Penis wa ge sik is an American indian name that can be found in the 1885 Wisconsin census (
Sawyer County, Wisconsin).
While doing some genealogical research for my father-in-law, I needed to look at census records for Wisconsin. I went to the library and started scrolling through the microfiche. The 1885 Wisconsin census took special note of Civil War veterans - asking veterans to list their injuries from the war. Let me tell you, the guns they used were real terrors -- to the user moreso than the target. I saw more fingers and thumbs lost than I could count. At the same time, I recalled reading that the National Rifle Association was founded because something like 98% of all the shots fired in the war missed their target. A couple of Union officers got together after the war and figured something had to be done to improve the accuracy of our citizen soldiers - they founded the NRA.
There were a lot of Native Americans included in this census. While a goodly portion had by this time acquired european names, there were thousands with strings of unpronouceable syllables masquerading as names: Shi shi bi di in gon, On ge go bos gwa, Ni bo nem o go gua, Gid we we gnas i bi kew, Ashes was kog g jig -- I could go on, but I think you catch my drift.
All of these entries were written in a beautiful flowing script. The main requirement for being a census-taker must have been great penmanship. That and an ear for nonsense syllables.
My perusal of the 1885 census led me to believe that there were only three occupations at the time: farmer, housekeeper, and hunter. Homestead after homestead would record the male of the household as a farmer. His wife was a housekeeper. Indians were hunters. It didn't matter what age the indian was -- they were listed as hunters. 70-year old grandmothers were listed as hunters. 2-year old children were listed as hunters. A family of twelve living together, three generations, and each and every occupant listed as a hunter.
Farmer, housekeeper
Farmer, housekeeper
Farmer, housekeeper
Hunter, hunter, hunter
Farmer, housekeeper
Farmer, housekeeper
Hunter, hunter, hunter
Beautiful penmanship, but not very imaginative -- and then:
Farmer, housekeeper
Farmer, housekeeper
Hunter, hunter, wigwam-keeper
Apparently there was at least one Ojibwe woman who just refused to hunt.
Priceless. I made so much noise trying to stifle my laughter that the librarian started giving me dirty looks.
I never found the records my father-in-law was looking for, but the hours were still well spent.
The Sawyer County census records for 1885 can be viewed online at
http://www.rootsweb.com/~wisawyer/census/1885census.htm
I've just recently obtained a photo of a painting of my great-great-great-grandmother ... her name was "Mi nigh e quo y" or "precious lady"