This large Black Walnut tree can be found within Letchworth State Park. It grows directly beside the grave of Mary Jemison, known as "the White Woman of Genesee". It is significant because of why it was planted, by whom it was planted, and the source from which it was planted.
The plaque on the tree simply states:
BLACK WALNUT
PLANTED BY JAMES SHONGO, GRANDSON OF MARY JEMISON
CIRCA 1875
The fascinating tale of Mary Jemison is beyond the scope of this waymark, but the reader is encouraged to research and read more about her life. Briefly, from Wikipedia (
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"Mary Jemison (Deh-he-wä-nis) (1743 – September 19, 1833) was an American frontierswoman who was adopted in her teens by the Seneca. When she was in her teens, she was captured in what is now Adams County, Pennsylvania, from her home along Marsh Creek. She became fully assimilated into her captors' culture and later chose to remain a Seneca rather than return to British colonial culture.In 1823, the Seneca sold most of the remainder of the land in that area, except for a 2-acre (8,100 m2) tract of land reserved for Jemison's use. Known by local residents as the "White Woman of the Genesee", Jemison lived on the tract until she sold it in 1831 and moved to the Buffalo Creek Reservation. Jemison lived the rest of her life with the Seneca Nation. She died on September 19, 1833, aged 90. She was initially buried on the Buffalo Creek Reservation."
"Forty-one years later the Old White Woman returned to her Valley. The Buffalo Creek Reservation had been sold, and the old burying ground was threatened. Her grandchildren approached Mr. Letchworth to see if he could help them. He immediately invited them to bring the bones of their grandmother to his Glen Iris Estate. In March of 1874, the remains of Dehgewanus were removed from her original grave, placed in a new walnut coffin, and brought to the Genesee by train. In ceremonies held in the ancient Council House that blended both the Seneca and Christian ways, Dehgewanus was buried on the bluff above the Middle Falls." Source: (
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Great detail of the exhumation and move of Mary Jemison's body from Buffalo to Genesee is recorded in "The Reburial of Mary Jemison" (
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It is there that we read the following statements regarding the black walnut:
"Mary Jemison was buried in the Mission burial ground near Buffalo... A large black walnut tree grew over the grave of the "White Woman," its great branches extending protectingly over it and the spot where Red Jacket was first buried."
And
"The new coffin, of solid black walnut, elegantly mounted in silver rested close beside the grave."
And
"The entire contents of the grave having been duly gathered and placed in a new coffin, the lid was secured, and it was conveyed by the undertaker, as directed by " Dr. Shongo," to the Erie Railway depot, whence it was conveyed to Castile Station, Wyoming County, N. Y., and the day following re-interred with appropriate ceremonies near the old Council House of the Senecas on the Genesee River, near the Upper Falls of the Genesee. At the time of the Indian Council held within this historic building on the 1st of October, 1872, Thomas Jemison, a venerable grand-son of the deceased, planted a black walnut tree at the spot which is now the foot of her grave. The nut from which this tree grew came from the tree which sheltered the old Jemison grave on the Indian Mission ground. The black walnut coffin is enclosed in a stone sarcophagus, which is closely sealed with cement. "
For a rare glimpse at this tree is it's earlier days, there are a number of photos at www.letchworthparkhistory.com/lpa154.html including these which appear to show the young black walnut:
1880's: (
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1880's or early 1890's: (
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