Ahusgawįga (White Wing) Seymour (aft. 1848 - aft. 1910)

Born after 1848 in Long Prairie, Todd, Minnesota Territory, United States

Descendants

Died after 1910 at about age 62 in Thurston, Nebraska, United States

Ahusgawįga was Ho-Chunk.

Biography

Birth

White Wing was born about 1848. She consistently told census takers that she was of an age to have been born in 1811, but this is quite impossible, as her son James was born in 1874, when she would have been 63, and her other son Frank was born in 1863 when she would have been 52, unless he was born in 1867, in which case she would have been 56. It is typical of older Hocąks to exaggerate their age when they get old, but in the case of women, it can be done to hide the fact that they were married at an early age. James said in 1930 (Federal Census) that his mother had been born in Minnesota. We may deduce that if she was born in or after 1848, she was born among the first of the tribe to land in Long Prairie after being exiled from Iowa.

Marriage

We don't know to whom White Wing was married. In the 1920 census, there is a widow of George Whitewood Seymour who goes by the name "Slow Wing" and who was born in 1848. In the 1900 Federal census, White Wing is listed as the mother of James Seymour and the 1910 Federal census states that she is the mother of Frank Seymour. In 1922 a woman called both "Slow Wing" and "Mrs. George Whitewood Seymour", lived right next door to James, who was also living next to his brother Frank's widow and her family. It might seem that "Slow Wing" is another named for White Wing, especially given that 1848 is the former's birth date. However, both White Wing (living with James) and Slow Wing (living with George Whitewood Seymour), are found as distinct people in the 1910 Federal census. So it seems likely that Slow Wing was a relative of James, and perhaps the sister of White Wings. What is most likely is that White Wings and Slow Wing were both wives of George Whitewood Seymour. This becomes highly likely when we consider that the first son of George and Slow Wing was Joseph Whitewood Seymour, but Joseph, her only son under that name, is not Kunuga (First Son), but Hagaga, Third Son. (1893 Census) A plausible explanation is that George Whitewood Seymour's three sons were Frank, James, and Joseph, in that order. White Wings never remarried and had no further children after Frank and James.

Residence

The 1900 Federal census shows that White Wing's 26 year old son James was living with her along with an elderly boarder, Good Red Bird Woman, on the reservation at Winnebago, Nebraska.

Death

She passed away sometime after 1911.

Sources

• 1893 Indian census; Roll: M595_312; Page: 21; Line: 17; 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.
• 1900 Federal Census for Winnebago, Thurston, Nebraska; Page: 25; Enumeration District: 0187; 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.
• 1910 Federal Census for Winnebago, Thurston, Nebraska; Roll: T624_857; Page: 20A; 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.
• 1920 Indian census; Roll: M595_665; Page: 62; 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.
• 1922 Indian census; Roll: M595_665; Page: 52; Line: 14; 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.