Eli Seavey Ricker (April 29, 1843 - May 17, 1926) was a corporal serving the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, newspaper editor, rancher, judge, and activist known for his support of

Native Americans Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

and other social causes. He was one of the first historians to recognize the validity of the Native American views.

Biography

Ricker was born in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

in 1843. He later moved to

Knoxville, Illinois Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,911 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area. Description Knoxville is located just southeast of the City of Galesburg. T ...

, and was 17 years old when the

began. Ricker had been working as a journalist for a number of years already, reporting for the ''Knox County Observer'' and ''Galesburg Free Press.'' He enlisted in 1862, and served as a corporal in the 102nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the war, which took part in Sherman's March to the Sea. He also wrote for newspapers back home giving an account of the war. After the war, Ricker became a newspaper owner and editor in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

as well as a county judge. He is most well known for his progressive views on Native Americans and the more than fifty interviews he did with various Native Americans, as well as scouts and settlers, recording various eyewitness accounts on events during the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...

in the west, such as the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Si ...

and the

Wounded Knee Massacre The Wounded Knee Massacre, also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee, involved nearly three hundred Lakota people killed by soldiers of the United States Army. More than 250 people of the Lakota were killed and 51 wounded (4 men and 47 women a ...

. He recorded this information for a book he planned on writing to be entitled "The Final Conflict between the Red Men and the Palefaces." Ricker recorded more than 1,500 pages on ruled tablets which came to be known as the "Ricker Tablets". He never got around to writing his book but the information he gathered, many first hand accounts of historical events, is considered an invaluable historical resource for documenting the history of the American West. These tablets are now in the archives of the

Nebraska State Historical Society Nebraska State Historical Society, formerly History Nebraska, is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information ... and to embrace alike aboriginal and modern history." It w ...

.Give me eighty men: women and the myth of the Fetterman Fight By Shannon D. Smith p. 172 Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (June 1, 2008) Language: English His wife, Mary, burned to death in the couples' home in February 1925. Ricker died on May 17, 1926, at his home on Ouray Avenue in Colorado.

References

Union army soldiers 1926 deaths 1843 births County judges in the United States Editors of Nebraska newspapers Farmers from Illinois American historians Activists for Native American rights American Indigenous rights activists American activist journalists Activists from Maine Activists from Nebraska Activists from Illinois Iowa lawyers Nebraska lawyers Nebraska Democrats United States Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel Journalists from Nebraska Journalists from Maine Journalists from Illinois American Christian Scientists {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub