William Whipple Warren facts for kids
William Whipple Warren (born May 27, 1825 – died June 1, 1853) was an important person in the early days of the Minnesota Territory. He was a historian, an interpreter, and a legislator (someone who helps make laws).
William had a unique background. His father was Lyman Marcus Warren, an American fur trader. His mother was Mary Cadotte, who was Ojibwe and French Métis. This meant William grew up understanding two different cultures. In the Ojibwe tradition, family lines usually followed the father. So, even though his mother was Ojibwe, he was seen as an Ojibwe "relative" rather than fully Ojibwe by some. However, he learned a lot about Ojibwe culture from his mother's family.
William Warren became the first historian to write about the Ojibwe people in a European style. He collected their oral stories and combined them with written records. Sadly, he died young at age 28 from tuberculosis. His important history book was published after he passed away in 1885.
Contents
Growing Up and Family Life
William Whipple Warren was born in 1825 in La Pointe, which is now in Wisconsin. His birthplace was on Madeline Island. His mother, Mary Cadotte, was Ojibwe. Her mother, Ikwesewe (also known as Madeline Cadotte), was from an important Ojibwe family. Mary's father, Michel Cadotte, was a major fur trader of Ojibwe-French background.
William's father, Lyman Marcus Warren, was an American fur trader. He came from a family with roots in New England.
The Ojibwe people had a system where children belonged to their father's family group. Because William's father was not Ojibwe, William didn't have a formal place in an Ojibwe clan. However, the Ojibwe people still considered him a relative.
William had a younger brother named Truman and two sisters, Julia and Mary.
When he was 11, William went to live with his grandfather in Clarkson, New York. He attended Clarkson Academy there. Later, he went to the Oneida Institute in New York. This was a special college for Native Americans. It taught both academic subjects and practical skills. In 1840, at age 15, William returned to his family in La Pointe.
William's Career and Writings
William loved listening to the stories of his mother's people, the Ojibwe. At 17, he started working as an interpreter because he spoke both English and Ojibwe fluently. While working, he also began writing down the Ojibwe stories and their history.
In 1845, he moved to Crow Wing, in what is now Minnesota. He worked there as an interpreter for a fur trader named Henry Mower Rice. William kept collecting stories and started writing a history of the Ojibwe people.
Because he understood both cultures, William felt he had a special role. He could share the Ojibwe story with a wider audience. He was seen as a "mixed-blood" person. The Ojibwe trusted him and looked to him for advice.
In 1848, William helped Henry Schoolcraft, an early expert on Native American cultures. Schoolcraft was collecting information for a big history project. William's writings were even published in a newspaper called the Minnesota Pioneer in 1849.
William worked hard to make sure his history was accurate. He found ways to connect Ojibwe oral traditions with European ways of recording dates. Experts today say his work is very reliable. He was one of the first to understand how important oral stories are for history.
Encouraged by this, William wrote A Brief History of the Ojibwas. This was published in parts by another newspaper in 1851. He wrote about their wars, leaders, and history, always saying where he got his information. He wanted to make sure the Ojibwe culture was remembered.
In 1851, William was elected as a legislator in the Minnesota Territory. He served in the Minnesota Territorial House of Representatives. He was one of several members who resigned because they disagreed with a plan to redraw voting districts. He tried to get re-elected but lost.
Marriage and Family Life
William Warren married Mathilda Aitken on August 10, 1843, in La Pointe. Mathilda also had a mixed background, similar to William's. Her mother was an Ojibwe woman, and her father was William Alexander Aitken, a European-American fur trader.
William and Mathilda had five children:
- Alfred A. (born 1844)
- Cordelia H. "Delia" (born around 1846)
- Anna (born 1846)
- William Tyler (born 1848)
- Madeline (born 1853)
After William passed away in 1853, his wife Mathilda later married Louis Fontaine. She received land on the White Earth Reservation as an Ojibwe woman. This happened when tribal lands were divided up. Mathilda Fontaine died in 1902.
William's Important Book
William Warren's most famous work is History of the Ojibway People, Based Upon Traditions and Oral Statements. It was published in 1885, more than 30 years after he died. The Minnesota Historical Society published it.
This book was very important because William was the first person to write a history of the Ojibwe people in a European style. His work is still highly respected today. A new version of his book was published in 2009, with extra notes and explanations by historian Theresa Schenck.
