Part III: Maria of the Sixes– A Timeline of a Life Remembered

Part III: Maria of the Sixes: A Life Remembered

circa 1940 Dance Apron of the Kwatami (Sixes) 

The story of Maria (known as Mary Wilson after her marriage) is a reflection of the profound shifts experienced by the indigenous peoples of southwestern Oregon during the 19th century. While historical records often refer to her as 'Sixes Mary'—a colonial name derived from the Sik-ses-tene ('people by the far north country')—our family recognizes her as a Kwatami woman, rooted in that coastal homeland. Even her 1866 marriage certificate, which dismissively relegated her to the status of an 'Indian girl,' is a reminder of how the administrative record sought to diminish her agency at every turn. Adopting her true name is an act of reclamation, honoring the identity she carried long before she was ever recorded by an Indian agent

The Kwatami World: Her Early Life

During those 17 years, Maria’s world was a cycle governed by the land and the water, not by bureaucratic schedules.

• A Managed Landscape: The Kwatami did not just "live on" the land; they actively cultivated it. Her family likely used controlled fire to maintain prairies, which encouraged the growth of camas, berries, and acorns. This made the region incredibly productive, supporting a stable, permanent village life.

• The Seasonal Rhythm: Her year was marked by the bounty of the coast:

  • Spring & Summer: Fishing for salmon in the Sixes River and gathering coastal resources.

  • Fall: Harvesting and drying plant foods for the winter.

  • Winter: Time spent in the winter villages, sharing stories and oral histories that passed down Kwatami identity, creation stories, and family lineages from one generation to the next.

• Community & Identity: There was no central "king" or "president." Identity was localized to the village and the kinship group. Life was deeply connected to their environment; their understanding of the world was taught through those oral histories, which formed the bedrock of her understanding of survival and community.

Chronological Timeline: The Life of Sixes Mary (Mary Wilson)

• 1839 (Age 0): Born in her ancestral homelands of the Sik-ses-tene Kwatami near the Sixes River. Her early life was rooted in the traditions and landscape of the southern Oregon coast.

• 1856: A Life Upended: At approximately 17, Maria lived through the pivotal 1855 treaty negotiations—the final days of a free, coastal life before the forced relocations that followed. Following their displacement from the Sixes River, she and her community endured the arduous journey to the Siletz Agency. This harrowing forced march, conducted by both foot and boat, was more than a physical relocation; it was the defining, traumatic start to their life under government oversight.

The Trail of Tears

• 1856–1866 (Age 17–27): A decade of survival and transformation. Maria learned to navigate a world forcibly rewritten by government policies—moving from the freedom of the Sixes River to the confines of the Siletz Reservation, all while holding onto her heritage.

• Removal: The Kwatami and other coastal tribes are forcibly removed from their homelands and relocated to the newly established Coast Reservation, later known as the Siletz Agency.

• Disarmament: Upon arrival, the tribal members are stripped of their firearms, stripping them of their ability to hunt for food.

• 1856–1861:

  • Systemic Deprivation: Federal policies forbid tribal members from hunting, working off-reservation, or taking jobs, effectively creating a forced dependency on government rations that were consistently under-supplied.

• 1861–1862:

  • The "Bad Winter": A severe winter combined with the mismanagement and corruption of the Indian Agent, Mr. Biddle, leads to widespread starvation. Tribal members are forced to survive on rotten potatoes and, in desperate cases, the carcasses of dead horses.

• May 24–27, 1862:

  • Chiefs Speak Out: Sixes George, along with other tribal leaders including Old Bill of the Rogue Rivers, William of the Chetcoes, and En-ches-sa of the Sixes, meet with Superintendent Wm. H. Rector.

  • The Plea: The Chiefs formally present their remarks to be sent to the President. They describe their conditions as being "treated like slaves" and demand either the fulfillment of treaty promises (food, supplies, and autonomy) or the right to return to their ancestral lands.

• 1863: Birth of daughter Abigail (Abbie).

• August 25, 1866 (Age 27): Maria married Andrew Wilson in Benton County. The marriage record is a striking, tangible piece of history—seeing that specific date in the clerk's handwriting, recorded just two months before the Oregon legislature passed the Act to Prohibit the Intermarriage of Races, makes their attempt to build a life together feel all the more intentional and defiant. Following this union, she became known in Siletz official records as "Sixes Mary"—a name that anchored her identity to the home she had been forced to leave.

• 1866–1884: During these years, Mary and Andrew Wilson established their family in the Empire City/Coos Bay area. This period represents a significant chapter of living off-reservation, navigating life within a growing coastal settlement, and managing the complexities of a family split between their life in Coos and their Siletz origins. The 1870 census records indicate that Andrew worked as a farm laborer while Mary kept house; they likely fled north to this coastal community to escape the height of the anti-Indigenous racial tensions pervasive in Oregon history during this time.

• 1868: Birth of daughter Lavina Wilson.

• 1870: The Census Context: At age 31, she is recorded in the Coos Bay census, living off-reservation with her husband and children, rather than on the Siletz Reservation.

• 1880: Abbie marries Charles Butler in Benton County: On October 11, 1880, Abigail (Abbie) Wilson’s marriage is recorded in Benton County. The marriage affidavit and certificate specifically place the event at Charles Butler’s Camp, offering a rare, tangible snapshot of the family’s location and social connections outside of the reservation system during this time.

• 1884: [November 18, 1884] A Witness to Change: Following the Act of July 4, 1884, which mandated annual federal census rolls, H. Price issued a formal directive to Agent F. M. Wadsworth. The ultimatum was clear: Maria and her children must return to the agency with a "bona fide intention to remain" or be denied all government aid. This mandate forced families living off-reservation back into the Agency's direct administrative control, placing Maria in the difficult position of choosing between her hard-won independence in Empire and the essential rations of the reservation.

• Circa 1885: A Forced Return and New Realities: Following the 1884 directive demanding her return, Mary shifted her life back toward the Siletz Agency. This return was not merely a submission to federal authority, but a complex navigation of survival, marking a transition from her years in Empire back to the reservation sphere. The 1885 Siletz Census reflects this new chapter, listing Maria Wilson (45), Minnie (14), and Louisa (12). Louisa’s presence at this time marks the last confirmed record of her within the agency rolls; her path after this year remains one of the family’s many "unwritten" histories, a common reality for young women navigating the shifting requirements of that era.

Siletz Reservation

• 1885: Siletz Census lists Maria Wilson (45), Minnie (14), and Louisa (12).

1885 Siletz Agency that includes daughter Louisa 

• 1 Jul 1886: Siletz Census listed Mary Wilson 46, Minnie Wilson 15, Lavina Wilson 13.

• 30 Jun 1887: Siletz Census listed Mary Wilson 50, Lavina Wilson 16.

• 16 Jul 1888: Lavina Wilson marries Robert "Bob" Felix in Benton County. This explains her absence from the Siletz Census records alongside Mary in subsequent years, as she began her own life and household following her marriage.

• Pre-1889: During this period, the Siletz Census begins designating Mary as a "widow." However, this appears to be an administrative label reflecting Andrew’s absence from the reservation rather than a confirmed death. This is supported by family oral history and supplemental deed records, which suggest the family maintained active movements and property interests in Benton County long after his supposed passing.

• 30 Jun 1891: Siletz Census listed Mary Wilson, Minnie Wilson (24), and granddaughter Esther Wilson (3). (Note: While Minnie married Albert F. Reed in Albany, Oregon, earlier this year, Albert does not appear in the Siletz census records alongside the family household

• 1891: Minnie Wilson marries Albert F. Reed (1848–) in Albany, Benton County, Oregon.

• 1891–1892: Documented Land Transactions: Benton County deed records (Book J, p. 358) confirm Andrew J. Wilson purchased an 80-acre tract (E 1/2 of NE 1/4, Sec 26, T11S, R8W) from Max and Adolphina Friendly for $250 in gold coin. By 1892 (Book N, p. 265), the property was sold to Willard G. Wright for $1,000. These transactions offer a rare glimpse into the family’s economic life, showing their active participation in the local property market during a period when Indigenous land ownership was under intense pressure.

• 30 Jun 1892: Siletz Census listed Mary Wilson (55), Minnie Wilson (25), and granddaughter Esther Wilson (4).

• 30 Jun 1893: Siletz Census listed Mary Wilson (56), Minnie Wilson (26), and granddaughter Esther Wilson (5).

• 1893: Documented in the Lincoln Leader (Dec 28) receiving care during convalescence from 'Uncle' Jim Chitwood.

• 1894: Issued a land allotment in Lincoln, Oregon (July 26), under Accession Number IA-0533-444 This was a rare, tangible piece of recognition from the government after decades of displacement.

• Historical Note: A Pattern of Loss In tracking these allotments, a recurring pattern emerges: for many, like Mary, the struggle to secure and hold onto their land was short-lived, with death often occurring within just a few years of receiving their patent. This is not a coincidence, but a reflection of the crushing weight of systemic displacement. When we look at these allotments, we aren't just looking at land—we are looking at the final, fragile efforts of a generation to anchor their families in place, only to have those roots systematically severed by federal policies like the 1901 Act.

 

Name	Mary Wilson
Issue Date	26 Jul 1894
Place	Lincoln, Oregon, USA
Meridian	Willamette
Township	010s
Range	009W
Aliquots	Lot/Trct 11
Section	9
Accession Number	IA-0533-444

Mary Wilson

26 Jul 1894

Lincoln, Oregon, USA

Willamette

010s

009W

Lot/Trct 11

9

IA-0533-444

 

• 1896: Passed away on April 22, marking the final chapter of her journey within the Siletz sphere.

• 1910: Siletz Agency at Government Hill

  

• Legacy: Through her daughters Abigail (Abbie) Wilson, Lavina Wilson and Minnie Wilson, Mary's lineage continues, connecting many current Siletz families back to their Kwatami origins.

Sisters: Abbie Wilson and Lavina Wilson

Note on Economic Standing of 1891 and 1892:

 It is significant to compare these land transactions with Mary’s status in the Siletz census records during the same period. While she was formally designated as a "widow" in the Agency rolls beginning in 1887—a status often used by the government to imply economic dependency—these Benton County deed records show the Wilson family actively participating in the property market. These transactions occurred while Mary was recorded as a widow, creating a sharp discrepancy between her "dependent" status in the administrative world of the reservation and the family’s continued engagement in local commerce. Whether these assets were managed by Andrew, Mary, or both, this history demonstrates that the family’s economic life extended well beyond the limits defined by the Agency’s census records

Aurilla Tom (Selsic) and Augusta "Toots" Simmons  (Smith)

• The Legacy Continues: "While Maria’s life in the ancestral homeland was cut short by the reservation era, her strength persisted through her children. Her family line continued to grow in the years that followed, with the birth of her granddaughter, Aurilla, in 1899—marking a new generation that carried the name and the Kwatami story into the 20th century."

Historical Note: 

When Mary Wilson received her allotment in 1894, it was held in "trust" by the federal government under the General Allotment Act (Dawes Act). The official policy promised that for a 25-year period, this land would be protected, tax-free, and held in trust by the U.S. government to ensure tribal members could establish themselves. However, this "protection" was often illusory. As we’ve seen, administrative loopholes—and later, the Siletz Indian Inherited Lands Act of 1901—allowed the government to bypass these safeguards, often declaring allottees "competent" to handle their own affairs or forcing the sale of inherited lands long before that 25-year window closed. This gap between the promised 25-year security and the reality of aggressive taxation is exactly why so many families, including ours, lost their ancestral land.

While this map documents the reservation layout, the later Siletz Indian Inherited Lands Act of 1901 functioned as a forced-fee policy, specifically engineered to strip these protected, tax-free allotments of their status and rapidly push tribal properties out of Native ownership. This legal framework is a key reason why tracing family allotments into the 20th century remains a significant challenge for researchers.

Abbie Jon-Wilson listed as heir in the Lincoln County

A review of the Lincoln Leader archives reveals the devastating human cost of the 1901 Act. Notice of land auctions for former tribal allotments were frequent, as families were suddenly burdened with property taxes they had no way to pay. These newspaper notices are the final, tragic record of the mechanism that stripped this land from the descendants of the original allottees.

The realization that these federal policies—like the Siletz Indian Inherited Lands Act of 1901—were specifically designed to dismantle tribal landholdings can be infuriating. When you look at those newspaper notices, you are essentially looking at the "legalized" version of dispossession.

This notice is not an isolated incident; my research has uncovered over 20 similar records in the Lincoln Leader  (September- December 1905), all documenting the systematic auctioning of these family allotments. Seeing these notices repeated so often highlights how pervasive this policy was and underscores the relentless pressure faced by the Wilson family and other Siletz and Grand Ronde families and their community during this period.

A Life of Resilience: Navigating the Change

The era of removal did more than displace Maria from the Sixes River; it forced her into a life of constant, quiet negotiation. From age 17 onward, she became an expert in survival—balancing the loss of her ancestral home with the necessity of keeping her family together within the confines of the Siletz Agency and the growing settlement of Empire City.

She did not just endure this time; she actively shaped a path for her children within it. Her marriage to Andrew Wilson in 1866 was a defiant act of stability, a deliberate effort to establish a recognized household in a world that sought to categorize her only as a "ward of the state." Every census, every record of their residence in Empire, and every step she took toward securing a land allotment for her family represents a conscious choice to anchor her identity—and that of her daughters—to their history, even when the institutions around her were working to overwrite it.

Looking back at the timeline of her life, we can see the arc of that resilience:

• 1839–1856: Born into the Kwatami homeland; survived the traumatic transition from traditional coastal life to forced removal.

• 1863–1873: Built a household in Empire City, reclaiming agency by establishing a family despite the pressures of the reservation system.

• 1884–1894: Navigated the administrative "tug-of-war" with government agents, balancing the family’s economic participation in local land markets—including Andrew’s purchase and sale of property—with Mary’s efforts to secure a land allotment in Lincoln County to anchor the family in the face of widespread dispossession.

• 1896: Passed away at Siletz, leaving a lineage that bridged the Kwatami past with the future of her descendants.

While this timeline tracks the markers of her journey, it is ultimately a record of survival against overwhelming odds. By documenting these dates, locations, and legal records, we aren't just looking at a series of events; we are looking at the structure of a life that was constantly contested by the state, yet persistently defined by her own choices. These records are the evidence of her effort to remain, to belong, and to build a future for her daughters. As we close this timeline, we honor not just the dates on the page, but the woman who navigated them with quiet, unwavering resilience.

Tom Sisters Great Granddaughters of Sixes Mary
(L to R) Emma Russell (Tom), Gladys Staggs (Tom), Mercelene "Myrt" Flagg (Tom) and Alice Werth (Tom). These traditional items—the woven baskets and handmade shawls—were not just accessories; they were symbols of the resilience of our Kwatami culture, kept alive and passed down through generations despite the pressure to assimilate

The Family of Aurilla, Granddaughter of Mary Wilson.

(From left to right: Alta Courville (Tom), Alice Werth (Tom), Robert (Bob) Tom, Mercelene "Myrt" Flagg (Tom), Gladys Staggs (Tom) front row Doris RidingIn (Tom), Abraham "Abe" Tom (Grand Ronde), Aurilla Tom (Selsic) and Emma Russell (Tom). These faces are a testament to the resilience of our Kwatami ancestors—a living, breathing legacy that continued long after the records faded.

A Note on the Family Story

My name is Amber, and these are my ancestors. While I did not have the privilege of knowing my great-grandparents, I was fortunate to grow up knowing my great-aunts and uncle—people I loved very much and who remain close to my heart. This project began with a simple desire to uncover the voices and stories that paved the way for us. My grandmother instilled in me the vital responsibility of being our family’s history keeper, teaching me that our stories deserve to be honored and remembered. As I digitize records, piece together our family tree, and untangle the branches of our history, my goal is to honor those who came before us—the ones whose resilience, endurance, and stories have shaped who we are today.

Our Ancestral Lineage: This history is rooted in the deep, enduring ties of our people:

• Tututni & Kwatami (Siletz): Mikonotunne (Mackanontin), Chemetunne (Joshua), Yukichetunne (Euchre), and Sik-ses-tenne (Sixes).

• Grand Ronde: Umpqua, Shasta, Klickitat, and Lower Chinook.

Sources:

• Siletz Reservation Map: Oregon History Project.

• Kwatami Woman's Dance Apron: National Museum of the American Indian.

• Trail of Tears Presentation: Oregon Department of Education.

• "Inherited Indian Land for Sale," Lincoln County Leader, September 8, 1905, page 4.

• Government Hill, Siletz, OR: Lincoln County Historical Society Archive, Oregon Digital, 1910.

Works Cited & Historical Resources

• Federal Correspondence and Agency Records:

  • Office of Indian Affairs, Correspondence, 1862: Official remarks of the Siletz Chiefs regarding conditions at the Siletz Agency (Record Group 75, M234, R 613).

  • Census and Allotment Records: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Indian Census Rolls (Siletz Agency, 1886–1893) and Land Allotment Records (Lincoln, Oregon, 1894).

• Academic & Historical Context:

• Lewis, David G., PhD: The Quartux Journal. Extensive research on the Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley and the systemic challenges faced by coastal tribes during the reservation era.

• Interview with Ethnohistorian David G. Lewis: Discussion of treaty ratification and the displacement of southwestern Oregon tribes.

• Public Land Survey System (PLSS) Mapping Tool: Used to geolocate and visualize land allotment IA-0533-444 (Lot 11, Township 10 South, Range 9 West) within the modern landscape of Lincoln County, Oregon.

• Indian Census Rolls (Siletz Agency, 1885–1893): National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Microfilm Series M595. Specifically utilized records for the years 1885, 1886, 1887, 1889, 1891, 1892, and 1893 to track household composition and residency for Mary Wilson and her descendants.