Mary Eichenberger is a junior agricultural business pre-law major with minors in legal studies and southern studies from Clarksville, Arkansas. Mary plans to attend law school after she completes her undergraduate degree, so she researched the congressional record and legal career of Samuel W. Peel, the founder of the mansion.
Throughout my research for the Peel Mansion, my interest in the legal profession drove my interest in Samuel W. Peel’s legal career. My objectives were to explore and analyze Peel’s legal career with a special focus on his involvement with the Indian tribes surrounding Arkansas. I wanted to help the mansion directors gain a new understanding of Peel’s interactions and time of service to the Indian tribes of the region as Chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee and as legal counsel.
Samuel West Peel began his legal career in 1865. Peel was the prosecuting attorney of the fourth judicial circuit of Arkansas from 1873-1876 and then elected to the House of Representatives in 1883, 1885, 1887, 1889, & 1891, serving on the 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd Congresses. He was the Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs in the 50th, and 52nd Congresses.
An interview with Peel in the December 27, 1887 St. Globe Louis Democrat
Peel served in this position at a pivotal time in American history as this was the controversial Allotment Era. The government was pressuring Indian groups to divide their community held land into individual parcels, often losing land to white settlement in the process. Located in Bentonville, next to Indian Territory, Peel was well positioned to liase between the government and these groups. Peel argued that the Indian land should be subdivided contrary to the wishes of most Indian leaders, but he did believe that a fair price should be given. In an interview with the St Louis Globe Democrat, December 27, 1887, he responded when asked whether Indians should receive all their land “Yes, Indeed, every acre. It is theirs by contract for a valuable consideration, and they should not be deprived of any of it withought their consent, and then for full compensation.” His time in congress and interactions with the Native tribes of the region is where my research was primarily focused.
Peel ended his congressional term in 1893 and resumed his law practice in Bentonville, AR. His reputation and experience did not go unnoticed by Indian nations. In 1893, he was then appointed as general attorney for the Choctaw Nation by, Chief Green McCurtain, the Choctaw delegate to Congress.He was also appointed as general attorney for Chickasaw Nation in 1894 but only served for a year or so. His notable involvement centered on the Choctaw Nation. Peel then resigned as the general attorney of the Choctaw Nation in 1896.
Chief McCurtain employed Samuel Peel to represent the Choctaw Nation.
I utilized legal databases and the University of Arkansas library system to begin to piece together his illustrious and unique career. Several court cases were unearthed featuring Peel as the legal counsel, as the plaintiff, and as the defendant. These case briefings shone a light on Peel as a litigator. The briefings also gave us insight to Peel as an advocate for proper legal representation for the Indian tribes. Peel represented the claims and demands of the Choctaw tribe and the Chickasaw tribe to Congress concerning compensation, governance, and tribal legal representation from 1893 to 1896.
Based upon my research, I would argue that Peel was very committed to the legal representation of the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations. However, whether his motive be money, political power, or genuine concern that could not be determined during my tenure. I still found it striking that Peel was willing to serves these nations as their legal counsel and represent them when many would not. The Congressional Record of the House of Representatives in 1893 when Peel was serving in Congress was one of the best indicators of the nature of his involvement with the Native tribes. On page 2122, Peel begins to speak on the record about the unfair treatment of the Choctaw Nation. He shares the history of the tribe concerning a piece of land that the tribe was supposed to be receiving payments of interest on from the government. He then describes to Congress that as the tribe received payments the amount began to be less than what was expected. Peel notes that, “They can count, and knew that the interested [the Choctaw Nation] received was too small”.
Congressional Record of the House of Representatives 1893 where Peel exclaims that “They can count!” when arguing on behalf of the Choctaw Nation.
This quote stood out to me as being a facetious remark to the representatives in the room. He is acknowledging the prejudice that many had at that time of the Native tribes, and he debunks the thought that they were not smart enough to notice a decrease in funds. Through the few documents I analyzed, Peel seems to stay true to his legal background and fight for fairness when he served the Native tribes. More research is needed to decipher his exact feelings about his legal service, but as a team we were able to start the process of uncovering more about his past.
Information regarding Peel and the legal system was sparse so by utilizing legal databases, I was able to find several court cases that help frame periods of Peels life. The list of court cases began with State Bank v. Peel (1851) 11 Ark. 750 which involved Peel as a principal on a bank note owed and the legality of contract disputed. Ferguson v. Peden(1878) 13 Ark. 150, involves Peel as special judge in Washington County, Arkansas. Peel v. January (1880) 35 Ark. 331, in which Peel defaulted on a St. Louis mercantile account. The next several cases are among the few found through my research that show his legal work. Silver v. Luck (1883) 42 Ark. 268, in which Peel was the legal counsel for a plaintiff in civil case. Thebo v. Choctaw Tribe of Indians (1895) at the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, in which Peel is the general attorney for Choctaw Nation as appointed by Chief Green McCurtain. Love v. Peel (1906) 79 Ark. 366, shows when Peel is employed by the Chickasaw as a replacement attorney and the validity of his contract came into question as both parties discussed compensation. Lastly, Peel v. Choctaw Nation (1910) 45 Ct. Cl. 154 Court of Claims is where Peel filed suit for additional compensation for his legal services when he represented the claims and demands of the tribes to Congress concerning compensation, governance, and tribe legal representation. These court cases, gave us a window into Samuel Peel’s life as a businessman and litigator.
My research only began to uncover Peel’s involvement with the Indian tribes and the impact of his legal career. The nature of our undergraduate research was to help provide a broad starting point for the Peel Mansion to continue to re-evaluate their narrative and to provide the begin of different storylines. Through this project, as a researcher, I learned how to focus my research to one or two specific areas of the mansions history and to put metaphorical pins in the other areas of study I uncovered for the Peel Mansion Museum curators to follow at a later date.
Our honors research advisor, Dr. Louise Hancox, wanted us to have the opportunity to present our research despite the covid restrictions in place so we were given the opportunity to present a poster of our interdisciplinary research at the Society of Southwest Archivists 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting in May. This virtual conference proved a fruitful experience as each team member was able to expound on his or her research and have meaningful discussions with contemporaries from across the country on the virtual platform. To conclude our research, we presented our research to The Peel Mansion Museum board of directors and docents at the mansion in Bentonville in May of 2021. I found this presentation to be one of the most gratifying parts of the research experience as I was able to see the research, I had done fit perfectly with my team members offerings and create a meaningful impact on our audience. Our research was incredibly well received by the board of directors and work began immediately to construct the new narrative of the mansion using our research. It felt so good to know that the fruits of our labors would be utilized to help further educate the people of Arkansas about Samuel West Peel, his impact, and the history of the historic mansion. This opportunity was provided by The Peel Mansion and our research was sponsored by the University of Arkansas Honors College Undergraduate Research Team Grant. This grant enabled us to pursue the different research facets of the Peel Mansion and to tour the mansion on two occasions. A special thanks to the University of Arkansas Libraries Special Collection for their cooperation and to The Peel Mansion’s Museum manager, Alyssa Wilson, for her support and facilitation of the research project.
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