Fort Hays State University FHSU Scholars Repository Master's Theses Graduate School Spring 1939 Isaac McCoy : His Plan of and Work For Indian Colonization. Emory J. Lyons Fort Hays Kansas State College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Lyons, Emory J., "Isaac McCoy : His Plan of and Work For Indian Colonization." (1939). Master's Theses. 300. https://scholars.fhsu.edu/theses/300 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at FHSU Scholars Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of FHSU Scholars Repository. ISAA C MCCOY: His Plan of and Work f or Indian Colonization b eing A t h esi s presen ted to t h e Gradu ate Fa culty of t h e Fort Hay s Kan sas State Coll ege i n partial fulfillment of t h e r equ i r ement s f or t h e Degr ee of Mast er of Sc ience by Emory J . _!:y ons, A. B., 193ry Ottawa Uni v ersi t y . Chr . Gradu a t e Coun c i l I 9680 ii 4 £1. P R E F A C E Several books and articles have been written concerning Isaa.c McCoy, but as far ai.s I am able to find out there has been no book, article, or research paper written on the plan of Indian colonization tha.t originated with McCoy, and his work f or the fulfillment of that plan. 1 A biography of McCoy writte.n by Wa:.lter N. Wyeth and pub~ lished in 1895 mentions McCoy's plan, but gives no speci f ic outline of it. A brief sketch of McCoy's work in the Indian Territory is given also. The biograpy was written as a memorial to Mr. and Mrs. McCoy rather than an historical sketch of McCoy's work. A research paper for a B. D. degree 1as written a t the University of Chicago in 1928 dealing mainly with the work of McCoy in Michigan at t he Carey and Thomas missions. The . 2 Rev. A. W. Lyons, author of that paper, was pastor of the Baptist church of Niles, Michigan, the city tha:.t grew out of the establishment of Carey mis s ion, from 1913 to 1919. Mr. Lyons is, at the present, pas tor of the Immanuel Baptist church in Salt Lake City, Utah. Two books, written by McCoy, have been of value in obtaining material for this paper. One, A History of B~ptist 3 IndiSin Missions, covers almost the same p eriod and material 1. Wyeth, Walter N., Isaac McCoy, Philadelphia, 1895. 2. Lyons. Austin W., Isaac McCoy and Carey Mission, Chicago, 1928, unprinted. 3. Washington, 1840. iii as his daily journal. The other, Remarks on the Practicabil- 4 ity of Indian Reform, #as written by him to help bring about the fulfillment of his plan of Indian colonization. There was a great deal of material avail~ble in the man- uscript department of the Kansas Historical Societ_y Library in Topeka, Kansas. These manuscripts of ~ cCoy 1 s have been of greater value in gathering material for this paper than any of the other sources used. They include letters to McCoy, copies of letters written by him, his daily journal, maps, articles, and documents of various sorts. Th is collection covers the period between 1808 and 1846 . In collecting and organizing the material for t h is paper I tried to get, as much a s po~sible, an unbiased and a scientific historical sketch of McCoy ' s life, going more i nto detail during that part of h is life which was spent in t he territory which is now Kan sas, i n cluding h is plan and work for Indian colonization . It would be useless to attempt to sh ow what wou ld have happened if all of McCoy's plan s had been carried out, but it mi ght be of some value to show that, at t hat t ime , a decided change was needed in the Indian policy of t he United States, and t hat McCoy 's p lans, if carried out, wou ld probably have eliminated some of t he evils of the existing Indian policy and system. Acknowledgement is due to Dr. Ra~~ond L. Welty for his 4. New York, 1829. iv .many sugges.tions and coram.ents that have been of great value in the collection and t he organization of the material for this paper; to Dr. F. B. Streeter for the knowledge and cor- rection of the many mechanical points necessary in a paper like this; to Mrs. Lela Barnes and Miss Martha C~ldwell of the Kansas State Historical Society Library for their assist- ance in the use of the McCoy manuscripts; and to Miss Evelyn Davenport, who typed the manuscript and proof read it. V C O N T E N T S PREFA CE ... .. .. ...... ... .... .... .. .. .... .. .. ii CHAPTER Page I . INTRODUCTION. • . • • 1 1 . Trea tment of the Indians prior to the 19th century. • . • . • . 1 2. Indian p olicy of t he United States -- 19 t h century .. 3 II. ISAAC MCC OY , THE MISSIONARY AND GOVER N~ l\iENT AGENT. • . 7 1. Early life. 7 2. McCoy's personality and character ..•...• 8 3. Hardsh ips and work of missionaries ...... 11 4. McCoy's work i n Indiana •...... .. ........ 14 5 . McCoy's work in Michigan •. ..... ....... 17 6. Mrs. McCoy and the McCoy family •........ 20 II I. MC COY' S PROPOSED PLAN FOR TND IAN COLONIZAT ION. • • • . • . • . • • • 21 1. Location • .. ............................ 23 2. Division of land and land guarantees .•.. 24 3. Form of governmen t •...........•••....... 25 4. Trade and intercourse •.•..•............• 27 5 . Schools, missions, and improvements •.... 27 6. Relation to t he Unit ed States •.......... 28 vi IV. I ND IANS AM O G WHOM MCC OY WORKED .•..... ...... 30 1. Mi ami . 30 2. Potawa tomi. • . 32 3 . Ottawa •••......................... .. ...••. 34 4 . Shawnee . • . • . 35 5. Creeks . .. ................... .... ........• . 36 6. Choctaw •...........•............ .......•• 37 V. WORK FOR COLONI ZATION PRI OR TO 1830 ........••. 38 1. In Mi ch i gan and t he East •••......... ..... 38 2 . Expl ora tion exped itions of 1828 and 1829 •• 45 VI. CREAT I ON OF THE I ND IAN TERRITORY •• .....•.•••• 51 1. Act of May 26, 1830 •..••.•.. ....•..... .• 51 2 . Surveyi ng expedit ion s and Ind ian removal s . • . • 52 VI I . WORK FOR THE ORGAN IZAT ION OF THE INDIAN TERR I TORY . ,56 1. Or gan i za t i on b i ll of 1836 ••..... ... ... .•• 58 2 . Attit ude of the Indians toward organization of t h e Terr i t ory •.....•••..•• 60 3. Organization b ill of 1837 •.. • •..•...••.•• 62 VI I I. THE I NDIAN TERR ITORY I N 1839 .••.•.•...••.•• ·57 1. Loca t i on and condi t ion of t he I ndians with in t he Te r r i tory .• . ................••• 67 2. Bap tis t mi s s i on s i n t he Territory ..... ... 71 vii IX. CONCLUSIONS. • . • • . • . • . • • • . • 76 1. Remov~l to Ken tucky and death of McC oy~ . 76 2. Effects of transportation ·and t he Kansas-Nebraska Act. • . • . • . • • . • • . • • . • • 78 3. Success or f ailure of McCoy 's work •..... 81 APPEND IX •....••..•...••...•....•.•....•......... 86 A. A portion of McCoy's -Address to Philanthrop ists of the U. States, Generally, and to Christians in Particular, on the Condition and Prospect s of the Indians .•..... .... ..•. 87 B. McCoy's Proposed Indian Territory •......• 89 C. Indian Lands in Kansas, 1830 1836 • ... ...• 90 D. Proposed Capitol of t he I ndian Te 1..,ri tory. 92 E. McCoy's Estimate of the Expenses of the Prop osed Indian Territory for one Year. 94 F. Missionary Establisbments among t he Indians ....... ........................... 96 G. McCoy for Superintendent of Indian Affairs. 99 -H . A Morn i ng Hymn by Isaac McCoy •........ '. • 100 viii I. Constitu tion of American Indian Mission Association •..........•••.••..•• 101 J. In Memoria.ni.. • . • . • . • . • . • . • 103 K. Indian Lands and Mi ssions , 1825-1840 ••.• 104 MAPS Indian Reservations in Kansas, 1846 ••.•..•• ix McCoy's Proposed Indian Ter ritory ••..•.•..• 89 Indian Lands in Kansas, 1830-1836 ••.......• 90 Proposed Capitol of the I ndian Territ ory ..• 92 Indian Lands and Missions, 1825-1840 .....•. 104 ANN OTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ...........................•• 106 ix 1 I N.IUAN RESERVATIONS I N KANSAS , 1846 1. Oto and Mi ssour i. 2. Iowa. 1837. 3. Sauk and Fox of Missouri. 1837. 4. Kickapoo Reserve, Established under treaty of 1833. 5. Delaware Reserve and outlet. 1831. 6. Kansa Reserve. 1825. 7. Shawnee Reserve. 1825. 8. Sauk and Fox of Mississippi . 1843. 9 . Chippewa Reserve. 1830 . .10. Ottawa Reser ve. 1832 . 11. Peorias and Kaskaskia. 1833 . 12. Wea and Piankashaw. 1833. 13. Potawa tomi Reserv·e. 1837. 14. Miami Reserve. 1839 and 1841. 15. New York Indian Lands. Conveyed under Treaty of 1838 . 16. Cherokee Neutral Lands. Conveyed under t reaty of 1835. 17.0sage Reserve. Established by Treaty of 1825. (Western Boundary, originally the dotted line, was arbitrarily extended by the surveyors to t he old Mexican line.) 18. Cherokee Strip. Conveyed under Treaty of 1835. 19. Quapaw Strip. 1834. 1. Abel, "Indian Reservation s in Kansas and t h e Extin· ish- ment of t heir Title. In Kansas Historical Society Collection s. VI I I, between pages 88 and 89 . ) X , I I I ' l C H A P T E R I I NTRODUCTION 1. Treatment of the Indians Prior to the 19th Century. Until the time of the discovery, exploration, and col- .onization of North America, this vast continent was inhab- ited solely by the Indians.