Straight Tail Meaurroway Opessa (1630–1709), often referred to as Meaurroway, was

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

of the

Pekowi Pekowi was the name of one of the five divisions (or bands) of the Shawnee, a Native American people, during the 18th century. The other four divisions were the Chalahgawtha, Mekoche, Kispoko, and Hathawekela. Together these divisions formed the l ...

, a subdivision of the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

Native American tribe. He was also the Chief of the Turtle Clan, one of the most religious orders of the tribe.

Biography

Straight Tail was born in 1630 in present-day

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, to the Chief of the Pekowi and an unnamed Pekowi Woman (possibly Nimeeth Pekowi). Nothing is yet known of his childhood or teenage years, but he succeeded his father at the age of 40 in 1670, as both Pekowi Chief and Chief of the Turtle Clan. Each division of the Shawnee had control over different aspects of the whole tribe's lifestyle, and the Pekowi managed the Shawnee's state of order, duty and celebration of religion. As chief, Straight Tail was in charge of these important aspects of tribal life.

Encounter with Martin Chartier

In 1674 Straight Tail's band was living in a village on the

Wabash River The Wabash River ( French: Ouabache) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana in the United States. It flows fro ...

in what is now southern Illinois, where they were visited by French explorer

Louis Jolliet Louis Jolliet (September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore an ...

and

Jacques Marquette Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Igna ...

and five other men, on their way down the Mississippi. One of Jolliet's men was

Martin Chartier Martin Chartier (1655 – Apr 1718) was a French-Canadian explorer and trader, carpenter and glove maker. He lived much of his life amongst the Shawnee Native Americans in what is now the United States. Chartier accompanied Louis Jolliet on ...

(1655–1718) who returned to the

Illinois Territory The Territory of Illinois was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 1, 1809, until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Illinois. Its ca ...

after Jolliet's expedition ended. In 1675 Martin Chartier married Straight Tail's daughter, Sewatha Straight Tail. Their first child, a daughter, was born in 1676, according to a statement Chartier made during a courtroom deposition in 1692.Charles Augustus Hanna, ''The Wilderness Trail: Or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path,'' Volume 1, Putnam's sons, 1911
/ref> Chartier then returned to Quebec and joined

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, ...

on his 1679–1680 journey to the Great Lakes region. In January 1680, he was with La Salle's men building Fort Crèvecoeur when they decided to mutiny. Chartier and his comrades fled, and Chartier took refuge among Straight Tail's band at

Starved Rock Starved Rock State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Illinois, characterized by the many canyons within its . Located just southeast of the village of Utica, in Deer Park Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, along the south bank of the ...

, for one or two years. He later returned to Montreal as an outlaw, living there in secret for several years.Harriette Simpson Arnow, ''Seedtime on the Cumberland,'' Michigan State University Press. (2013)
/ref>

Migrations, 1677–1694

The Shawnee were a migratory people and traveled extensively across eastern North America during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.Stephen Warren, ''Worlds the Shawnees Made: Migration and Violence in Early America,'' UNC Press Books, 2014
In 1677 Straight Tail led his people to present-day

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and Ohio to join up with other bands of Shawnee and with other tribes. Between 1680 and 1685 Straight Tail led his band into Tennessee, where Martin Chartier rejoined them on the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

, near the present-day site of

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. During the next seven years Straight Tail led his people through present-day

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. They migrated north to

Cecil County, Maryland Cecil County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The county was n ...

in 1692, and in 1694 settled finally in

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Lengeschder Kaundi), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the south central part of Pennsylvania. ...

Later life and death

Straight Tail eventually gave up his rank of Chief of the Pekowi and the Turtle Clan to his son, Opessa, in 1697. He continued to represent the Shawnees for several years afterwards, however. When in 1698 tensions arose over land rights in Lancaster, Meaurroway attended a conference at the home of

John Hansson Steelman John Hansson Steelman, also known as "Hance" Stillman, Stelman, Tilghman, or Tillmann (1655–1749), was born Johan Hansson in Aronameck or Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the eldest son of Hans Månsson (1612-1691) and Ella Olofsdotter ...

on 26 May, with his son-in-law Martin and three commissioners sent by

Nathaniel Blakiston Colonel Nathaniel Blakiston was the 8th Royal Governor of Maryland from 1698 to 1702. He succeeded Francis Nicholson and was succeeded by Thomas Tench. He was related to Nehemiah Blakiston. Military career Nathaniel Blakiston was grandson of J ...

, the Governor of Maryland, and the chiefs of the

Susquehannocks The Susquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by some English settlers or Andastes were Iroquoian Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, ranging from its upper reaches in the southern pa ...

and the

Delawares The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

. One eyewitness wrote, "In the evening came Meaurroway, king of the Shawaneles, brought on horseback, by reason of his great age, together with one of his great men, and one Martin Shartee hartier a Frenchman, resident and married among them." His son Opessa would later sign a peace treaty with

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

in 1701, and have good relations with Pennsylvania governor John Evans. Straight Tail's grandson

Peter Chartier Peter Chartier (16901759) (Anglicized version of Pierre Chartier, sometimes written Chartiere, Chartiers, Shartee or Shortive) was a fur trader of mixed Shawnee and French parentage. Multilingual, he later became a leader and a band chief among ...

became chief of the Pekowi in 1737. Straight Tail Meaurroway Opessa died in Pennsylvania in 1709.

Children

Straight Tail married a Pekowi woman in 1650, having the following children: * Wolf Straight Tail: born about 1654. * Sewatha Straight Tail: born about 1660 in Ohio, USA. Married to

about 1675. Mother of

. Died in 1759 in Illinois with her son, during a smallpox epidemic. * Cakundawanna Straight Tail: born about 1662. *

Opessa Straight Tail Opessa Straight Tail (), also known as Wopatha or Wapatha, was a Pekowi Shawnee Chief. He was the son of Straight Tail Meaurroway Opessa. He is best known for signing, on 23 April 1701, the "Articles of friendship and agreement between William P ...

: born about 1664. Great-grandfather of

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

, famed Shawnee leader during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. * Snow White Straight Tail: born about 1666 in Ohio, USA. * Minitha Straight Tail: born about 1668 in Ohio, USA * John White Straight Tail: born about 1670 in Ohio, USA. * Daughter Straight Tail: born about 1680 in Illinois, USA.

Legacy and intermarriages

Unlike other Native American Chiefs before him, Straight Tail did not discourage interracial marriage. He encouraged a good relationship with the Europeans. His daughter, Sewatha, married

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

trader and explorer,

. Other children and their descendants also married whites. One grandson was

, who was active in opposition to the British in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. Because of these marriages, many of his modern-day descendants include people that have

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

features. Straight Tail's son,

(1664-1750) became chief of his Pekowi band in 1697 and signed several peace treaties with

before deciding to lead his people to the Ohio River Valley in about 1727. Two of Straight Tail's grandchildren, Loyparcowah and

Meshemethequater Meshemethequater (1690 or 1691–1758) also known as Big Hominy, Great Huminy, Misemeathaquatha, Missemediqueety, or Big Hannoana was a Pekowi Shawnee chief from western Pennsylvania. Although he was a respected warrior, he is best known for parti ...

, were also Shawnee leaders at

Lower Shawneetown Lower Shawneetown, also known as Shannoah or Sonnontio, was an 18th-century Shawnee village located within the Lower Shawneetown Archeological District, near South Portsmouth in Greenup County, Kentucky and Lewis County, Kentucky. The population ...

. One of his great granddaughters, Margaret Tecumsapah Opessa, was stepmother to Colonel Alexander McKee (1735-1799).Watters, Dr. Cora Tula. ''Major Uriah Barber: Pioneer, Settler, Politician (1761 - 1846).'' AuthorHouse, 2011.
/ref>

External links

"Meaurroway-Goes Straight Does Right: STRAIGHT TAIL," ''Metcalf Family News,'' August 22, 2011

References

{{reflist Shawnee history 1630 births 1709 deaths Native American leaders