2021 Spring Newsletter

Thomas Richardville “Adulterer ?”

Western Sprite... February 19, 1904.

Elder A.H.Deane, the Baptist missionary, who is well known by most of the old settlers in this area, lives in Cass County, and here's a letter from his pen published last week in the LEADER at Harrisonville: "The Miami tribe was first settled by the United States Government in the State of Indiana, but in the course of time they outgrew their reservation an asked the one-half of the tribe might be transferred to Kansas. Accordingly, they were giver a small reservation about eight miles long on the Marais des Cygnes River south of Paola. About the year 1860, an Indian, Thomas Richardville, came from Indiana to visit this half tribe in Kansas. Several years before coming out here, he married a white woman, but she had grown tired of her Indian hus band and deserted him for a white man. The Indian father had kept the three children born to this union. He as possessed of education and was a man of influence among his people. During his visit with the Kansas Miamis, his friends persuaded him to bring his children and settle among his people. This he did, and married a full-blood Miami girl named Mary Toosna, the granddaughter of Mrs. Sally Big leg.

Thomas Richardville

Not long after this marriage, both Mr. and Mrs. Richardville were converted and he became an earnest student of the Bible. From his reading of the New Testament doctrine of divorce and marriage, he had come to the conclusion that he was living in adultery, being the husband of two wives, though he had been legally divorced from the first accord ing to the Miami Jaw and custom. He was much troubled about this and grew more and more convinced that it was his duty to put away his second wife. This caused great grief and commotion among the Indians. They called a council and I was selected by the Chiefs to hear the case and advise the parties interested. When the day appointed for the council arrived, I took one of my deacons, John Boyd of Paola and drove down to the Miami village. Arriving there about noon, we went to the council house, a long, low log structure of one room. In one end was a large fire¬place. There were a few chairs and stools in the room, but aside from the interpreter, there was not a living soul in sight. After we had waited a long time without anybody coming, I said to the interpreter that I wondered why they did not come, as the hour was getting late. He replied that they had all been ready since morning and awaited my pleasure where are they?' "Out in the brush", he replied. I told him to call the in. I never knew what he did, but in a few minutes the room was packed with Indian men and women. After I had read a passage of Scripture and prayed I had the interpreter call for someone to state the case. I had not heard it previous to this. Mr. Richardville arose and made a clear statement of his marriage in Indiana; his wife's desertion of him; his separation and his second marriage. Then, he spoke of his conversion and his subsequent conception of what the Bible taught. He seemed very much moved and ended his speech in good English with, "Now, Mr. Deane, must I leave my wife?" I wanted to see if there was any domestic trouble at the bottom of his conviction, so I called for the wife. She came forward, the most grief-stricken creature I ever saw, and between her sobs she said that she loved her husband and that he loved her and that he was a good, kind husband, but if it was wrong to live with him, she would give him up though it would break her heart to do so. I saw clearly that there was no domestic trouble. I never had seen such grief as the usually stoical Indians manifested. I questioned the husband and found that it was all a matter of convection and that he really did not want to leave his wife, so I took up my Bible and read Matthew 5:31 and 32, Mathew 16:8 and 9, Mark 10: 11 and 12. In this case, I dwelt upon the twelfth verse and decided that if l. Page 20