Horatio Emmons Hale 1817-1896
Text from the plaque
One of North America's pioneer ethnologists and linguists, Hale practised law in Clinton 1856-1896. Born in New Hampshire, he graduated from Harvard in 1837, and accompanied the Wilkes Expedition to the Pacific, 1838-1842. His contribution to the "Narrative" of that voyage is one of the basic sources for Polynesian ethnology. Hale discovered that the Tutelos near Brantford, fugitives from North Carolina, belonged to the Siouan family and identified the Cherokees of the Carolinas as linguistically Iroquoian. His intensive study of the languages and customs of the Six Nations of the Grand River culminated in his classic work, "An Iroquois Book of Rites", published in 1883.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
Find the place
The County of Huron
The Municipality of Central Huron
In Clinton, at a church on the north side of
Ontario Street (Highway 8) between
Albert Street (Road 4) and William Street North
N 43 36.993 W 81 32.282
Recorded October 2004. Check current access before visiting.