Old Nancy Osceola
The Expedition party first met the Seminole woman Old Nancy at a camp near Fort Shackleford. Later, she visited Fort Shackleford along with her daughters, Little Nancy and Little Lucy, and some of her grandchildren. Nancy and her family visited for quite a while with George and Frank Hendry acting as interpreters, and Sydney O. Chase took multiple photos. There are a lot of inconsistencies in the Expedition texts regarding Nancy. James E. Ingraham refers to her as "Lucy" which is probably just a mistake on his part. Nancy claimed to be the widow of Osceola, some sources refute this claim. For example, Minnie Moore-Willson stated in an October 25, 1902 letter to the Florida Times-Union that Nancy was a wife of Chief Osceola's half-brother and not Osceola. Many sources indicate that her husband was Charlie Osceola, not the famous war leader Osceola. Other sources claim her husband was John Osceola. In one account Nancy was described as the widow of Billy Jumper who had drowned in the Miami river 10-14 days earlier, and in another account she was described as his mother. In addition to her daughters Lucy and Nancy, she had several sons all with the surname Osceola, but the sources do not agree on the names of these sons. Some sources indicate she died circa 1898, but others indicate she died in 1902, probably in August or September.
- Birth: circa 1815
- Death: circa 1898 or 1902
Note about confidence of this information:
It is very difficult to provide contextual information about many of the Native Americans mentioned in the Expedition texts. One difficulty is that names are often spelled multiples ways in various sources, and information in those sources is often conflicting. Another difficulty is the Seminole practice of reusing names within families. The difficulty increases dramatically when trying to gather information about women. While there is good evidence that the Nancy mentioned in the texts is the same individual as the Old Nancy Osceola described here, it is impossible to determine how much of the information provided here is accurate or applicable.
Name Variations:
- Old Nancy
- Old Nance
- Nancy Osceola
Credits:
Sources:
- The Seminoles of Florida, by Minnie Moore-Willson, 1896
- Red Patriots: The Story of the Seminoles, by Charles H. Coe, 1898
- Osceola's Legacy, by Patricia Riles Wickman, 2006
- The Seminoles of Florida, by James W. Covington, 1993
- Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes of Southern Florida, by Patsy West, 2012
- "Notes on Modern Seminole Traditions of Osceola," by William C. Sturtevant, Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 3-4, 1955
References in the Texts:
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For other topics referenced in the Expedition texts, please refer to the Index to Subjects and Names.
1892 Everglades Exploration Expedition : Three Digital Texts, 2015