Sallie Nōciwįga (English) Baker (abt. 1859 - 1922)

Born about 1859 in Minnesota, United States

Wife of William Baker — married about 1882 (to 24 Nov 1922) in Thurston, Nebraska, United States [uncertain]

Wife of John Wanįkšujᵋxųnųnįka Rave — married 1891 in Nebraska, United States

Died 24 Nov 1922 at about age 63 in Thurston, Nebraska, United States

Sallie was Ho-Chunk.

Biography

Birth

Sallie was born about 1859 in Minnesota. (1900 census) The surname of her birth was "English" (1896 census), which family was ultimately descended from the well known Speaks English. Her father was almost certainly Charles English (b. 1830), who lived next door to her in 1889. (census)

Name

The 1898 census gives her Hocąk name as No-chee-win-kaw, which is for Nōciwįga, "She Dwells in Trees", from nō, an older form of ną, "tree, wood"; ci, "to live, dwell in"; -wį-, a feminine gender infix; and -ga, a definite article suffix used in names.

In both early and late censuses, her Anglo name is "Sallie"; but in the 1890s she is often called "Allie". In a few other censuses, she is called "Alice".

Marriage

In 1886 she was married to Ed Priest. (census) However, listed as a one year old child is Abraham Lincoln, Jr. whose name implies that an affair with the president's namesake occurred in 1884. This same Abraham, when he was in his 20s, went to live with his mother and her then husband John Rave. (1910 census)

Sallie appears to have been polyandrous, if not officially, at least in practice. Her long term husband with whom she lived most often, at least according to the censuses, was William Baker, with whom she had been married, on and off, since about 1881. She retained his surname even after she had married John Rave. In 1891, John Rave is recorded living alone. Sallie Baker's child, Charles, was born in 1890, but in the 1900 Federal census, he is said to be John Rave's step-son. When Ed Priest died in 1892, she briefly rejoined him, but it appears that she took up with John Rave in 1893, as they are shown living together in that year's census. So William Baker was the father of Charles, who nevertheless, always used the surname "Rave". Sometime after 30 June 1913, she separated from John Rave and is found in the 30 June 1914 census reunited with her previous husband William Baker, with whom she seems to have lived until her death.

Residence

1886 — living with Ed Priest as her husband, Winnebago, Nebraska.

1888 — living with William Baker as her husband, Winnebago, Nebraska.

1890 — living alone with her one year old son but next door to Ed Priest and Abraham Lincoln, Sr.

1892 — living with William Baker as her husband, Winnebago, Nebraska.

1893, 1898, 1900-1902, 1910, 1913 — living with John Rave as her husband, Winnebago, Nebraska.

1895-1896, 1899 — living with William Baker as her husband, Winnebago, Nebraska.

1914-1923 — living with William Baker as her husband, Winnebago, Nebraska.

Death and Identity Issues

She died on 24 November 1922. (1923 census) However, there is a grave stone (now toppled over), inscribed "Sally B. Rave, 1863-1911" found in the James Rave cemetery where her occasional husband, John Rave, is also buried. (Find a Grave) There is no Sally Rave in any of the censuses, and the wife of John Rave always went by the name "Allie (or Alice) Baker". Only once is she called "Sallie Rave" (1910 Fed. census). In that 1910 census, Abraham Priest is recorded as her son, but Abraham, otherwise known as "Abraham Lincoln Jr." is the natural son of Abraham Lincoln Sr., who helped to raise him. At his conception in 1883, his mother Sallie Baker was the wife of Ed Priest. This proves that Sallie Baker Rave is one and the same as Allie Baker (married to John Rave), and the same as the Sallie English Baker who married Ed Priest and William Baker. The Sallie Rave, mother of Abraham Priest of the 1910 census is said to have been born in 1862/3, which is the date put upon this grave stone. Therefore, it seems highly likely that the Sally B[aker] Rave is the same as the [S]allie Baker and Sallie Rave of the censuses. Obviously, they could not have buried someone in 1911 who will have died in 1922, but they could have transferred the body from another grave site and erected a stone with a different set of dates. What would be the motive for this? Clearly, some effort had already been made in the censuses to obscure the identity of Sallie English Baker/Lincoln/Priest/Rave. The obvious reason for this, as it was with the anomalies of the censuses, was to hide the polyamorous marriage system then flourishing among many people in Winnebago, Nebraska.

Sources

• 1886 Indian census; Roll: M595_311; Page: 26; Line: 2; Agency: Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1888 Indian census; Roll: M595_311; Page: 49; Line: 17. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1889 Indian census; Roll: M595_311; Page: 40; Line: 7; Agency: Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1890 Indian census; Roll: M595_311; Page: 32; Line: 10; Agency: Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1891 Indian census; Roll: M595_311; Page: 51; Line: 2; Agency: Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1892 Indian census; Roll: M595_312; Page: 69; Line: 10; Agency: Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1893 Indian census; Roll: M595_312; Page: 36; Line: 25; Agency: Omaha And Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1895 Indian census; Roll: M595_312; Page: 41; Line: 2; Agency: Omaha And Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1896 Indian census; Roll: M595_312; Page: 41; Line: 2; Agency: Omaha And Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1898 Indian census; Roll: M595_312; Page: 20; Line: 17; Agency: Omaha & Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1899 Indian census; Roll: M595_313; Page: 42; Line: 10; Agency: Omaha & Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1900 Federal Census for Winnebago, Thurston, Nebraska; Page: 20; Enumeration District: 0187; Description: Winnebago Precinct; FHL microfilm: 1240941. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.
• 1901 Indian census; Roll: M595_313; Page: 24; Line: 5; Agency: Omaha & Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1902 Indian census; Roll: M595_313; Page: 16; Line: 27; Agency: Omaha & Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1910 Federal Census for Winnebago, Thurston, Nebraska; Roll: T624_857; Page: 18B; Enumeration District: 0207; FHL microfilm: 1374870. Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1910 Indian census; Roll: M595_664; Page: 35; Line: 4; Agency: Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1913 Indian census; Roll: M595_664; Line: 7; Agency: Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1914 Indian census; Roll: M595_664; Line: 13 [William and Sallie Baker]; Agency: Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1916 Indian census; Roll: M595_665; Line: 16; Agency: Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1923 Indian census; Roll: M595_665; Page: 3; Line: 18; Agency: Winnebago. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed ), memorial page for Sally B Rave (1863–1911), Find a Grave Memorial no. 11489801, citing James Rave Cemetery, Winnebago, Thurston County, Nebraska, USA ; Maintained by kmapp (contributor 46799577) .