"The last chief of the Delaware Indians, Charles Journeycake, was born in Ontario -- not Canada but Ontario, Ohio. In that sentence lies several "facts" that must be qualified before this column ends, but that's sometimes how "history" meanders .

What is documented is the Journeycake, or Johnnycake, or Jonacake family lived in Richland County for at least two generations. According to his statements and probably his mother's reckoning, Charles -- or Ne-sha-pa-na-cumin -- was born Dec. 17, 1817, but no official record exists.

He was definitely was the son of Sally Olivia Williams (ca. 1797-1873) and Solomon Journeycake (ca. 1795-1855), who met and lived at Greentown -- the Delaware Indian village (1782-1812) near Perrysville in Green Township, now Ashland County."

Get the Story:
Peggy Mershon: Local History: Last Delaware chief born in Ontario, Ohio (The Mansfield News Journal 9/2)

Also Today:
Delaware tribe delegate to visit Greentown preservation site (The Mansfield News Journal 9/3)