Captain Joseph Parks was a U.S. military officer and head Cheif of the Shawnee in Kansas.
Birth: 1793, in Michigan. Death: 1899[1]
1858 MAY 8 W. P. Tomlinson , correspondent for the New York Tribune, wrote the following interesting description of his Visit to Westport and Shawnee Mission :
In my return I called at the Shawnee mission, which was originally established to educate the Shawnee Indians, and which, after flourishing for some time, is now rapidly going to decay. ... . It w as the residence of Gov. Sh an n on , w h il e he w as in Ofice , and has alw ays figure d prominently in K ansas his tory . I w as s how n over the sch ool by the obligin g teach er , an d a great deal of curi ous i n formation imp arted me concern ing the Indian ch ara cter . The school had th en on ly about tw enty pupils ; but w h en it w as in a flourish in g con dition it n umb ered over sixty
I also called on Capt. Park, the celebrated chief of the Shawnee nation. He resides about three miles from Westport, in Johnson Co., K. T., on a splendid farm of two thousand acres: the greater part of which is under cultivation. Contrary to my expectation, he recognized me almost immediately, and invited me into his house, which is a large, brick structure, furnished in the most comfortable and even elegant manner. He takes great interest in farming and has all the new improvements in the way of implements. He still owns a few slaves , but says he wants Kansas to be come a Free State.[2]
"Late in March Parks & Findlay (Joseph Parks, prominent member of the Shawnee nation; and James Findlay, of Jackson county, Mo.) erected a trading house near the Ottawa Indian settlements (present Franklin county) and within a few miles of Ottawa Baptist Mission. Missionary Jotham Meeker assisted in the "raising" of this "store house" on March 29."[3]
Anderson, W.J. “The Captain Joseph Parks House.” Kansas City, 1906. (K/970.1/Pam./v. 7). Although brief, the article presents the life of a chief of the Shawnee, and his relation with the U.S. government. Included are picture if his home and his monument in Johnston County.
"In the Spring of 1846, Francis Parkman made a "tour of curiosity and amusement to the Rockey Mountains" by way of the Oregon Trail. It is much to be regretted that Mr. Parkman was not actuated by more serious motives, for the record he left of his tour, while always popular, has no great historical value. His party was formed at Westport, and on his way he passed the Shawnee Mission. There Parkman saw Joseph Parks, a Shawnee chief, and notes that this savage ruler had a trading establishment at Westport, conducted an extensive farm, and owned "a considerable number of slaves." The Kansas River was first seen at the Lower Delaware Crossing, where the party passed over it on rafts, after camping a night on the south bank. This was the crossing of the old Military Road from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Scott and Fort Gibson." [4]
- Joseph Parks led a company of Shawnee that traveled with John C. Frémont on his expdition.
- At the beginning of the American Civil War, Joseph Parks raised and led a company of Shawnee that served under John C. Frémont as commander of the Department of the West.
References
edit- ^ William E. Connelley. The Provisional Government of Nebraska Territory and the Journals of William Walker. One paragraph about the death in 1859 of Captain Joseph Parks, chief of the Shawnee Indians, questioning his ethnic origins.
- ^ Martha Caldwell. Annals of Shawnee Methodist Mission and Indian Manual Labor School (PDF). p. 101-102.
- ^ Kansas Before 1854, A Revised Annals, 10
- ^ Chapter 9 Part 2 A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans, written and compiled by William E. Connelley, Chicago : Lewis, 1918. 5 v. (lvi, 2731 p., [228] leaves of plates) : ill., maps (some fold.), ports. ; 27 cm.