Joseph Alexander Gilfillan (1838 – November 18, 1913) was an Episcopal

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

to Native Americans of the

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

Tribe on

White Earth Reservation The White Earth Indian Reservation ( oj, Gaa-waabaabiganikaag, "Where there is an abundance of white clay") is the home to the White Earth Band, located in northwestern Minnesota. It is the largest Indian reservation in the state by land area. T ...

in northern

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

during 35 years from 1873 until 1908.

Biography

Joseph Alexander Gilfillan was born October 23, 1838, in Gorticross,

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

to Alexander Gilfillan and his wife Margaret. He married Harriet Woodbridge Cook April 19, 1877. He graduated from the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating ...

, New York, in 1869. From 1869 until 1873 he was rector successively of two English churches in

. From June, 1873, until, September, 1908, he served as missionary to the Ojibwas at White Earth. He worked diligently and earnestly to learn the

Ojibwe language Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian la ...

, to ascertain and record the origins of place names in the areas where he worked, to perform accurate and worthy translations of the Ojibwe place names into English, and to encourage that the names so recorded continue to be used in one form or another after settlement. Gilfillan's work was cited frequently by

Warren Upham Warren Upham (March 8, 1850 – January 29, 1934) was an American geologist, archaeologist, and librarian who is best known for his studies of glacial Lake Agassiz. Biography Warren Upham was born in Amherst, New Hampshire and attended Dartmout ...

in his remarkable history of place names in Minnesota, "Minnesota Place Names, A Geographical Encyclopedia." Upham characterized Gilfillan's paper "Minnesota Geographical Names Derived from the Chippewa Language" as one of the two "most important resources of information on Minnesota geographic terms of Indian origin." His wife Harriet considered life at White Earth a hardship, and often spent winters socializing in New York, occasionally in Europe. Gilfillan retired in 1908 and went to Washington, D.C. He was the chief editor of the 1911 Ojibwa edition of the

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

entitled "Iu Wejibuewisi Mamawi Anamiawini Mazinaigun" ("''Iw Wejibwewizi Maamawi-anami'aawini Mazina'igan''"). Gilfillan died in New York City on November 18, 1913, after a year's illness. The

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before state ...

keeps a vast inventory of articles and reminiscences by Gilfillan and his wife Harriet on their missionary work; Gilfillan's translations of Ojibwe personal and place names and legends; letters (1883–1893) in Ojibwe from Ojibwe ministers and missionaries, with Gilfillan's translations; miscellaneous letters and memorabilia on Ojibwe language and culture and on church affairs; family and genealogical data; information on the erection of a monument to Gilfillan in

Itasca State Park Itasca State Park (pronounced eye-ta-ska) is a state park of Minnesota, United States, and contains the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The park spans of northern Minnesota, and is located about north of Park Rapids, Minnesota and from ...

(1940); and articles by Harriet describing her work as a teacher of weaving among the Navaho Indians in 1875 and a trip on the Cumberland Canal. A Gilfillan article on the culture of Ojibwe, both Christian and non-Christian and with an emphasis on the Red Lake band, was published in Volume 9 of the Minnesota Historical Society Collections.Perseus Digital Library
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilfillan, Joseph 1838 births 1913 deaths Anglican missionaries in the United States Irish Anglican missionaries Ojibwe People from County Londonderry