Elias Cornelius Boudinot
E. C. Boudinot | |
---|---|
Delegate to the C.S. House of Representatives from the Cherokee Nation's at-large district | |
In office February 18, 1862 – May 10, 1865 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Elias Cornelius Boudinot August 1, 1835 New Echota, Cherokee Nation (present-day Gordon County, Georgia), U.S. |
Died | September 27, 1890 Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. | (aged 55)
Resting place | Oak Cemetery, Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. 35°22′10.3″N 94°24′06.8″W / 35.369528°N 94.401889°W |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Clara C. Boudinot (m. 1885) |
Parent(s) | Elias Boudinot (father) Harriet Boudinot (mother) |
Relatives | Stand Watie (uncle) |
Education | Burr Seminary |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Confederate States |
Branch | Confederate States Army |
Years of service | 1861–1862 |
Rank | Major |
Unit | 2d Cherokee Mounted Rifles |
Battles | |
Elias Cornelius Boudinot (August 1, 1835 – September 27, 1890) was an American politician, lawyer, newspaper editor, and co-founder of the Arkansan who served as the delegate to the
He was the mixed-race son of
Following the Civil War, Boudinot participated in negotiations of the Southern Cherokee with the United States before the tribe was reunited; he was part of the Cherokee delegation to the US. In 1868 he and his uncle
He was active in politics and society in the
Early life and education
Born August 1, 1835, at
His parents named this son Elias Cornelius Boudinot, after the missionary Elias Cornelius, who had selected his father to attend the Foreign Mission School in Connecticut. Elias was the fifth of six children.[3] The year the boy was born, his father and other leaders had signed the Treaty of New Echota, ceding the remainder of Cherokee lands in the Southeast in exchange for removal to Indian Territory and lands west of the Mississippi River. Boudinot's mother Harriet died in 1836, several months after her seventh child was stillborn. The family moved to Indian Territory prior to the forced removal of 1838.
In 1839, when Boudinot was four years old, his father and other Treaty Party leaders were assassinated by Cherokee opponents for having given up the communal tribal lands, which was considered a capital offense. His uncle Stand Watie survived an attack the same day. For their safety, Boudinot and his siblings were sent back to Connecticut to their mother's family. The Golds ensured the children received good educations. As a youth, Boudinot studied engineering in Manchester, Vermont.[3]
Career
In 1851 at age eighteen, Boudinot returned West and taught school briefly. In 1853 he settled in Fayetteville, Arkansas near the Cherokee, and renewed contact with his uncle Stand Watie. He studied as a legal apprentice and passed the bar in 1856 in Arkansas.[4] His first notable victory as a lawyer was defending his uncle Stand Watie against murder charges. Watie had killed James Foreman, one of the attackers of Major Ridge, Watie's uncle. Major Ridge, his son John Ridge and Boudinot's father had all been assassinated in 1839. Watie had survived the attack. Boudinot wanted to revive his family's prominence among the Cherokee.[3]
In Arkansas, Boudinot became active as a pro-
American Civil War
The following year Boudinot was chosen as the chairman of the Arkansas Democratic State Central Committee and monitored rising tensions in the country. In 1861, he served as the secretary of the
Later years
Following the war, Boudinot and his uncle Stand Watie started a
Boudinot continued to be active in politics and society in Indian Territory after the war. He helped attract
He also spent time lobbying the federal government in Washington, DC. Among his activities was lobbying for the railroads. Congress passed a bill in 1873 to provide financial relief for Boudinot. However, this bill was pocket vetoed by President
He also practiced law in Arkansas with the politician Robert Ward Johnson (1814-1879), who had been elected to both houses of Congress before the Civil War. Boudinot was active politically on issues related to the Indian Territory. He frequently spoke on the lecture circuit about Cherokee issues and development in the West, and was considered a prominent orator.[3] Boudinot contributed to the eventual formation of the state of Oklahoma in the early twentieth century. Many Cherokee and others of the Five Civilized Tribes had first tried to gain passage of legislation to found a state to be controlled by Native Americans.[3] He continued his work as an attorney. He died at the age of 55 of dysentery in Fort Smith on September 27, 1890. He is buried in Oak Cemetery.[6]
Personal life
Boudinot did not marry until 1885, when he was 50. He married Clara Minear; they had no children. After their marriage, they moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, and lived there for the rest of their years.
References
- Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 978-0-393-34237-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8032-3752-0.
- ^ a b John Reyhner, Review: Elias Cornelius Boudinot: A Life on the Cherokee Border, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 111, No. 1, July 2007, accessed 7 August 2012
- ^ Presidential Vetoes, 1789-1988 (PDF). U.S. Senate. p. 46.
- ^ a b Thomas Burnell Colbert, "Elias Cornelius Boudinot", Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 2009, accessed 7 August 2012
Further reading
- Adams, John D. Elias Cornelius Boudinot: In Memoriam, Chicago: Rand McNally, 1890.
- Colbert, Thomas Burnell. Prophet of Progress: The Life and Times of Elias Cornelius Boudinot, PhD diss., Oklahoma State University, 1982.
- Sharon O'Brien (February 2000). "Boudinot, Elias Cornelius". American National Biography Online. Retrieved June 7, 2006.
- ———. "Visionary or Rogue: The Life and Legacy of Elias Cornelius Boudinot," Chronicles of Oklahoma 65 (Fall 1987): 268–281.