LOCUMLOCUM |
Frances
Slocum was a young girl who
was "stolen by the Delaware Indians from her father's house near
Wilkes-Barre,
in Wyoming Valley, Luzerne county, Pa.," in November, 1778.
The
brother of Frances Slocum is Major Benjamin Slocum. Benjamin's
daughter,
Maria Slocum, is my
g-g grandmother and
wife of Dr. Silas B. Robinson.
[Picture, signed Jennie Brownscombe, from the book, Frances Slocum; The Lost Sister of Wyoming, by Martha Bennett Phelps, 1916] |
Old Bible Owned By
Scranton Woman Tells of Capture
of [Frances Slocum] Lost Daughter of Wyoming.
The Scranton [PA] Times, page 35, October
3rd., 1916.
"In speaking of the disappearance of Frances Slocum, Mrs. Gardner says that according to Ebenezer Slocum's writing in the old family Bible, Frances Slocum did not disappear in November, as is generally claimed in histories since written, but in September. Mrs. Gardner, who is the daughter of Sarah Hitchcock and Abel Gardner, believes the notation in the Bible to be correct."Note: Mrs. Gardner's full name was Mrs. H. D. Gardner. Her grandmother was Ruth Slocum, who married Elijah Hitchcock. Ruth Slocum was the oldest daughter of Ebenezer Slocum, Frances' brother. Ebenezer was twelve when the Indians came and took Frances, and was there at the time. It was Ebenezer whom Frances' mother begged the Indians not to take, because he had an affliction in one leg. The Indians left him behind because they did not want to be hampered by his handicap, in getting away."With the exception of the difference in the date of Frances Slocum's disappearance, the records in Mrs. Gardner's family tally with those in the local histories. The Wyoming Massacre occurred on July 3, 1778, but with a feeling of security the family of Jonathan Slocum, residing near the Wilkes Barre fort, did not flee as nearly did all the others who escaped butchery. They were Quakers with firm, noncombative principles, friendly with the red men."
Frances' story, as reported in THE MORNING REPUBLICAN, 1869, is available here.
Frances Slocum was the daughter of Jonathan & Ruth (TRIPP) SLOCUM. Jonathan being the 5th generation of Giles SLOCUM, first of the SLOCUM line of Rhode Island.
Dr. C.E. Slocum copied from the Warwick Twp., R.I. records, viz.:---
"These lines may certifie all persons that Jonathan Slocum and Ruth Tripp both of the town of Portsmouth, (perhaps residents on Patience, or Prudence, Island in Narragansett Bay.), in the County of Newport were lawfully married in Warwick on the 23rd day of Febry in the year 1757."
Ruth (TRIPP) SLOCUM, b. 3/21/1736, was the daughter of Isaac TRIPP & Susanna SPENCER(?), Portsmouth, RI.
Treaties
In the twelfth article, of the Treaty, between the United States of America, and the Miami Tribe of Indians; as concluded at the Forks of the Wabash, in the State of Indiana, Nov. 6, 1838, and as signed by President Zachara Taylor; the United States agreed to grant to O-zah-shin-qua, (Frances' daughter, NOT Frances, since Frances was not recognized as an Indian), one section of land on the Mississinewa River, including the improvements where they then lived. (At that time O-zah-shin-qua was married to Capt. Jean Baptiste Brouillette.)
"As it was stipulated in the treaty of 1840 that the Miamis should abandon their homes on the Wabash in five years from the date of its ratification, there began to be much uneasiness manifested among many of the older members of the tribe as the time grew near for taking their departure.
"Among those who mourned over the coming departure of the tribe was Frances Slocum.
"Her surviving brothers were old men, but they were not unmindful of their unhappy sister, and aided her all they could. It was finally decided to have her appeal to Congress and ask if she could not be exempted from the treaty, and, with her descendents, be allowed to remain on the reservation in Indiana which had been granted to her daughters. A petition was therefore drawn and signed by her children and grandchildren." January 17, 1845. [From John F. Meginness' book, Biography of Frances Slocum, 1891.]
Children and Grandchildren of Frances Slocum
The names as they appear in the petition to Congress:
 |
O-saw-she-quah,
Yellow Leaf, [other spellings
include O-zah-shing-qua], the second daughter of Frances Slocum,
married
five times. She had twelve children.
Her first marriage was to Louis Godfroy, nephew of Francis Godfroy, last war chief of the Miami's, who became Chief when Frances Slocum's husband, She-pan-can-ah, retired from the chieftainship. (O-saw-she-quah's daughter
by her next marriage to Wap-shing-qua,
named Kin-o-zach-wa, married Gabriel Godfroy, son of Chief Francis
Godfroy.
She was favorite grand-daughter of Frances Slocum.) |
 |
This photograph is
of Clarence
Godfroy, great-great grandson of Frances Slocum, standing next to her
monument,
in the Frances Slocum Cemetery, Waltz Township, Wabash County, IN. (He
had visited my
Grandfather, Benjamin Slocum
Robinson, in Melrose Park, near Phila., Pa., in 1928, giving the signed
photograph to him, upon leaving.) "Frances Slocum died March 9, 1847, and was buried in a little Indian cemetery on the ridge a short distance from her home, near Reserve, Indiana. No stone or monument marked her grave." Hon. James F. Stutesman, formed a committee in 1899 to raise money and erect the monument shown here. The committee members were: Hon. Elliott T. Slocum, Detroit, MI; Dr.Charles E. Slocum, Defiance, OH; Mrs. Mary Slocum Murphy, Converse, IN; George Slocum Bennett, Wilkes Barre, PA; Joseph Slocum Chahoon, Philadelphia, PA; Mrs. Elizabeth Slocum Rogers, Philadelphia, PA; Frank Slocum, Minneapolis, MI; Frank L. Slocum, Pittsburg, PA; Frank Slocum Litzenberger, Middletown, IN; Levi D. Slocum, Carbondale, PA; Joseph W. Slocum, Scranton, PA; Joseph A. Kenny, Converse, IN; and James F. Stutesman, Peru, IN. |
 |
On the
monument; East
face: "Frances Slocum, a child of English descent, was born
in Warwick,
R. I. March 4th, 1773, was carried into captivity from her father's
house
at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., November 2, 1778, by Delaware Indians soon after
the Wyoming Massacre. Her brothers gave persistent search, but did not
find her until September 21, 1837."
West face: "Frances Slocum became a stranger to her mother tongue. She became a stranger to her brethren, and an alien to her mother's children, through her captivity. (See Psalm lxix., 8.) This monument was erected by Slocums and others who deemed it a pleasure to contribute, and was unveiled by them with public ceremonies May 17th, 1900." North face: "When, inclined by a published letter describing an aged white woman in the Miami Indian village here, two brothers and a sister visited this place and the identified her. She lived near here about thirty-two years with the Indian name Ma-con-a-qua. She died on this ridge March 9, 1847, and was given a Christian burial." South face:
"She-po-con-ah, a Miami Indian Chief,
husband of Frances Slocum - 'Ma-con-a-quah', died here in 1833 (?) at
an
advanced age. Their adult children were: 'Ke-ke-nok-esh-wah,' wife of
Rev.
Jean Baptiste Brouillette, died March 13th, 1847, aged 47 years,
leaving
no children. |
 |
The Frances Slocum Indiana Historical Marker located at the intersection of CRs 650 West and 900 South, southwest of Wabash, Wabash County, is inscribed, "Captured as a child by the Delaware Indians in 1778 from her Pennsylvania home, she grew up with the Indians, married a Miami chief, and lived in Indiana till her death, 1847."
The "Seven Pillars" as they are known, is a creation of nature formed many centuries ago in the sandstone along the Mississinewa River, several miles southeast of Peru, Miami County, Indiana. On the north side of the river, the Frances Slocum Trail, passes above them.
During hundreds of years, the waters of the river at various stages, carved out the formations and inner chambers as they now exist. The pillars appear to rise anywhere from 30 to 50 feet, depending on low water.
The chambers or "rooms" contained inside, at one time were used by the Miami Indians for council meetings and other events. It has also been suggested the trading post, at one time located here due to easy access from the river.
The
story of Frances Slocum, Continued
Native
Languages of the Americas: including Miami-Illinois
Biography
of Frances Slocum: The Lost Sister of Wyoming,
by John F. Meginness,
1891
Paintings
by George
Winter
of
Frances Slocum
Newspaper
article: The
Story of Frances Slocum,
"The
Lost Sister Story"
Also
available at http://incass-inmiami.org/miami/fslocum.html
Copyrighted By Ralph W. Robinson, II.
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