The Tale of William "Billy" Metcalf: A Siletz Saga
The Tale of William "Billy" Metcalf: A Siletz Saga Introducing William Metcalf’s Story: A Web of Kinship and Survival When we research our family history, we often hope to find neat lines of descent on census rolls, allotment ledgers, or direct ancestral charts. But trying to understand how our family survived the devastating forced removals of the 1850s requires looking much wider. To truly see our ancestors, we have to look sideways—into the testimonies, hearings, and lives of the people who shared their trails, protected their children, and maintained an unbroken web of kinship across the coast. That is why the affidavit depositions surrounding Wi lliam "Billy" M etcalf—and his foster parents, Robert and Lucy Shellhead Metcalf—are so deeply intertwined with our own family’s history. As I've traced our direct ancestors, Frank Selsig, Antone Selsig, and Ella Depoe Selsic, the archives continually lead back to the exact same communities and networks...
