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Mary Josephine Estep (1909 or 1910 — 19 December 1992) was a
Mary Jo Estep's gravesite
on Find a Grave. {{DEFAULTSORT:Estep, Mary Jo 20th-century births 1992 deaths Shoshone people Central Washington University alumni Bannock people 20th-century American educators
Mary Josephine Estep (1909 or 1910 — 19 December 1992) was a Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions:
* Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming
* Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho
* Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah
* Goshute: western Utah, easter ...
child survivor of the Battle of Kelley Creek
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
, "the last massacre" of Native Americans in the United States, in 1911.
Early life
Mary Josephine Estep was born in 1909 or 1910, to Wenega Daggett. Her grandfather wasMike Daggett
Mike Daggett, original Shoshoni name Ondongarte (died February 25, 1911), was a Shoshone man who is best known for his involvement in the Battle of Kelley Creek, during which he was killed with several members of his family. Daggett was also ...
, also known as "Shoshone Mike" after his death.
She was a little more than a year old when her mother was killed near Winnemucca, Nevada
Winnemucca () is the only incorporated city in, and is the county seat of, Humboldt County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 8,431, up 14.0 percent from the 2010 census figure of 7,396. Intersta ...
. In February 1911 Mike Daggett and band killed four White stockmen at Little High Rock Canyon in northern Washoe County. A posse responded by confronting the twelve members of the Daggett band at Kelley Creek. Four children, including Estep, survived the subsequent shootout, and were taken to the jail in Reno for protection. Only Estep was still alive by 1913. (The other three had died of diseases).
Adoption
Estep, who was found to have tuberculosis after the massacre, was adopted by Maj. Evan W. Estep and his wife, Orrell Marietta "Rita" Garrison Estep. Maj. Estep was the white superintendent of theFort Hall Indian Reservation
The Fort Hall Reservation is a Native American reservation of the federally recognized Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (Shoshoni language: Pohoko’ikkateeCrum, B., Crum, E., & Dayley, J. P. (2001). Newe Hupia: Shoshoni Poetry Songs. University Press ...
in Idaho. She lived with her adoptive parents in Montana and New Mexico before landing at the Yakama Indian Reservation
The Yakama Indian Reservation (spelled Yakima until 1994) is a Native American reservation in Washington state of the federally recognized tribe known as the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The tribe is made up of Klikitat, ...
in Toppenish, Washington
Toppenish () is a city in Yakima County, Washington. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 8,854. It is located within the Yakama Indian Reservation, established in 1855.
Toppenish calls itself the city of Murals, as it has more than 75 ...
in 1924, and finally in Yakima, Washington
Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...
in 1930, after Evan Estep's retirement. Evan died in 1950, and Rita died in 1955.
Later life
Mary Jo Estep studied music and attendedCentral Washington University
Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Life ...
. She was an elementary school music teacher for about forty years, before her retirement in 1974. Mary Jo Estep learned the details of her origins in 1975, when novelist Dayton Hyde
Dayton Ogden Hyde (March 25, 1925 – December 22, 2018) was an American expository author and proponent of nature conservation.
Most of his books take place in rural, agricultural settings where he spent the majority of his life. His books advo ...
was researching Mike Daggett's story and sought her out. She died in 1992, aged about 82 years, in Yakima, after she was given the wrong medication in a nursing home.
References
External links
Mary Jo Estep's gravesite
on Find a Grave. {{DEFAULTSORT:Estep, Mary Jo 20th-century births 1992 deaths Shoshone people Central Washington University alumni Bannock people 20th-century American educators