John Tecumseh Jones facts for kids
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John Tecumseh “Tauy” Jones (1800-1873) was an important Chippewa leader and businessman. He worked as an interpreter for the Pottawatomie tribe in Kansas. He was also a leader and a Baptist minister for the Ottawa tribe. Jones was a friend of abolitionist John Brown, who worked to end slavery. He also helped start Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas.
Early Life and Education
John Tecumseh Jones was born in Canada in 1808. His father was of British background, and his mother was Chippewa. When he was very young, Jones lived with his sister and her husband on Mackinac Island in Michigan.
While there, he met a ship captain named Connor. Jones traveled with Captain Connor to Detroit and lived with his family. This is where he learned to speak English and French. After Mrs. Connor passed away, Jones was taken in by Baptists. In the 1820s, they helped him attend a Baptist mission school called Carey Mission. This school was then part of Michigan, but it is now in Indiana. He studied there for about four or five years and relearned Indigenous languages.
After mission school, Jones went to what is now Colgate University in New York. He left after almost four years because of his health. Then, he taught for a year at the Choctaw Academy in Kentucky. Later, he visited his sister and worked as an interpreter in Sault Ste. Marie.
Moving to Kansas and Building a Home
In 1838, John Tecumseh Jones moved to Kansas. He worked as an interpreter and leader for the Pottawatomie tribe. He also worked with Rev. Jotham Meeker, who was a Baptist missionary and printer.
In 1840, Jones married Rachel Littleman, who was from the Stockbridge–Munsee Community. After she passed away, he married Jane Kelly in 1845. She was a missionary from Maine.
In 1848, Jones bought a trading post on what is now called Tauy Creek. He built a house and a hotel there. This place became a main stop for travelers between Fort Leavenworth and Fort Scott. Jones supported the Free State cause, which was against slavery. He was also a friend of John Brown. Because of his views, people who supported slavery from Missouri burned his house in 1856. Then, his next house on the same spot was also burned. In 1862, he began building a third house on the site. This was a large stone home, now known as the Tauy Jones House. He hired Damon Higbie to help build it.
Leadership with the Ottawa Tribe and Ottawa University
Starting in the 1840s, John Tecumseh Jones was adopted into the Ottawa tribe. He became an important leader for them. This is how he got his nickname "Tauy," which is a shorter version of "Ottawa."
In 1860, while representing the Ottawa tribe, Jones suggested starting a school. He wanted it to be for both white and Native American students. This idea eventually led to the creation of Ottawa University. Jones was very involved with the school until he passed away in 1873. He was buried in the Indian cemetery northeast of Ottawa. The oldest building at Ottawa University, Tauy Jones Hall, is named after him.
