Joseph Alexander Gilfillan (1838 – November 18, 1913) was an Episcopal

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 ...

to Native Americans of the

Ojibwa The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

Tribe on White Earth Reservation in northern

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

during 35 years from 1873 until 1908.

Biography

Joseph Alexander Gilfillan was born October 23, 1838, in Gorticross,

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

to Alexander Gilfillan and his wife Margaret. He married Harriet Woodbridge Cook April 19, 1877. He graduated from the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating ...

, New York, in 1869. From 1869 until 1873 he was rector successively of two English churches in

. From June, 1873, until, September, 1908, he served as missionary to the Ojibwas at White Earth. He worked diligently and earnestly to learn the

Ojibwe language Ojibwe ( ), also known as Ojibwa ( ), Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous la ...

, to ascertain and record the origins of place names in the areas where he worked, to perform accurate and worthy translations of the Ojibwe place names into English, and to encourage that the names so recorded continue to be used in one form or another after settlement. Gilfillan's work was cited frequently by Warren Upham in his remarkable history of place names in Minnesota, "Minnesota Place Names, A Geographical Encyclopedia." Upham characterized Gilfillan's paper "Minnesota Geographical Names Derived from the Chippewa Language" as one of the two "most important resources of information on Minnesota geographic terms of Indian origin." His wife Harriet considered life at White Earth a hardship, and often spent winters socializing in New York, occasionally in Europe. Gilfillan retired in 1908 and went to Washington, D.C. He was the chief editor of the 1911 Ojibwa edition of 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 ...

entitled "Iu Wejibuewisi Mamawi Anamiawini Mazinaigun" ("''Iw Wejibwewizi Maamawi-anami'aawini Mazina'igan''"). Gilfillan died in New York City on November 18, 1913, after a year's illness. The Minnesota Historical Society keeps a vast inventory of articles and reminiscences by Gilfillan and his wife Harriet on their missionary work; Gilfillan's translations of Ojibwe personal and place names and legends; letters (1883–1893) in Ojibwe from Ojibwe ministers and missionaries, with Gilfillan's translations; miscellaneous letters and memorabilia on Ojibwe language and culture and on church affairs; family and genealogical data; information on the erection of a monument to Gilfillan in

Itasca State Park Itasca State Park () is a state park of Minnesota, United States, and contains the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The park spans of northern Minnesota, and is located about north of Park Rapids, Minnesota and from Bagley, Minnesota. The ...

(1940); and articles by Harriet describing her work as a teacher of weaving among the Navaho Indians in 1875 and a trip on the Cumberland Canal. A Gilfillan article on the culture of Ojibwe, both Christian and non-Christian and with an emphasis on the Red Lake band, was published in Volume 9 of the Minnesota Historical Society Collections.Perseus Digital Library
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilfillan, Joseph 1838 births 1913 deaths Anglican missionaries in the United States Irish Anglican missionaries White Earth Band of Ojibwe People from County Londonderry