Nancy Quindaro Brown Guthrie

Daughter of Wyandot clan chief Adam Brown, ‘Nancy’ Quindaro was a force of nature from the beginning. Nancy’s life included quite the love story, she married Abelard Guthrie, an abolitionist and not a member of the Wyandot clan. After moving to Kansas, the pair married in Wyandot County’s first marriage. Abelard and Nancy also made history in their roles by negotiating the purchase and gift of land that created the town of Quindaro, a safe port of entry for free-state settlers.

The Old Quindaro Museum, while currently closed, is a part of the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area and was a well-known African American history museum in the county. Not only does this site pay tribute to the original townsite of Quindaro, but also to the lives that were shaped in the area that formerly was Quindaro after the town came to an end. Originally established in the 1980s the museum lasted around 40 years before falling into disrepair, but the community still wishes to save this historic site.  

Nancy Quindaro Brown was the daughter of Adam Brown, a Wyandot clan chief of the Big Turtle Clan. Quindaro, her Wyandot name, translates to bundle of sticks and signifies strength in numbers (kckpl.org). Not only did she hold a title within the Wyandot nation like royalty, but was a force of nature and a trailblazer in her own right. Nancy Quindaro was also no stranger to controversy as she fell in love with a man her father never would have chosen for her. It was recorded in a journal from 1844 that she was the most beautiful of Wyandot women, with a “tall and faultless form” (kckpl.org) and she had a brain and heart that matched this beauty.

Nancy Quindaro met Abelard Guthrie while they were both living in Ohio and the pair then embarked on quite the love story as not only was Abelard an outsider (not part of the tribe) but he was an abolitionist. At the time, Abelard was a land agent and much disliked by Nancy’s father, a feud that at one point resulted in her father's arrest following his shooting at Abelard (kckpl.org).  When the Wyandot were forced out of Ohio, Abelard and Nancy moved off to begin a life together in Kansas. Shortly after making the move, the pair married in 1844, taking part in Wyandotte countys’ first official marriage (kckcc.edu). Although Abelard was not the chief's first choice for his daughter, after their marriage Abelard was adopted into the tribe. The happy couple went on to have four kids, James, Abalura, Norsona, and Jacob (kckpl.org). 

In 1856, Nancy and Abelard helped broker a deal in which a portion of the Wyandot land was distributed from the Big Turtle Clan as a result of the Wyandot Tribal Allotment to create the town of Quindaro. With Abelards’ abolitionist beliefs and Nancys’ family history, the pair made an excellent match to form the free state port town welcome to all. Abelard acquired quite a bit of property throughout the town and the two remained influential throughout the lifespan of Quindaro. When Quindaro began to fall apart, so did Abelard as much of his wealth was tied up in the town. 

Unfortunately following the Treaty of 1867, the status of Nancy and her children as members of the Wyandot nation was revoked despite her wishes to remain within the tribe and they were all declared citizens (kckpl.org). Although Nancy remained in Kansas for the remainder of her life, she did not stay near Quindaro. In Cherokee County Kansas, in 1886 Nancy died quietly in her home that was on Russell’s Creek and she was then buried in Chetopa Kansas(kckpl.org). 

Kansas Historical Society. Quindaro, Kansapedia; Kansas Historical Society. January 1st, 2010. https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/quindaro/15163.