Valentine McGillycuddy

Valentine Trant McGillycuddy (February 14, 1849 – June 6, 1939) was an American surgeon who served with expeditions and United States military forces in the West. He was considered controversial for his efforts to build a sustainable relationship between the United States and Native American peoples.

Biography

Early life

Valentine Trant O'Connell McGillycuddy or M'Gillycuddy was born on February 14, 1849, in Racine, Wisconsin When Valentine was 13, the McGillycuddy family moved to Detroit.

He graduated from the Detroit Medical School at 20 years of age. He began working as a doctor at the Wayne County Insane Asylum and practiced medicine for one year. Next he began teaching at the medical college. McGillycuddy's longstanding love for the outdoors led him to leave the city medical field. Because of his mustache that drooped to a length of two inches below the corners of his mouth, the Sioux named him "Putin hi chikala" or "Little Whiskers." including one in the Boston Advertiser claiming that he had been in receipt of annuities for 2,600 more people than actually lived at Pine Ridge, a loss to the Government of $284,700. Ostensibly under pressure to fire a loyal clerk for no reason he could see, McGillycuddy eventually resigned his post. Continuing his activism in politics, he was elected mayor of Rapid City in 1897. His wife, Fanny, died that same year. He served as a medical inspector for an insurance agency until retiring in 1912.