Colonel Ely S. Parker
ca.1860-1890
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Ely S. Parker, a Seneca-Iroquois American Indian from western New York, was born in 1828 on what was then the Tonawanda Reservation. He was originally called Hasanoanda, and later baptized as Ely Samuel Parker. Educated in missionary schools, Parker spoke both Seneca and English. In 1852, after serving as an interpreter and diplomat for the Seneca chiefs in land right negotiations with the United States, Parker was given the name Donehogawa.
Parker studied law but was refused New York State bar admission because of his race. A person had to be an American citizen to practice law, and American Indians were not considered full U.S. citizens until the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 (also known as the Snyder Act).
Excluded from a legal career, Parker became an engineer and supervised public works projects for the U.S. government, including the building of the U.S. Custom House in Galena, IL – a project that connected him with Ulysses S. Grant. Grant would later lead the Union to victory in the Civil War and serve as the nation’s 18th president.
Grant ultimately enlisted Parker as a military secretary on his staff. It was in this position that Parker, then a lieutenant colonel, recorded the official copy of Robert E. Lee's terms of surrender at Appomattox Court House. Parker would later receive the rank of brevet brigadier general.
In 1869, in his powers as president, Grant appointed Parker to lead the Bureau of Indian Affairs as the first Indian Commissioner.
Parker studied law but was refused New York State bar admission because of his race. A person had to be an American citizen to practice law, and American Indians were not considered full U.S. citizens until the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 (also known as the Snyder Act).
Excluded from a legal career, Parker became an engineer and supervised public works projects for the U.S. government, including the building of the U.S. Custom House in Galena, IL – a project that connected him with Ulysses S. Grant. Grant would later lead the Union to victory in the Civil War and serve as the nation’s 18th president.
Grant ultimately enlisted Parker as a military secretary on his staff. It was in this position that Parker, then a lieutenant colonel, recorded the official copy of Robert E. Lee's terms of surrender at Appomattox Court House. Parker would later receive the rank of brevet brigadier general.
In 1869, in his powers as president, Grant appointed Parker to lead the Bureau of Indian Affairs as the first Indian Commissioner.
This primary source comes from the Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs.
National Archives Identifier: 167253253
Full Citation: Photograph 165-A-4168; Colonel Ely S. Parker; ca.1860-1890; 19th Century Mathew Brady, Quartermaster, and Other Civil War Photographs, ca. 1875 - 1941; Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Record Group 165; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/colonel-ely-parker, April 27, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.