Frontier Folk extra

• UPDATE •

Harris Silvester Revis

Great-Grandfather

Born October 28, 1860

Died July 1, 1941

Link to an Earlier Frontier Folk post.

Revis Genealogy Book

There is a history and family tree written of our Revis family called "Descendants of the Revis • Reavis Family in America". Self published in 2002 by Barbara Lucas and James Shuman. Its documentation begins with the 1680s and continues until about 2000. I only have access to one book, owned by Cousin Lyle. It is out of print and I cannot find any copies online.

It says that Harris traveled extensively in the Oklahoma Territory and worked at an Indian reservation's trading post where he met P. T. Barnum. That is followed by his spending a winter in St. Louis at Mr. Barnum's home. But P. T. Barnum never had a home in St. Louis that I can find. It is possible that the storyteller meant the Barnum Hotel (or a different family). See the description which follows.

Barnum's St. Louis Hotel was a historic 6-floor hotel built in 1854. Owner Theron Barnum was brother to David Barnum who had the famous Barnum's Hotel in Baltimore. This building was located at 2nd and Walnut Streets in St. Louis, Missouri, and has been considered to be St. Louis' first high-rise building. The hotel was designed by architect George I. Barnett. It was torn down in 1890. The location is now in the middle of Gateway Arch National Park. The famous former slave Dred Scott worked as a porter here. He became a local celebrity, greeting visitors at the hotel until he died of tuberculosis on September 17, 1858.

The modern location for the hotel is marked in red.

Personal Speculation

Modern replica of the Salina, Oklahoma trading post founded in 1796 by St. Louisan Jean-Pierre Chouteau.. This was Osage Indian Territory at that time. By 1800 the Chouteau-Osage alliance contributed more than 50 percent of the Indian goods traded in St. Louis. Salina is halfway between Joplin Missouri and Tulsa Oklahoma.

This trading post was shut down and Auguste Pierre, son of J P Chouteau built another along the Verdigris River which was closed in 1833. Those two locations were not open during 1873-1884 (Harris' youth) but Auguste was still trading in the Oklahoma Territory. Because Grandfather Harris is reported to have stayed at a private home in St. Louis, it could have been the Chouteau home (instead of the Barnum Hotel above), as that family was very wealthy, trading in the Oklahoma Territory, and had an enormous home in St. Louis, Missouri.

Back in Oklahoma Territory

Increasing settlement in the Oklahoma Territory, both Native and Euroamerican, necessitated the 1824 construction of Fort Gibson on the Neosho River. The fort coordinated Indian arrivals and provided military protection for the region until 1890. Traders were active in the fort. Harris could have traded there as well.

Fort Gibson - c1880

Oklahoma Territory Three Forks - c1823 click on it to go to its original webpage. Choutequ's Trading Post is on the Verdigris River. Fort Gibson is on the Grand River.

That ends my fanciful theories about our Great Grandfather and his early travels.

Distant Cousin

Now that I have gone off the rails, I will share another interesting tidbit that I found while researching Oklahoma and the frontier. This is Harris Revis' 4th cousin and he was evidently quite a character! Elisha was born in Beardstown, Illinois in 1827.

Elisha Marcus Reavis owned Reavis Ranch in Arizona's Superstition Mountains. Known as the “Hermit of the Superstitions” to Anglos, “White Devil” to the Apaches. Bordering on mythical, this mountain-man was the definition of western grit. You can google "Elisha Marcus Reavis geni" to find an extensive bio on geni.com of his life.

My goal in all of the Dead Family Tales is to present stories that would have been told around a kitchen table or campfire during family gatherings.

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