Shepoconah

Also called Deaf Man, since he became totally deaf between the ages of 30 and 40; he may have been hard of hearing before that. His Indian name also appears as Shepoconnah, Shepahcannah, She-pan-can-ah, She-po-con-ah, She-bak-o-nah, and probably other variations. He was a chief of the Miami Indians, living near present-day Peru, Indiana. He is best known for being the husband of Frances Slocum (1773-1847), a white woman who was kidnapped by Delaware Indians at age 5 and spent the rest of her long life living among Indians; her original family spent nearly 60 years searching for her before finally discovering her still alive, though Shepoconah had long since died by that time. When he became deaf, Shepoconah resigned as chief, and with his wife he established a trading post that others called "Deaf Man's Village" and which became very important locally. Its site now lies underneath the artificial Mississinewa Reservoir; a hiking trail in the surrounding state park carries his name. His grave was relocated in 1964 when the lake was built, and now lies in the Frances Slocum/Bundy Cemetery, Waltz Township, Wabash County, next to that of Frances Slocum.