Jared W. Daniels

Jared Waldo Daniels (June 15, 1827 – May 3, 1904), sometimes written as J.W. Daniels, was an American Indian agent and medical doctor who settled St. Peter, Minnesota and worked as the physician of the Upper Sioux Agency. Daniels later served as the Indian agent of the Sisseton Dakota at Fort Wadsworth from 1869 to 1871, and later worked in a variety of capacities for the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1871 to 1887.

Early life Jared Waldo Daniels was born on June 15, 1827 in Stratford, New Hampshire, to parents Joseph Daniels and Roxana Hatch. Daniels was educated in a common school in Lancaster, New Hampshire before quitting school to work as a cabinet maker in the carpentry trade. Daniels later studied medicine under his maternal uncle Dr. B.F. Hatch while in Boston and later attended medical school at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York City. During the two battles the Daniels brothers assisted New Ulm Doctor Carl Weschcke and Le Sueur Doctor William Worrall Mayo in providing medical assistance to the wounded. Daniels later re-enlisted into the ranks of the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment as the regiment's surgeon on January 4, 1864 and served during Sully's Expedition in 1864.

Following Sully's Expedition Daniels served as the surgeon of Fort Snelling where he took care of the imprisoned Dakota people. During his time at Fort Snelling Daniels openly protested the Dakota's mistreatment by the Minnesota government and the sanitary conditions they lived in. Daniels was eventually mustered out of service in 1865 and returned to his medical practice in St. Peter. Daniels was later appointed as the Indian agent to the Sisseton in 1869, Daniels held this position until 1870 when he relocated to Wyoming Territory and served as the Indian agent for the Oglala at the Red Cloud Agency.

Daniels later worked in a variety of capacities for various Indian agencies across the United States and was later appointed as the Inspector of Agencies in Montana, Idaho, Washington, New Mexico, and Arizona. Daniels was later in charge of a variety of commissions for the Bureau of Indian Affairs including the commission which ceded the Black Hills to the United States government in 1876. In 1887 Daniels moved to Faribault, Minnesota where he eventually retired from practicing medicine. Daniels later moved to Los Angeles in the early 1900's where he lived for his final years. Daniels died on May 3, 1904 in Los Angeles, his body was returned to St. Peter, Minnesota and is buried at the Woodlawn cemetery in St. Peter alongside his first wife and children.

Personal life Daniels married Hortense Virginia Beardsley on June 28, 1856, together they had four children: Jared Waldo Daniels Jr., George Cullen Daniels, Hortense Virginia Daniels, and Asa Wilder Daniels. Daniels was later remarried after the death of his first wife in 1869, Daniels married Ella Norcross Winslow of Faribault on August 11, 1882.