Figure 1.--Abram George was a St. Regis Natice American boy know for his healing power. This photograph appeared in a December 22, 1926 Rochester, New York newpaper. Here we see 11-year old Abram and his father Mitchell George. |
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Abram George was a Native American boy who know for his healing powers. A Rochester newspaper reported, "Healed by boy, scores say. Photo shows Abram George, the 11 year old Indian lad and his father. Scores who have undergone his 'laying on of hands' claim he has miraculous power to heal diseased and sick. At one time, the press was so great for his aid that he collapsed from exhaustion."
Abram George, a young Mohawk healer from Akwesasne. Akwesasne is a Mohawk Nation territory (St. Regis Mohawk Reservation) located in northern New York across the intersection of the New York-Ontario-Quebec borders along the St. Lawrence River. Abram was said to be the seventh son of a seventh son. His father was Mitchell George. They reportedly descended from tribal medicen men.
A reader tells us, "I have talked with my mother a few times about Abe. She often told me that he and his father Mitchell George (& family) were wealthy. Not in monetary terms as much as possessions. Many people at that time could not pay cash for his services so they would provide gifts. Locally, people would leave bags of food, blankets, and yes, cash outside of the family home." [George]
St Regis was a mission founded by by Roman Catholic Jesuit priests and groups of converted Kanien from Kahnawake. (1755) It was Named after the French preacher Saint Jean François Regis. The adjacent river became known as the Saint Regis River as did an island in the St. Lawrence River. The Saint Regis Village School was run by the Sisters of Saint Anne until the 1970s. The mission is still active. St. Regis became a refuge for the Mohawk vas they were driven out of the Mohawk Valley, the traditional lands of the tribe to the south. Under the terms of the Jay Treaty (1794) between the United States and Britain, Mohawks may pass freely across the International Boundary. The Seven Nations of Canada (which included Christian Mohawks living in Saint Regis) asserted rights to their lands, but were eventually confined to a small parcel of land through a treaty signed by representatives of the Seven Nations of Canada and the State of New York (1796).
The St. Regis Reservation is referred to as Akwesasne by the Mohawk. The Mohawk were not removed west of the Missussippi durung the Jacksom Administration, we think because the treaty establishing the Reservation was signed with the state of New York and not the Federal Government and there were international complications. The ability of the Mohawk to cross the border has created some problems with smuggling--a particular problem during the Prohibition era. In recent years the Reservation has become notable for its gambling casino and the fact that New Toek state can not tax operations on the Reservation.
We know very little about Abrham's childhood. Based on the photograph here, he was probably born about 1916. His faith healing appears to have been a major asprct of his childhood.
Abram presumably attended the St. Regis Village School.
Abram developed the reputation as a faith healer. There were several press reports during the 1930s and early-30s about his faith healing. One newspaoer article read, "In Batavia, there lives an 11-year-old St. Regis Indian boy named Abram George. The boy has built up a reputation as a healer and, incidentally, a small fortune. His father, Mitchell George, has purchased expensive automobiles for the lad and puts him up at the best hotels when traveling. Now, he wants to buy a home for the boy and he doesn’t want it on an Indian reservation. Through an attorney, he asked the assemblyman to ascertain whether an Indian would lose his tribal rights, ceded to him by state and federal governments, if he bought a home outside the reservation ...." ["Indian healer ...]" He massaged the atrophied limbs and twisted body parts to cure them and held clear haunted houses. He made trips all over the country, as far south as Miami, Florida.
Abram’s career as a healer ginally ended when he grew up. He reportedly told family menbers, "I stopped healing people because when I became sick, I could not heal myself." [George] Abram never married and had no children. He settled down in Akwesasne.
Bonaparte, Darren. "The Healing Powers of the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son," The People'sVoice (October 21, 2005).
George, Chris. E-mail message, December 8, 2009. Abram is Chris' great unclev through his morher.
"Indian healer returns home," The Massena Observer (March 20, 1930).
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