History Minutes: York

                  York // DM 15999001

This Sesquicentennial History Minute is from The Oregon Encyclopedia, a statewide project supported by Portland State University, the Oregon Historical Society, and the Oregon Council of Teachers of English, with generous support from the Oregon Cultural Trust.  This History Minute is from an entry written by Darrell Millner.

Captain William Clark's slave, York, was a critical member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  His parents were owned by William Clark's father and, as a child, York was the companion and later manservant to the young Clark.

On the expedition to the Pacific Ocean in 1804-1806, York’s contributions included hunting, medical services, physical labor, and special exploratory activities.  He was valuable in the expedition's diplomatic interactions with the Native peoples the Corps of Discovery encountered, who were curious and impressed by him.

After the end of the expedition, accounts tell of York becoming increasingly bitter and resentful at his return to traditional slave status.  In response, according to letters Clark wrote his older brother, the captain at various times "trounced" York, had him jailed, and hired him out to a severe master to break his spirit.  It was not until approximately ten years after the expedition’s return to St. Louis that Clark granted

York his freedom.

Clark claimed that York grew to hate his freedom and died in Tennessee while trying to return to his old master.  Another version of York’s later life, based on a description by a mountain man in the 1830s, has York living out an honored life as a Crow Indian Chief in the West.