Last words in print

These are the words of Spoon Decorah, an ancestor of mine in an 1887 interview with Rueben Gold Thwaites. I found his words to be quite profound and prophetic.


"Now the Winnebago(e)s are poor.  They have not so much pride. Very few of them care about the old times. Most of them care only for firewater.  We get a very poor living now. Our farms have not good soil. The game is not as plenty as it once was. The White traders cheat and rob us. They make our young men drunk.  It would be better if we had no agent.  We think the Big Father does not care for us any longer, now that he has all our best land.  Perhaps it will not be long before he will want the poor land we now live one" (Wisconsin Historical Society Collections, Vol. xiii, p. 462). 

GOM's descendants

GOM's descendants are numerous and it is still hard for me to comprehend
that it all started on a small island in Wisconsin.  My connection to her goes back
9 generations.  Her exact birthdate is hard to pin point, so I will still with the generation measure.

Beginnings

From my earliest remembrances of my childhood Choka always began his story about our Decorah origins with, "I was born in a wigwam in a Ho-Chunk settlement (or village) along the Turkey River.  Seeing the river takes his words to a whole new level for me since I have never been there before.



file:///Users/valerieguimaraes/Desktop/156-18v.jpg (aerial view of the Turkey River on the border of Wisconsin and Iowa.

A step closer to Joseph Decarie

GOM married Joseph Sabrevior Decarie.  All this time I have heard the story of GOM and Sabrevior and on Tuesday August 17th I learned that his given name was Joseph.  How amazing.  It was around 3pm and I was thumbing through the Gale Papers in the Archive Room of the Wisconsin Historical Society when I discovered that Spoon told Gale that his father's name was Joseph.  I read it again and again.  Could this be so?  On Friday August 19th around 10am I was talking to Dr. Jan Vansina and he explained that Sabrevior was a nick name and not Decarie's real name.  He asked, "What was his real name?"  I was in awe.  I relayed the story of how I just learned on Tuesday that Sabrevior's real name was Joseph.  Dr. Vansina said, "Of course."  Not that he knew the name, but that he knew that he must have had another name.

Last week I was on the Internet looking for Joseph Decarie and came upon a website about French military battles in Canada.  I found information about the Battle of St. Foye or the Battle for Quebec.  I wrote to the webmaster and asked if he had any information about the men who fought in this battle.  A few days later he responded and said that he was familiar with the surname Decarie and sent me a link to a book; les familes Descarie, Decarie and Decarrie!  Amazing.  Now if I just read French.

Picture of Doty Park

There are two similar pictures of a beautiful willow tree in Doty Park which is near the spot where Jonathan Carver met GOM.  In his records, thanks to the Wisconsin Historical Society, he wrote that he traveled along the Fox River until he came to a rather large Winnebago (Ho-Chunk present day) village on an island.  He spent 5 days in the village and wanted safe travel through Winnebago lands.  He described GOM as a "queen" and had several young ladies attending her.  He also said that she "sat in council" with the men and it is through his writings that GOM received her designation as "the first and last female chief of the Winnebago people.

Picture from Doty Island

{

This is a picture of the north side of Doty Island.   It was taken in Doty Park which is located on the southern part of the island.  You can see Lake Winnebago and the City of Appleton, Wisconsin in the distance.

Jonathan Carver traveled north of the island on Lake Winnebago and traveled along the Fox River until he came to the southern part of the island, now Doty Park.  This is where he met GOM.

More pictures to come!

Dr. Jan Vansina, Doty Island, and the archives at WHS

An amazing trip!  I saw the spot where Jean Nicolet first met the Ho-Chunk on the northern part of island now Menasha.  There was a stone monument which marked the spot where Jean Nicolet met them.  It was given to the city by the Women of Menasha in 1902.  I stood on the spot where Jonathan Carver met Glory of the Morning where the Fox River meets Lake Winnebago.  The feelings are indescribable, very humbling.  I spent 3 days in the WHS archive room pouring over old documents hoping to retrieve information relative to my thesis.  They staff were very, very helpful.  I actually touched Dr. Kellogg's old notes and saw the original manuscript of The French Regime.  Inspiring to say the least.  I also held the ledger that recorded the first annuity payments made to the Ho-Chunk or then Winnebago Indians.  It was very touching to see my ancestors listed.  Lastly, I met with Dr. Jan Vansina, Prof. Emeritus, Department of History, UW-Madison.  We met in the History Emeritus staff suite.  Not so glamorous accommodations, but the company was awesome.  We met for over an hour and he gave me wonderful insights for my thesis, my model of generational oral tradition transmission and said, "You are on the right path in your research."  Oooh, now that was so good to hear!

The trip was made all the more special because my best and dearest friend went with me and acted as my "gopher" - my husband Paulo.

Pictures to come soon.