Electa Quinney facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Electa Quinney
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Quinney around age 60
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| Born |
Electa Quinney
1798 |
| Died | 1885 |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Electa W. Quinney, Electa W. Adams, Electa W. Candy |
| Occupation | teacher |
| Years active | 1821–1844 |
| Known for | first woman to teach in what would become Wisconsin |
Electa Quinney (Mahican name: Wuh-weh-wee-nee-meew Quan-au-kaunt) (1798 – 1885) was a Mohican woman and a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. She made history by starting one of the very first schools in the area that would later become Wisconsin. She was also the first woman to teach in a public school in that region.
Contents
Electa Quinney's Early Life
Electa Quinney was born around 1798 in Clinton, New York. She belonged to the Housatonic or Stockbridge tribe.
She received a good education for her time. She spent four years at a Quaker school on Long Island, New York. Later, she studied at the Clinton Female Seminary in Clinton, which opened in 1814. She also spent six years at a women's seminary in Cornwall, Connecticut.
Electa was the sister of John Wannuaucon Quinney. He was a leader who guided their tribe when they moved west from New York to the Menominee lands. Her father was likely Joseph Quinney, a tribal leader called a sachem. Her mother, Margaret, was the daughter of another Stockbridge sachem, David Nau-nau-neek-nuk.
Her Career as a Teacher
Around 1821, after finishing her education, Electa Quinney began teaching. She taught at a mission school in New York for six years.
Starting a School in Wisconsin
Around 1827, Electa moved west. By 1828, she had opened a school in Statesburg, near Grande Kawkawlin. This was a very important step! Her school was the first public school in Wisconsin. This made Electa Quinney the first woman to teach in a public school in that part of the Michigan Territory.
She taught about 40 to 50 students in a log schoolhouse. This school was connected to a Presbyterian mission. Most of her students were Native American. They learned in English, using regular school books. She taught subjects like arithmetic, geography, language, public speaking, handwriting, and spelling.
Teaching with the Methodists
In 1832, the Methodist church reconnected with the Oneida Nation after they moved to Wisconsin. Their first missionary, Daniel Adams, who was a Canadian Mohawk, started a mission school near Green Bay. Electa Quinney became the first teacher there in the same year.
Around 1835, Electa and Daniel Adams got married. They moved to Missouri. They had three sons: Alexander (born 1838), Daniel (born 1840), and John C. Adams (born 1843). John C. Adams later became a politician. He worked hard to change the 1871 Stockbridge-Munsee constitution, and his efforts finally succeeded in 1893.
Daniel Adams worked with the Seneca Indians. They lived on the Neosho River in the Missouri Territory. Later, they moved to a part of the Cherokee Reservation. Daniel passed away in 1843. Electa continued to work for the Methodist Mission Service.
Later Life and Family
Electa married a second time to John Walker Candy. He was a Cherokee newspaper editor. His Cherokee name was Dâguwadâ. John had started his career as a printer in New Echota, Georgia. He worked on the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper.
John and Electa married on Christmas Day in 1845. They were in the Seneca lands. John continued working at the Union Mission press until 1847. He then worked at the Cherokee Advocate when it started in Tahlequah. By 1855, he became the printer for the Baptist Mission Press.
By 1860, Electa and John had returned to Wisconsin. They were living in Stockbridge. John passed away in 1868 near Webbers Falls, Indian Territory. In 1880, Electa was living in Stockbridge with her son John.
Electa Quinney passed away in 1885 in Stockbridge, Wisconsin. She is buried in the Stockbridge Indian Cemetery. This cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Even though her headstone is missing, her legacy lives on. The Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee was named in her honor.
