Early life
Information about Thorpe's birth, full name, and ethnic background vary widely.[2] What is known is that he was born in Indian Territory, but no birth certificate has been found. Thorpe's birth is generally considered to have taken place on May 28, 1888[1] near the town of Prague, Oklahoma.[3] Jacobus Franciscus Thorpe is the name on his christening (baptismal) certificate.
His parents were of mixed descent. His father, Hiram Thorpe, had an Irish father and a Sac and Fox Indian mother, while his mother, Charlotte Vieux, had a French father and a Native American mother. Thorpe was raised as a Sac and Fox, and his native name was Wa-Tho-Huk, translated as "A path lighted by a great flash of lightning" or more simply "Bright Path".[2] As was the custom for Sac and Fox, Thorpe was named for something occurring around the time of his birth, in this case the sunlight brightening the path to the cabin where he was born. Thorpe's mother was Catholic and raised the children in the faith, which Thorpe later observed throughout his adult life.[4]
Together with his twin brother, Charlie, Thorpe went to school in Stroud, Oklahoma at the Sac and Fox Indian Agency School. Charlie died of pneumonia when they were nine years old.[5] Charlie had helped Jim through school. Thorpe did not handle his brother's death very well, and ran away from school on several occasions. Hiram Thorpe then sent him to what is now known as Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, so that he would not run away again.[6] When his mother died of childbirth complications two years later,[7] Thorpe fell into a depression. After several arguments with his father, he ran away from home to work on a horse ranch.[6]
In 1904, Thorpe returned to his father, and decided to join Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania where he was coached by Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner, one of the most influential coaches in early American football history.[8] Later that year, Hiram Thorpe died from gangrene poisoning after a hunting accident.[7] Thorpe once again dropped out of school. He resumed farm work for a few years and then returned to Carlisle, where his athletic career commenced.[6]
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