Princess Angeline by Edward S. Curtis. 1899. Northwestern University Collection.

Did you know that a princess is buried at Lake View Cemetery in Seattle?  I bet many people don’t even know who she was. The woman known as “Princess Angeline” was the daughter of Chief Sealth, aka Chief Seattle or Chief Si’ahl. Born in the early 1800’s, she passed away on May 31, 1896.

I posted a nine-part essay on photographer Edward S. Curtis last year and in Part 3, recalled the importance of Princess Angeline to Curtis’ future career. She was the first Native American that he photographed. He entered several pictures of tribal members in a National Photographic Society contest. One won the grand prize and a gold medal.

Princess Angeline’s gravestone with Yesler memorial in the background

I recently attended the funeral of a close relative at Lake View Cemetery and found Princess Angeline’s gravestone nearby. Her rough granite gravestone is next to the much grander towering tombstone of Seattle pioneer, Henry L. Yesler. Princess Angeline requested that she be buried close to Yesler since she considered him to be a friend and protector.

There was a magnificent funeral for her in 1896 at Seattle’s Church of Our Lady of Good Help. She was buried in a canoe-shaped coffin. I  learned that school children in Seattle had raised the money to purchase her gravestone many years after her funeral.

The inscription on her gravestone piqued my curiosity. It said that she “was a life long supporter of the white settlers” and that she had been converted to Christianity and was named by Mrs. D. S. Maynard. The inscription also stated she had befriended pioneers “during the Indian attack upon Seattle on January 26, 1856.”

Chief Sealth’s first wife, Lalaida, gave birth to daughters Princess Angeline and Mary. Sealth fathered five additional children. Princess Angeline’s Lushootseed name at birth was Kikisoblu.

Chief Sealth, 1864. Photograph by E. M. Sammis. Photo courtesy of University of Washington Library Special Collection.

Her father, who would grow up to become Chief Sealth, was a young child when Captain George Vancouver anchored his ship in Puget Sound in 1792. The captain was not impressed with what he saw of the indigenous people. He described their village as the “most lowly and meanest of its kind.”

Sealth grew up to be respected among his people for his skills as a warrior, orator, and diplomat. He encouraged the construction of a trading post by the Denny-Boren party, who arrived in the area in 1851. Though that post failed, it set the stage for a trading post later established by Doc Maynard. In 1852, Maynard arrived in a canoe paddled by Chief Sealth and other Duwamish tribal members. Chief Sealth befriended many settlers and the city was named “Seattle” in his honor.

As more settlers moved into the area, conflicts grew between them and the native peoples. In 1854, Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens (who thought the only good Indian was a dead Indian) visited Seattle.  Chief Sealth made an eloquent speech in which he despaired that the day of the Indian had passed and that the future belonged to white man. This oft-quoted speech was likely embellished by journalists of the time. It has undergone several revisions  but its underlying message still rings true. The chief signed the Treaty of Point Elliot in 1855. The Suquamish people were forced to relocate to a reservation across Puget Sound from their tribal lands. Princess Angeline chose to stay in the Seattle area. Princess Angeline, her father, and Curly or Curly Jim are attributed (depending upon the source) with warning the settlers about the approach of hostile natives in the Battle of Seattle. The battle took place on January 26, 1856.

Princess Angeline, daughter of Chief Seattle, at home in 1890. Photo courtesy of University of Washington Library Special Collections.

Native Americans were not supposed to live within the city limits but Princess Angeline, then in her mid-30’s, lived in a small shack on Western Avenue between Pike and Pine streets. Her friend Catherine Maynard, wife of Doc Maynard, thought she deserved a name that would help people recognize her importance as the daughter of the city’s namesake. She named her Princess Angeline– a name she thought was “prettier” than her native name.

As Angeline entered old age, she had offers of help but preferred to continue living on her own in the waterfront shack. She often collected shellfish along the shores of Puget Sound. Angeline did laundry for settlers, made baskets and native handicrafts, and posed for pictures to supplement her income. In her elder years her visage, dressed in a red bandanna, shawl, and several layers of clothes, became iconic of Native Americans of the time.

Princess Angeline’s gravestone

She was often hounded by young boys who followed her and harassed her. She would throw rocks at them to keep them away. Perhaps that’s why there is a collection of stones in front of her gravestone today.

As reported on the  Weird U.S. site, some believe they still see her ghost at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. It is close to where her shack once stood. According to the author, people have seen an old Native American woman quietly sitting on the ground surrounded by several baskets. Others claimed to have seen her near the flower market. Still others report seeing an old woman hobbling into a seat on ferry boats crossing Puget Sound only to vanish before the ship docks. I will leave it up to you to decide if these apparitions exist but Princess Angeline did make a lasting impression on those who came into contact with her.

Interesting fact: My relative, who was recently laid to rest at Lake View Cemetery, happened to have lived in the house that was built for the granddaughter of Seattle founder, Arthur Denny. Her father, Rolland Denny, had a house close by. Princess Angeline’s father, Chief Sealth, had helped Arthur Denny settle in the Seattle area.

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