Dates in Cherokee History1540-

1540	The Spanish explorer, Hernando De Soto and his party are discovered by the Cherokees in their homeland. DeSOTO met the queen of Cofitachiqui in what would one day become the center of South Carolina. After DeSOTO's mission, the Spaniards began mining and smelting within the Cherokee Nation. It is said some of these mines stayed in operation until about 1690.(h)(s)
1567	Juan PARDO built a blockhouse at a Cherokee village known as Guatari, located on the Yadkin River. (s)
1576	A French ship, Le Prince, wrecked at Port Royal Sound. Survivors built a fort that was soon attacked by Indians who thought they were Spaniards. The Indians afterwards befriended the Frenchmen and took them into their villages. (s)
1629	The first traders from the English settlements begin trading among the Cherokees. England's King CHARLES I(st) gave Sir Robert HEATH a grant for all land from 31 to 36 degrees latitude to which the name "Carolina" was applied. However, attempts at colonizing failed.(s)
1636	Negro slaves from Africa were introduced onto Barbados plantations. Not able to compete with the cheap slave labor, many white planters then moved to the mainland. These folks became some of the first permanent European settlers of South Carolina. (s)
1654	A village of 600-700 Rickahockans (as Cherokee were known by the Powhatan) had settled at the falls of the James River (Richmond), Virginia. With the assistance of the Pamunkey Indians, the Virginia Colony militia attacked; but they were severely defeated. (s)
1663	Virginia was partitioned. The upper part of the Tennessee Valley considered to be within the borders of Virginia. Tennessee was considered western Carolina. (s)
1664	The eight English proprietors divided Carolina into three counties: Albemarle (along the northern coast of North Carolina, near Virginia); Clarendon, in the Cape Fear region (the southern coast of North Carolina (only lasted until 1667)); and Craven (South Carolina). Proposals to grant lands on a quit-rent basis helped draw settlers to Carolina. Between 1664-1689 the colonists drove five Albemarle governors from office. The Carolina elected assembly felt they had insufficient support against Indians and pirates. The proprietors vetoed most of their early measures. (s)
1670	The English colony of Charles Town was established at Albemarle Point on the Ashley River. The settlement was named after King CHARLES II. (After 10 years they moved to the present site of Charleston between the Ashley and Cooper rivers.) (s)
1673	Abraham WOOD from Fort Henry (near Petersburg, Virginia) sent James NEEDHAM & Gabriel ARTHUR to the Overhill Cherokee settlements (whose towns lie over the Appalachian Mountains, along the Little Tennessee and Tellico rivers). WOOD's intent was to gain a trade monopoly with the Cherokee. The explorers were royally welcomed. The Cherokee were particularly fascinated with the one horse the WOOD's party brought with them. NEEDHAM described Cherokee villages as each having 25-200 houses which evolved around a townhouse where religious ceremonies were performed; and tribal councils were held. The Cherokee had some sixty Spanish flintlock muskets and other European implements (clear evidence that the Cherokee had been in contact with the Spanish). ARTHUR, an indentured servant, stayed with the Cherokee to learn their language & customs. Disguising hinself in ash & clay, ARTHUR accompanied the chief of Echota with raids on Florida Indians & Spanish, and on the Shawnee along the Ohio River. (NEEDHAM was later killed by his Indian guide, HASECOLL (Indian John), after an argument. HASECOLL cut NEEDHAM's heart from his chest and held it up high towards the east as a gesture of contempt for the intruders.) Fur trader, Louise JOLIET, & Catholic missionary, Jacques MARQUETTE, visited Chickasaw villages north of Memphis. They had first come down the Mississippi River along the western boundary of Illinois & were the first Europeans known to enter the Illinois country. (MARQUETTE returned in 1674 and started a mission among the Kaskaskia near North Utica.) Charles Town settlement was still in its infancy; & sugar cane plantations flourished in Barbados. English traders continued to maintain a presence among the Cherokee, usually marrying into the tribe. (s)
1684	A steady trade in deerskin and Indian slaves evolved between the Cherokee & the South Carolina settlers. Indians began hunting for profit & thus were becoming dependent upon the Europeans for trade goods. There was a cultural shift from priest to warrior in Cherokee leadership. The Spanish still maintained their small mining and smelting operation until about 1690. (s)
1695	Chief Onacona White Owl Attakullakulla Leaning Wood was born on Seviers Island, Tennessee. He is the father of Dragging the Canoe, the Savage Napoleon. (s)
1700	There were about 6,000 whites in the colony of South Carolina. About 500 were French Huguenot protestant refugees. John LAWSON set off from Charleston on a 59-day venture into the Carolina frontier. He reported that every river he encountered had Indian inhabitants, each with its own ruler and customs. Often the nation bore the name of the river. The Santee, the Congaree, the Wateree, the Waxhaw, the Catawba, the Eno, the Meherrin, the Neuse, the Sapona and the Pamlico were all nations as well as waterways. Charleston now had a population of about 16,000. (s)
1710	A Frenchman, Charles CHARLEVILLE, set up a trading post in an old Shawnee stockade at French Lick, half a mile from the future Nashville, Tennessee. A group of German and Swiss established a settlement on the Neuse River in Tuscarora country. North Carolina settlements had spread down the coast and along the riverbanks as far south as the Neuse River. For the next twenty years North Carolina growth was pretty much confined to the coast. A quick search of the LDS Ancestral File shows a line of John & Alexander BROWNS coming from Priesthill, Ayrshire, Scotland. They first settled in Paxtang, Dauphin, Pennsylvania in the 1710s. (s)
1711	Several events led to the Tuscarora War. When the Tuscarora of North Carolina killed John LAWSON, sticking him all over with pitch pine splinters before setting him ablaze, what followed was the most deadly Indian war in North Carolina. Chief John HANCOCK, from Catechna (near today's Grifton) led the Tuscarora in an attack of New Bern and other settlements in northern Carolina. Some reports say he led the Neusiok and Olgonquin speaking Indians, neither group being Tuscarora. Hundreds of settlers were killed. Their homes and crops were destroyed. The upper Tuscarora, led by a half-breed named Tom BLOUNT, turned on the lower Tuscarora led by Chief HANCOCK. BLOUNT turned Chief HANCOCK over to the settlers who hung him. Between 1711 and 1713 some three hundred Cherokee helped colonial forces drive the Tuscarora Indians northward to the Great Lakes region. (s)
1714	One of the first Cherokee war chiefs to emerge into the realm of modern history was USKWALENA, the name being interpreted as Bull Head or Big Head. He led the Cherokee in defeating the Creek at Pine Island, near present Guntersville, Alabama. The site later became the Cherokee settlement of Creekpath. There was a trader at Tuckaseegee named Samuel BROWN. (Side note: Two brothers, John BROWN & Samuel BROWN, are found in "Scottish Emigrants to the U.S.A."; but the dates are unclear. John went to Florida & then Georgia before 1760. He is listed as a merchant accompanying William IRWIN. John BROWN had family members listed as Mary BROWN, Katherine BROWN & Susanna BROWN. John is also shown as "brother of Samuel B. in Alabama." Samuel BROWN is shown as “brother of John B.” and is listed as “Trader, Choctaw Nation.” He went to Georgia and then to Alabama before 1765. The record does not say how much "before".) Another Scottish emigrant record lists a Jacobite prisoner named John BROWN. He was transported to Virginia on 29 Jun 1716. Some other Jacobite prisoners are known to have become pack horsemen in South Carolina. Among them, there was a John BROWN listed; but it is not known if these entries reference the same person. Further research is needed to narrow down these leads. (s)
1717	(s)Fort Toulouse was built near Montgomery, Alabama. French traders were dealing with the Overhill Cherokee at the Cumberland River from its mouth near the Ohio. 000John BROWN was a pack horseman working for John SHARP. (And he is my candidate for being the ancestor of my Nancy BROWN.Shiela.) He was born abt 1695. Many of the Anglo traders & pack horsemen at this time married Native Americans, explained elsewhere. (s)
1721	Yunwi-usgaseti (Dangerous Man) is said to have moved west to escape the white's insatiable appetite for land. His people became known as the "Lost Cherokee". A group of chiefs representing thirty-seven Cherokee towns met at Charleston with Sir Francis NICOLSON, the first British governor of South Carolina, and reached agreements concerning territorial boundaries. There being no supreme head among the Cherokees, NICOLSON appointed a chief named Wrosetasatow as such. He was also known as Outacite, or Mankiller. (s)
1721	The Cherokee Treaty with the Governor of the Carolinas is thought to be the first concession of land.
1724	There were about 14,000 whites and 32,000 slaves in the province of South Carolina. (s)
1725	Colonel George CHICKEN visited Tunisee (Tenassee, Tonasee, Tennessee), where the "King of the Upper People" lived. Colonel CHICKEN summoned Samuel BROWN to Keowee to answer questions. He was investigating complaints of Indian abuse by certain traders, especially that of John BROWN's supervisor, John SHARP. That might be a clue that this Samuel was related to the John BROWN who was the pack horseman. Samuel was then a licensed trader at the Cherokee "outtown" of Tuckaseegee (Tsiksitsi), North Carolina. The 000John Brown of this generation may have been all white (b. abt 1695) & may have married an Indian woman. (s)
1730	Royal Governor of South Carolina, Robert JOHNSON, ordered that 11 townships be laid out. The one at Fort Moore was called New Windsor. There were land incentives along the Santee and Edisto rivers. Pamphlets circulated in Switzerland, Holland and Germany inviting folks to Orangeburg, Congaree and Wateree. Others came from the British Isles. Sir Alexander CUMING arrived among the Overhills. An energetic young Englishman of nobility (Scotish baron), CUMING had come to Charleston in 1729 hopeful of recuperating his family fortunes, which had fallen on hard times. CUMING now made a daring, extended journey among the Cherokees and won the friendship of their chiefs and warriors. Accompanied only by a guide, CUMING proceeded to Keowee (near today's Clemson, South Carolina). There, against the advice of traders, and armed with guns and sword, he brazenly entered the town council house during a meeting of some three hundred elders. When CUMING wildly threatened to burn down the council house if the Cherokee did not recognize King George II, traders such as Ludovic GRANT expected the worst. CUMING's audacity, however, overwhelmed the Cherokee leaders; and they (on bent knee) pledged their loyalty to the Crown of England & against the French in North America. Wrosetasatow had died the previous year. The Cherokee Nation had no single head of government. Accordingly, CUMING appointed Chief Moytoy (meaning Water Conjuror or Rainmaker) of Tellico as "emperor" of the Cherokees. He also recruited a delegation of seven Cherokee leading men and warriors from Tellico to travel with him to Charleston and thence to England to meet King George II. The two must notable of these were the head warrior of Tassetchee, who was the highest ranked of the group and was generally accepted by the English as "king" of the Cherokee, the Oukah Ulah, and Ookounaka (Oukandekah), who later became famous as Attakullakulla or the Little Carpenter. Others were Ketagusta, Tathtiowie, Clogittah, Collanah, and Ounakannowie. The party was accompanied to England by interpreter Eleazer WIGGAN. The Cherokee representatives met with the king of England & laid before him the tribal "crown of Tannasee," which "consists of the tails of the female opossum, put together in the form of a wig," plus four scalps of their enemies and five eagles' tails of peace. King George expressed his pleasure with the gift. He afterward escorted the American visitors to a gallery overlooking the castle terrace. When one of them spied a huge elk grazing in the park, he offered to display his skill with a bow and arrow. The king declined to have his stag shot. At the king's expense, the Indians were given a banquet of mutton at the Mermaid Inn, then provided lodging at Covent Garden. Their total stay was four months, plus a month (each way) at sea. Sir Alexander CUMING was not permitted to return with them. (s)
1730	7 young Cherokees are escorted by Sir Alexander Cuming to England to meet King George II. They sign articles of friendship and commerce with representatives of the British Crown. Sir Alexander Cuming, an emissary of King George II, conferred the title of Emperor on Chief Moytoy at Tellico, Tennessee
1735	"The Cherokee towns were now swarming with the half-breed offspring from this opportune amalgamation of the vigorous, unadulterated English stock with the more beautiful and robust of the Indian females.” “The English were at this time conducting a lucrative commerce with the Chickasaw and a portion of the Creeks.” “Hundreds of pack-horses, pack-saddles and curious looking men in half-savage garbs, together with huge piles of packed merchandize, ready for convenance to the Indian country.” (of Charleston) “The regular experienced English trader was a man of no ordinary traits of character. He was always remarkable for enterprise, shrewdness, courage, and an astonishing fertility of expedients." "He encountered many risks as well as hardships both on the lonely trading path and in the Indian country while in the exciting pursuit of his favorite calling." History of Upper Carolina 1735. (s)
1738	Attakullakulla was captured by the proFrench Ottawas. He spent 6-7 years in their captivity. (s)
1741	Emperor Moytoy was killed in battle. (s)
1746	Choctaw War Chief Red Shoes formed an alliance with the British & touched off the Choctaw Civil Wars. The French governor assassinated Red Shoes. John VANN presented the government of South Carolina a bill for expenses incurred in dealing with the Cherokee. Goods were brought to the Upper Creek town of Wewoccaws. (s)
1748	James ADAIR asked Governor GLEN for a trade monopoly with the Choctaw & later the Chickasaw. John VANN of the Ninety-Six community was hired to transport ammo to the Choctaw, Chickasaw & Creek. Dr. Thomas WALKER was sent by the Loyal Land Company of Virginia into Tennessee. WALKER went to the present Kingsport where he noted bison trails. He then went into Kentucky thru the Cumberland Gap, which he named after the Duke of Cumberland. (s)
1750	(s)A second generation? John BROWN, pack horseman, was on the Savannah factory payroll, along with Jerome COURTOUNE. BROWN & COURTOUNE teamed up as trade partners. John GUNTER came to Great Bend, probably Mr. BROWN went at the same time to Creekpath. GUNTER married Catherine, Ghegoheli, Chief Bushyhead's daughter. In the west the Ogala moved into South Dakota near the Missouri River. There was also trading with the Arikara.
1751	The Raven was now head man of Haiwasee. James BEAMER (BEAMOR) outfitted seven Indians from Toogalo for their winter hunt in exchange for skins. John VANN was trading exclusively with the Cherokee and ran an establishment near Ninety-Six Creek including the "unsavory characters" of three negros, a mulatto and a half-breed Indian. Retired Indian trader, Isaac CLOUD, made his home on a branch of the Little Saluda. The head of the stream was called Cloud Creek. At this place were several springs from the Congeree to Fort Moore and from Ninety-Six to Orangeburg. All the CLOUD family were murdered save Mary, the wife of Isaac CLOUD. From an Upper Creek settlement John BROWN & Jerome COURTOUNE wrote to Daniel CLARK regarding problems with the Choctaw. Attakullakulla often "faced dangerous opposition from his own people for supporting the British". It is recorded Attakullakulla & a half-blood named Johnny's Brother became engaged in a quarrel, severly injuring Attakullakulla. When it was rumored Ammonscossittee of Tellico tried to sell Cherokee northern hunting grounds to Virginia, Old Hop (Connecorte) of Chota managed to gain some power over Ammonscossittee. As the new Beloved Man, Old Hop led a delegation to Williamsburg, Virginia, to speak to Governor Lewis BURWELL regarding some concerns about trade. (s)
1753	(s)John BROWN, John BUCKLES & John TANNER wrote to John PETTYROW about more problems with the Choctaw. They mentioned concerns for the "safety for their wives and children". (South Carolina Indian Affairs Documents) (Altho Rufus ANDERSON did not mention a first name, I think this John BROWN is the same "Mr. BROWN" mentioned in the BROWN genealogy provided by ANDERSON. I believe this is the father of John BROWN born in Creekpath, Alabama, in 1755. (In 1825 ANDERSON wrote this Mr. BROWN “has long since been dead. It is not known whether he was a white man or partly Indian.” If they are the same person, then we can add to ANDERSON's notes that this Mr. Brown was a "half-breed by a Cherokee woman". I refer the reader to Daniel PEPPER's letters below.) Governor GLEN hosted a delegation of Cherokee leaders headed by Attakullakulla. GLEN complained about abuses by the Creek Nation. Attakullakulla complained about abuses by South Carolina traders.
1754	Canadian French advancedent south & seized the forks of the Ohio. They began building Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh) at the conflux of the Ohio & the Allegheny. Governor Robert DINWIDDIE (a former Scot merchant) dispatched 21-year-old George WASHINGTON to "warn the French away". When that didn't work, he called the Virginia militia into service. He also made alliances with various tribes for support of a campaign against the French. Nathaniel GIST (recommended by George WASHINGTON, also 21 years old) was sent to Chota to offer Virginia trade for Cherokee fighting men. Virginia's governor & South Carolina's governor had different intentions regarding the Cherokee. South Carolina wanted protection against attack & Virginia desired using the Cherokee in an offensive to drive the French from the Ohio country. The two governors quarreled about the construction of a fort among the Overhills. Virginia only paid one thousand of the seven thousand pounds South Carolina had requested. Fort Prince George was built among the Lower Cherokee near Keowee. (s)
1755	Whites along the Yadkin & Catawba rivers were attacked by Cherokee from Settico. Afterwards, Old Hop & Little Carpenter sent peace messengers to the English. Considerable Cherokee land was ceded by warriors & headmen in a meeting with Governor James GLEN. Spokesperson for the Cherokee was Chulochcullak at a meeting at Saluda (25 miles northwest of Greeneville, South Carolina). Old Hop agreed to cede Cherokee land in South Carolina (amounting to the western fourth of the state). Governor GLEN responded by directing Fort Prince George be built on the land of the Catawbas, far up the headwaters of the Savannah River, on the Cherokee path near Keowee. (Fort Moore was built about 170 miles further down, just below and opposite Augusta.) The British & the French were both courting Indian tribes to sway support in their favor. On 2 Jul 506 Cherokee chiefs, headmen & warriors gathered in a grove of trees near Saluda for a meeting with Governor GLEN. It was this day when Attakullakulla became known as a great orator & spokesperson for his people. Oconostota led an expedition against the French & their Indian allies in the Illinois-Wabash country. He was the "first warrior" of Chota. He also commanded about 500 warriors in a campaign against the Creek. He drove the Creek out of northern Georgia. At the battle at Taliwa Nancy WARD earned her title as War Woman of Chota when she fought after her first husband, Kingfisheer was killed. Nancy was the niece of Attakullakulla & later married Brian WARD, an Irish trader. Ostenaco Outacite or Mankiller (also known as Judd's Friend because he saved the life of a white man) took 130 men north to help protect the Virginia frontier from the Shawnee. John BROWN Sr. was born in Creekpath, Alabama, in 1755. (John Brown I or Yau-nu-gung-yah-ski (Drowned By A Bear) or Sr.) (s)
1756	(s) Virginia commissioners Peter RANDOLPH & William BYRD were sent to the Catawba & the Cherokee to recruit more fighters. They met the Cherokee on the French Broad River in North Carolina. They offered to build a school for Cherokee boys; but the elders wanted a fort instead, explaining that once the men knew their women & children would be safe, they would be willing to leave them & go fight. Ostenao joined with a 250-man Virginia force in a campaign against the Shawnee. The Virginia force fell apart after their canoes overturned and dumped much o their armament & supplies into the river. Major Andrew LEWIS was sent by Virginia to Chota to build a fort. Altho he was welcomed by Old Hop, there was dissension. With the French & Indian War came fierce competition among various tribes. LEWIS built a log fort on the north bank of the Little Tennessee a mile above Chota. Afterwards he recommended to DINWIDDIE that he crush the Cherokee into submission. Governor GLEN was being replaced. Before leaving office GLEN sent Captain Raymond DEMERE to Fort Prince George for repairs. Then DEMERE was assigned to move on to Chota. He arrived there with two hundred troops and a long packhorse train loaded with materials, supplies & presents. Old Hop's captive servant, French John, was considered a French agent. Attakullakulla had risen in power dramatically. There was rivalry between him and Old Hop. William De BRAHM, a german engineer, was part of DEMERE's party. So was Captain John STUART. STUART was commander of a company of South Carolina provincials. De BRAHM began constructing a fort on a narrow ridge near the conflux of the Tellico & the Little Tennessee (south of present day Knoxville). The new post was named Fort Loudoun in honor of the Earl of Loudoun. Fort Loudoun was the westernmost English outpost for three years. It was abandoned at the outbreak of the Cherokee War & reoccupied after 1761. Of the older John BROWN’s character, Daniel PEPPER wrote Governor William Henry LYTTELTON from Ockchoy, Upper Creeks in 1756: “I have known Brown from a boy. He is a sober and careful man, has distinguished himself bravely in war with the Chickesaws against their enemies and has conduct and courage sufficient in their way." Also in a letter to Governor LYTTELTON, PEPPER spoke of John BROWN as "being a half-breed by a Cherokee woman." In his letter, PEPPER requested that BROWN be given a commission as captain & command over a company of Chickasaw at Bread Camp. (s)
1756	War chief Ostenaco joins the English in a campaign against the French-allied Shawnee during the Seven Years War. Abandoned by the British, they "confiscate" horses from Virginians who retaliate by killing 24 of them. Raiding back and forth goes on for 6 years.
1760	(s)A major military expedition under Colonel Archibald MONTGOMERY with 1200 soldiers marched from Charleston to relieve Fort Loudoun. The column was ambushed in the mountains north of Keowee. The Army burned a few towns and hastily fell back to Charleston. Twenty-three settlers were killed three miles outside the present site of Troy, South Carolina, in what is known as the Long Canes massacre. John BROWN was now commander of the Chickasaw at Bread Camp. Also, he is now called Captain. The Cherokee War went from 1760 to 1762. No doubt this was a difficult situation for the "half-breed" Cherokee soldier. BROWN was at the signing of a peace treaty after this war. So was a John ROSS. They were listed under Head Men, Warriors etc. in the Ockchoy Square present for Governor LYTTELTON’s talk. This could have been the senior John BROWN, the white BROWN. (Ha!) Child of Quatsis (Quatsi, Quatie) married Drowning Bear, John BROWN. John BROWN is brother-in-law of Oconostota who was born in 1710 in Hiwassee Valley or Settico. Oconostota was also called Aganstata or Groundhog Sausage, Great Warrior, Beloved Warrior, First Warrior, Skiagunsta Chote. He first married a Creek woman. Standing Turkey (Kanagataucka) (Kanagata Oukah). Jerome COURTONNE was given a journal from a Chickasaw Trader. COURTONNE began a partnership with John BROWN. Hiwassee & Nottelies Cherokee killed trader John KELLY, quartered his body and set his head and hands on stakes. ELLIOTTs post at New Keowee was attacked. At the middle settlement of Takaseegee, James RUSSELL and James CRAWFORD were killed. Creek Indians of the Upper Nation murdered upwards of twenty of the English traders among them. A few only are supposed to have made their escape to the Alabama fort and Pensecola and some have reached Augusta. A deposition of Robert FRENCH, pack horseman, arrived at Fort Augusta from the Upper Creek Nation, taken on oath on 23 May 1760. Lachlan McGILLIVRAY & George GALPHIN also wrote. Richard HENDERSON sent Daniel BOONE into Kentucky to find good land for settlement. (s)
1762	The Cherokee capture Fort Loundon in Tennessee, but they eventually sue for peace. Ostenaco, Stalking Turkey, and Pouting Pigeon visit London to see King George III, accompanied by Lt. Henry Timberlake and interpreter William Shorey, who dies en route.
1763	Cherokee began migrating into northern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri after the French defeat by the British. They were given land & welcomed in by Spain. Francis BRETON settled near Potosi and began to operate a mine bearing his name. This was the first permanent European settlement in Missouri. The territory west of the Mississippi was ceded to Spain by the Treaty of Paris at the end of the French & Indian Wars. It stayed that way until 1800. Little Turkey Southern Division The Badger. (s)
1769	William BEAN built a cabin on Boone's Creek near the Watauga River and several families joined him. Bean's setlement, Carter's River Valley settlement of 1771 & the settlement on Nolichucky River of 1772 were collectively known as the Watauga Settlement. (s)
1770	Creek & Cherokee met with Ohio tribes at Sciota after Iroquois cession in 1768. Lochber Treaty. (s)
1772	Folks from the Watauga Settlement formed their own government called the Watauga Association. Their records have been destroyed and so little is known about them. (s)
1773	Thomas WOOTEN of North Carolina was granted 200 acres on the north side of the Broad River opposite the mouth of Long Canes. Lord Dunnmore's War. Land disputes. (s)
1774	Transylvania Land Company (Henderson Purchase). Iroquois sold Shawnee land (Kentucky). (s)
1775	The Wataugans had no legal title to the lands they occupied until Richard HENDERSON's purchase, on behalf of the Transylvania Land Company. HENDERSON then sold the land to the settlers with Charles ROBERTSON as trustee for the Watauga community. John HINKSTON & other settlers built fifteen crude cabins on a broad flat ridge above the south fork of the Licking River (Harrison County, Kentucky) along an old game trail from McClelland's Station (Scott County, Kentucky) to Lower Blue Licks. Beginning about this time large numbers of Cherokee began moving west of the Mississippi. This was encouraged by the Spanish governor. Fort Boonesborough was built by Richard HENDERSON and Daniel BOONE of the Transylvania Company near Lexington, Kentucky. ps. (s) Chief Dragging Canoe seceded from the Cherokee Indian tribe and established himself and his followers at the Chickamauga Towns on Chickamauga Creek.(h)
1776	Mohawk, Shawnee & Ottawa ask Cherokee to fight in Revolutionary War. Majority are neutral. Chickamauga form alliance wih Shawnee & participate in attacks of North Carolina forts, Eatons Station & Fort Watauga. Upper Creek & Cherokee attack frontier settlements in Tennessee and Alabama. Frontier militia organized. British agents lived among them with native wives. Richard BROWN born about now. When war broke out, the Wataugans organized themselves into a military district which they named after George WASHINGTON. This Washington District was incorporated as Washington County. (s)
1780	While war raged in the east, other settlers were migrating into middle Tennessee. Henderson's Transylvania Company was denied title to its purchases within Virgiia's territory so HENDERSON selected the Cumberland River region for settlement. Nashborough was formed. Major Patrick FURGUSON and a British force of about 1,200 men raided western settlements. The Wataugans of Washington County rallied at Sycamore Shoals under John SEVIER. They trailed eastward and were reinforced by Shelby's Indian fighters and a force of Virginians led by Colonel William CAMPBELL. Ruddell's Fort was attacked by Captain Henry BYRD and his British and Indian troops. About twenty inhabitants were killed at the site. The survivors were subjected to a forced march to Detroit where they remained prisoners for the remainder of the Revolutionary War. Ruddle's Station is on the east bank of the south fork of the Licking River about 7 miles from Paris, Bourbon, Kentucky. The Sevier expedition led by Colonel William CAMPBELL attacked the British entrenchments on Kings Mountain. Roderick SHELTON & George SHELTON were among the men in this battle. The Battle of Kings Mountain, just over the border into South Carolina was pivotal. General Sevier also fought Indians on Lookout Mountain defeating them badly. Also among those listed were Patrick MARTIN, James BROWN, John BROWN & John RUSSELL. Many ProBritish Cherokee went to Arkansas. There was a large post war migration through the Cumberland Gap (before the State of Tennessee existed). This area was considered part of North Carolina, and then Washington County, Virginia. The first large migration was from Augusta County, Virginia, but others quickly followed. Among this first group were the Lowreys, Davis', Craigs (David, Robert & James) & the BLACKBURNS. (s)
1782	September,: The last Expedition of the Revolution took place, Col. John Sevier being ordered to attack the Chickamaugas in the Hamilton County country. Early historians say that he fought a battle on Lookout Mountain. (h)
1785	The Treaty of Hopewell is the first treaty between the U.S. and the Cherokees.
1786	Daniel Ross married Molly McDonald, daughter of Capt. John McDonald and Anna Shorey McDonald. (h)
1788	January or February: Boats containing forty people who were moving to the Cumberland Settlement were attacked by the Chickamaugas at the mouth of the Chickamauga. Thirty-seven of the forty people were killed. May 7,: Col. James Brown and his party passed down the Tennessee River. His boat was seized by the Indians. Col. Brown was killed and his family, including young Joseph Brown, was captured. August: Gen. Joseph Martin fought a battle with Indians on Lookout Mountain on the War Path,the present site of the highway leading to the top. This was the second battle of Lookout Mountain. The Indians were victorious. (h)
1788	Cherokee who had been allied with the British received permission from the Spanish governor at New Orleans to settle in Spanish territory west of the Mississippi. Duwali was then chief of Running Water Town. (s)
1790	John Ross is born near Lookout Mountain in the western district of North Carolina on October 3rd.
1791	The Treaty of Holston is signed. It includes a call for the U.S. to "advance the civilization" of the Cherokees by giving them farm tools and technical advice. The chiefs are encouraged to use credit and then are forced by the government to settle their debts by land cessions.
1792	Mrs. Crockett and her eight children were killed by Indians close to the Georgia border. (h) March 1: Chief Dragging Canoe died at Running Water Town.
1794	The Mussel Shoals incident was widely circulated; but, it seems, few knew the entire story. William SCOTT was owner of the boat that was attacked. Chickamauga steadily migrated into Missouri until about 1799. Treaty signed with new American nation. Chickamauga steadily migrated into Missouri until about 1799. Chief Bowles and Chickamaugans encountered white men on their way back home. A fight ensued. Fearing they will appear to have not honored the agreement, Bowles takes his group to Missouri. More of their people came west to join them, including John Lucien Brown. (s)
1794	September 13: Major James Ore's battles with the Chickamaugas at Nickajack and Running Water destroyed the power of the Chickamauga tribe and ended the Indian Wars. The Chickamauga tribe returned to the Cherokee Council and sued for peace. (h)
1795	There was a land rush in Missouri from now until about 1805. Many folks came in for free land being offered by Spain. (s)
1798	Daniel BOONE left Kentucky and settled in Missouri. Potosi was already thriving. William REED, from Greene County, Tennessee, & wife, Helen WATSON, got permission from Deluziere, commandant of New Bourbon, to start a settlement. His daughter and son-in-law ran the saw mill. Thomas WRIGHT was first pastor of the Methodist Church. Perhaps the first really permanent settlement was at Caledonia. Ananias McCoy & Benjamin CROW & Robert REED came from Tennessee and setled about twelve miles south of Potosi. Others followed and the settlement prospered. These folks were farmers and carried their produce to St Genevieve for shipping. "They enjoyed the fertile soil, plenty of water power and nearness to mines." (s)
1802	Thomas Jefferson signs the Georgia Compact in support of Indian removal.
1803	The territory obtained from Spain by Napoleon was sold to the United States for $15,000,000 and became known as the Louisiana Purchase. Many folks had secured Spanish Grants and had to settle them with the U.S. purchase. Andrew GOFORTH was one of these folks. War between the Osage & the Western Cherokee was common. David SHELTON received a land grant for military service. Many of the claims in Missouri at this time became known as "Squatter Sovereignty." Several rather elaborate dwellings were erected. There were three stores, two distilleries, a post office, flour mill, sawmill & several lead furnaces. Miles GOFORTH's son was named Zachriah. Miles had a cabin on a low bluff near a spring northwest of the junction of Hiways 21 & 32 in Caledonia. His daughter, Sarah, was born in Tennessee. When the GOFORTHs arrived in the valley, there were only eight families. (s)
1805	Daniel BOONE's sons, Nathan & Daniel Morgan started a salt making business in Missouri. Boone's Lick is north of Petersburg. The Santa Fe Trail began as an extension of the Boone's Lick Road. The first post offices of the new Louisiana Territory were St Genevieve, Cape Girardeau & New Madrid. Mail arrived by boat and then horseback. (s)
1806	August 1,: Dr. Gideon Blackburn established at Sale Creek the first mission school for the Indians in the Hamilton County country. In the same year he had a similar school in Hiawassee. He taught spinning, weaving and domestic arts as well as religion. (h)
1807	Cherokee visited a trading post at Natchitoches (Louisianna) and reported they lived further up the Red River (probably in southwest Arkansas & northeast Texas). Nathan & Daniel M. BOONE took GOFORTH, BALDRIDGE and MANLY up the river to manufacture salt. All of the country above Cedar Creek was called Boones Lick country. Cedar Creek became the boundary line between Callaway and Boone counties. It was considered the western boundary of St. Charles. Washington County was divided into six townships, Breton, Bellevue, St Michaels, Big River, St Genevieve & Cinque Homme. Thirty Scotch Irish Presbyterians arrived in Bellevue Valley from South Carolina. They organized the first of their churches west of the Mississippi. William and Robert SLOAN were heads of the group. They stopped in Christian County, Kentucky to make one or two crops. These folks really made a difference in the building up of the area. "All over Bellevue these families scatttered, acquiring Spanish grants and locating their homes near good springs. Indian wigwams and teepees dotted the landscape as well as the early settlers homes. (s)
1808	The Secretary of War instructed their U.S. agent, Colonel MEIGS, to "use every inducement" to get Cherokee people to exchange their homelands for lands west of the Mississippi. By now were already about 2,000 Cherokee in northern Arkansas. The Osage were complaining about Cherokee hunting along the White River without permission. (s)
1810	John Ross and Timothy Meigs entered into partnership as "Meigs and Ross" and established a store on the Tennessee River at the present site of Chattanooga. The store soon had a large patronage. (h)
1810	Duwali, Tsulawi and Talontuskee moved their people west of the Mississippi. Washington County, Missouri had its first murder trial. The defending attorney was Henry M. Breckenridge. He lost. Peter John was convicted and hanged for the murder of John Spear. (s)
1811	(abt.) Nancy BROWN born. New Madrid was one of the first settlements in Missouri. "All the worst elements of a frontier river town were to be found in this place. The inhabitants were a mixed class of English, Spanish, French, Indian and Negro. The New Madrid graveyard sank into the Mississippi River on 16 Dec, the day of the big earthquake. Nearly the whole country known as Litle Prairie was flooded. The motion on the river caused a tidal wave and reversed the direction of the flow for a short while. (s)
1812	The lake, now called Montlake, on Walden's Ridge was formed by the earthquake which at the same time formed Reelfoot Lake in Obion County. April 3,: Return Jonathan Meigs, son of Timothy Meigs and grandson of Col. Return Jonathan Meigs, was born near the Meigs and Ross store. He was the first child of full white blood born at the present site of Chattanooga who lived. (h)
1812	Missouri was first called by that name. Before now it was he Illinois District, Upper Louisiana, District of Louisiana and the Territory of Louisiana. Now it became the Territory of Missouri. It included a considerable part of northern Arkansas. Cedar Creek area was now a village. The town that became Old Franklin was known as the Boones Lick Road. Five forts were built in Old Franklin area in Missouri. Coopers Fort, Kinkaids Fort, Fort Hempstead, Fort Head and Coles Fort. Andrew Jackson led a group of Tennessee troops to victory against the Creek Indians during the war of 1812 and David Crocket, who had volunteered as a scout for Jackson attained the rank of captain. William Buford went to Kentucky and then Missouri, bringing a large number of horses. William bought land on which Caledonia is located from Miles GOFORTH. (s)
1813	About 1/3 of the Cherokee were living west of the Mississippi. Many lived near the mouth of Petit Jean Creek in today's Conway County, about 10 miles northwest of Perryville. Agent William LOVELY reported conflicts between the Cherokee and Osage. He further reported that some whites living in the area were of the "worst character" and also posed a threat to the cause of peace in the region. Many Osage moved further south as more Cherokee came west. Washington County, Missouri was formed from St. Genevieve County. The seat of justice was at the village of Mine a Breton (Potosi). The Missouri Fur Company did trading in Harmony, Washington County, Missouri. The county is 762 square miles. The county seat of Potosi was named after Potosi, Bolivia, a silver mining town. It is a South American Indian word which means place of much noise. Other towns are Caledonia, Irondale & Mineral Point. Local legend has it that the Jesse James gang frequently camped in a cave there. The Ozarks Trail, Trace Creek Trail and the Moses Austin Trail are thru Washington County. The forced march of the Cherokee in the Trail of Tears also passed thru. William Clark became governor of Missouri, until 1821. Five original counties were St Charles, St Louis, St Genevieve, Cape Girardeau and New Madrid. (s)
1814	Col Richard Brown leads 800 Cherokee under General Jackson in the Creek War. Col Brown is wounded at
1815	Ross Landing began to be so called. John Ross took his brother, Lewis Ross, into partnership. (h)
1816	Boones Lick area was now attracting the most immigrants. Old Franklin was two miles from the present town of Franklin. It was laid out in what was called Coopers Bottom, opposite the present city of Boonville. Santa Fe trade was exchanging fur & salt for coffee, silver and wool. Prairie schooners were pulled 8-10 horses or oxen. The Presbyterian reverend Samuel Giddings organized the Concord (now Bellevue) church. John HARRISON and Mary CROCKETT of Virginia moved to Missouri with son, Thomas. Went to Saline. John, James & brother Thomas are sons of Captain John. (s)
1817	Turkey Town Treaty signed. Four thousand Cherokee ceded their lands in Tennessee in exchange for a reservation with the western Cherokee in northwest Arkansas. Some Georgia land was also ceded. Chief Attakullakulla ceded large parcels of land in Tennessee, Kentucky & North Carolina. His son, Dragging Canoe, rejected the land sale and vowed to keep and proect the land from white encroachment. (s) "Old settlers" begin voluntary migration and establish a government there. In 1828, they are forced to move into Indian territory.
1817	September (the last Sunday): A Presbyterian church at the "Mission on Chickamauga" was organized. (h)
1818	The name of the "Mission on Chickamauga" was changed to the Brainerd Mission. The name of the church was changed to Brainerd Church. (h)
1818	Sam HOUSTON moved west also. John JOLLY, the new western chief, was his adopted father. Blount County was pretty settled except for that portion known as Brown's Valley in the area of Knoxville. The Cherokee held Brown's Valley until 1839. Besides the Cherokees, there was a colony of about 200 refugee Creeks settled there, governed by John Shannon, a half-blood Creek (called John Ogee). The Creeks had been brought there for protection soon after the Creek War had started. The man who brought them in was Colonel Richard Brown (b. abt 1776). (Source for this information is "A Description and History of Blount County," by George Powell.) (s)
1819	President James Monroe and Gen. and Mrs. Edmund Pendleton Gaines visited Brainerd Mission and Brainerd Church. (h)
1819	Cherokee western migrations still heavy. By now there was about 6,000 Western Cherokee. Naturalist Thomas NUTALL ascended the Arkansas and wrote that "both banks ... were lined with the houses and farms of the Cherokee." Seibert SHELTON received land patent in Carroll County, Missouri. So did John BROWN. Samuel HENDERSON bought lot 44 in Caledonia, Washington, Missouri. Moccasin Bend in Hamilton Couny, Tennessee, "contains some of the richest and most significant historical sites in the United States". Following a treaty with the U.S. the Cherokee were moved south of the Tennessee & Hiwassee rivers. Certain Cherokee and mixed bloods were, however, allowed 640 acre reservations. John Brown was one of these people. His claim was a reservation on the right bank of the river at a spot that took his name, Brown's Ferry. The Moccasin Bend terminus of Brown's Ferry is located where the present sewage treatment plant. The western terminus is on private land. BROWN's 640 acres tract on the north shore included a dwelling located on the road from old Washington. (s) James Brown got a specific 640 ac also.
1820	25 Aug: Cephas WASHBURN, Albert FINNEY, Jacob HITCHCOCK & Colonel James ORR arrived in Arkansas. Established Dwight (named for Timothy DWIGHT) Mission near present Russellville, Arkansas. Met with John JOLLY & James ROGERS. James ORR was a Colonel from Nashville. In 1800 he went bankrupt and began mining gun powder for the Indians. Samuel HENDERSON, Andrew GOFORTH & William WOODS lived at Township 35, Route 1 East (Sunlight and Belgrade). Nancy BROWN arrived as a missionary to Dwight. Duwali and others moved to the extreme southwest part of Arkansas in spite of government orders stating they were to use the Arkansas River for a southern boundary. From Arkansas Duwali got permission from the Spanish to move into Spanish Texas. The Missouri & Pennsylvania Lead Company was located in Harmony, Missouri & had mines of lead and other ores and minerals in Cashington and Crawford counties in Missouri. Samuel HENDERSON, Sr. moved back to Tennessee so he would not need to give up his slaves when Missouri joined the union. William WOODS & Samuel BROWN lived at Towship 35, Route 2 East (Belgrade & Bellevue on Cedar Creek). Thomas R. HARRIS lived at Township 36, Route 2 East on Big River. Robert BOGGS lived in Township 37, Route 2, South of Poosi (Breton). Andrew HENRY and William HENDERSON lived in Township 36, Route 3 East (Concord). (s)
1821	Sequoyah's Cherokee Syllabary is completed.
1822	Sequoyah settled permanently in the west. Duwali sent Richard FIELDS to Mexico to negotiate with the Spanish government for a land grant. Spanish governor Antonio MARTINEZ estimated there were 25,000 Cherokee, Choctaw, Miami & Kickapoo then in Texas. (s)
1823	The Cherokee's Supreme Court is established. James Brown is one of the first Justices.
1824	The first written law of the Western Cherokees is published. A new post called Cantoment Gibson was built near the convergence of the Arkansas, Verdigris and Grand Rivers in now northeastern Oklahoma. to help keep peace between the Osage & the Western Cherokee. Fort Gibson was built closer to the Osage. It was about a half-day's ride south of the Union Mission. Fort Smith was abandoned. (s)
1825	New Echota in Georgia is authorized as the Cherokee capital.
1826	Creek Indians were removed from their eastern homelands and sent west. (s)
1827	The modern Cherokee Nation begins with a Cherokee Constitution established by a convention. John Ross is elected chief.
1828	The Cherokee Phoenix is published in English and Cherokee at New Echota. Elias Boudinot is editor. Andrew Jackson is elected President--the Cherokees will come to call him jagsgin, "devil." Gold is discovered in Georgia.
1828	Arkansas white settlers were demanding removal of Cherokee & Osage to a place called Lovely's Purchase. A delegation of Cherokee, including Sequoyah, visited Washington. They were eventually pressured by John Q. ADAMS' administration to give Arkansas land for Oklahoma. Lovely's Purchase was 7 million acres. A large number refused to move to the Indian Territory and moved south to join Duwali in Teas under Mexican jurisdiction. One of these was Chief Tahchee or Dutch, one of the early emmigrants to Arkansas. John B. BROWN is mentioned in a marriage record. (s)
1829	James BROWN and John BELL plus Brackenridge are in Franklin County.
1828	-1830---The Georgia Legislature abolishes the tribal government and expands its authority over Cherokee country. Jackson signs the �Indian Removal Act�. Since the Cherokee have been interacting with the U.S. government on a true government-to-government relationship, there is a fear that the Cherokee will take steps to become a truly independent nation on the western boundaries of the U.S. Another motivation: greed. The whites in Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Alabama want their lands and the U.S. military has the might to grant that wish.
1830	Ephriam Hixson Jr. (b. 1797) bought John BROWN's 640 acres for $5500. This was in the vicinity of Fields ferry on the Tennessee River and the Brown reservation. HIXON is of the same family known for Hixon Station. (s)
1831	Parley P. PRATT wrote: "In the beginning of 1831 we renewed our journey and passing through St. Louis and St. Charles we traveled on foot for three hundred miles through vast prairies and through trackless wilds of snow, no beaten road, houses few and far between … " Parley arrived at Independence in the County of Jackson on the extreme western frontiers of Missouri and of the United States around Feb 1831. Along the way he preached the gospel to tens of thousands of Gentiles and two nations of Indians, "baptizing, confirming and organizing many hundreds of people into churches of the Latter Day Saints. This was the first mission performed … in any of the states west of New York. We were the first members of the Church which were ever on this frontier." James SHELTON's will mentions wife, Lydia, children Marymon, Nancy, Larkin J. & Polly. Youngest dau Virinda is underage. Othen names mentioned in this area are the CROWs, John BROWN & Nancy RICHARDSON. (s)
1832	The U.S. Supreme Court decision Worcester vs. Georgia establishes tribal sovereignty and protects Cherokees from Georgia laws. Jackson refuses to enforce the decision. Georgia holds a lottery for Cherokee lands.
1833	Joseph "Rich Joe" Vann (the second richest man in the Nation) has his mansion confiscated by Colonel William Bishop of the Georgia Guard. The neighboring Moravian mission school is turned into a brothel for the Georgia Guard headquarters.
1833	(abt) Nancy BROWN died. Also, the Cherokee & the Creek met at Cantonment Gibson to settle boundary disputes. John B. BROWN married Martha ADAMS in Franklin County, Missouri. (s)
1834	The Cherokee Phoenix ceases publication in May.
1834	An act of deposement was drawn against John BROWN & John ROGERS. BROWN went to Mexico.
1835	John Howard Payne was arrested by Georgia troops while he was in the home of Chief John Ross. (h)
1835	The Treaty Party signs the Treaty of New Echota, giving up title to all Cherokee lands in southeast in exchange for land in Indian Territory (Oklahoma.).
1838	-1839---Trail of Tears - The U.S. government forces removal of 17,000 Cherokees, in defiance of Supreme Court decision. More than 4,000 die from exposure, fatigue, and disease along the way.
1838	Chief John JOLLY died at his home in Webber Falls. He was replaced by John BROWN, son of Richard. This could be my Nancy's father. (s) Trail of Tears.
1839	Treaty Party leaders Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot are assassinated for breaking the pact not to sign the Treaty of New Echota. Factionalism continues until 1846. A new constitution is ratified at a convention uniting Cherokees arriving from the east with those in the west. Duwali lived on Bowles Creek about three miles northwest of Alto in Cherokee County. Duwali was killed in the battle of the Neches. He was shot in the head at close range by a Texas militiaman. Duwali was 83 years old. The militia burned homes, destroyed crops & slaughtered livestock. The Texas Cherokee people were scattered and lived as fugitives in Teas and Mexico.(s)
1844	The Cherokee Supreme Court building opens. The Cherokee Advocate becomes the first newspaper in Indian territory.
1844	John BROWN, returned from the Texas Cherokee to Missouri. (s)
1845	U.S. annexed Texas. (s)
1851	Cherokee male and female seminaries open. The female seminary is the first secondary school for girls west of the Mississippi.
1859	The original Keetoowah Society is organized to maintain traditions and fight slavery.
1860	Tension mounts between Union Cherokees and Confederate Cherokees.
1861-	The Civil War begins. All 5 of the "Civilized Tribes"--the Cherokee, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Muskogee or Creek, and the Seminole sign treaties with the Confederate States of America and fight in the war against the Union. A treaty is signed at Park Hill between the Cherokee Nation and the Confederate government. The Cherokee Nation is torn by border warfare throughout the Civil War. The first Cherokee flag is that of the Cherokee Braves. It is present to principal chief John Ross on October 7th by the Confederate Indian Commissioner, Albert Pike.
1865	-1866---The Civil War ends. The Cherokee must negotiate peace with the U.S. government. John Rollin Ridge, Saladin Watie, Richard Fields, Elias C. Boudinot, Stand Watie, Joseph A. Scales, and William Penn Adair represent the Cherokee. The new treaty limits tribal land rights and eliminates the possibility of a Cherokee State and is the prelude to the Dawes Commission. John Ross dies in Washington, D.C. Slavery is abolished.
1871	The Cherokee seal is designed to embrace the early government structure and the eternal endurance of the Cherokee Indians. It is adopted by Act of the Cherokee National Council and approved.
1887	The General Allotment Act is passed--it requires individual ownership of lands once held in common by Indian tribes.
1889	Unassigned lands in Indian Territory are opened by white settlers known as "boomers."
1890	The Oklahoma Territory is organized out of the western half of Indian Territory.
1893	Cherokee Outlet is opened for white settlers. The Dawes Commission arrives.
1898	The Curtis Act is passed, abolishing tribal courts.
1903	W.C. Rogers becomes the last elected chief for 69 years.
1905	Land allotment begins after an official roll is taken of the Cherokees.
1907	Oklahoma statehood combines the Indian and Oklahoma Territories and dissolves tribal government.
1917	William C. Rogers, the last Cherokee Chief, dies.
1921	The Cherokees ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review their claim to 1 million acres of land in Texas.
1934	The Indian Reorganization Act established a landbase for tribes and legal structure for self government.