Jesse Chisholm ( 1805 – March 4, 1868) was a
Scotch-
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
fur trader and merchant in the American West. Chisholm is known for having scouted and developed what became known as the
Chisholm Trail, later used to
drive cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas in the second half of the 19th century.
Chisholm used this trail to supply his
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...
s among the Native American tribes in
Indian Territory
Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...
(present-day
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
). He worked with
Black Beaver, a
Lenape
The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada.
The Lenape's historica ...
guide, to develop the route. Chisholm died before the peak period of the cattle drives, but he was essential to numerous events in Texas and Oklahoma history. Chisholm served as an interpreter for the
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
and the United States government in treaty-making with Native American tribes.
Early life and education
Chisholm's father, Ignatius, was of
Scottish descent and probably also a trader, and his mother Martha (née Rogers) was a
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
from the region of
Great Hiwassee in eastern Tennessee. As the Cherokee had
matrilineal kinship, Jesse was considered to belong to his mother's people. Chisholm moved with his mother to the
Indian Territory
Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...
during the early period when some Cherokee migrated there voluntarily from the Southeast, and grew up in Cherokee culture.
Career
In 1826, Chisholm became involved in working for a gold-seeking party, who blazed a trail and explored the region to present-day
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...
. In 1830, Chisholm helped blaze a trail from
Fort Gibson to
Fort Towson. In 1834, Chisholm was a member of the
Dodge-Leavenworth Expedition, who first contacted the southern Plains Indians on behalf of the United States federal government.
In 1836, Chisholm married Eliza Edwards. They resided in the area of her father's trading post on the
Little River near its confluence with the
Canadian River in Indian Territory. Chisholm worked as a trader.
Fluent in thirteen Native American languages and Spanish, Chisholm served as an interpreter and general aid in several treaties between the
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
and local Indian tribes and between the United States federal government and various tribes after Texas was admitted to the Union. This diplomatic work spanned 20 years between 1838 and 1858. During this period, Chisholm also continued in the Indian trade, trading manufactured goods for peltry and cattle.
He mostly remained neutral 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 ...
. Many residents of the Indian Territory feared they might be massacred, either intentionally or as an accident of war, if either side attempted to contend for control of the territory. Chisholm led a band of refugees to the western part of the territory. For some time, they suffered privation, as trade had also dried up during the war.
At the war's end, Chisholm settled permanently near present-day
Kingfisher, Oklahoma, and again began to trade in the Indian Territory. Chisholm built up what had previously been a military and Indian trail into a road capable of carrying heavy wagons for his goods. This road later became known as Chisholm's Trail. When the Texas-to-Kansas
cattle drives
Droving is the practice of walking livestock over long distances. It is a type of herding, often associated with cattle, in which case it is a cattle drive (particularly in the US). Droving stock to market—usually on foot and often with the ...
started, the users of the trail renamed it the
Chisholm Trail.
Death and legacy
Chisholm died on March 4, 1868, at his last camp near
Left Hand Spring (now Oklahoma), due to food poisoning. Chisholm was buried there.
In 1974, Chisholm was inducted into the
Hall of Great Westerners.
His grave site in
Blaine County, Oklahoma is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chisholm, Jesse
1868 deaths
Chisholm, Jesse
People from Indian Territory
American people of Scottish descent
19th-century American people
Year of birth uncertain