Post by writespretty on Jun 18, 2013 8:17:25 GMT -5
This is for anyone who might be interested to know the results of my search for a man named "Big Nose" who was a Brule Sioux living on the Rosebud during the time my husband's ancestors settled in Gregory County, South Dakota. Even though one person with far more expertise than me, was quite discouraging concerning my quest to find documentation of this man and his wife, I kept at it. I did not find out his wife's name. But,I hope someday I will.
The only official document that ever recorded this man (that I was able to find), was the 1910 census. I posted that information in a previous discussion.
But, there were other people who remembered him. One was my husband's grandmother. The others were people who lived in Gregory County, and they told their stories to Adeline Gnirk, who published several books about the history of that area.
The following are those remembrances:
"The Reinoehl house built of chalk rock by Perry [sic] Reinoehl is 2 1/2 stories high, 24 feet by 24 feet in dimension, with a full basement constructed of the same material.
Mr. Reinoehl squatted on this site in 1890 and built a sod house for his family. They moved from Norfolk, Neb. and their son Roy was born June 1891. Big Nose had an Indian allotment north of Wilbur Neilan (the Willoughby place) where this rock lay in layers. It was chopped out and hauled to the location. Mr. Reinoehl paid the Indian for the rock in produce."
Saga of the Missouri River Reveille by Adeline Gnirk, published 1981 by Gregory Times Advocate, p. 240-241
In the biographical sketch of Henry Schriever, this information about Big Nose was given:
"Their neighbors were Crilley, Bill Horn, Willoughby, Frank Pinkcom, Ekleberry, Will Smith, John Crook, and Whitings. Big Nose, an Indian lived northwest of the Schriever homestead. He cut fence posts from the timber and for his pay he was given some produce or meat."
ibid, p. 386
There was also a photo of Big Nose with Alexander Zorba in Adeline Gnirk's book "The Saga of Ponca Land." This was posted previously. There was also a photograph of him, owned by the Nebraska State Historical Society. This was also posted on this website.
I finished the illustrated book, entitled "The Brown Crayon, and Other Recollections of Susie Ekleberry Havens." I was unable to find a photograph of Big Nose's wife, so I made several drawings of her.
This is how I ended the story:
"Many people live and die without leaving much behind. For someone who was largely undocumented by today's standards, Big Nose and his wife did leave traces of their lives. They particularly impacted our family through the eyes of a little girl who remembered them in a story about a brown crayon."
Thank you to those of you who helped me and answered my questions, and gave encouragement.
Jayne Wiese
"WritesPretty"
The only official document that ever recorded this man (that I was able to find), was the 1910 census. I posted that information in a previous discussion.
But, there were other people who remembered him. One was my husband's grandmother. The others were people who lived in Gregory County, and they told their stories to Adeline Gnirk, who published several books about the history of that area.
The following are those remembrances:
"The Reinoehl house built of chalk rock by Perry [sic] Reinoehl is 2 1/2 stories high, 24 feet by 24 feet in dimension, with a full basement constructed of the same material.
Mr. Reinoehl squatted on this site in 1890 and built a sod house for his family. They moved from Norfolk, Neb. and their son Roy was born June 1891. Big Nose had an Indian allotment north of Wilbur Neilan (the Willoughby place) where this rock lay in layers. It was chopped out and hauled to the location. Mr. Reinoehl paid the Indian for the rock in produce."
Saga of the Missouri River Reveille by Adeline Gnirk, published 1981 by Gregory Times Advocate, p. 240-241
In the biographical sketch of Henry Schriever, this information about Big Nose was given:
"Their neighbors were Crilley, Bill Horn, Willoughby, Frank Pinkcom, Ekleberry, Will Smith, John Crook, and Whitings. Big Nose, an Indian lived northwest of the Schriever homestead. He cut fence posts from the timber and for his pay he was given some produce or meat."
ibid, p. 386
There was also a photo of Big Nose with Alexander Zorba in Adeline Gnirk's book "The Saga of Ponca Land." This was posted previously. There was also a photograph of him, owned by the Nebraska State Historical Society. This was also posted on this website.
I finished the illustrated book, entitled "The Brown Crayon, and Other Recollections of Susie Ekleberry Havens." I was unable to find a photograph of Big Nose's wife, so I made several drawings of her.
This is how I ended the story:
"Many people live and die without leaving much behind. For someone who was largely undocumented by today's standards, Big Nose and his wife did leave traces of their lives. They particularly impacted our family through the eyes of a little girl who remembered them in a story about a brown crayon."
Thank you to those of you who helped me and answered my questions, and gave encouragement.
Jayne Wiese
"WritesPretty"