Ingraham or Ingram Billie

The Expedition party met the Seminole woman Old Nancy along with her daughters, Little Nancy and Little Lucy, and some of their children. Wallace R. Moses recorded: "One of the boy babies was not named and was christened Ingraham, in honor of President Ingraham. The nearest they could pronounce the name, however, was "Inglam" which is probably what it will be known by." This young boy grew up to be Seminole leader, Ingraham or Ingram Billie. His mother was Little Nancy and his father was Little Billy, who was known by numerous names including Billy Conepache, Billy Cornpatch, Billie Conepatchie. According to some sources, he was one of twelve children of Little Nancy and Little Billy. He grew up to become a medicine man, along with his brother Josie Billie.

• Birth: 1890
• Death: 1984

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. While there is good evidence that the young boy mentioned in the texts is the same individual as the Ingraham or Ingram Billie described here, it is impossible to determine how much of the information provided here is accurate or applicable.

Name Variations:

• Ingraham Billie
• Ingraham Billy
• Ingram Billie
• Ingram Billy

Credits:

• Photo, Billie Family, circa 1913, State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory

Sources:

• The Seminoles of Florida, by James W. Covington, 1993
• Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes of Southern Florida, by Patsy West, 2012
• "1915 Census of the Seminole Indians of Miami Agency, Florida on July 1915 taken by Lucien A. Spencer, Special Commissioner," Imprints Vol. 11, No. 4, 1992.
• Various photos of Little Billy, National Museum of the American Indian
• Osceola's Legacy, by Patricia Riles Wickman, 2006

References in the Texts:

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• March 20, Sunday

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