Who is york

As historian Thomas P. There is no mention of showing off any of any of the other men in the Corps of Discovery as objects of curiosity. According to Slaughter, this exhibition of York made a lasting impression.

Despite his contributions to the Corps of Discovery, Clark refused to release York from bondage upon returning east. Louis and later when the Clark family traveled to Washington, D.

York had a wife back in Louisville, whom he married before leaving on the expedition, and there is some evidence that he had made requests to be returned to Kentucky from Clark's home in Missouri to be with her. During a visit from Washington Irving of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow fame , Clark revealed that he freed a number of his slaves, including York, who he said began a business as a wagonner.

He sold them, was cheated - entered into service - fared ill. Damn this freedom, said York, I have never had a happy day since I got it. He determined to go back to his old master - set off for St. All rights reserved About Us. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Ad Choices. Fact-first journalism when you need it most. Subscribe to OregonLive. By Steve Beaven, The Oregonian. Charles Neal, initiated the project at the college. When Clark was sick, York swam to a "Sand bar" to gather greens for dinner. After the expedition, with Clark preparing to move to St. Louis in , York asked to be allowed to stay in Louisville to be near his wife, Holmberg said.

The Filson curator added York offered to be hired out in Louisville, but then asked for his freedom. Clark said no. That was meant to break York's spirit, Millner added. Katrina Jagodinsky, Susan J. Holmberg said York was freed and set up by Clark with some horses and a cart for a freight-hauling business, but eventually was cheated and tried to make his way back to Clark.

Holmberg and Millner said York died of cholera before he could reach Clark. Another theory is York eventually made his way to a group of Native Americans, becoming a chief and warrior. The story of York has changed over the years, with different generations defining his role in different ways. The first is the enslaved man who was ignored and cut out of the conversation entirely. None of the three are accurate, he said.