George Bigheart
Birth: 12 Sep 1876 Oklahoma, USA
Death: 29 Jun 1923 (aged 46) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, USA
Burial: Greyhorse Indian Village Cemetery, Gray Horse, Osage County, Oklahoma, USA
Memorial #: 32813705
Bio: THE OKLAHOMAN (Oklahoma City, OK)
6/30/1923 In Memoriam (Saturday)
George Bigheart, 46 years old, of Grayhorse, died Friday at a city hospital. The body will be sent to Hominy Saturday for burial there.
George was the son of Peter Cassidy Bigheart. His father had two wives (Wah-ko-ki-he-kah and Moh-se-che-he) and it's not clear which, if either, was George's biological mother.
George first married Pah-me-she-wah circa 1904/1905 and had three children with her:
1) Charles Bigheart (1905-1918)
2) Um-pah-to-kah (1906-1910)
3) Wah-ko-sah-moie - aka "Pearl Bigheart" (named in honor of George's half or step-sister)
After the death of his first wife Pah-me-she-wah in 1913, George remarried for a second time to "Ne-kah-ah-se (Elizabeth). They applied for a marriage license in July 1913, but aren't recorded as being husband & wife until June 1917.
George was one of at least sixty (probably much higher) Native peoples who were murdered in the late 1910's - to mid 1930's in the Osage Co., Nebraska area; during a period known as the "Reign of Terror".
During this "Reign of Terror", citizens of the Osage Nation were being swindled out of their land, their wealth and the rights/revenues from the oil/mineral deposits on their land at every level (via personal relationships with non-natives, local officials and the federal government). Instead of old fashioned swindling, some chose to murder to get what they wanted.
On June 28, 1923, William Hale and Bryan Burkhart (murderers) put George Bigheart on a train to Oklahoma City to be taken to a hospital. There, doctors suspected that he had ingested poisoned whiskey. Bigheart called his trusted white friend and attorney William "W.W." Watkins Vaughan (F.A.G. Memorial #77024665) of Pawhuska, asking him to come to the hospital as soon as possible for an urgent meeting. Vaughan complied, went to Oklahoma City and the two men met that night. Bigheart had said he had suspicions about who was behind the murders and had access to incriminating documents that would prove his claims.
Vaughan boarded a train that night to return to Pawhuska, but was missing the next morning when the Pullman porter went to wake him. His berth on the train had not been used. Vaughan's body was later found with his skull crushed beside the railroad tracks near Pershing, about five miles south of Pawhuska. Bigheart died at the hospital that same morning. The documents that Bigheart gave to Vaughan were not found.
A book was written about the "Reign of Terror" and is called: "Killers of the Flower Moon". There are several short documentaries on Youtube about it and Martin Scorsese is releasing a film based on the book in 2023 (called "Killers of the Flower Moon").
Inscription: Although he sleeps,
His memory doth lives,
And cheering comforts,
To his mourners give
Family Members
Parents
Chief Peter Cassi Bigheart 1838-1915
Spouses
Pah-me-she-wah Bigheart 1886-1913
Elizabeth Bigheart 1881-1937
Siblings
Rose Mary Bigheart Tallchief 1880-1921
Children
Charles "Charley" Bigheart 1905-1918
Elizabeth Bigheart 1906-1910
Wah-ko-sah-moie "Pearl" Bigheart MacCagnan 1908-2001
Maintained by: KIN-TUCKEE (48106830)
Originally Created by: Janet Capps (47055972)
Added: 2009-01-10T19:32:34.000Z
URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32813705/george-bigheart
Citation: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32813705/george-bigheart: accessed May 14, 2024), memorial page for George Bigheart (12 Sep 1876–29 Jun 1923), Find a Grave Memorial ID 32813705, citing Greyhorse Indian Village Cemetery, Gray Horse, Osage County, Oklahoma, USA; Maintained by KIN-TUCKEE (contributor 48106830).
