Ely S. Parker
Ely Samuel Parker (1828 – August 31, 1895), born Hasanoanda (Tonawanda Seneca), later known as Donehogawa, was a U.S. Army officer, engineer, and tribal diplomat. He was bilingual, speaking both Seneca and English, and became friends with Lewis Henry Morgan, who became a student of the Iroquois in Upstate New York. Parker earned an engineering degree in college and worked on the Erie Canal, and other projects. He was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel during the American Civil War, when he served as adjutant and secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant. He wrote the final draft of the Confederate surrender terms at Appomattox. Later in his career, Parker rose to the rank of brevet brigadier general. When General Ulysses S. Grant was elected as U.S. president, he appointed Parker as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to hold that post. Early life and education Ely Parker was born in 1828 as the sixth of seven children to Elizabeth and William Parker at Indian Falls, New York, which was then part of the Tonawanda Reservation. He was named Ha-sa-no-an-da and later baptized as Samuel Parker. Both of his parents were of prominent Seneca families; while his father was a