> Casus Oliver; great-great grandfather to Rhonda Morningstar Pope, Buena Vista Rancheria Tribal Chairwoman.
The story of Casus Oliver begins in the early 1800's. Casus and his mother were among the hundreds of Yokuts and Miwuk people of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys who were taken to Mission San Jose between 1811 and 1836, and their story is a welcome reminder that the Spanish missions did not succeed in destroying the native culture. Casus's mother brought him to Upusani Village, now Buena Vista, in the early 1880's.
In 1903, C. Hart Merriam interviewed Casus Oliver at Upusani and noted:
"His mother was stolen by the Spaniards when young and taken to the mission at San Jose, where the old man (Casus Oliver) spent his early boyhood. His mother took him and escaped. She joined a village of Mokalumne (Mokelumne) Indians near where the town of Lockeford now stands, and there they lived many many years – by far the greater part of his life – until the white men took up all the land and the remaining Mokalumnes were driven away and scattered. Now the tribe is practically extinct. This happened about twenty years ago as near as the old man can remember. He then came up to Amador County and joined the Mu-wa (Miwuk) settlement of You-poo-san-ne (Upusani), where he has since made his home. "
Deeper than gold: A guide to Indian life in the Sierra foothills, by Brian Bibby, Dugan Aguilar, 2005
It was there Casus met his wife, Lizzie Ganor, daughter of Susie and Charlie Ganor and documents tell of the Ganor family living at Buena Vista since "the sun first came up."
Sometime before the turn of the century, Casus Oliver became the Headman at Upusani. Casus and Lizzie Oliver began their family at Upusani in the late 1800’s, and had four children, John, Louie, Joseph and Josephine. Lizzie died in 1899, and years later, Casus remarried Amanda Winn, who had 12 children from previous marriages.
Casus settled in Buena Vista with his family, and remained Headman of Upusani until his death until his death in 1916. Casus and Lizzie’s children remained on the reservation for awhile, but Joseph died at an early age, and John and Josephine moved out of Amador County some time before the Indian Application for Enrollment requirements of 1929. John moved to Sonoma where he died in 1940. Josephine moved to Auburn and died in 1960.
Only Louie remained, with his wife, Annie, and their three children. At that time, members of Indian Rancherias filed records of enrollment with the county of jurisdiction, and the documents were completed by representatives of the government. Because most Native Americans spoke little or no English, translation was often based on the phonetic sounds, such as Cano for Ganor; and Alaba for Oliver . These ‘sound-like’ names are found in various records when referring to the Oliver or Ganor family. 1910 Census doc
