Westgate Hill Cemetery, grave of Corsair
Westgate Hill Cemetery, grave of Corsair
HER Number
13234
District
Newcastle
Site Name
Westgate Hill Cemetery, grave of Corsair
Place
Elswick
Map Sheet
NZ26SW
Class
Religious Ritual and Funerary
Site Type: Broad
Grave Marker
Site Type: Specific
Gravestone
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Form of Evidence
Structure
Description
Corsair was the infant son of Shontayiga (Little Wolf) and Okeweme, members of a troupe of Native Americans from Iowa (Black Bear clan), who arrived in Newcastle in 1845 to exhibit their songs and war dances. The group spent almost a week here. The young boy died in Dundee soon after their visit to Newcastle. The family requested that he was buried at Newcastle.
The inscription on the ledger stone reads 'THE GRAVE OF CORSAIR INFANT SON OF SHON-TA-YIGA AND OKEE-WEME NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS OF THE IOWAY TRIBE WHO DIED AT DUNDEE 8TH OF 2ND MONTH 1845 AGED 8 MONTHS. THE REMAINS WERE INTERRED AT NEWCASTLE BY DESIRE OF THE AFFLICTED PARENTS'.
The inscription on the ledger stone reads 'THE GRAVE OF CORSAIR INFANT SON OF SHON-TA-YIGA AND OKEE-WEME NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS OF THE IOWAY TRIBE WHO DIED AT DUNDEE 8TH OF 2ND MONTH 1845 AGED 8 MONTHS. THE REMAINS WERE INTERRED AT NEWCASTLE BY DESIRE OF THE AFFLICTED PARENTS'.
Easting
423690
Northing
564120
Grid Reference
NZ423690564120
Sources
Alan Morgan, 2004, Beyond the Grave - Exploring Newcastle's Burial Grounds, page 118; Fabrice Le Corguille, 3 March 2019, 'Condenser toute une vie en un trait, toute une ame dans une expression' (Powerpoint presentation for a lecture held on 3 March 2019 at the Musee des Beaux Arts de St. Lo, Paris); 'Saint-Lo. O-Ke-We-Me, vedette d'un jour au musee des Beaux-Arts', article in Ouest France, 4 March 2019; Marcelle Simon, 2019, 'Condenser toute une vie en un trait, toute une ame dans une expression', review of Fabrice Le Corguille's lecture for Les Amis des Musees municipaux de Saint-Lo