Josephine Meeker
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Josephine Meeker (January 28, 1857 – December 20, 1882), was a teacher and
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
at the White River Indian Agency in
Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado. The territory was organized ...
, where her father
Nathan Meeker Nathan Cook Meeker (July 12, 1817 – September 30, 1879) was a 19th-century American journalist, Homestead Acts, homesteader, entrepreneur, and Indian agent for the Federal government of the United States, federal government. He is noted for h ...
was the United States (US)
agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...
. On September 29, 1879, he and 10 of his male employees were killed in a Ute attack, in what became known as the
Meeker Massacre Meeker Massacre, or Meeker Incident, White River War, Ute War, or the Ute Campaign), took place on September 29, 1879 in Colorado. Members of a band of Ute people, Ute Indians (Native Americans of the United States, Native Americans) attacked t ...
. Josephine, her mother Arvilla Meeker, and Mrs. Shadruck Price and her two children were taken captive and held hostage by the
Ute tribe Ute () are an Indigenous people of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau in present-day Utah, western Colorado, and northern New Mexico.Pritkzer''A Native American Encyclopedia'' p. 242 Historically, their territory also included parts of Wyomi ...
for 23 days. Following the rescue of the hostages, Meeker recounted her experiences at a public hearing. General Charles Adams, of the Colorado Militia that arranged the captives' release, conducted an official investigation of the incident. Josephine Meeker's testimony provides keen insight into the experiences a white woman underwent as an Indian captive. She was the last celebrated white captive of Native Americans.Brown, p.11 Working for some time in Washington, D.C., and then for Senator Henry Moore Teller in Colorado, Meeker died young at age 25 of a pulmonary infection.


Early life and education

Born in
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, Josephine Meeker was the youngest of the five children of Nathan Cook Meeker and Arvilla Delight Smith. She had two brothers, Ralph and George, and two sisters, Rozene and Mary. In 1870, at the age of 13, she moved with her family to the Union Colony in
Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States census, an increase of 17.12% since the ...
, a
utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', which describes a fictional island soci ...
agricultural settlement which her father had founded. Shortly after their arrival, her brother George died of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. In her youth she was considered "a bit of a
tomboy A tomboy is a girl or young woman who generally expresses masculine traits. Such traits may include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in activities and behaviors traditionally associated with boys or men. Origins The w ...
". Riding astride rather than using the
side-saddle Sidesaddle riding is a form of equestrianism that uses a type of saddle that allows riders, generally female, to sit aside rather than astride an equine. Sitting aside dates back to antiquity and developed in European countries in the Middle Ag ...
recommended for women, she was said to challenge boys to horse races in the road. After high school, Meeker returned to Ohio to complete her education at
Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...
. After graduation, Meeker returned to Colorado and the White River Indian Agency, where her father had been appointed US Indian agent. Meeker wanted to improve the conditions of the Utes. In July 1878, she was described as having been intelligent, tall, and slender with shoulder-length dark blonde hair. Assisting her father, she was listed on the agency rolls as a teacher and physician, earning $750 (~$ in ) a year. Meeker established a school for the Ute children.


Ute uprising and Meeker Massacre

Nathan Meeker was trying to convert the Ute to farming and
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, both of which they resisted. They were dependent on horses, hunting game, and
nomadism Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, Nomadic pastoralism, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and Merchant, trader nomads. In the twentieth century, ...
. White settlers had been encroaching on Ute lands for decades, and the Utes' resentment grew as the game declined. When Meeker plowed up one of the Utes' horse race tracks, he quarreled with a Ute. Meeker sent a request to
Rawlins, Wyoming Rawlins is a city in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,221 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Carbon County. It was named for Union General John Aaron Rawlins, who camped in the locality in 1867. Demograph ...
, asking for soldiers to guard the agency. On September 21, 1879, Major Thomas Thornburg left Fort Steele with 190 men. On September 29, the Utes learned of the approaching army and ambushed Major Thornburg and his men at Milk Creek, killing 13 men, including Thornburg and all the officers above the rank of captain; another 25 were wounded. A man got out to go for reinforcements; the survivors barricaded themselves behind their dead animals and wagons and held out until October 8, when help arrived. The Utes then attacked the agency, killing Nathan Meeker and 10 of his employees. They took as captives and hostages Josephine and her mother, along with Mrs. Shaduck Price and two of her children. The Utes held the captives at a remote mountain camp. The Ute warrior Persune had taken Josephine as his captive and had to fight with Douglas, another warrior who wanted her. Persune refused to give up Meeker, keeping her with him throughout her captivity. His other wives helped her begin to adapt. Persune and the Utes regarded Josephine as his wife, according to their conventions of captives. According to her later testimony, she was raped by Persune in his tent in the presence of his wives. To pass the time, Meeker made a dress from a blanket given her by the Utes. (The dress is on exhibit in the downtown Greeley History Museum, Colorado.) One Ute woman, Shawsheen, along with her husband, adamantly advocated for the release of the captives and their safety. Josephine Meeker said of her captivity, "We all owe our lives to the sister of Chief Ouray..."


Rescue

On October 21, the pioneer women and children were rescued by Charles Adams, a general of the Colorado
Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
. He was a longtime friend of
Chief Ouray Ouray (, c. 1833 – August 20, 1880) was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Tribal chief, chief of the Ute people#Northern Ute Tribe (Uinta Utes), Tabeguache (Uncompahgre) band of the Ute Tribe, Ute tribe, then located in we ...
and the
Uncompahgre Ute The Uncompahgre Ute () or ꞌAkaꞌ-páa-gharʉrʉ Núuchi (also: Ahkawa Pahgaha Nooch) is a band of the Ute people, Ute, a Native American tribe located in the US states of Colorado and Utah. In the Ute language, means "rocks that make water re ...
s, who were not involved in the Meeker Massacre. Ouray's wife
Chipeta Chipeta or White Singing Bird (1843 or 1844 – August 9, 1924) was a Native American leader, and the second wife of Chief Ouray of the Uncompahgre Ute tribe. Born a Kiowa Apache, she was raised by the Utes in what is now Conejos, Colorado. A ...
was instrumental in obtaining the release of the captives. Adams together with three of his men and some Uncompahgres went to the Utes' camp. When he met Josephine, he shook her hand and told her that he had come to take her back if she would go. The former captives were escorted to
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
where Meeker was interviewed by Dr. Avery, a female physician. On November 4 at Greeley, General Adams conducted an official investigation into the massacre and the women's captivity. After having been sworn in, Meeker described in intimate detail her relationship with Persune in captivity. In 1880, the US Congress held an inquiry into the massacre, at which Chief Ouray, Chipeta, and General Adams testified at the hearing. Before Adams took Meeker away from the camp, Persune promised that she would not have to perform any domestic tasks if she would stay with him as his wife. He offered her all his possessions and wept when she rejected him. He was said to continue to love her.Jacob Piatt Dunn, ''Massacres of the Mountains: A History of the Indian Wars of the Far West''
Boston: Harper & Brothers, 1886, accessed 20 Dec 2010
Meeker left Colorado shortly after her rescue and went to work in Washington, D.C. There she worked for a time as a copyist for the Office of Indian Affairs. Returning to Colorado, she became a secretary for US Senator Henry Moore Teller. She often gave lectures about the Utes and her experiences in various eastern cities.


Death

Meeker died on December 20, 1882, at the age of 25 of a
pulmonary The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...
infection (
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
).Brown, p.24 The following inscription on her tombstone was written by her mother:
"Born Jany 28, 1857 Died December 20, 1882
Brave daughter who with me escaped foul death
while captive in thy noble father slayers' hands
A stealthier foe has filched thy sweet young breath
while lonely here I watch life's failing sands."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeker, Josephine 1857 births 1882 deaths American folklore People from Lorain County, Ohio People from Greeley, Colorado Oberlin College alumni Captives of Native Americans Deaths from pneumonia in Colorado