Agent Thomas Twiss

[corbintwiss]

There are many modern decendants. My Great Grandmother Hattie Twiss founded the Oglala Lakota College in Kyle SD. Many of the Twiss' still reside close to Pine Ridge and some in Santee NE.

[hoppinglizzard]

I just recently heard this story from a cousin and that my great grandfather Steven Lyman Twiss was after to many children with a Blackfeet woman in that same area

[twiss1912]

Nov 25, 2010 4:06:03 GMT -5 kingsleybray said:

dianeb

thank you so much for posting your detailed genealogical information on the Twiss family. As I mentioned on another thread, I feel there must be a Twiss family trunk somewhere with letters and memorabilia sent by Thomas S. from the Upper Platte Agency.

I have read something about Thomas's NY state wife and daughters, very intellectual radical women in women's rights and so on. I always wondered what they knew about the other family out west! It's the subject for a great novel I've always thought.

Kingsley

[dontalkingbear]

Great to find this wonderful site relating much of our heritage. My mother was Louis Mary Twiss, the daughter of Charles Twiss and Louise Rouleau, son and daughter of Major Thomas S. Twiss and Charles Rouleau, respectively. Rulo, Nebraska is the namesake of my great-grandfather. I am one of a few great-grand-sons/daughters of Thomas Twiss and Mary Standing Elk still registered. My mother left the Pine Ridge Reservation as a youngster to attend Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kansas and then settled in Kansas City. We visited the Res frequently in my youth. Most recently, I have visited yearly to enjoy my heritage.

[Dietmar]

Don, great to have you and other Twiss descendants here on our site.

Greetings
Dietmar

[hreinn]

Hello Don Tallking Bear !

Do you know anything more about Mary Standing Elk ?
Do you know something more about her father and mother (for example her name) ?
Do you know something about her brothers and sisters ?

Can you confirm that Mary Standing Elk belonged to Tapislecha tiyoshpaye ?
Do you know the name of her wicoti ?
Was it her mother or father who were originally Tapislecha ?

Did Mary Standing Elk's father have a Sichangu or Skokpa roots ?

Do you know if Standing Elk who was killed in 1865 in Horse Creek Fight (Fouts's Fight) was the father of Mary Standing Elk ?
(It might have been another Standing Elk).

Was Mary Standing Elk related to High Wolf or American Horse ?

Do you know if Standing Elk or his wife were related to Pawnee Killer, Two Face or Black Foot ?

Kind regards,
Hreinn

[dontalkingbear]

Hi Hreinn, Sorry, but I don't have answers to your many questions. As I noted in my earlier post, My mother, Louis Mary (Twiss) left the reservation at a very young age and assimilated in Kansas City. Although we visited Pine Ridge in my youth to visit my numerous Twiss/Roulueau/Bissonette/Bordeaux/Cuny/Steele/Dixon relatives, I did not appreciate the rich heritage which I was part of. My mother and her ten siblings have all passed. I know I have a few first cousins still out there, but we are almost all gone. It has been in my late life that I have became much more interested in my heritage. Great job by emilylevine by chronicling the Twiss history. I have many of the same Historical records that are referenced. I just don't have much info on the Native side of the family, either the Twiss or Rouleau Indian families other than what has been chronicled in various Historical Journals.

[hreinn]

Hi again Don Talking Bear !

Thanks for your reply.
OK. I understand.
Yes, the interest in our heritage often starts at a non-ideal point in time.

When you visited Pine Ridge with your mother, you experienced an interesting period.
If I may ask.
If you look back, how did you experience the people at Pine Ridge ?
Were they proud or demoralised ?
Did they have hopes for the future ? If so, what hopes ?
How did they see the future for young people at Pine Ridge ?
Did they talk about the past, i.e. the Buffalo Times or did they avoid all such talk ?
Did people talk about spiritual matters or did they avoid all such talk ?
Was there any bitterness between full-blood Lakotas and mixed-blood Lakotas ?

Kind regards,
Hreinn

[dontalkingbear]

Hi again Hreinn, Much easier questions to answer. Obviously, I have many years to reflect on. My family visited the Pine Ridge Reservation area many times during the years from the time I was about 5 years old until I was in college; that dates back to the 50's and 60's. My life was much different than my reservation relatives. The fact that my mother assimilated offered numerous opportunities for me. My father, of English/German descent, was a avid hunter and we enjoyed the open range experience back in the day. We visited family from Martin to Pine Ridge to Manderson to Porcupine to Sharps Corner to Kyle to Rockyford to Scenic. Many of my deceased aunts, uncles, cousins were always happy to see my family. The reservation people seemed relative happy back then, being proud with guarded hopes for the future. I think they looked at my mother and I as successes and reflected that the Natives do have opportunities IF they seek them. They did not see themselves as a dependent people. I do not get the same feeling today. They ARE dependent. Back in the day, they were willing to talk about the past. Since my whole family were mixed-blood Lakotas, I didn't experience any bitterness with the full-bloods. I also remember many great experiences between the Natives and the white ranchers without bitterness. The biggest difference that I experience today versus yesteryear is the open range versus all the fencing everywhere (except for the gunnery range). In my youth, we could horseback ride all day without encountering a fence.

[hreinn]

Hi Don Talking Bear !

Thanks for your interesting reply.
Obviously warm memories.
Since your mother visited so often, it is obvious it was a mutal enjoyment, which demonstrates warm feelings between family members.

Remarkable to hear about the open range.
I would have imagined that the land had been heavily fenced earlier, i.e. around 1900.
It must have been a nice feeling to ride so freely.

Do you recall if they talked about Crazy Horse ?

Kind regards,
Hreinn

[dontalkingbear]

Hi again Hreinn,

Thanks for your nice comments. My family contacts these days are all with second or third cousins who don't relate very well to those early days of my life. Regarding fencing, it's not to say there wasn't some, but I do remember several outings as described. In fact, we sometimes participated in cattle roundups with the large white ranchers where many of the cattle were intermixed between owners because the cattle were on open range. Very interesting results!!!!
Don't remember much talk about Crazy Horse, but certainly had elders at that time that probably could have told some great stories. I have been told I am related to Kicking Bear, therefore to Crazy Horse. Don't really know?

Regards,
Don Talking Bear

[dontalkingbear]

FYI-
Additional information that I have found regarding my trunk of the Major Thomas Twiss family. My grandfather, Charles Twiss was one of the sons (including Frank and William previously discussed above) of Thomas and Mary Standing Elk. Charles Twiss married Louise Rouleau (daughter of Charles Rouleau who founded the half-breed settlement of Rulo, Nebraska). The new information includes all 11 siblings of my grandparents, Charles Twiss/Louise Rouleau family, none of which survive:

Son - Jesse Twiss had five children, Clara Edith, Darrel, Sharline, and Bernard

Daughter - Florence (Twiss) Cuny had sixteen children, Alphone, Elizabeth, Pearl, Louise, Orval, Paul, Peter, Charles, Robert, Willard, Alvin, Mary,
Isabel, Ray, Wilson and Pansy aka Sister Genevieve

Daughter - Clara (Twiss) Jensen had seven children, Oliver, Helen, Catherine, Mildred, Frederick, Raymond, and Delmar

Daughter - Lillie (Twiss) Dixon had five children, John, Jesse, Robert, Doris, and Stanley

Daughter - Naomi (Twiss) ?? had five children, Bernetta, Leroy, Lewis, Noah, and Alfonzo

Daughter - Louise Mary (Elizabeth Twiss) Schilling had two children, Carla Louise and Donald aka Don Talking Bear

Son - Robert Twiss had eleven children, Marie, Loretta, Edwina, Harold, Robert, Gloria, Raymond, Emery, Agnes, Donald, and Donna

Daughters Mary, Lizzie, Leta, and Hattie are thought to not have had any children. Yes, there were two daughters named "Mary".

Very few of the children of these Daughters/Sons are known to survive; however there are many, many great, great-great, and great-great-great grand children. Amazing, this is only one trunk of the Major Twiss tree with literally hundreds of branches.

[jeanjean2020]

Hi Don TalkingBear,

I am Donna Twiss, daughter of Robert Twiss, the youngest of his 11 kids. There are 2 of us left. I remember I was about 10 years old, my dad went to Kansas City for his sister Mary's funeral. Would that have been your mother?

[jeanjean2020]

Hi Dontalkingbear

I am Donna Twiss, youngest daughter of Robert Twiss.

[debstar76]

Hello, In the summer of 2007 we, my husband and daughter and I went to visit my new friends at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, and met a very nice and wonderful lady Sandy who worked in the Archives there at the fort,she found me a book on Agent Thomas Twiss, and send me later a copy of that book, it lists all the information of his life before and after he was stationed at the fort. That is the place to go to for more information on Maj Thomas Twiss who was also my 3rd Great Grandfather on my grandmother Josephine Toots Palmier Janis side of our family.