Nancy Quindaro Brown Guthrie

Daughter of Wyandot clan chief Adam Brown, Nancy Quindaro was a force of nature. Nancy married Abelard Guthrie and they had quite a love story, as Abelard–an abolitionist–was not a member of the Wyandot clan. After moving away to Kansas to establish new roots, the pair took part in Wyandotte County’s first marriage. After finishing their marriage business in the area, Nancy and Abelard helped negotiate the purchase and gifting of land that then 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 Wyandotte 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 was formerly Quindaro after the town came to an end. Originally established in the 1980’s the museum was open for tourists around 40 years before falling into disrepair. The community still wishes to save this historic site.  

Nancy Quindaro Brown was the daughter of Adam Brown, Wyandot 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 of respect among the Wyandot Nation, but she was also a force of nature and a trailblazer in her own right. Nancy Quindaro even made headlines as it was recorded in a journal from 1844 that she was the most beautiful of Wyandot women, with a “tall and faultless form”.

Nancy Quindaro met Abelard Guthrie, an abolitionist, while they were both living in Ohio. At the time, Abelard was a land agent and coincidentally was also much disliked by Nancy’s father, the pair even involved in a feud that at one point resulted in her father’s arrest following him shooting at Abelard. When the Wyandot were forced out of Ohio, Abelard and Nancy moved off to begin a new life together in Kansas. Shortly after making the move, the pair married in 1844, taking part in Wyandotte County’s first official marriage. 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. 

In 1856, Nancy and Abelard helped broker a deal in which a portion of the Wyandot land distribution from the Big Turtle Clan, as a result of the Wyandot Tribal Allotment, would create the town of Quindaro. Abelard acquired a significant portion of land within the town and he and Nancy helped to build this first free port on the Missouri River, which served as an Underground Railroad site and a temperance town. Despite her protests, the status of Nancy and her children as members of the Wyandot nation was revoked and they became Citizens. Nancy remained in Kansas for the remainder of her life, although not within Quindaro. She passed away In Cherokee County, Kansas in 1886.

Kansas Historical Society. Quindaro, Kansapedia. January 10th 2010. Accessed April 21st 2022. https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/quindaro/15163.

KCKCC and WYCO Historical Mural, Accessed April 21st 2022. https://www.kckcc.edu/community/arts-entertainment/arts/kckcc-and-wyco-historical-mural.html.

Quindaro & Western University Ruins, Kansas Travel. Accessed April 21st 2022. http://kansastravel.org/kansascitykansas/quindaro.htm.