Chief Sagoyewatha 'Red Jacket'

Seneca/ Wolf Clan

"Red Jacket (1758-1830) The Seneca chief and orator, also known as Sagoyewatha, Red Jacket was born at Canoga (on Cayuga Lake in western New York) as member of the Seneca Wolf clan. He enters historical record around the time of the American Revolution when he is said to have habitually worn a red coat provided him by the British, who employed him as a messenger. Thus the origin of his English name, Red Jacket.

When the War of 1812 broke out, Red Jacket, like many Seneca, became an ally of the United States, fighting bravely at the battles of Fort George (17 Aug. 1813) and Chippawa (5 July 1814). At the latter, heavy casualties suffered by both the New York Seneca and the Iroquois of Upper Canada led both to reconsider their participation in a non-Indian war. Red Jacket played a leading role in the decision of both to withdraw from the Canadian-American conflict.

In his later years Red Jacket described himself at that time as "an aged tree"--"My leaves are fallen, my branches withered, and I am shaken by every breeze." He died of cholera on the Buffalo Creek Reservation. His remains were later removed to the Forest Lawn cemetery in Buffalo." https://sni.org/culture/historic-seneca-leaders/

• John Lee Douglas Mathies portrait of Red Jacket., featured in the Fall 2004 issue of Heritage Magazine.
• https://www.wnyheritage.org/content/the_graves_of_red_jacket/index....
• https://books.google.com/books?id=zibNDBchPkMC&pg=PA251&lpg=PA251&d... Encyclopedia of the Haudenosuasee (Iroquois Confederacy)
• https://accessgenealogy.com/new-york/red-jacket-seneca-war-chief.htm
• Seneca Tribal Chief. Born near the present village of Canoga in Upstate New York. He grew up to become a famous War Chief of the Seneca Nation where he dominated tribal society. In addition to being a great warrior, he was also known as a great orator. A monument has been erected near the village of Canoga to honor his memory. The monument is believed to be on the spot where he gave his greatest oration. -Bio by: John Gilmore https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7646541/red-jacket
• https://rmsc.org/exhibits/online/lhm/redjacket.htm "Red Jacket stated that he was born at Canoga (Ga-noh-geh, "Oil on the water")... when his parents were on a fishing trip. His mother, Ahweyneyoh of the Wolf Clan, was from Ganadesaga; his father, Thadahwahnyeh, was a Cayuga of the Turtle Clan from Sgoiyase, near present day Waterloo, NY. He may have spent his early years at a village known as Ne-do-cio-weh-ah near Keuka Lake, where his mother is buried. When he was about 12 years of age, the family took up official residence with his mother's relatives at Ganadesaga, where he was given his name Oti-ti-ani ("Always Ready'). And prior to the American Revolution, he moved to the Seneca village of Ganowauges, which was near present day Avon, NY."
• "Red Jacket married and had 10 children with his first wife, Aanjedek, but their union ended in divorce. None of their children survived their father, although Jacket as a surname was used by at least some of his grandchildren. Red Jacket then married Awaogoh, the widow of Two Guns, a Seneca chief who had been killed at the battle of Chippawa." https://windspeaker.com/news/footprints/red-jacket-sagoyewatha-sene...
• https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/9/3/1974180/-Indians-201-Red-...