Chief Two Moon Meridas
Chief Two Moon Meridaswas a colorful figure in Waterbury from his arrival in 1914 until his death in 1933. He had a highly successful business selling herbal medicines. His origins are somewhat cloudy, and his critics disputed his claim of being Native American. His birth name was Chico Colan Meridan. It is believed that he was the son of Mexican Chico Meridan and his wife Mary Tumoon, and that his professional name was derived from his mother’s maiden name. On all official documents, Chief Two Moon stated that he was born in Devils Lake, North Dakota on August 29, 1888. Records to substantiate this have not yet been found.
Meridas married Helen Gertrude Nugent, born in Philadelphia in 1892, while he was employed in New York City as a metal worker. The couple moved to Waterbury in 1914 and soon established The Chief Two Moon Herb Company. The business grew rapidly after the 1918 influenza epidemic, when none of Meridas’s patients died.
In 1921, the Meridases purchased a home at 33 Wales Street. Their business was operated out of a building at 1898 East Main Street. Sometime around 1925, a laboratory was constructed at 1864 East Main Street. Chief Two Moon Bitter Oil was sold at leading drug stores and by mail order. A fleet of buses were established for salesmen, and the Meridases enjoyed their own fleet of cars and an airplane. Another store was established in on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, where Meridas was presented with the keys to the city in 1928.
Meridas was made an honorary chief by the Oglala Lakota tribal council on August 6, 1930. In September, Meridas, his wife and associates traveled to Europe, where Meridas had an audience with Pope Pius XI. He returned from Italy at the end of November.
Meridas was also faced with legal difficulties over his business. In New York, he was charged with practicing medicine without a license. In Connecticut, he was brought to court for performing naturopathy without a license. In October of 1932, Meridas hosted 26 Sioux chiefs on 300-acres of land, former fairgrounds, he owned on Beacon Valley Road in Beacon Falls. The Sioux, some of whom had fought at the Battle of Little Big Horn and now lived at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, came to testify in support of Meridas.
Chief Two Moon Meridas died November 3, 1933 and was buried in Roslyn, Pennsylvania. The Chief Two Moon Herb Company continued on a smaller scale, operated by Helen Meridas from her home at 33 Wales Street until shortly before her death in 1971. She died at Maple Shade, NJ and was buried with her husband.
(REG, 3/07)
Meridas married Helen Gertrude Nugent, born in Philadelphia in 1892, while he was employed in New York City as a metal worker. The couple moved to Waterbury in 1914 and soon established The Chief Two Moon Herb Company. The business grew rapidly after the 1918 influenza epidemic, when none of Meridas’s patients died.
In 1921, the Meridases purchased a home at 33 Wales Street. Their business was operated out of a building at 1898 East Main Street. Sometime around 1925, a laboratory was constructed at 1864 East Main Street. Chief Two Moon Bitter Oil was sold at leading drug stores and by mail order. A fleet of buses were established for salesmen, and the Meridases enjoyed their own fleet of cars and an airplane. Another store was established in on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, where Meridas was presented with the keys to the city in 1928.
Meridas was made an honorary chief by the Oglala Lakota tribal council on August 6, 1930. In September, Meridas, his wife and associates traveled to Europe, where Meridas had an audience with Pope Pius XI. He returned from Italy at the end of November.
Meridas was also faced with legal difficulties over his business. In New York, he was charged with practicing medicine without a license. In Connecticut, he was brought to court for performing naturopathy without a license. In October of 1932, Meridas hosted 26 Sioux chiefs on 300-acres of land, former fairgrounds, he owned on Beacon Valley Road in Beacon Falls. The Sioux, some of whom had fought at the Battle of Little Big Horn and now lived at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, came to testify in support of Meridas.
Chief Two Moon Meridas died November 3, 1933 and was buried in Roslyn, Pennsylvania. The Chief Two Moon Herb Company continued on a smaller scale, operated by Helen Meridas from her home at 33 Wales Street until shortly before her death in 1971. She died at Maple Shade, NJ and was buried with her husband.
(REG, 3/07)
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