Stone gardens: Bridge between eras for the Peoria people - Chief James “Jim” Charley Sr. (c. 1823–1887)
- Dennis McCaslin
- 6 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Chief James “Jim” Charley Sr., also known as James Charlie, was born around 1823 in Ohio during a time of great upheaval for the Peoria people. As a member of the Illinois Confederation tribes, he experienced the repeated forced removals that defined his early life.
He moved with his tribe from Ohio to Illinois near Peoria, then to Delaware County, Indiana, and later to Kansas, where he settled near the town of Paola in Miami County. These journeys followed a series of treaties that reshaped the lives of the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Piankashaw, and Wea peoples.
Like many tribal leaders of his generation, Charley gained his knowledge through practical experience, oral traditions, and interactions with missionaries, traders, and government agents rather than formal schooling. He rose steadily within the tribe’s leadership structure, serving as second chief for nearly thirty years under the respected head chief Baptiste Peoria.
After Baptiste’s death in 1873, Charley succeeded him as head chief of the Confederated Peoria, becoming a guiding father figure to his people during one of their most challenging periods.
His leadership proved vital during the tribe’s final major relocation. Following the Omnibus Treaty of 1867, Charley helped lead the remaining Peoria people from their Kansas reservation to new lands in Indian Territory. .Together with Baptiste Peoria, he played a key role in purchasing land from the Quapaw and Shawnee tribes, securing the territory along Spring River where the modern Peoria community still resides.
A diplomatic leader known for his friendship toward white settlers, Charley helped ease tensions during this transition. His influence was so significant that a crossing on Spring River was long known as “Jim Charley Ford.”
Chief Charley was married at least three times. His documented spouses included Mary Charley (1838–1881) and Lizzie “Kaw-wah-tah” Charley (1854–1907). He had at least one son, James “Maw-che-haw-to-sah” Charley Jr. (1860–1908), and was survived by two sisters and a brother. His personal life remained closely tied to the responsibilities of tribal leadership amid ongoing cultural and economic changes.
On October 31, 1887, at approximately age 64, Chief James Charley Sr. passed away in Indian Territory. At his own request, he was buried in Peoria Indian Cemetery near the banks of Spring River in Ottawa County alongside white settlers as a final symbol of the bridges he had built between communities.
Prominent local citizens, including W. C. Lykins, Daniel Eddy, William Bilpert, Frank Fish, George Smith, John Clark, and C. Manly, served as his pallbearers. His obituary in the Baxter Springs News highlighted his decades of service and his role as a steady leader for the Peoria people.
Chief James Charley Sr. lived through the final chapters of the Peoria Tribe’s great migrations and the early years of settlement in Oklahoma. His life of resilience, diplomacy, and adaptation helped ensure the survival and continuity of the Peoria people, who today remain a federally recognized tribe in Oklahoma.
Though detailed personal records from this era are limited, his legacy endures through tribal history, local landmarks, and the community he helped establish.
