Goyathlay (Geronimos Family) Goyathlays father was Taklishim - The Gray One, the son of Chief Mahko of the Be-don-ko-he Apache tribe. His Mother, although a full-blood Apache, had the Spanish name, Juana. Geronimo said he had three brothers and four sisters, but as far as is known only one of these was an actual sister, all the others being cousins. There is no word in the Apache language to distinguish cousins from siblings. All seven of these brothers and sisters of Goyathlay can be traced, and among his nephews, who in their turn were sometimes called his brothers, were his most trusted warriors. Wives and children of goyathlay (Geronimo) Goyathlay had many wives, but not all at the same time. Most of his wives and children were killed young in various raids or died young from illnesses, and he divorced at least one. According to his own story, he always had at least two at one time, except for right after his divorce. At one point he had three wives at the same time. Because his wives were known by both their Apache names and English names, and the Apache names are often misspelled, its difficult to determine the exact order and overlapping of his marriages. There wasnt a lot of detail recorded about many of his wives. Its generally agreed that he had at least six wives, and possibly as many as nine. Alope, his first wife, who was Chiricahuas Apache of the Nednai band, was said to have been the great love of his life, whom he mourned until the day he died. She and their three children were killed at the massacre of Kaskiyeh, as well as his mother. After she was killed, he married Chee-hash-kish and had two children, Chappo (son) and Dohn-say (daughter), then he took a second wife,Nana-tha-thtith with whom he had one child. Dohn-say had a daughter named Nina Dahkeyah. He later had a wife named Zi-yeh who had a daughter named Eva and a son named Fenton. At the same time he had another wife, named Taz-ays-slath who had one son, and a wife named Shtsha-she. Goyathlay had a wife named Marionetta (Early Morning) who had a child named Little Robe,who died and was buried at Fort Bowie. Later he had two more wives, one named She-gha or Sha-gha who had a daughter, and one named Ih-tedda, whom he had captured in a raid. When he and his band were captured, he kept his wife Zi-yeh but not the younger wife, Ih-tedda because white society said he could only have one wife. However, He and Zi-yeh continued to share separate rooms in the same house with Ih-tedda. Ih-tedda, also known as Kate Cross-Eyes, had one daughter Lenna (also known as Marion), and a son named Robert. Ih-tedda died in her nineties in Mescalero, New Mexico, and was the last of his wives to die. Goyathlay had a wife named Francisco or Francesca, who some say was the same as one of the women named by their Apache name above. She had a battle with a mountain lion who ripped off her scalp and part of her face, but she fought it off and killed it with a knife. Two other women with her at the time of the attack replaced her scalp and she survived, but was scarred for life. Its said she thought no one would marry her because of the way she looked, but Goyathlay believed she should have a good husband because she was the bravest of all Apache women, so he married her. I could find no other mention of her, except that she died in 1892 and her grave is at Fort Sill, but it is set off away from other family members and bears the simple inscription, Francisco, an Apache woman, with no reference to Goyathlay as her husband. Goyathlay’s last wife was Azul, who he married in 1906, just three years before his death. The last of Goyathlays children, a daughter, was born the year he surrendered to General Crook. She was taken from him and never knew her parents. Named Ruth, she was raised by a wealthy white family named Hill from El Paso, Texas and later married Clarence Wadsworth. She died in December 1973. Living decendants of Geronimo He has a great-grandson, Harlyn Geronimo living in Mescalero, New Mexico. His great-grandmother Kate was one of Goyathlays wives and died in 1954 when he was seven. Harlyn is an actor and sculptor. Actress Carolyn Jones, who portrayed Morticia in the TV series, The Adams Family, was widely reported as 1/8th Apache, and a decendent of Goyathlay. I asked the late actress’s sister, Bette Jones Moriarty, about that claim, which she dismisses as a Hollywood publicity stunt. Harlyn Geronimo, great-grandson of Goyathlay, also finds the claim doubtful. As far as I am concerned, my immediate family and I are his only descendants, he said. Where is Goyathlay buried? On February 17, 1909, Goyathlay grew ill and after 23 years in captivity, died of pneumonia. He was 83 years old. He was never able to return home to Arizona. Geronimo was buried in the Fort Sill Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery. Eight exhibit buildings including Goyathlays guardhouse and the graves of Goyathlay and other Chiefs can be found at the Fort Sill Museum today. Some legends say his people dug up his body that night and reburied him in a hidden gravesite in the Chiricahuas Mountains. This story circulated for many years.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 08:20:09 +0000
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