It’s been Catawba lore since 1796. One family’s discovery revealed the story was real
It was a rainy 1960s Fourth of July. Macon Basinger and her mother rifled through a wooden box her father inherited from his aunt.
When they weeded the documents, they discovered a contract from 1796 that detailed a trip two men, John Redhead and John Cappey, took to Ireland to perform for paying audiences. They were Catawba men hired to perform dances wearing traditional Native American garments. The two men were to receive $100 each.
But the names were new to modern-day Catawbas. Neither of the two performers made it back to the colonies. As the story goes: they were abandoned in Edinburg, Basinger said.
Still, they’ve returned to the Catawbas in a different way because of the document’s discovery and will live on in the tribe’s cultural collection. The document and its history will also be featured on Antiques Roadshow after Basinger brought the document and other items to a nearby taping of the TV show.
Story of the Catawba agreement
Two Irish men with the last name Miller created the agreement and shared the cost for the Catawba men’s lodging, food, clothing and other needs, said Ensley Guffey, archivist for the Catawba Indian Nation. The men were supposed to return to South Carolina in one year.
One of the Catawba men booked a ride back to the colonies after being abandoned, but died on the trip, Basinger said.
Basinger said she’s not sure how her family came in possession of the contract. It belonged to her great aunt, whose second husband had the document. The men could have been his ancestors, she said. His name was Miller and and the two white men had the last name Miller.
Since 1796, that story had become lore. Now, the document is proof the legend was real.
“This story has been passed down for generations among the Catawa, but this is the first time we’ve had documentary evidence of these two men that actually names them,” Guffey said.
Agreement featured on TV show
Basinger decided to take the contract and some other items to a taping of the PBS program “Antiques Roadshow” in Raleigh, N.C. last May. She was told her 18th-century paintings had little value.
Then she said, “Oh, by the way” and reached in her purse and pulled out the contract.
The historians were thrilled, she said.
She waited as they researched it to verify its authenticity.
“They were able to verify that it was an original document from that period, that it was legitimate,” Guffey said.
But Basinger said the document didn’t belong to her, and keeping it for herself would be akin to making money off the Catawba men like the Millers had done.
“And there was a thought of, ‘I don’t think they want this because it was so negative, unhappy story,’” she said. “But then I thought, ‘Well, let them decide what to do about it.’”
The Antiques Roadshow appraisers valued the contract at $2,000 to $3,000.
Basinger said even if the contract had been worth $300,000, she still wouldn’t have sold it.
“I don’t care how much it’s worth,” Basinger said. “I’m going to give it back to the Catawbas — it belongs to them.”
Document on display
Guffey said the Catawbas are grateful to Basigner for handing the contract over
“She could have made a tidy little sum off of this, but instead her immediate instinct was to reach out to us and try and return it to the Catawba Nation,” he said.
Guffey said the Catawbas, who have heard the story over the years, are excited to have a piece of the history in their hands. He’s transcribed the document and will display it at the cultural center on the reservation. It will also be available online.
The episode of Antiques Roadshow will air in January 2024.
