Cāsépka Blackdeer (1856 - bef. 1905)

Born Mar 1856 in Wisconsin, United States

Husband of Nojį́wįga (She who Hits a Tree) Blackdeer — married 1876 (to before 1905) in Wisconsin, United States

Descendants

Died before 1905 before age 48 in Wisconsin, United States

Cāsépka was Ho-Chunk.

Biography

Birth

Cāsépka was born in Wisconsin in March of 1856. (1900 census)

Name

His Hocąk name was given at the bottom of the page in the 1900 census as Jaw=Sa=ba=Kah (Indv. #9), which is just a highly corrupted form of Cā-sép-ka (< Cāsébᵋka), "Blackdeer", from cā, "deer"; sep, "dark, black"; -ka, a definite article suffix used in personal names. The black (sep) deer (cā) is the moose. This is a Deer Clan name.

That the progenitor of the present Blackdeer lineage had a unitary clan name, and not an Anglo first and surname, is evident from the transcription of his name as "Blackdeer, Mr." In the handwriting of this census, the letters /M/ and /W/ are quite nearly identical. The succeeding /r/ in "Mr." has generally been misread as an /m/, to which it bears little resemblance. The /r/ is followed with two dots, the intention being to transcribe "Mᴿ̤ " but due to the constraints of space, the two dots are more lateral than subscripted. Therefore the reading "Wᴹ" for "William" is incorrect. Confirmation of this style of orthography is seen on the previous page, where we find "Yankeebill Mˢ̤ " for "Mrs. Yankeebill".

Residence

In 1900, Blackdeer and his neighbors were living in a small village of lodges near Brockway, Jackson County, Wisconsin. (1900 census)

Marriage

Blackdeer married Jane (Nojiwiga) in 1876 when he was 20 years old. (1900 census)

Children

The 1900 Federal census and the 1905 Wisconsin census record the following children of Blackdeer and his wife Jane:

Pinkey (b. 1878 or 1880) m. Andrew Big Soldier (b. 1875)

Lyra Big Soldier (b. 12 August 1904)

Emma (b. 1882)

David (b. 1886)

George (Bird) (b. 1888)

Elsie (b. 1890)

Alice (b. 29 April 1891) m. Charles Hopinkah (b. 1890)

Harold Fred (1893)

Death

In 1905 his wife Jane is listed as "single", and in 1910, as a widow. Therefore, it seems likely that he died between 1900 and 1905.

Sources

• 1900 Federal Census for Brockway, Jackson, Wisconsin; Page: 10; Enumeration District: 0058; Description: Brockway Town; FHL microfilm: 1241792. 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.
• Wisconsin. Wisconsin State Census, 1905. Microfilm, 44 reels. Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin.

Acknowledgement

This profile was created by Richard L Dieterle on 12 Nov 2020.