Chief White Cloud
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James White Cloud
From the Brown County Genealogical Society newsletter. Original URL is defunct.
James White Cloud "The-gro-wo-nung" was born May
15, 1840 near the sight of the Iowa Indian Mission east of Highland
and died July 16, 1940 at his home near White Cloud.
He attended the
Iowa Mission school at Highland and received a "fair education"
according to George Nuzum's 1906 biography of the Iowa Indians of
Kansas & Nebraska.
He fought with the Union Army in the Civil War,
served as a Scout for Company C 14th Kan. Cavalry. He killed several
men when the Union repealed Quantrill's raid at Lawrence.
The town of
White Cloud was named after his father, Chief Frank White Cloud (the
Younger "Ma-Has Kah") who was killed by an arrow in a fight with the
Pawnee Indians in 1856 (another source states Dec. 17, 1851).
His
mother, Mary Many Days Robidoux was a daughter of Joseph Robidoux,
founder of St. Joseph, MO and an Iowa Indian woman.
James White Cloud
served as Chief of the Iowa Indian Nation from 1865 till his death in
1940. One of his prized possessions was a bear claw necklace that had
been in the Iowa tribe for many years.
He was introduced to President
Roosevelt while attending a Civil War reunion at Gettysburg in 1938.
On Feb. 28, 1867, White Cloud married "Wy-to-hum-gra-mee" (Pumpkin
vine), full blooded Iowa Indian woman, married Indian Custom.
She
was born about 1848 and died Aug. 1914. Her father was Sho-tom-he and
her mother, Daw-ya-ma-mee. She could not read or write and only spoke
her native language. In later years she was known as Grandma Louise
White Cloud.
To this union was born two sons, Lewis White Cloud and
Thomas White Cloud, who died when he was two years old.
Second
marriage was to Lydia Dorian, an Iowa woman, married her Indian
Custom, about 1874, lived with her about one year, one child was born
to this union, but died when very small. During the time Jim lived
with Lydia he had his first wife, and both women lived in the same
house. Lydia separated Indian divorce, in 1875.
Third marriage was to
Sallie Dorian, a Sac Indian woman, married her Indian Custom about
1875, to this union the following children were born, Emma (White
Cloud) Little Crow and Joseph White Cloud. He lived with this Sac
woman some seven or eight years, separated, Indian divorce, about
1883.
Fourth marriage was to Josie Dorian, a Ty. Iowa Indian woman,
married her in 1884, Indian Costume. To this union one child was
born,
died in infancy. He lived with her about one year, separated Indian
divorce about 1885.
The old Indian rule was for a man to have as many
wives as he could support.
James was allocated 160 acres of land in
northeast Brown County on the Iowa Reservation, 100 acres of it was
in
cultivation. He had a three room house, small barn, well, and other
outbuildings on his allotment, and a bark house, the only one on the
Iowa reservation.
James and Louise White Cloud were buried Tesson
cemetery, near the northeast corner of Brown County. The Tesson
cemetery was so named for Joseph Tesson, brother-in law of James
White
Cloud.
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