Date of Award
7-1-1936
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
Excerpt: "Six Indian missions were established in the southeastern section of Kansas between 1824 and 1847. Four of these missions were established by the Presbyterian church and two by the Roman Catholic church. Neosho Mission near the present village of Shaw, Neosho County, was the first to be established. It was founded September, 1824, by the Reverend Benton Pixley, a college graduate, a Latin student and a Greek scholar. He was the first resident missionary in this region. Boudinot Mission was also established in 1824 but hostile Indians caused it to be closed. Hopefield Mission was begun about this same time for the Osage Indians and it was in existence until 1837. It had attempted to teach the Indians the white man's method of agriculture. In 1831 the last of the Presbyterian missions was established on the east bank of the Neosho near Four Mile creek, but it was closed six years later as the missionaries made no headway with the Indians. Sugar Creek Mission was established in Linn County by the Roman Catholic church in 1839. Schools were opened for both boys and girls. An attempt was made to improve the general living conditions of the Pottawatomie Indians. The greatest of the missions was the Osage Mission which was located in the present town of St. Paul, in Neosho County. The pioneer in the work of this section was the Father De La Croix who visited the Osages in Kansas in 1820 after their migration from Missouri. But only transient missionaries were there until 1847 when the Reverend Father Schoenmakers was appointed superior. A school for boys was opened May, 1847, and a school for girls in October, 1847, was opened under the supervision of four Sisters of the Loretto Order. This mission served the Indians in various ways and when the white settlers began to migrate to the region they in turn also attneded services and sent their children to the schools. The school for boys was closed in 1891 but another order has a school there at present. When the girls' school was closed, in 1895, a day school was opened which serves the community at St. Paul."
Recommended Citation
Gilbert, Grace M., "Indian missions of Southeastern Kansas" (1936). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 421.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/etd/421
Comments
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