Mąs’ų́ga Blacksmith

Born [date unknown] in Four Lakes, Wisconsin

Descendants

Died about 1821 in Four Lakes, Wisconsin, Michigan Territory, United States

Mąs’ų́ga was Ho-Chunk.

Biography

In an affidavit sworn on 28 August 1839, "Stephen Mack of Pecatonic, Winebago County, State of Illinois being sworn saith that he has been married about ten years, that his wife is named Hononegah, and that she is of three fourths or full Winebago blood That the father of S^d woman was named Blacksmith and resided at or near the four Lakes, and has been dead about 18 years. Deponent has been unable to ascertain fully whether Sd Blacksmith was a half, or a full Blood Wiinebago, but knows that he was at least half." (Waggoner, 25a)

There exist two garbled recollections that suggest that Blacksmith may have been married at least twice:

Mrs. Olds writes that a letter from Carrie Mack to Bio de Casseres,

when she was Mrs. Harry Jones, was found among the latter's effects

at the Mack Museum. The letter, dated 31 Oct. 1909 states: "Hononegah

had a sister, We-hah-ze-ka, and two half sisters, Kw-no and Ha-na."

A hand written note at the Museum, which I have been unable to

relocate says: "Hononegah had one half sister, We-hah-ze-ka and

two half brothers, Ku-no and Ha-na. Her mother was a full blooded

Winnebago and her father a full blooded French Canadian, a blacksmith."

(Sprague, 22)

Carrie was about 2 years old when her mother died, so her second-hand account is slightly inaccurate, since the names Kwno and Hana are for Kųnų(gá) and Heną́(ga), birth order names for First Son and Second Son respectively. That Xųnųnįka's father was French Canadian was refuted by Stephen Mack himself (see above). However, both accounts agree that Kųnų and Heną́ were Xųnųnįka's half-brothers, which opens up at least the possibility that Blacksmith may have had a previous marriage or simply had multiple wives.

Sources

• Linda M. Waggoner (ed.), “Neither White Men Nor Indians: Affidavits from the Winnebago Mixed-blood Claim Commissions, Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin, 1838-1839” (Roseville, Minnesota: Park Genealogical Books, 2002). Extracted from Territorial Papers of the United States, Wisconsin, 1836-1848. M236. “Special Files of the Office of Indian Affairs,” 1836-46. “Special File 161” (Roll 41). “Special File 190” (Roll 42). National Archives, Washington D.C., Documents on Microfilm, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Record Group 75).
• Locke A. Sprague, The Progenitors and Descendants of Col. Stephen Mack and Temperence Bond Mack as Related to the David Cooper and Rollin Sprague Families (Milwaukee: the Author, 1975).
• Marguerite Olds, Biography of the Mack Families (the Author, 1968).

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