of LEWIS and CLARK, (New York, Heritage Press, 1962 reprint), 52-57. Also see other editions of the Journals of Lewis and Clark and of Sergeant Ordway.
Dean, ÒA Visit,Ó quotes from Doane RobinsonÕs Encyclopedia of South Dakota, on 268-271.
5. Sioux Indian oral legend.
6. Dean, ÒA Visit,Ó 276.
7. Ibid., 274,275,279.
8. Ibid., 271-273.
9. Ibid. 271-272.
10. Ibid. 272.
11. Ibid. 273.
12. Ibid. 277.
13. Ibid. 277.
14. Warren, Lieut. G. K., Explortions in the Dacota Country in The Year 1855,(Washington, A.O.P. Nicholson, Senate Printer, 1856), 20.
15. Hanson, James A., Little ChiefÕs Gatherings: The Smithsonian InstitutionÕs G.K. Warren 1855-1856 Plains Indian Collection and The New York State LibraryÕs 1855-1857 Warren Expeditions Journals, (Crawford, Nebraska, The Fur Press, 1996), 116, 137. DeSommet is mentioned additional times in the journals but these are the two that connect him with Meriwether Lewis.
16. Papers of the St. Louis Fur Trade, Part 2: Fur Company Ledgers and Account Books, 1802-1871, Reel 3 of 23. Missouri Historical SocietyÕs Archive and Library, St. Louis, MO. References to M. d Lewis found in the years 1825 and 1826.
17. Eighth Census of the United States, 1860, Dakota Territory, 119.
Michael Derzanette age 58, male, mulatto (meaning in this instance mixed blood Indian,) no occupation listed, born in Dakota, is listed as head of houshold with the following, all mulattoes, all born in Dakota., Josette 45, female; Antoine 23, male; Theresa 19, female; Peter 18, male; Mitchell 16, male; Baptiste 8, male; Frank 4, male; Joseph 4, male; James 6/12, male; Wenona 20, female.
18. Wilson, Maryhelen,ed, ÒDoes Meriwether Lewis Really Have Descendants? New Information,Ó St. Louis Genealogical Society Quarterly,Vol XVI #3, Fall 1983. 73-74.
19. Olson, ÒFamily,Ó. Dean, ÒVisit,Ó 273.
20. For informaton on the family of Joseph deSmet Lewis see:
Yankton Mission Baptismal and Marriage records; Dean, ÒA Visit.Ó
Charger, Samuel, ÒBiography of Martin Charger,Ó South Dakota Historical Collection, Vol. 22, 1946, pp 1-26. South DakotaÕs Ziebach County, History of the Prarie, (Dupress, SD, Ziebach County Historical Society, 1982), viewed on (rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/sd/ziebach/history/part1,txt) 11-12. Olson, ÒFamily.Ó Thompson, ÒMeriwether Lewis.Ó Wilson, ÒDoes Meriwether Lewis.Ó
14 August 2001 (Tuesday) 0700 viewed on
(http://www.lewisandclark.net/activities/expedition2001.htm). Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota, Vol I (1904), 388-389 viewed on
(http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/sd/sdfiles.htm). Lyman County Historical Society, Lyman County Pioneers: 1885-1968, (Pierre, SD, State Publishing, 1974) 31-33. Lyman County Historical Society, Early Settlers in Lyman County,
(Pierre, SD, State Publishing, 1974) 225.
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