Resting In Peace and Repatriation

Some or all of you may know this already and there is far more depth and detail in respect to this history I came across today:-

Sir Richard Grenville captured a Roanoke Island American Indian and named him Raleigh (for Sir Walter Raleigh) and brought him to Bideford, England following a skirmish in 1586. He was baptised at Saint Mary the Virgin's Church, Bideford in March 1588 and died from influenza in Sir Richard Grenville's house on April 2, 1589. He was laid to rest at that same church five days later. He is said to have been the first American Indian to have a Christian conversion and an English resting place.

In the 17th century Chief Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas spent some of her life in London two years after she married English colonist John Rolfe at age twenty-one. Pocahontas died due to an unknown disease and was laid to rest at St George's Church in Gravesend, England. She had a son called Thomas Rolfe.

Lakota tribes arrived in England as part of ‘Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show’. An Oglala 'gun-slinging and horse-riding stuntman' and a year old boy named Red Penny died during the tour in 1887. They were laid to rest at West Brompton cemetery in London. A Brule tribesman Paul Eagle Star died at a show in Sheffield on August 24, 1891 at age twenty-seven. He apparently fell from his horse and broke an ankle. He was also laid to rest in West Brompton. A fifty-nine-year-old Oglala Sioux called Long Wolf died during the tour as a result of pneumonia on June 13, 1892. He was laid to rest in West Brompton cemetery. Two months later, a two-year-old girl named White Star Ghost Dog died when she fell from her mother's arms during horseback. Her remains shared the same grave as Long Wolf's remains. Long Wolf and White Star Ghost Dog's coffin were repatriated to the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1997. Two years later; Paul Eagle Star's coffin was repatriated to the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Descendants include John Black Feather (Long Wolf's great grandson), Moses Eagle Star and Lucy Eagle Star (Paul Eagle Star's two grandchildren).

Blackfoot Sioux chief Charging Thunder visited Salford; Manchester in 1903 aged twenty-six as part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. He was described as an exceptional horseman who performed 'thrilling' stunts in Buffalo Bill's show in front of huge crowds, on the site of what is now ‘Lowry’ in Salford Quays. When the show left England he stayed here and married Josephine, an American horse trainer who had just given birth to their first child, Bessie and together they settled in Darwen, Lancashire (Northern England) before moving to Gorton, Lancashire. His name was changed to George Edward Williams, after registering with the British immigration authorities to enable him to find work. He became an elephant keeper at the Belle Vue Zoo. He died on July 28, 1929 from pneumonia at age fifty-two. His was laid to rest in Gorton's cemetery.

E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of American Indians and Friends to add comments!

Join American Indians and Friends

Comments

  • A fascinating post Dean, I had seen pictures of Charging Thunder but did not know he had stayed here. Some sad stories,  but it is good to know that some remains were repatriated.

    Thank you for your contribution and I look forward to seeing more of your posts.

This reply was deleted.
Welcome sisters and brothers