Eleazer Williams (May 1788 – August 28, 1858) was a Canadian-American

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people (Kanien’kehá:ka), an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language (Kanien’kéha), the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a ...

descent. In later years he claimed that he was the French "Lost Dauphin," a claim that made him a pretender to the throne of France. Williams was born in Sault St. Louis,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, the son of Thomas Williams, and was educated at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. He published tracts and a spelling book in the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

language, translated the ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

'' into Iroquois, and wrote a biography of Chief Te-ho-ra-gwa-ne-gen (Thomas Williams).

Missionary career

In 1815, Williams joined the Episcopal Church. In 1817, Bishop

John Henry Hobart John Henry Hobart (September 14, 1775 – September 12, 1830) was the third Episcopal bishop of New York (1816–1830). He vigorously promoted the extension of the Episcopal Church in upstate New York, as well as founded both the General T ...

appointed Williams to be a missionary to the

Oneida people The Oneida people ( ; wikt:autonym, autonym: Onʌyoteˀa·ká·, Onyota'a:ka, ''the People of the Upright Stone, or standing stone'', ''Thwahrù·nęʼ'' in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native Ameri ...

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

. In 1820 and 1821, Williams led delegations of Native Americans to

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

, where they secured a cession of land from the

Menominee The Menominee ( ; meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recognized tribe of Na ...

and

Winnebago Winnebago can refer to: * The exonym of the Ho-Chunk tribe of Native North Americans with reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin ** Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a federally recognized tribe group in the state ** The Winnebago language of the ...

tribes in the Fox River Valley at

Little Chute Little Chute is a village in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,619 at the 2020 census. It is immediately east of the city of Appleton, Wisconsin and runs along the Fox River. It is a part of the Appleton, Wisco ...

and along Duck Creek. Historians have disputed the significance of Williams' leadership to this migration compared to that of the Oneida people themselves, including Oneida leader

Daniel Bread Daniel Bread (March 27, 1800 – July 23, 1873) was an Oneida political and cultural leader who helped the Oneida preserve their culture while adapting to new realities during their transplantation from New York to Wisconsin (known then as Michig ...

. The following year Williams made his home there and was married to a Menominee woman named Madeleine Jourdain. In 1826 he was ordained a deacon. In 1839 and afterwards, Williams began to make the claim that he was the French "

Lost Dauphin Louis XVII (born Louis Charles, Duke of Normandy; 27 March 1785 – 8 June 1795) was the younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. His older brother, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, died in June 1789, a little over a ...

". During the 1850s he openly became a pretender to the throne of France, but he died in poverty at

Hogansburg, New York Hogansburg () is a hamlet, in the Town of Bombay, in Franklin County, New York, United States. It lies on NY 37 near the Canadian-US border at the confluence of the St. Regis River with the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Hogansburg borders the St. Reg ...

. Williams was buried at Saint James' Cemetery in Hogansburg on August 28, 1858. In 1947, his remains and tombstone were moved to Holy Apostles Cemetery in

Oneida, Wisconsin Oneida is an unincorporated community and former census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Oneida, Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,070 at the 2000 census. At the census, part of the CDP lay within the Town ...

. His tombstone at Oneida indicates that he was a Freemason.

Legacy

Williams' plot of of land at his Wisconsin home was designated Lost Dauphin State Park by the state. It was later taken off the list of state parks and the house was burned. It remains designated as

Lost Dauphin Park Lost Dauphin State Park is a state park in Brown County, Wisconsin. It is located on the land that Lost Dauphin claimant Eleazer Williams lived in the mid-19th-century. The park became a state park in 1947. It was removed from the list of sta ...

with the land remaining state owned. The

flagstone Flagstone (flag) is a generic flat Rock (geology), stone, sometimes cut in regular rectangular or square shape and usually used for Sidewalk, paving slabs or walkways, patios, flooring, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstone ...

foundation of the house remains visible.

Publications

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Citations

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Eleazer 1788 births 1858 deaths 18th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 19th-century Canadian biographers Canadian Christian religious leaders Canadian Mohawk people American Episcopal clergy People from Green Bay, Wisconsin History of New York (state) History of Wisconsin Dartmouth College alumni American Freemasons People from Franklin County, New York Louis XVII impostors 18th-century Canadian male writers 18th-century Canadian writers 19th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male biographers