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Enoch Hoag letterbooks
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Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Enoch Hoag (1812-1884) was the son of Stephen and Martha Hoag. He was engaged in the mercantile business until 1854, when he moved to Iowa and worked as a farmer. He was active in abolition work and aided Freedmen's education. In 1869, he was was appointed Superintendent of the Central Superintendency in 1869 by President Grant under Grant's "Peace Policy." This policy gave Orthodox Friends supervision of Indigenous Americans located in Kansas and "Indian Territory." The Superintendency's headquarters were at Lawrence, Kansas. Under Hoag's jurisdiction were nine "Indian Agents" (also Friends), who were assigned to various Agencies throughout the Central Superitendency. Indigenous Nations who were under Hoag's jurisdiction included the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma (Kiikaapoa), Shawnee Tribe (Shawano?), Citizen Potawatomi Nation (Neshnabek), Kaw Nation (Kanza, referred to as "Kansas" in the papers), Osage Nation (Wazhazhe), Quapaw Nation (Ugahxpa), Sac Nation (Thakiwaki, Sauk) and Fox Nation (Meskwaki, Meshkwahkihaki), Cheyenne Nation (Tsitsistas), Arapaho Tribe (Hinono'ei), Wichita Tribe (Kitikiti'sh), Kiowa (Ka'igwu), Comanche Nation (Numinu), and Apache Tribe of Oklahoma Plains (Ka-ta-kas, sometimes referred to as Kiowa Apaches).
Hoag's duties included the establishment of schools, the distribution of supplies, and the payment of government annuities. Hoag resigned his position in 1876, and was succeeded by Dr. William Nicholson. In 1879, Friends withdrew from government sponsored work, partly due to the change in governance with the election of President Hayes.
The collection includes materials from 1860 to 1868 documenting the Central Superintendency, letters to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington, letters to the Indian Agents under the jurisdiction of Hoag, and letters characterized as "Individual letters." The letters are signed by Enoch Hoag, Cyrus Beede (chief clerk to Hoag), or Edward F. Hoag (Hoag's son and clerk). Much of the correspondence is of a routine nature and is concerned with the day-to-day running of the Superintendency and Agencies. There are also letters on various problems and situations that arose during Hoag's tenure, such as the murder of the Chief of the Wichita Tribe (Kitikiti'sh) by members of the Osage Nation (Wahzhazhe) and the murder of four members of the Osage Nation (Wahzhazhe) by the [Kansas?] militia. With the exception of four volumes, the books are apparently completely indexed and each index includes a brief summary of the contents of each letter.
Volumes are organized chronologically.
Original processing information unknown.
People
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Standard Federal Copyright Laws Apply (U.S. Title 17).
Collection Inventory
498 p. Indexed by date, includes brief summary of each letter. Letters are to Francis A. Walker, H.R. Clum [Acting Comm.] and Edward P. Smith. [many of these letters are blurred and difficult to read]
496 p. Indexed by date, includes brief summary of each letter. [many of these letters are blurred and difficult to read]
483 p. Indexed by date, includes brief summary of each letter.
499 p. Indexed by date, includes brief summary of each letter. [note on flyleaf indicates letters to the Secretary of the Interior are indexed on last sheet of index letter Y, but this page is missing (removed) and found no letters to Sec. of Interior in this volume.]
514 p. Indexed by date, includes brief summary of each letter. [also telegram to Sec. of the Interior, Columbus Delano, 9/16/1874 asking for investigation into Osage Nation (Wahzhazhe) murders]. Letter dated 11/21/1874 from Enoch Hoag to Commissioner Smith concerning legal proceedings against the Kansas Militia and Captain Ricker for the murder of four members of the Osage Nation (Wahzhazhe).(approximately 78K).
496 p. Indexed by date, includes brief summary of each letter.
496 p. Indexed by recipient and date of letters. Letters are addressed to the following Agents and other correspondents: Brinton Darlington, Isaac T. Gibson, Agent Griffith, John Hadley, John B. Garrett, J.B. Jones, Hiram W. Jones, F. [S.] Lyon, Joel H. Morris, John D. Miles, George Mitchell, H.B. Norton, John H. Pickering, Jonathan Richards, R.L. Roberts, Agent Reinheart, Mahlon Stubbs, James Stanley, Lawrie Tatum.
306 p. Indexed [incomplete] by name of Agency and date of letters, includes brief summary of each letter. Letters are addressed to the Agents at the following: Neosho Agency (J.T. Gibson, Agent), Quapaw Nation (Ugahxpa) Agency (Herman W. Jones, Agent) and others [not listed in index]
492 p. Indexed by name of Agency and date of letters, includes brief summary of each letter. [note: many of these letters are blurred and very difficult to read]. Letters are addressed to the Agents at the following: Cherokee Nation (Ani-tsalagi) Agency, Creek Agency, Kiowa Tribe (Ka'igwu) Agency, Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma (Kiikaapoa) Agency, Kaw Nation Agency, Neosho Agency, Quapaw Nation (Ugahxpa) Agency, Citizen Potawatomi Nation (Neshnabek) Agency, Seminole Nation Agency, Shawnee Tribe (Shawano?) Agency, Sac Nation and Fox Nation Agency, Upper Arkansas Agency, Wichita Tribe and affiliated bands Agency
693 p. Indexed by name of Agency and date of letters, includes brief summary of each letter. Letters are addressed to Agents at the following: Mexican Kickapoo (A.C. Williams), Cheyenne Nation (Tsitsistas) Agency, Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma (Kiikaapoa) Agency, Kiowa Tribe (Ka'igwu) Agency, Osage Nation (Wazhazhe) Agency, Quapaw Nation (Ugahxpa) Agency, Sac and Fox Nation Agency (J.H. Pickering), Wichita Tribe (Kitikiti'sh) Agency, Cherokee Nation (Ani-Tsalagi) and other tribes, Special Agent C.F. Larabee, Pawnee Agency.
882 p. Indexed by recipient includes letter to U.S. Grant re: death sentence imposed on two Kiowa (Ka'igwu) Chiefs for depredation and murder in Texas.
498 p. Indexed by recipient and date, includes brief summary of each letter.
69[8] p. Indexed by recipient and date, includes brief summary of each letter.
991 p. Indexed by recipient and date, includes brief summary of each letter some letters relative to the Osage Nation (Wahzhazhe) murders.
490 p. Indexed by page no. and mostly chronological, includes brief summary of each letter, etc. Includes: letters, reports, explanations to auditors, copies of telegrams, Jonathan Richards' reply to the editorial in the Evening Bulletin [Phila.] re: his agency, financial balances, copies of receipts and bills, statement of [Louie] Doctor, Osage brave re: murder of an Osage Nation member while stealing cattle, etc.]
295 p. Indexed by recipient, these are identified as "Answers to exceptions in auditors office." These are letters to government officials re: Edward F. Hoag's attempts to settle his father's accounts with Washington.