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The Buffalo History Museum
Pierce, M. B. (Maris Bryant), 1811-1874
(1.0 linear ft.)
English
Reprocessed/retroconverted; 1993/07/29; Peter Nelson
Mary Jane Carroll; gift; 1884/10/04; unknown
Maris B. Pierce was an educated Seneca Indian who lived most of his life on the Buffalo Creek and Cattaraugus Reservations. An 1840 graduate of Dartmouth College, he was one of the first Indians to be receive a college education. He returned from college to the Buffalo Creek Reservation, where he was appointed an official interpreter and also taught in the Indian schools.
Pierce served as recording secretary for Seneca delegations to Albany and Washington, D.C., where he was a highly successful and respected advocate for Seneca rights and Indian welfare.
Correspondence with government officials, census officials, Indians, Quakers, friends and relatives, 1834-1874; sermons, speeches and other writings; copies of New York State and federal laws and bills concerning Indians, 1850-1874; and papers concerning the Seneca Nation, including Council minutes, 1833-1865, treaties and agreements, 1787-1844, financial reports, letters, and mss. written by whites about the Senecas, 1807-1874. Subjects include Indian emigration, timber sales, schools, self-government and relations with the Ebenezers, Quakers and the Ogden Land Company.
Researchers wishing to access this collection must apply for a Scholar Pass and present valid photo ID upon arrival to the library.
Buffalo History Museum Research Library, Mss. B00-9, Maris B. Pierce Papers.
Inclusive Date: 1834 - 1884
Inclusive Date: 1884
Inclusive Date: 1834 - 1874
Inclusive Date: 1838 - 1868
Inclusive Date: 1837 - 1868
Inclusive Date: 1852
Inclusive Date: 1787 - 1874
Inclusive Date: 1787 - 1877
Inclusive Date: 1807 - 1874
Inclusive Date: 1833 - 1865
Inclusive Date: 1814 - 1873
Inclusive Date: 1839 - 1871