The Story of Chaney Lively for Indianapolis Black History Month

NUVO
By Laura McPhee

Portrait of Chaney Lively, T.J. Reynolds (2019)

Indianapolis was literally uncharted territory when chosen as the state capitol in 1820. With the exception of a few hardy settlers and a handful of Native Americans who refused to be chased off by the federal government, it was uninhabited wilderness. A Scotsman named Alexander Ralston was hired as surveyor in 1821 and tasked with laying out the new city—a plan that became known as the Mile Square. A lifelong bachelor with no known family, he came with a clerk and a housekeeper described as “a mulatto woman named Chaney Lively.” Chaney was 21-years-old when she arrived in the city and a free woman of color—the first to call Indianapolis home. [More]