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Title Ely Samuel Parker's letter to his brother Nicholson, deploring the lack of unity among the Indians and advising him against joining the proposed delegation to Washington
Archival Reference Mss.497.3.P223
Sub-collection Ely Samuel Parker Papers  
Author Parker, Ely Samuel (Hasanoanda) (1828-1895)  
Date 24 Oct 1864
Document Type Correspondence
Contents A letter deploring the lack of unity among the Indians. Ely blames Dr. Wilson for the rupture with Washington, resulting from the Indians' behaviour during a visit from [Acting? Commissioner Mix. He advises Nic against having anything to do with a proposed delegation to Washington, pointing out that the country is bankrupt.
Sub-collection Information A Sachem and Civil War adjutant to Ulysses Grant, Ely Samuel Parker was an important figure in the Seneca Indian nation during the first half of the nineteenth century. Trained as an engineer, Parker was deeply involved in the Senecas' land disputes with the Ogden Land Company and he played an important role in interpreting Seneca culture for a white audience, most notably as a consultant for Lewis Henry Morgan.

Collected by Arthur C. Parker, the Ely Samuel Parker Papers include correspondence, manuscripts, and printed materials relating primarily to Seneca affairs, history, language, and culture, as well as politics, education, engineering, and the Civil War. Among Parker's correspondents were Henry Clay, Millard Fillmore, Henry M. Flagler, Lewis Henry Morgan, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, Daniel Webster, and Asher Wright. Several letters relate to Parker's service as engineer of public buildings in Galena, Illinois, and to his Masonic activities. Among the noteworthy items in the collection are several essays on Seneca history and culture, a fragment of Parker's diary, 1847, and a significant quantity of material on the Seneca language assembled by Asher Wright.
Region American East  American Midwest  
Subjects Indigenous Peoples  American Indians  Seneca People  Government and Politics  Banking and Finance  
Places Washington; City Point
People Parker, Ely Samuel (Hasanoanda) (1828-1895)  Parker, Nicholson H.  Mix, Charles E.  
Themes Indigenous Peoples
Library American Philosophical Society  
Copyright American Philosophical Society