And now for an encore appearance of none other then the world famous tooth puller himself, the infamous Dr. U-ta-wa-un. I really thought I was done with this fellow. Guess who he is traveling with today!
A big thanks to Randy Blood for discovering and sharing this.
Document
New York Clipper, 15-Jun-1889
Extract
New York Clipper, 15-Jun-1889
THE U-Ta-Wa-Un MEDICIAN [sic] CO. are successfully touring through Vermont, the following being the roster of the troupe; Dr. U-Ta-Wa-Un, Lee-o-nett-ta, Billy [Vino/Yino ?], J. W. Brennan and M. F. Jordon. The birthday of the doctor occurred June 3 and his wife presented him with a violin, the members of the company presenting a gold headed umbrella.
Key Data
- He is touring in Vermont in June of 1889
- He is traveling as “The U-Ta-Wa-Un Medician Co.”
- Lee-o-netto is traveling with him
- there are 3 other members of the troupe
- The doctor was born on June 3rd
- His wife is traveling with the troupe
- It does not give the name of his wife or mention her as a member of the troupe (unless they think Dr. Lee is his wife)
Discussion
What do we have here? The year is 1889 and I see another family member, Lee-o-netto, is traveling with U-ta-wa-un as he tours the State of Vermont. I wonder if her new husband, Charles Dodge is traveling with the company?
Finding another Kanistanaux family member touring with this man almost guarantees the woman found with him in the 1870 census is the same person as Marleah Kanistanaux. Now remember – I said ALMOST. As I locate more and more documents on this family, I find myself constantly revising my early theories. This theory could still fall before the last curtain.
Perhaps spelling wasn’t the doctor’s best subject in school, perhaps the printer made an error, or perhaps it was a deliberate misspelling. In any case, I can’t help but grin at the name of the company.
Other titles, products, and company names I have found the man using are;
- Great Indian King of Medicine
- Lightning Champion Tooth Puller
- the Great British North American tooth puller
- British American Indian Medicine Prophet
- King of Dentists
- A Genuine Indian Medicine Prophet
- Indian Oil
- King of Pain
- Blood Purifier
- Or-ri-nee-ah
- Indian’s Tooth Power
- Dr. U-TA-WA-UN’s Indian Remedy & Blood Purifyer
- Queen of the Valley Remedy
- Ma-ha Indian medicines
- Last Sensation Company
- Queen of the Valley Party
Names of people who traveled with him are;
- Marleah, the Prairie Flower (1877-1879)
- Lee-o-netto (1889 in Vermont)
- Billy [Vino?] (1889 in Vermont)
- J.W. Brennan (1889 in Vermont)
- M.F. Jordan (1889 in Vermont)
- Prof. Vilton (1891)
- Mile Vuletta (1891)
- perhaps Dr. Laton Kanistanaux
- perhaps Dr. Isaac Kanistanaux
It wouldn’t surprise me to find a few more names to add to these lists before I am done.
I have been learning a little bit about the newspaper this notice appears in. The New York Clipper was the first real entertainment industry publication. In it’s early years it covered all types of entertainment including sports. This is the newspaper of choice for researching early baseball, circus, and theatre. It is available on the Fulton History site, an incredible free database of New York State papers. Unfortunately, the paper was originally filmed in black & white instead of grey scale or color, which means it is incredibly hard to read and makes the OCR process almost completely useless. Some outfit should really make an effort to re-film this valuable resource. With a good index, hundreds or perhaps even thousands of researchers would rejoice.
I really need to search this resource for all the names of my Indian Doctors and all the companies or shows I have come across in connection with them. I could perhaps follow them around, determine who else traveled with them, and where they traveled. By doing so, I could collect names of hotel and events they were involved with and with a little luck locate memorabilia. You never know what trivial little bit of information will lead to solving a mystery or breaking down a brink wall.
Unfortunately, as much as I would enjoy getting side tracked into more research on U-ta-wa-un, I don’t think it will produce anything of value to my original goal without spending a lot more time on it. I need to stayed focused on reaching my desired goal. I can always come back to him if I strike-out with other research.
If there are any researchers out there looking for an interesting project, I would encourage you to consider researching this man and his troupe in the New York Clipper and other newspapers of the time. His life is certainly not boring!
See the Kanistanaux Map at Google.
Do you have any information to add or questions?
Please leave a comment.
The Ne-Do-Ba Research Journal 