This week, I’m talking about Geronimo and my visit to his grave. He’s had countless books written about him, along with several movies and documentaries. People even shout his name when they jump out of airplanes. It turns out there are a lot of theories on where that came from (including something about paratroopers at Fort Benning, Ga.), but let’s not get off track.

Geronimo was a larger than life individual who people still talk about today. I want to preface this post by stating that I am nowhere close to being an authority on Geronimo, his life, or his legacy. I’m not going to write much about his backstory for that reason. Many have already done that work.

This is Geronimo’s grave. He is buried between one of his daughters, Eva Geronimo Godeley, and one of his wives, Zi-Yeh. A debate has raged for years about whether or not his remains are still here. A long-standing rumor has it that a grave-robbing posse of Yale students that included Prescott Bush (father of George H.W. and grandfather of George W.) stole his skull and some of his remains in 1918. I’m not going to spend time on that but you can read about that here.

I first visited Geronimo’s grave in 1999 when I visited Oklahoma with Sarah the first time. If I’m remembering it correctly, we didn’t have to get a pass to visit the cemetery and we just drove past it slowly. This time, I was there much longer.

Geronimo is buried on the Fort Sill grounds at Beef Creek Apache Cemetery. According to Find a Grave, there are about 340 burials recorded there. There are two other Apache prisoner of war (POW) cemeteries nearby (which I also visited), but this is the largest. It was established in 1894.

You may have noticed there are a lot of coins at the base of Geronimo’s grave. There are many reasons for that. Some do it (as people do at other graves) as a way to leave a token of their visit. Others do it as a sign of respect. But many do it hoping their visit will bring them good luck.

One Who Yawns

Contrary to popular belief, Geronimo was not a tribal chief. But he was considered a warrior, a leader, and a medicine man. According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture:

Geronimo was born in the 1820s, perhaps near present Clifton, Ariz. His Apache name was Goyahkla (One Who Yawns). He achieved a reputation as a spiritual leader and tenacious fighter against those who threatened his people’s ways of life. Later he was called Geronimo (Spanish for Jerome), most likely because of the way he fought in battle against Mexican soldiers who frantically called upon St. Jerome for help. He willingly accepted the name. Geronimo’s hatred toward Mexicans intensified when Mexican troops killed his mother, wife, and children in 1850. In addition, after the United States–Mexican War ended and the United States entered the Southwest, Geronimo faced another enemy that threatened his tribe’s existence.

During the Apache wars, Geronimo fought alongside Cochise and other tribe leaders. Their guerrilla-like raids and attacks forced the United States to negotiate treaties that confined Geronimo and his band to the San Carlos Reservation in the 1870s. Finding reservation life unacceptable, Geronimo escaped and resumed his raiding activities in Mexico and in the United States. Gen. George Crook and later Gen. Nelson A. Miles pursued the Apache leader for the next several years. Geronimo finally surrendered to Miles in September 1886.

As POWs, Geronimo and his followers were sent first to Florida, then Alabama, and finally Fort Sill in 1894. Geronimo farmed at Fort Sill. As his fame grew, his presence was requested at events such as the 1898 Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition in Omaha, the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, and the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. In 1905, he rode in President Theodore Roosevelt’s inauguration parade. Geronimo received money for his appearances at such events and even sold autographed items/photos of himself.

In February 1909, Geronimo was thrown from his horse while riding home and lay in the cold all night until a friend found him. He was very ill and near death. His last words were reported to be said to his nephew, “I should have never surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive.”

Geronimo’s Children

Geronimo had several wives over his lifetime. To the right of his gave is a marker for one of them, Zi-Yeh. I don’t know exactly when he married her but it is thought to be before 1885. They had at least two children together, Fenton and Eva. Born in the 1880s, Fenton is thought to have died on July 22, 1897. He is buried at Beef Creek Apache Cemetery near his parents.

Born in 1889, Eva was the only daughter of Geronimo and Zi-Yeh. Accounts say that Geronimo was especially attached to Eva. Zi-yeh died from tubercular lupus in 1904. Geronimo was concerned for Eva, being that many of the women in Geronimo’s family suffered in childbirth. He supposedly did not want her to marry for that reason.

At the time of Geronimo’s death, Eva was in school at Chilocco, Okla. She returned for her father’s funeral. She later married classmate Robert Godeley. They had a daughter, Evaline Golene, on June 21, June 1910. Some say the baby died soon after, others say she lived two months and died on Aug. 20, 1910. That is the date on her marker. Eva died from tuberculosis on August 10, 1911. Evaline’s marker is to the left of Eva’s. I don’t know what happened to Robert Godeley.

One more child of Geronimo’s is buried at Beef Creek Apache Cemetery and that is Lulu Geronimo. Her Apache name was Dohn-Zay. She was his daughter with wife Chee-Hash-Kish. Lulu was born around 1865 and married Mike Dah-Ke-Ya, a warrior who fought with Geronimo. Dah-Keh-Ya and three of their children are buried at Beef Creek. Geronimo’s other children and wives are buried in several other states.

As you look at the dates on the markers, with the exception of Geronimo, you may be asking yourself the same question that I was. Why did they die so young, both children and adults?

From what I can gather, it was a combination of things. Native American POWs were allowed to have homes on the base and were not imprisoned in cells. Some of the men became trusted scouts. But it is undeniable that their land and way of life had been taken from them. Illness and infant mortality were other factors. In the end, when your spirit has been broken, how long can it be before your body is as well?

There are others buried at Beef Creek Apache Cemetery whose stories I want to share with you. Come back next time for Part II.

Are you ready for more stories from the Fort Sill Post Cemetery in Lawton, Okla.?

This handsome tree-shaped monument literally stands out among the other standard issue military grave markers. You can’t help but notice it. Sadly, I could find little about Private Thomas Scanlon. But what I did discover just makes me even more curious about him.

The Mysterious Private Scanlon

Born around 1870 in Patterson, N.J., Thomas Scanlon was living in New York City, working as a laborer, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army on Oct. 19, 1901. He was 32 at the time, a rather late age to be joining the military. He served as a private in the 29th Battery of the Field Artillery. I could find absolutely nothing about that unit in my searches.

The only Army record I could find (thanks to a friend) about Thomas describes him as being 5 feet 8 inches tall with dark hair and blue eyes. He died on Feb. 28, 1903 at Fort Sill. The cause of death on his Army record is “acute alcoholic poisoning”.

The tree monument erected for Thomas is stunning. On the top left is a broken branch, indicating a life cut short. A calla lily is carved into the side, indicating majestic beauty or resurrection. Near the foot of the tree are the words “Erected by His Battery.” His marker says he was 37 but he was probably actually closer to 34.

For those of you who are familiar with tree monuments, I don’t believe this is a Woodmen of the World marker. There is no WOW seal or other symbols to indicate it is one. Above his name are two crossed field guns, which is the insignia of the Field Artillery branch of the U.S. Army.

Thomas Scanlon’s fellow soldiers must have thought a great deal of him to pool their money to buy him such a beautifully carved monument. It’s sad that it’s the only thing left to represent his short life on this earth. What happened to cause Thomas to enlist? Did he have a drinking problem that had led him to seek a more stable life? Where was his family? These are questions we will probably never have the answers to.

McCune and Stewart

The next pair I want to feature are Henry P. McCune and Altha Elizabeth Stewart. Had it not been for Ancestry.com information, I’m not sure I would have figured out their connection due to the different last names. Their box graves intrigue me. I’m thinking they were created at some later time than the 1890s but I’m not at all sure.

Born in Ohio in 1850, Henry P. McCune moved to Kansas with his family as a boy. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1867 at age 17. The 1870 U.S. Census places him at Fort Coucho in Bexar, Texas as what was called a “waggoner”. I know of at least one person in my family tree who served as one during the Civil War.

In 1880, Henry married Altha Addington White. She had been married once before and her son, who came to this second marriage with her, was named Robert White. Together, Altha and Henry had six children together, one dying in infancy (the twin brother of Birdie). They are pictured below. After the family moved to Fort Sill sometime around 1888, the three younger McCune daughters were born.

I’m don’t know what his cause of death was, but Henry died on Dec. 13, 1892 at age 42. Altha remarried to J.J. Stewart in 1894. They had one child, William, together. She died in childbirth on Sept. 5, 1897 at age 42. J.J. had her buried beside Henry at Fort Sill.

According to Robert White’s Find a Grave memorial, J.J. Stewart was unable to care Altha’s children after her death. So at age 22 and single, Robert took his half-siblings and made the journey from Ft. Sill to Washita County where he homesteaded on a quarter section of land and they lived in a dugout. J.J. Stewart died in 1936 and is buried in Sentinel Cemetery in Washita County, Okla.

Per Robert’s half-sister Ethel McCune Evans, “Because of difficult circumstances raising small children, our brother thought it would be better for us if we were in an orphans’ home, so he took the three younger children to the Buckner’s Orphans Home in Dallas, Texas, in March 1899. When on his way back form Dallas to the farm, in what is now Port, Okla., Bob worked at Marietta, Indian Territory, for a few months, where he became ill and died in the fall of 1899”.

The McCune children were scattered after that. They married, had children, and died. One of the McCune children, Henry Edward, served in the U.S. Army during World War I. After he came home to Lawton, he worked at Fort Sill as a civilian. He died in 1951 and is also buried at Fort Sill Post Cemetery.

Suffer the Little Children

There are several little box graves for children that died during this mid 1870s to 1890s era at Fort Sill. Annie Alberta Keeley was the daughter of “Post Qe. M. Sergeant” James and Emma Keeley. I am guessing that his title was possibly that of quartermaster, but I don’t know for sure.

Annie’s parents are not buried at Fort Sill Post Cemetery with her. I have no idea where they might be.

I found out much more about the family of Walker Norvell. He was the second child of Col. Steven Thompson Norvell and Sarah Elizabeth Proal Norvell. A native of Maine, Steven Norvell enlisted in the U.S. Army on Jan. 23, 1858 as a private in Company A, 5th Infantry. He would go on to fight in a number of Native American incursions until the Civil War, as he steadily climbed up the ranks. He became a major on March 25, 1890 and a lieutenant colonel on July 1, 1898, retiring on February 14, 1899.

He was promoted to Colonel on the retired list on April 23, 1904. During the Spanish American War, he commanded a squadron of the 10th Cavalry at the battles of La Guasima, San Juan, and subsequent actions leading to the surrender of Santiago. He also served with future President Theodore Roosevelt at the Battle of San Juan Hill.

Born on Nov. 27, 1873, Walker only lived three days. His three siblings all grew up and lived long lives. Interesting to note, his parents and all three siblings are buried at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, D.C. His sisters, Sarah and Alice, both married military men. Brother Guy Steven Norvell attained the rank of colonel like his father.

I’m including one last child’s marker for little William O. Lambertson. Like Annie Keeley, I know nothing about him beyond when he was born, when he died, and the named of his parents. William F. and Clara O. Lambertson are not buried with him. I did find a record for a William F. Lambertson who died in 1890 of “chronic myelitis” while serving at Fort Keough, Mont. He is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Moores Hill, Ind. I suspect this might be little William’s father.

“A Soldier Who Died For A Soldier”

A number of the soldiers buried at Fort Sill Post Cemetery died in combat. But in the case of Lieutenant Col. Harold Hubert Bateman, his death was brought about while trying to save one of his brothers in arms off the battlefield.

Born in California in 1887, Harold Bateman’s father was a chaplain in the U.S. Army. Harold enlisted on May 5, 1906 at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. He served in Troop D, Fifth Cavalry until his discharge at Fort Leavenworth, Kans. on May 4, 1909 as a sergeant. He immediately re-enlisted and served with the Fifth Cavalry until his discharge on August 9, 1909 at Fort Leavenworth, Kans. He wed Winnifred Maud Palmer on February 28, 1910.

In 1910, Harold was a commissioned a second lieutenant serving in Battery B First Field Artillery in the Philippine Islands. By 1916, he was serving in the Third Field Artillery and was due for promotion to first lieutenant. During World War I, Harold served in France and, following the Armistice, was part of the army of occupation on the Rhine River in Germany. By 1919, Bateman had attained the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Ninth Field Artillery stationed at Fort Sill. Being assigned to Fort Sill was a request Harold has specifically made, having been stationed there before. By this time, he and Winnifred had a little daughter, Suzanne.

On July 4, 1919, Harold and several officers went on a fishing trip four miles west of Fort Sill on Medicine Bluff Creek at a spot known as Heyl’s Hole. The deep depression in the creek was thought to be the cause of several previous drowning deaths. Private Joe Bukoby of F Battery, 14th Field Artillery, was riding Harold’s horse and somehow rode into the creek.

Harold, seeing Bukoby, yelled for him to return to the shore. Bukoby, who didn’t know how to swim, panicked and fell from his mount. Harold pulled off his boots and jumped into the water to save him. He reached Bukoby and was pulling him to shore when the young man again panicked and got a choke hold on Harold. Both men went down as Captain Francis Legette jumped in after them. When Legette reached the spot where the two men were last seen, he was pulled down by Bukoby, who was still submerged. Legette managed to break loose of the private’s hold and returned to shore without having secured either of the men. Their bodies were located later and brought up.

I learned from newspaper accounts that both Harold’s wife, Winnifred, and his sister, Evangeline (who had arrived for a visit the day before), were present on the shore when the tragedy occurred. Harold’s father, Major C.C. Bateman, had just returned home from serving as a chaplain in France during World War I. He and Harold’s mother traveled to Fort Sill to attend their son’s funeral and burial. The funeral was well attended and the newspaper reported that the Lawton Monumental Words was making the memorial stone you see in the photo above.

I could find little about Pvt. Joseph Bukoby, who was born in Austria but had lived in Muscatine, Iowa for four years before his 1916 Army enlistment. Bukoby had been at Fort Sill since 1917. I don’t know where he is buried.

Next time, join me at Beef Creek Apache Cemetery where we will visit the grave of famous Apache leader and medicine man, Geronimo.

Note: Some of the Native Americans I am writing about today have complex histories. Each one could fill an entire blog post on their own. I simply don’t have the time or space to do them justice here. I’m also aware that my grasp of Native American history is not perfect since historians dispute some of the events of the pioneer era discussed here. If I got something wrong in the details, I apologize.

Sarah and I traveled on to Medicine Park because she was participating in the Tour de Meers, an annual bike ride that takes place on Memorial Day. Meers is a small town located just north of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. You can choose to ride 10, 22, 30, 57, or 62 miles. Sarah’s desire to participate in the Tour de Meers was actually the initial catalyst for our road trip.

While Sarah joined her fellow cyclists, I headed to nearby Fort Sill to visit several cemeteries. The first one I wanted to stop at was the Fort Sill Post Cemetery. Because Fort Sill is first and foremost an Army base, I had to stop by the Visitor Center to get permission to enter. Fortunately, all I had to do was explain why I was there, fill out a few forms, and have my picture taken. They gave me a day pass to put on the dashboard of Sarah’s car and off I went.

Located on the base is the Fort Sill National Historic Landmark and Museum, opened in 1935. I wish I had been able to stop by to look around but I didn’t have enough time.

Fort Sill Post Cemetery is a neatly tended burial ground that contains close to 7,150 graves. Most are the requisite plain white military markers. But there are a number of folks here that you might not expect to be interred at a military cemetery.

Early Fort Sill History

Long known as the home of the U.S. Army’s Field Artillery, Fort Sill started as a frontier cavalry post. Before that, the land was home to indigenous groups such as the Wichita, the Kiowa, and the Comanche.

In 1851, Capt. Randolph B. Marcy and a company of the Fifth Infantry passed through the area. Marcy suggested establishing a fort at the place that became the old post site. After the Civil War, Col. Benjamin H. Grierson (who became Fort Sill’s first post commander) and Buffalo Soldiers of the Tenth Cavalry constructed Camp Wichita there in 1868. The post was intended to serve as headquarters for the Kiowa-Comanche Reservation created under the provisions of the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867.

In 1869, the 10th and elements of the Sixth Infantry began building a more permanent base known as Fort Sill. It was named by Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, commander of the Military Department of the Missouri, after Brig. Gen. Joshua W. Sill, a West Point classmate of Sheridan’s who died during the Civil War.

Under Grierson’s watch, Fort Sill assumed an important role in policing Indian Territory. Units from Fort Sill fought on the Southern Great Plains in 1869 and in the Red River War of 1874 to 1875. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, they served in a variety of peacekeeping duties. This included policing the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889, and protecting settlers and Native Americans who lived in or were forcibly relocated to the area by the federal government.

I’ll cover more about Fort Sill’s history and Geronimo in a few weeks. He’s buried in a different cemetery on Fort Sill property.

Chief’s Knoll

At the front of the cemetery is what is known as Chief’s Knoll and the burial site for several prominent Native American chiefs. Having done minimal research before I visited, I was in awe as I began reading the names. Quanah Parker, his mother, and his sister are buried here. You can see their monuments in the picture below. You’ll remember from my post of a few weeks ago that I found the grave marker of his great-great-grandson Richard James Wahkinney at Elgin Memorial Cemetery.

Further back are grave markers for prominent Kiowa and Araphao tribal leaders.

Mother to a Chief

Born around 1827, Cynthia Ann Parker was abducted from her white family by Comanche raiders on the Texas frontier when she was only nine years old. Raised a Comanche, she wed Chief Peta Nocona and had three children with him. The oldest was Quanah, whose name translates as “fragrant” or “sweet smelling”. She was eventually discovered by white men who traded with the Comanches. Her family, having searched for her for years, quickly organized a ransom offer.

But the Comanches refused all offers, mainly because Cynthia Ann didn’t want to go. While born white, she was now culturally Comanche, the wife of a chief, with children she loved and did not want to leave. When she was 34, her camp along a tributary of the Pease River was attacked by Texas Rangers. Some believe Chief Nocona was killed but there’s some debate about that.

Regardless, her two sons fled. Quanah was 12 at the time. Along with her infant daughter Prairie Flower, Cynthia Ann was “freed” from captivity. But in Cynthia’s mind it was akin to being abducted again. She tried many times to escape and return to her family. Sadly, Prairie Flower died a few years after they were returned to white society. Cynthia herself died seven years after that at age 43. Many believe she starved herself to death. She and Prairie Flowere were originallly buried in Anderson County, Texas.

Quanah and his brother Pecos were taken under the wing of Horseback, the head chief of the Kwahadi people. Horseback taught them the ways of the Comanche warrior, and Quanah grew to considerable standing among his tribal peers. Pecos is thought to have died in 1862.

In 1875, Quanah surrendered to Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie and taken to Fort Sill where he led the Comanches successfully for a number of years on the reservation. While Quanah was never elected principal chief of the Comanche by the tribe, the U.S. government appointed him principal chief of the entire nation once the people had gathered on the reservation and later introduced general elections.

Proud of his Native American roots, Quanah was a canny observer who knew he could learn much from whites while trying to bridge gaps for the betterment of his people. Quanah quickly established himself as a successful rancher and investor. Parker encouraged Native American youth to learn the ways of white culture, yet he never assimilated entirely. He remained a member of the Native American Church, and had a total of seven wives over his lifetime.

By the time Quanah died in 1911, he had attained something akin to celebrity status. Visitors to southwest Oklahoma, including Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, made it a point to call on him. His obelisk in the cemetery was erected in 1926.

Quanah never forgot his mother, Cynthia Ann. Shortly before he died, after years of legal wrangling, he had Cynthia Ann’s remains moved to Post Oak Mission Cemetery in Oklahoma. In 1957, she was re-interred beside Quanah at Fort Sill Post Cemetery. In 1965, the state of Texas arranged for Prairie Flower’s remains to be moved from Texas and re-interred next to her mother and brother at Fort Sill.

T’ene-Angopte (Kicking Bird)

The above-ground tomb of Kiowa leader Kicking Bird intrigues me. I read on one web site that his grave was originally marked by a wooden cross that deteriorated until it was lost, so officials weren’t sure where his remains were actually located in the cemetery. This leads me to wonder if his remains are actually in the tomb I photographed.

Born of Crow and Kiowa ancestry, Kicking Bird was known as T’ene-Angopte, which can be translated as Striking Eagle. After the death of Dohasan, chief of the united Kiowa bands in 1866, he assumed leadership of the tribe’s peace faction. He was a signatory of the Little Arkansas Treaty and the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867.

Some think Kicking Bird was poisoned, but nobody knows for sure. His role as a peacekeeper between the Kiowa and whites caused him to gain enemies on both sides. He died on May 5, 1875 at age 40.

Satanta (White Bear)

Satanta, also known as White Bear, was born around 1820 on the northern Plains. Much of Satanta’s adult life was spent fighting U.S. settlers and military. He participated in raids along the Santa Fe Trail in the early 1860s, and in 1866 became the leader of the Kiowa who favored resistance against U.S. military forces.

In 1867, he spoke at the Kiowa Medicine Lodge Council and because of his eloquence, U.S. observers gave him his nickname of White Bear. At the council, Satanta signed a peace treaty that obligated the Kiowa to resettle on the reservation in Oklahoma. Shortly thereafter, however, he was taken hostage by U.S. officials who used his imprisonment to coerce more Kiowa into resettling.

For the next few years, Satanta took part in a number of raids in Texas where cattle ranchers and buffalo hunters were steadily pushing Kiowa and Comanche onto reservations. It was one of these raids that eventually led to Satanta’s arrest in 1871 by former Civil War Union General William T. Sherman and put on trial with others involved in the raids. He narrowly escaped death and was freed after two years of imprisonment at the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Texas

A short time later, Satanta was lured into a peace council, arrested for parole violation, and sentenced to death. Humanitarian groups and Native American leaders protested the harsh sentence. In 1873, Satanta was paroled on the condition he remain on the Kiowa Reservation.

In 1874, during the Red River War, Satanta presented himself to U.S. officials to prove he was not taking part in the hostilities. His loyalty was rewarded with a return to the penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. Four years later, an ill Satanta was informed that he would never be released. On October 11, 1878, he is reported to have jumped to his death from an upper floor of a prison hospital. Some of his family, however, don’t believe he would have taken his life.

Satanta was buried in the prison cemetery in Huntsville. In 1963, his grandson artist James Auchiah received permission to move Satanta’s remains to Fort Sill.

I’ll have more stories from Fort Sill Post Cemetery soon. For now, here’s a photo of my pass from the day I visited Fort Sill’s cemeteries.