 Will Emory (1744-1788)of the Cherokee & Chickamauga
Larry Petrisky, November 2004
Will Emory (1744-1788) of the Cherokee & Chickamauga
The Cherokee lost no ground by making war – they lost it all by making peace. - unknown 1792
How do we know Will Emory existed?
From Daniel Boone’s and Lyman Draper’s descriptions of him, we can guess that “Cap’n Will” was a tall, straight Cherokee who spoke English well, ran with the Shawnee, and had a sense of humor. From the early 1800's this person was thought to be Cherokee half-breed Will Emory. “Tribal memory” remembers him.[1]
“Family memory” remembers him as well. Descendants of his son emigrated to Indian Territory and served in the Civil War as Cherokee and Emory. They also inhabited upper central Tennessee, retaining the Emory (Emery) name, the oral history of tribal relationship, and even the Cherokee name “Bullfrog”. [2]
The Chickamauga stronghold “Will’s Town” in upper Alabama was the home of John Watts and was called Willstown by everyone, including Watts and Dragging Canoe (leaders of the Chickamauga), by 1779. Why it was not called “Watts Town” points to an older Cherokee named Will, a compatriot of Dragging Canoe. Historian John Brown (Old Frontiers) speculated that Willstown was named for Chief Walt Webber’s father, Will Webber. But his father was a trader also named Walter Webber and was not associated with the tribe before 1788. [3]
The Emory River in upper Tennessee could not have been named for anyone else but Will Emory, the Cherokee. A newspaper account from the early 1900's attributes the river name to a soldier (William Emery) who was killed crossing the river during the Revolution. [4] (Perhaps it was Will Emory who was killed?) A land application in 1783 calls it “William Emeries River” when it was still contested by the Cherokee. To induce the Cherokee into ceding more land, William Blount proposed in 1791 to locate the capital of the Tennessee territory at the mouth of the river and call it “Emery’s Town”. How would that honor the Cherokee unless Will Emory was one of their own? There were no white settlers in that area named Emory and no soldiers by that name either. A William Embry passed through the area in the early 1800's but he could not have been the namesake for the river. [5]
With this, and more, we have enough circumstantial evidence to accept that mixed blood Will Emory was recognized as a Cherokee tribal member (even a “war chief”) who followed Dragging Canoe and the Chickamauga federation, and died by 1791. It is fair to assume that he was from an influential and well-liked family, but our purpose is not to fabricate a flowery mythology for him, but to reconstruct a reliable record.
Biographical sketch of Will Emory
Will Emory was born 1744 in the Middle or Valley village of Tamah’li or Tomatly about where the current village of Tomotla resides on the Valley River in Cherokee County, North Carolina. [6] He was the son of William (Will) Emory (d.1770) and Mary Grant (d.c.1766), daughter of Ludovic Grant, the licensed Indian trader for Tomatly and two other towns. He was killed in the village of Chota in Tennessee, in 1788. [7]
(It is possible that Will Emory was the son of Indian trader John Amory* -- father of William Emory -- but the simpler construction is that he was Will Emory Jr.) [8]
Will Emory was known as “Will”, “Half Breed Will of Nequasse”, “Long Will”, “Long Fellow”, “Captain Will” and perhaps Salliouwe. He is also commonly but inaccurately called “Chief Watauga” and “Indian Will”. [9]
Some tribal historians claim Will was killed in Pennsylvania before 1761 but this results from an honest confusion of three facts: Will followed his “uncle”, Warhatchy of Keowee, up to Pennsylvania in 1758 to fight the French Shawnee; Warhatchy was murdered in jail in South Carolina upon his heroic return; Indian Will, who was aligned with the French Shawnee, was killed on Will’s Knob in Pennsylvania c.1758, and was much older than our Will (as was Chief Watauga). [10]
The name of Will Emory’s wife is not known, and one known son (Thomas, aka Long Tom or Bullfrog) is tentatively deduced from family and tribal records. [11]
Will was murdered under a flag of truce along with his spiritual father or uncle, Old Abraham, in 1788. The Emory family would be long forgotten except for Dr. Emmett Starr’s tireless reconstruction of Cherokee old families based on the legends and memories of those who went west. Supplementing and correcting Starr’s work is fair sport for today’s Internet “experts” but many of us would have no place to begin if it were not for Starr.
An Interesting Oral Tradition
“William Emory was a captain in a frontier militia, was involved in the building of a fort, and was killed by John Sevier’s men. His father was a British soldier.” This family tradition confuses father and son and was provided by a knowledgeable member of the East Tennessee Historical Society in 1981. [12] While it contains some truth, compare it to the recollections gathered by Starr for hundreds of individuals.
Notes on Will Emory’s white family
Will Emory’s father (who also was called Will Emory) lived with the Cherokee and worked under his father-in-law, Ludovic Grant, a famous Cherokee trader who is amply documented elsewhere. [13] William Emory Senior’s father (John), mother (Sarah), brother (John Robert), and father-in-law (Grant) were all involved in the Indian trade. His sister (Sarah) married Mungo Graham, whose father (Patrick Graham) was Georgia’s Agent to the Creek Indians. [14] Except for Starr’s genealogies, however, there is almost no reference to Will Emory Senior’s life among the Cherokee. Apparently, he never got mentioned because he never got into trouble.
John Amory*, white grandfather of Will Emory (1744-1788) was born in England c.1700,and married Sarah Wilson 13 February 1726 in Lincolnshire, England. He came to Savannah, Georgia, with family in December 1737 but the next year moved to South Carolina, to become caretaker of the late Governor Johnson’s estate. John Amory* entered the Cherokee trade by 1742 (incurring public expenses in 1740, 1741) and had one known child (John* b.1744 – my ancestor) by a Cherokee woman (Mary Moore*). He died suddenly in 1746 and was buried 5 October 1746 at Saint Philip’s Parish in Charleston, South Carolina. [15]
Sarah Wilson Amory, white grandmother of Will Emory (1744-1788) was born in England c.1705. She was buried 31 Mar 1765 at Saint Philip’s after a sudden illness. She m(2) William Elders 17 Aug 1747 at Saint Philip’s. He d.1748. She m(3) Thomas Nightingale 30 Nov 1749 at Saint Philip’s (Charleston, South Carolina); he was b.1716 , buried at Saint Philip’s 2 November 1769. All three of her husbands were Indian traders, but she made more in the trade than all of them combined. In her first big year, 1743, she was paid 75 pounds (a fair annual wage). In 1749 she was paid ten times that amount, in 1750 twenty times that amount. [16]
Robert Emory (John Robert Amory), white uncle of Will Emory (1744-1788) was christened 30 Oct 1727 in Lincolnshire, England; buried March 1790 at Saint Philip’s in Charleston. He entered the Cherokee trade in 1743, working under Ludovic Grant up to 1747 or so, then he worked at the Keowee trading post (upper South Carolina) under Abraham Smith and his brother Richard Smith. He, along with Richard Smith, were licensed to trade with the Creek Indians in 1750 and Robert resided with the Creeks until 1758 or so (in Georgia or Alabama), having at least one son (Creek warrior Emory or Emarhee) in that tribe. [17] In 1758 or so Robert joined the British army and is not heard of again until he returned to South Carolina in 1787, when he filed a lawsuit to recover family lands lost in the Revolution. [18] Robert wrote his will 19 March 1790 and it was entered for probate 30 March 1790 in Charleston. [19]
William Emory (Amory), father of Will Emory (1744-1788) was christened 20 Oct 1728 in Lincolnshire, England; buried 31 July 1770 at Saint Philip’s in Charleston. He entered the Cherokee trade in 1743, working under Ludovic Grant up till 1753 or so, bringing the family down to the Ninety Six trading post (South Carolina), then Ludovic Grant to Goose Creek in 1755 or so, where Grant died in 1757. In 1758 William returned to England and joined the British army and is not heard of again until he returned to South Carolina in 1765 or 1766, after the death of his mother (1765) and wife (1766). He married widow Sarah Irish Loocock Cantle 18 November 1768. She died a few weeks before he did; her will was entered for probate 20 July 1770, just days before William died. [20]
Family Alignments
The Emorys were aligned with the power structure of the Lower Cherokee, whose primary towns (Keowee, Tugaloo, Toxaway, Estatoe, Tomassee) were most exposed to the decimations of smallpox, military punishments, and hostile raids from the Creeks and Catawba. Many Lower towns had camps or “sister villages” in the mountains to which they moved seasonally or in times of danger. The Lower Cherokee dialect was the one spoken by the early traders so, when the British opened up the Overhill towns for trade posts in 1725, they brought with them some men of the Lower tribe. [21]
Ludovic Grant married a daughter of one of the transplanted Lower headmen and was at the Great Tellico post from 1726 to 1734. When Alexander Cuming skipped the Lower headmen and (guided by Grant) unofficially crowned Moytoy of the Overhills “emperor” of the Cherokees in 1730, he emboldened the Overhill factions to assert themselves in tribal politics against the Lower Cherokee. The death of Moytoy’s brother c.1733 precipitated the removal of Ludovic Grant and his father-in-law to the smaller village of Tomatly in the Middle towns. From this vantage point in the middle, Ludovic Grant would file reports to the English colonial government in Charleston for twenty years. [22]
South Carolina Governor James Glen was an especially good friend of Ludovic Grant and the Emorys. Others close to the Emorys before 1760 include William Elder(s), John Watts, Thomas Nightingale, Abraham Smith and Richard Smith. Less close, but important were Robert Gouedy, John Vann, Cornelius Daugherty, Daniel Murphy, James Beamer and William Moore. Later close families included Fields, Buffington, Harlan, Martin, Rogers, Pettit, Bushyhead, Murphy, Davis and Welch. [23]
These families lived together along the Valley River in North Carolina, in Willstown, Alabama, and on the Arkansas River out west. [24]
Will Emory’s Cherokee family connections
The Smallpox Conjuror of Keowee (Charity Haig), and an important headman* of Keowee (Skiagusta?) seem to be the earliest known connections.[25] A daughter* of the Keowee headman* was married to Governor James Moore* (or his son*) and gave birth to James Moore (born Cherokee c.1718-1721), Mary Moore* (born Cherokee c.1719-1720), and possibly a William Moore (born Cherokee c.1725-1735 – though he may have been a son of the Cherokee James Moore and born c.1738-1742). [26] Other children of this woman* included Warhatchy (Wauhatchie) (b.c.1724-1730 d.1760). Oconastota (b.1711 d.1783), and possibly Willenawah or Kitagusta (b.c.1720-1730 d.c.1794) may have been her brothers or relatives. [27]
The French Woman of Keowee (Nana or Nani) (b.c.1733 d.c.1831) also figures into the family in a variety of ways. She is known for certain (she died in my ancestor’s house
and is listed in the 1830 census as an Emory family member) but the relationships are, for now, speculative. She appears to have had a daughter by William Elder (d. 1748), the daughter was the first wife of John Emory* (1744-1808) – who was the son of Mary Moore* (above) and John Amory* (d.1746) the Indian trader. The daughter died shortly after giving birth to Elizabeth Jane Emory (Quatsy, or Jen/Yen Oconee) (b.c.1765), who was the ancestor of many of the Welch Cherokees. [28] The French Woman also had a brief marriage to Little Carpenter (no children) and agitated both Little Carpenter and the Lower Cherokee into friendship with the French against the English. She was also a spy/interpreter under Little Carpenter against the French Creek in Alabama. [29]
Little Carpenter (nephew of Old Hop) had some connection to the family, though not necessarily a friendly one. His drunken argument with Ludovic Grant sent Grant out of the Cherokee Nation, but he appears later to be a defender of the Emory family. [30]
Abram (later Old Abraham) “adopted” Will Emory. They signed treaties together and they were murdered together (1788). Will had a brother named Abraham Emory (Hembree). The relationship to Old Abram is strong, but unclear. Corn Tassel (later Old Tassel) is another prominent Cherokee related in some way to the Emorys. [31]
Dragging Canoe, son of Little Carpenter, may have been a cousin to Will Emory. They were roughly the same age and both went on the warpath with Warhatchy as young men (14-18) in 1758-1759 under the command of George Washington to fight the French Shawnee. [32] Will later served with Dragging Canoe and the Chickamauga, raiding from Kentucky to Alabama. A long friendship or blood/clan relationship between Will and Dragging Canoe is suggested. [33] John Watts (Dragging Canoe’s lieutenant and son of John Watts who was an associate of John Amory*) was born in Ninety Six, South Carolina, where the Emory and Watts families lived together for several years, during the building of Fort Prince George and Fort Loudon (so a friendship can be inferred). [34] John Jolly, Richard Fields, and Bushyhead (Tahlonteeskee) of the Chickamauga were nephews of Will Emory. [35]
Childhood years 1744-1758
Raised at Tomatly on the Valley River nestled near the Snowbird Mountains of the Smokies, Will formed strong family bonds. His father was English, his grandfather Scottish, but everyone else around him was Cherokee. By the late 1740's the Lower Cherokee realized that their dependence on the English fur trade was a “win-win” situation for the English and a “lose-lose” situation for the Cherokee. After protecting the South Carolina and Georgia colonies from the Spanish, the Tuscarora, Yuchi, and Yamassee Indians, and now the French for trinkets, blankets and rum (while the French were giving the Creek and Shawnee firearms and ammunition), the Cherokee demanded better terms. The depletion of deer, elk and woodland bison from their traditional hunting grounds sent the Cherokee into the lands of the Catawba and Creek, bringing upon themselves fierce raids. The French-armed Creeks gained military superiority over the Lower Cherokee. The British, guarding their treaties with the Creeks, “forbid” the Cherokees from retaliating, nor would they supply them with good firearms or ammunition. French traders secretly visited Cherokee towns, bringing with them horns of gunpowder and jugs of rum that were not watered down. [36]
Smallpox, yellow fever and malaria killed more Cherokee than warfare, however, and the Lower Cherokee were exposed to more disease-spreading contacts than were the Creeks or the Overhill Cherokee. A flare-up of smallpox in 1751-1753 left young Dragging Canoe (b.c.1740 d.1792) with permanent scars on his face. [37]
Slavery was increasingly important to agriculture in the southern colonies and runaway slaves had nowhere to go but into the Cherokee Nation, where they were easily captured. The reward for runaways was as high as 50 pounds but, of course, the captors would be given a cloth shirt or a knife and the trader would keep the reward for himself. The Cherokee asked that their people who were captured and sold into slavery by enemy tribes or ruthless whites be returned to them, but it was seldom convenient for the colonial authorities to help the Cherokee in this way. (The French Woman of Keowee was enslaved as a child, raised by a French family in the West Indies and sent to Charleston to return to her people when she was a young woman. In Charleston, she was auctioned as a slave by the ship’s captain but was rescued by traders who heard her speaking Cherokee. She was returned to Keowee by John Amory*. [38]
By 1749 there was a breakdown in the Cherokee trade and in 1751 most English traders were driven out of the Nation. The Creek attacked and destroyed the Lower Towns in 1750 and 1752. [39]
To regulate the Indian trade, protect the Lower towns, manage the runaway slave trade and prevent French encroachment, it was decided to build a fort in the Lower towns. Governor James Glen and Ludovic Grant were instrumental in getting the Cherokee to cede some land for the new fort (by the time the ink was dry on the treaty, they had given up all land below Ninety Six). The “Great Warrior” (Skiagusta) died just before the 1753 treaty was drawn. The signers were from Keowee and Toxaway and included the Raven of Toxaway, Sinnawa the Hawk’s Head (warrior of Toxaway), Nelle Wagalchy of Toxaway, Yorhalche (Warhatchy) of Toxaway, Owasta (Outtacitie), “the head beloved man of Toxaway”. [40] ,/p>
By 1754 a frontier war against the French erupted, and it was the duty of Robert and William Emory to serve England. Robert was trading among the Creeks, his Cherokee daughter remaining with her people at Ninety Six. William brought his family and father-in-law to Ninety Six (later to Goose Creek as Grant’s health failed). [41]
Construction of the fort at Keowee (Fort Prince George) was done in 1754. The Emory family was likely involved. Thomas Nightingale was hired to deliver ammunition and saddles to the new fort. [42] He was somewhat of an uncle to the Emory Cherokees (his wife was the widow of John Amory*). His kindness to the family endured in the oral tradition handed down to me. It is possible that Will Emory named his son Thomas in honor of Thomas Nightingale. [43]
Ludovic Grant died by 1758 and William Emory returned to England around that time to enlist in the army. [44] Young Will Emory was reaching manhood and, being true Cherokee, that meant he was ready to prove himself in war.
Warhatchy of Keowee 1757-1760
The success of French Indians along the colonial frontiers almost brought an early end to the war. The colonial army general, George Washington, urged the British to induce the Cherokee into joining the war against the French. [45] The Overhill Cherokee experienced humiliation at the hands of the well-armed Shawnee and were willing to join the war provided they received rifles, ammunition, and a fort in the Overhills to protect their families. The British promised all three, but failed to deliver.[46]
Richard Parris (Pearis) of Virginia, Richard Smith of Keowee, and John Watts of Ninety Six went with the Lower Cherokee to go north, promising them (on the word of the governors of Virginia and North Carolina) horses, guns, ammunition, winter blankets, and favorable trading concessions. The South Carolina legislature invalidated the promises made by Virginia, but nobody informed the Cherokee. While a fort was being completed in the Overhills (Fort Loudon), Warhatchy led a group of young warriors up to Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. [47]
The Cherokee inflicted surprising damage on the French Indians and turned the tide of the war (psychologically). They were honored by the colonial governments of Maryland and Pennsylvania, provoking an absurd jealousy in Virginia. Complaints to the crown got Richard and Abraham Smith removed as the licensed traders of Keowee, Parris lost his military commission in Virginia and was driven to South Carolina, and Warhatchy was arrested after he refused to return to South Carolina without getting the horses and weapons he was promised. In a surly mood, the Cherokee went home, and were attacked by settlers in Virginia and North Carolina. They defeated and plundered the settlers and continued toward home. [48]
When they arrived at Keowee, they discovered that the lieutenant commander of Fort Prince George had raped and abused the wife of one of the warriors. Instead of keeping her as his wife, he drove her away – a further shame. The man had gone unpunished by either whites or Cherokee. Warhatchy directed that revenge be taken against the wife of a white warrior. [49]
The settlers of Virginia demanded that the Cherokee be brought to justice while the young men with Warhatchy urged the Cherokee to rise up and punish the offender at Prince George. South Carolina, absent the services of James Glen and Ludovic Grant, was on the verge of a Cherokee war. Calmer heads prevailed. Oconastota and Willenawah, possibly the relatives of Warhatchy, disbanded the war party and got Warhatchy to calm down. Nineteen headmen of the Lower Cherokee approached the South Carolina government to work for peace. They were escorted under guard back to Fort Prince George, where they were arrested and put in confinement. Warhatchy was among them. The colonial government wanted to exchange the hostages for those guilty of the attacks in North and South Carolina. Since Warhatchy was most responsible and already in jail, it was impossible to meet the demand. A few volunteers were exchanged for Oconastota and Willenawah, but Warhatchy remained in jail (by choice, as one report says he was exchanged). [50]
Smallpox hit the Keowee area and some of the captives died in jail. The Overhill Cherokees made it clear to the British that this was a Lower Cherokee problem, and they would not take sides. The young warriors of the Overhill, however, began gathering around Fort Prince George. Oconastota saw a chance to gain stature among the warriors and led them into getting revenge on the lieutenant commander. Enraged, the militia guards at Fort Prince George murdered the surviving captives in January 1760. Warhatchy was killed. [51]
The Lower Cherokee were now at war.
Cherokee War 1760-1761
The Lower Cherokee began a half-hearted siege of Fort Prince George. Cold weather, smallpox, and friends kept war fever from getting out of hand. Many of the militia men in the fort were related to the Cherokee. Old traders Cornelius Daugherty and Ambrose Davis were among the defenders of the fort. [52] The British Army was called to punish the Cherokee but turned around after suffering losses from smallpox, desertions, and Cherokee ambushes. [53]
Attempts to help Fort Prince George from Fort Loudon caused Oconastota to turn the warriors loose on the Overhill outpost. The long siege and surrender of Fort Loudon was an embarrassment to the British army. After the fort was emptied, the young warriors selected 23 of the soldiers for scalping, followed by slow execution. (This matched the number of Cherokee massacred at Fort Prince George.) The British determined to wipe out the Lower Cherokee for “chastisement”. Fat British colonel James Grant led the punitive expedition. They destroyed every lower town and almost all of the middle towns. They redrew the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation. When the anger subsided, the Lower Cherokee were all but gone. [54]
Will of Nequasse 1761
Niquassi, or Nequasse, a Middle Town, was a refuge village for the Lower Cherokee. It was located where the current town of Franklin, North Carolina is. The “high road” from Keowee to the Overhills went through Toxaway then to Niquassi. The “low road” went through Oconee, Toccoa, Tugaloo, Estatoe (Chestoe) then to Niquassi. From Niquassi, the trail split toward Chilhowee through Watauga, and toward Tomatly through Ayoree. [55]
The Grant Expedition destroyed and burned “Nikwasi” on June 11-12, 1761. Captain Christopher French of the expedition mentioned in his journal on 28 August 1761 some of the key leaders of the Middle and Valley towns: “Willinewaw the great Warrior’s brother, Attakallakulla [Little Carpenter] old Hop’s [adoptive] son (who had been King), Caesar (the triple nosed) already mentioned, Classati (the Man Killer of Neuquasse), Halfbreed Will (the headman of Nequasse), the Raven & the young Raven of Hywassee etc¼.” [56] Since Nequasse was a “satellite” village of Tomatly and Keowee, Will Emory is a logical, if somewhat young, choice to be “Halfbreed Will”. John Watts Sr. brought Little Carpenter (Attakullakulla), Willenawah, the Raven of Hiwassee, “Halfbreed Will” (Will Emory) and a few others under a flag of truce to talk to military leaders of the Grant Expedition. [57]
Two halfbreed Wills can be identified in 1761: Will Emory (Long Will) and Will Elder (Little Will or Otterlifter). They were about the same age. Will Elder was likely born in the Overhills at Great Tellico c.1740 and was associated with the Overhill town of Toqua (in what is now Monroe County, Tennessee). (His grandson Will Elder was the chief by that name.) [58] (A third halfbreed Will unknown as yet is also possible.) Could a 17-year old warrior claim to be headman of a burned-down village? Certainly, but he may have had a clan claim through his great-grandfather, the Old Warrior of Tomatly.
Will of Nequasse seems to disappear after 1761: he takes on no name (“Young Warrior”?) then the name Longfellow and slips down to the Lower Cherokee village of Chestoe (Estatoe) in upper Georgia, close to his sisters who were near Tugaloo. From there he disappears again. This fits with the roving, raiding Will Emory. [59]
Raids and Federations 1763-1775
The French and Indian War ended in 1763. The Shawnee had joined with the French to drive the white settlers back to the lee side of the Appalachians, but the French gave up and a stream of white trappers and settlers flowed into the Ohio basin. The Shawnee attempted to continue the war under their war chief Pontiac but were defeated in 1764. The idea of a federation of tribes across Algonquin, Iroquois, Sioux and Muskogee traditional boundaries, however, caught the imagination of war chiefs on the windward side of the Appalachians. [60] The Shawnee were of the Algonquin language family, the Cherokee were of the Iroquois language family, the Catawba were of the Sioux language family, the Creeks were of the Muskogee language family. In the early 1760's, some Creeks joined with the Cherokee warriors and by the late 1760's, a group of them were in Ohio and Kentucky with the Shawnee. [61] Daniel Boone had his first encounter with Will Emory among the Shawnee in 1769.
Captures of Daniel Boone 1769, 1771, 1778
Daniel Boone (b.1734 PA d.1820 MO) first tried to settle in the Kentucky hunting grounds in 1773 but was attacked by the Shawnee. Boone’s son James was killed and the family moved back to central North Carolina. But Boone made a hunting trip into the Kentucky area earlier, in 1769, and was captured by Indians (Shawnee with some Cherokee) who were also hunting. One of his captors could speak English and warned Boone that if he caught him again he would kill him. Boone spent almost two years exploring and was captured again. According to Boone, his captor was going to put him to death but they spent a few days talking. Boone rightly saw that as a hint to escape, and he did.
On December 22, 1769, while engaged in a hunt, Boone and Stewart were surprised and captured by a large party of Shawanoes, led by Captain Will, who were returning from the autumn hunt on Green River to their villages north of the Ohio. Boone and Stewart were forced to pilot the Indians to their main camp, where the savages, after robbing them of all their peltries and supplies and leaving them inferior guns and little ammunition, set off to the northward. They left, on parting, this menacing admonition to the white intruders: "Now, brothers, go home and stay there. Don't come here any more, for this is the Indians' hunting-ground, and all the animals, skins, and furs are ours. If you are so foolish as to venture here again, you may be sure the wasps and yellow jackets will sting you severely."
[Archibald Henderson, The Conquest of the Old Southwest, Chapt X, 1920; cf. John Bakeless, Daniel Boone, Master of the Wilderness, 1939 – the major biography on Boone. Henderson was a descendant of Col. Richard Henderson.]
Joining with Colonel Richard Henderson’s Transylvania (“across the woods”)Company, Boone went back into Kentucky in March 1775. He blazed the path known as the Wilderness Trail (just combining existing east-west hunting paths)and established the remote settlement of Boonesborough. In 1778 Boone was again captured and held prisoner for five months by the Shawnee chief Blackfish. The Shawnee and the British were on their way to attack Boonesborough and another settlement so Boone made his escape and warned the fort. They fought off the attack for ten days in September but his familiarity with Blackfish and the attackers brought charges of treason against him. During his stay among the Shawnee in 1778, Daniel Boone recognized his former captor Captain Will and greeted him, “How d’ya, Cap’n Will.” They both called to mind Will’s pledge to kill Boone if they ever met again, but Boone’s bravery and sense of humor matched Will’s. [62]
Hard Labor, Lochaber and the Donelson Line (1768-1771)
John Stuart and his deputy commissioner Alexander Cameron brought the Cherokee together at Hard Labor Creek in the Ninety Six District in May 1766 to define the border of the Cherokee Nation as it pertained to Virginia and North Carolina. They came together again at the same place (probably on land owned by the Waite family) on October 14, 1768. [63] More encroachments required another definition of the border, which was accomplished at the Treaty of Lochaber (South Carolina) on 18 October 1770. [64] Little Carpenter took pity on some settlers on the Holston River and allowed a modification of the line in 1771. Under the direction of Alexander Cameron and Little Carpenter, John Donelson surveyed the new line with the help of the Cherokee. His interpreter/scout was Will Emory. [65] (This indicates a position of trust under Little Carpenter.)
The Treaty of Sycamore Shoals (March 1775) (Tennessee)
Old Abraham, Longfellow, Dragging Canoe, John Watts, and 900 others were at the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals (the whites called it the Transylvania Purchase). [66] Whites were pouring into the land over the mountains and encroaching on all the boundaries set by prior treaties. The Overhill Cherokee wanted to divert white settlement northward, into the hunting grounds later called Kentucky. The Cherokee were told that the treaty would provide for the removal of settlers from Tennessee. This, of course, was not to be the case. Neither side wanted another war, and the land seemed limitless, so the course of wisdom was to negotiate a peace that would give the Cherokee a boundary that the whites would never cross and the whites some land that the Cherokee would still be able to hunt on as they always had, but mindful of the white settlers there as well. It was an amicable fiction: the spoken word agreed to did not match the words written down. The whites came to grab land, not make a treaty (which they had no authority to do anyway). The “treaty” was written in the language of a land deed and recorded as a land deed, which too was illegal. [67]
The Transylvania Purchase (Treaty of Sycamore Shoals) was concluded March 17, 1775. Taking advantage of the confusion over what the Cherokee had agreed to, two more land cessions were worked in: the Robertson Watauga Purchase of March 19, and the Jacob Brown Watauga Purchase of March 25. [68]
This was the catalyst for the Chickamauga War (1775-1796). The warriors displaced from the Lower Cherokee were used to defying the elder headmen of the Overhills. Dragging Canoe’s vow to turn the ceded territory into a “bloody ground”, against the wishes of the elder headmen, is well-documented. [69]
Will Emory was noted on the treaty as “Long Fellow, Tuskeegeeteechee of Chistatoa”. (Old Abraham was listed as headman of Chilhowee.) “Chistatoa” (“Rabbit Place”) is Chestoe or Estatoe, a Lower Town in Georgia. This is consistent with Will Emory’s sisters being in the Tugaloo area 1775-1785. [70] Chilhowee is a Middle Town in the Smokies (though it moved seasonally down river toward Tellico). Abraham or Abram was always associated with Chilhowee and a stream in the Smoky Mountain National Park still bears his name (Abrams Creek). [71] This helps to show that Abraham and Longfellow were not literally father and son.
Cherokee Loyalists 1775-1777
British Indian Superintendent John Stuart (father of Bushyhead by Susannah Emory) declared the Transylvania Purchase null and void. (The governors of Virginia and North Carolina issued arrest warrants for Richard Henderson.) A shipment of arms and ammunition promised to the Cherokee was hijacked by rebels at Ninety Six (South Carolina) and a skirmish broke out in 1775 (before the Declaration of Independence). The rebels intended to enjoy the Transylvania Purchase and even began settling on Cherokee lands secured “forever” by prior treaty and recognized by the Transylvania Purchase. The British urged the Cherokee to punish the rebels and promised military help. The Cherokee attacked settlers in South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky but suffered huge losses because British help never arrived until the Cherokee were completely defeated in 1777. They were forced to sign two treaties in 1777: at the Long Island of Holston River (in Tennessee) and at Dewess (Dewitt’s) Corner (in South Carolina). [72]
With the treaties signed, the Cherokee tribe officially began a period of neutrality during the Revolution, but many warriors continued the fight as part of the Chickamauga federation. John Stuart fled to Florida, Joseph Martin was appointed Cherokee Agent by the American rebels. When Martin set up headquarters in Toccoa (near Tugaloo) on the Georgia side of the Tugaloo-Savannah River, he befriended the Ward family and the Emory family of Cherokees. [73] It’s clear, however, that the warriors and half breeds of the Emory family took up arms as loyalists and/or joined the Chickamauga.
Chickamauga federation 1775-1796
The Chickamauga were a federation of Cherokee, half breeds, loyalists, Creeks, and former slaves. The Shawnee added warriors to the federation and provided support in the north. [74] The Chickamauga formed their own towns after 1777 but were socially and legally regarded as part of the Cherokee. Dragging Canoe was war chief of the Chickamauga but was sought whenever treaties with the Cherokee were attempted. In 1777 and 1784 he set aside the ways of war and gave the settlers a chance to make peace. [75] In his 1777 speech, he even rejects the British as liars:
Brother Tho’ your messenger is not come to me yet I have heard your Talks and hold them fast as long as I live, for they have opened my Eyes and made me see clear, that
Cameron and Stewart have been telling me lies, when we had any Talks with the Virginians he was always with us, and told us that all the Virginians wanted was to get our Land and kill us, and that he had often told us we would not hear him till the Virginians would come and kill us all. Now Brother I plainly see that he made me quarrel with the greatest friends that we ever had, who took pity on us even in the greatest distress, when my old men, women and children is perrishing for something to live on, this makes it more plain to me that he cared not how many of us were killed on both sides so that we were dead, killed in Battle, or perrished with hunger, any way so we were dead. . . .(1777)
[Encyclopedia of Native American Biography , p.115.]
After Dragging Canoe’s death in 1792, the Chickamauga federation broke into factions. Rivalries and treachery plagued the greater tribe for the next century. Only the War of 1812 gave the Cherokee a common cause for a few years. [76]
Willstown 1779-1792
“Will’s Town” became a Chickamauga lower town in 1778 or 1779, and was known as a refugee town for the displaced Lower Cherokee, as from Keowee, South Carolina. It was located in upper Alabama. It was the residence of John Watts and George Guess/Gist (Sequoyah). Fort Payne was built in the shadow of Willstown. Later Cherokee residents of Willstown / Will’s Valley / Will’s Creek, Alabama: [77]
Ellis Buffington (1817) and Ezekiel Buffington (1817)
James Buffington (1828) and Ellis Buffington (1828) “gone”
John McCoy (1828,1834) and Milo Hoyt (1828) “gone to Arkansas”
Five Killer (1828) and Andrew Ross (1834, 1835)
Turtle Fields (1835) and Richard Fields (1835)
Rider Fields (1835)
According to historian John P. Brown, Willstown was named for Will Weber (or Webber), father of Chief Walter Webber of Webbers Falls in Arkansas Territory. [78] The first mention of any Weber or Webber among the Cherokee, according to Brown, however, is in 1793. [79] An online source claims Will Webber in a meeting of chiefs in 1791. So far, there is no record of a Webber among the tribe before 1788. Dr. John D. Webber, a descendent, identifies the father of Walter Webber (born 1799 in Willstown, Alabama, died after 1829 near Webbers Falls on the Arkansas River) as Walter Webber, who married Tusa-luh or Tsa-lu. [80]
These men, father and son, show up on the 1817 Reservation Roll and the 1817 Emigration Roll as Wally and Wallie. They emigrated in 1818 to Indian Territory. [81]
In other words, the Will Webber of Willstown did not exist, or he did not arrive among the Cherokee before 1788. Will Emory would be far more likely to be the namesake for Willstown than Will Webber. Will Elder would be possible, but less likely than Emory. (Elder was associated with the Overhills, briefly with the Chickamauga). Brown also determined from other Cherokee sources that Willstown was named for a “red-headed Will”. [82] If Will Emory had red hair, it would be a recessive trait for someone of Native American blood (appearing in odd generations). Will Emory would have been the odd (3rd) generation, his grandparents being the 1st generation. Since I have the same recessive trait and Emory Cherokee ancestry, this intrigued me. I was the only one of 18 grandchildren to have red hair; my grandfather Herman Edward Love* had red hair (the only one of his generation); his grandmother Sarah Emory* (or Hembree) had the trait (photos exist). Her grandfather was Edward Emory Sr.*, who was the grandson of John Amory* (d.1746) and Cherokee Mary Moore*. Will Emory was also a grandson of John Amory*. Admittedly, this “proof” sounds better around a campfire, but we must look at every broken twig as we track the lost ones of the tribe.
Hopewell (Keowee) Treaty 1785 (South Carolina)
The mediation of Joseph Martin, Old Tassel, Abraham, and Hanging Maw brought many of the Chickamauga leaders to the Treaty of Hopewell at Keowee in 1785. Dragging Canoe may or may not have attended, but the Chickamauga would not have gone to the treaty talks without his consent. Most of them used “full blood” names and pretended they could not speak English, appointing an interpreter to handle all communication (even though some of the “warriors” were deserters from the British army, born in England). In Will Emory’s case, he was involved in attacks in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and South Carolina. It was better that he not use his English name so he gave his Cherokee name: Tuskegatahee, or Long Fellow of Chistohoe.
The purpose of the treaty at Keowee (Hopewell) was peace:
The hatchet shall be forever buried, and the peace given by the United States, and friendship re-established between the said states on the one part, and all the Cherokees on the other, shall be universal; and the contracting parties shall use their utmost endeavors to maintain the peace given as aforesaid, and friendship re-established. It also expressly prohibited further settlement on Cherokee lands:
If any citizen of the United States, or other person not being an Indian, shall attempt to settle on any of the lands westward or southward of the said boundary which are hereby allotted to the Indians for their hunting grounds, or having already settled and will not remove from the same within six months after the ratification of this treaty, such person shall forfeit the protection of the United States, and the Indians may punish him or not as they please: Provided nevertheless, That this article shall not extend to the people settled between the fork of French Broad and Holstein rivers... [83]
Will signed his name along with his elders Old Tassel, Abraham, and Hanging Maw, and many of his Chickamauga companions, using “fullblood” names, except for Will Elder who used “Will of Akoha”. The list of signers (from the Yale University website):
Koatohee, or Corn Tassel of Toquo, his x mark [Old Tassel] 1785Seholauetta, or Hanging Man of Chota, his x mark [Hanging Maw]Tuskegatahu, or Long Fellow of Chistohoe, his x mark [Long Fellow]Ooskvrha, or Abraham of Chilkowa, his x mark [Abraham of Chilhowee]Kolakusta, or Prince of Noth, his x mark [Kitagusta or Willenawa]Newota, or the Gritzs of Chicamaga his x mark [Moses Gritts, Chickamauga]Konatota, or the Rising Fawn of Highwassay, his x mark [Hiwassee]Tuckasee, or Young Terrapin of Allajoy, his x mark [Ellijay]Toostaka, or the Waker of Oostanawa, his x mark [Oostenalla]Untoola, or Gun Rod of Seteco, his x mark [Settico]Unsuokanail, Buffalo White Calf New Cussee, his x mark [Nequasse]Kostayeak, or Sharp Fellow Wataga, his x mark [Chief Watauga?]Chonosta, of Cowe, his x markChescoonwho, Bird in Close of Tomotlug, his x mark [Tomatly]Tuckasee, or Terrapin of Hightowa his x markChesetoa, or the Rabbit of Tlaeoa, his x markCheseeotetona, or Yellow Bird of the Pine Log, his x markSketaloska, Second Man of Tillico, his x mark [Tellico]Chokasatahe, Chiekasaw Killer Tasonta, his x mark [Chickasaw Killer]Onanoota,of Koosoate,hisx mark, [Coosawatie]Ookoseta, or Sower Mush of Kooloque, his x markUmatooetha. the Water Hunter Choikamawga, his x mark [Chickamauga]Wyuka, of Lookout Mountain, his x markTulco, or Tom of Chatuga, his x markWill, of Akoha, his x mark [Will Elders?]Neeatee, of Sawta, his x markAmokontakona, Kuteloa, his x markKowetatahee, in Frog Town, his x markKeukuck, Taleoa, his x markTulatiska, of Chaway, his x mark [Tahlonteeskee of Chilhowee]Wooaluka, the Waylayer, Chota, his x markTatliusta, or Porpoise of Tilassi, his markJohn, of Little Tallico, his x mark [John Watts?? Of Little Tellico near Hiwassee]Skelelak, his x markAkonoluchta, the cabin, his x markCheanoka, of Kawetakae, his x markYellow Bird, his x mark
Many of the Cherokee give residences in Georgia but Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina are also represented. Note Abraham of Chilhowee and Tahlonteeskee of Chilhowee. If Tahlonteeskee is Bushyhead, as indicated by Emmett Starr, [84] this adds to the special relationship between Abraham and the Emory Cherokees. Also note the first signers: Old Tassel, Hanging Maw, Long Fellow, Abraham and Willenawah. I think this does not indicate eagerness to sign, or rank in the tribe, but rather the “hosts”, the children of Keowee of the Lower Cherokee. This is nothing more than a hunch, though.
Long Fellow’s Peace Talk (1787/8)
"In another talk to the governor, Chief Long Fellow (Tuskegetchee or Tuskegatahu) said that he had formerly been a Chickamaugan but Colonel [Joseph] Martin had persuaded him to come north and keep the peace, which he had done for the past six winters. He said he commanded seven towns, while thirteen others listened to him. 'I have long taken the Virginians by the hand,' he said, 'and have at this time one of their medals around my neck. I should be sorry to throw that off, but you suffer your people to settle to ourtowns and say nothing about it.' " Virginia Calendar of State Papers, 4:306
Murder of Will (June 1788)
Tassel knew there was no escape, that his end had come. He was old, and his elder brothers (white people) were throwing him away. He bowed his head and took the fatal blow from Kirk. One by one the chiefs were axed to death: Tassel; his son; and chiefs Fool Warrior, Long Fellow, and Abram, brother to Hanging Maw. Sevier's militia rode off leaving the bodies unburied. [85]
Words, to the Cherokee, meant something. To Revolutionary War vets from the north,who were promised land in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama, the 1785 treaty meant nothing. They moved in large numbers up to and over the treaty borders. There was trouble between the Cherokee and the settlers. Among those who moved onto tribal territory was the Kirk family. They were killed in 1788. Settlers wanted all Cherokee killed or removed. Another round of war – one which the Cherokee would lose – was about to break out. A regiment of militia came to advise Old Abraham – surprising him in his lodge – that an emergency peace talk had to be arranged. Abraham agreed and sent runners to bring Old Tassel. Gathered under a flag of truce at the town of Chota were Old Abraham, Old Corn Tassel, Fool Warrior, Long Fellow, and a son of Tassel. The militia surrounded and bound the headmen, telling them they were taking them to the Great Tellico Blockhouse until Colonel John Sevier and Colonel Joseph Martin could be summoned. The headmen had no love for Sevier but they knew Martin to be a fair man, even though they fought him in battle, he was a friend in peace. [86]
But when the men were bound and held at gunpoint John Kirk, the grown son of the massacred Kirks, stepped forward with a Cherokee tomahawk. He laid into one or two of the Cherokee (the story says all) but was soon joined by eager troops who brutalized the bodies as they beat and stabbed them to death.These men were under the command of Sevier, who was not there, and ultimately under the command of Colonel Joseph Martin. Sevier made no effort to bring justice to the perpetrators of this outrage, and Martin resigned as Indian Agent, unable to sanction this brutality. [87]
The Emory Cherokee kin who were on the path to peace and conciliation drew back and hardened their hearts. That’s why many of them left for the west before 1805 and so many left in 1817 – the Old Settlers. [88]
This is the standard version of the story, but there are two things that deserve to be included: (1) the Kirk family represented dozens of families that violated the treaty by
settling on Cherokee land and the treaty allowed the Cherokee to “punish” them which, in those days, could only mean attack and destroy. George Washington had asked Congress for action on these illegal settlers [89]; (2) the Cherokee young man who precipitated the attack was known as “Slim Tom”, another translation for “Long Tom”, a son of Will Emory. [90] In other words, if the son of Will Emory took the blood of the Kirk family, it would be understandable to the Cherokee that the son of the Kirks took the blood of the father of Slim Tom (Long Will) and his “family” (Abraham, Tassel). The right of blood revenge was satisfied, there was no retaliation for the murders of the headmen at Chota. (Subsequent attacks were against the illegal settlers.) Although speculative, it agrees with the furtive, almost fugitive, lifestyle of Tom Emory’s descendants and the traditions of “an uncle” who went by various names and moved about because he had killed someone. (This fits a few uncles in the Cherokee branch of the Emory family tree.)
Emory River 1783-1791
If you walked the old warrior path on the Cumberland ridges (now traced by U.S. Highway 27 in the dales) from Boonesboro (Kentucky) to Willstown (Alabama), you would camp a couple of nights on the waters of the Emory River in Tennessee. This truly was a war path – no permanent Native American settlements have been discovered in this corridor. The Chickamauga fighters used this north-south route to disappear in advance of armies and militias. Descendants of Will Emory lived in this area before and after the removal (1838); one noted recently: “It’s still a good place to hide.” [91]
The Emory River Watershed includes cool, clear streams with high gradients. Parts of Clear Creek, Daddy’s Creek, the Emory River, and the Obed River are part of the National Wild and Scenic River System. The Emory River Watershed is located in East Tennessee and includes parts of Bledsoe, Cumberland, Fentress, Morgan, and Roane counties. Wartburg (pop. 932) in Morgan County is the largest town on the river until Harriman (pop. 7119) is reached near the river mouth.
http://www.state.tn.us/environment/wpc/watershed/wsmplans/emory/Emory-2.pdf
The Emory River cuts through a limestone shelf that has been unfriendly to habitation and agriculture even to this day. Kayakers and bear hunters enjoy the rugged area but
it has never been known as a place to settle. When Colonel Evan Shelby attacked and burned a Cherokee hunting camp in this area in 1779, he happened upon a much larger Chickamauga encampment. [92]
According to a 1910 article in a Tennessee journal, a soldier named William Emery was killed in pursuit of the Indians at this river during the Shelby raid, so the river was
named after him. [93]
Who was this soldier? A careful search of available records has yet to turn up a soldier or a settler by that name anywhere near the area, even accounting for spelling variants (Emry, Embry, Embree, Eimerich, Amory, Hemery, Hembree, Imre, etc.). Furthermore, one would be hard-pressed to find landmarks named for a soldier below the rank of
captain before 1860 – it just was not done. It was quite common, though, to name landmarks after Native Americans, which invites the question: was it Will Emory who was killed by Shelby’s men in 1779? This could explain why the Chickamauga camp in upper Alabama was named Will’s Town around that time.
The Embree family that settled in eastern Tennessee around 1790 is well-documented and had no William missing. Some records before 1810 indicate a William Embry passed through the area [94] but the river was given that name long before then.
William Blount used the name in an application for a land grant in 1783: “William Emeries River”. [95] But who gave him that name? Captain John Chisholm came to the new territory in 1778, served as a scout for William Blount, and had two Cherokee wives. He lived among the Cherokee and knew the families first-hand. He may have provided the name. [96]
When Blount approached the Cherokee in 1791 with the Holston Treaty, he said he would locate the new state capital at the mouth of the Emory River and call it “Emery’s Town”. This was an incentive for the Cherokee to give up the land (the capital was located instead at White’s Fort , which became Knoxville). How would the name be an inducement to the Cherokee unless Emory was one of their own? [97] There is no way to say for sure that the Emory River is named for the Cherokee Will Emory. So far, though he seems to be the most likely candidate.
The Treaty of Holston (1791) (Tennessee)
On July 2, 1791, the Cherokee gave up much more land as a concession for the Chickamauga wars. The Treaty of Holston was Governor William Blount’s fourth time promising the Cherokee a “permanent” boundary. (Blount replaced Joseph Martin as Indian Superintendent as well as being territorial governor). There were some familiar provisions:
ARTICLE VII.
The United States solemnly guarantee to the Cherokee nation, all their lands not hereby ceded.
ARTICLE VIII.
If any citizen of the United States, or other person not being an Indian, shall settle on any of the Cherokees' lands, such person shall forfeit the protection of the United States, and the Cherokees may punish him or not, as they please.
ARTICLE IX.
No citizen or inhabitant of the United States, shall attempt to hunt or destroy the game on the lands of the Cherokees; nor shall any citizen or inhabitant go into the Cherokee country, without a passport first obtained from the Governor of some one of the United States, or territorial districts, or such other person as the President of the United States may from time to time authorize to grant the same. [98]
An important problem with the identification of Will Emory occurs in this treaty. “Long Will” signs the treaty next to John Watts and other young Chickamauga chiefs Bloody Fellow and Doublehead:
Chuleoah, or the Boots, his x mark, 1791Squollecuttah, or Hanging Maw, his x mark, Oecunna,or the Badger,his x mark, [see Auknah below]Enoleh, or Black Fox, his x mark,Nontuaka, or the Northward, his x mark,Tekakiska, his x markChutloh, or King Fisher, his x mark,Tuckaseh,orTerrapin,his x mark, Kateh, his x mark Kunnochatutloh, or the Crane, his x mark Canquillehanah, or the Thigh, his x mark,Chesquotteleneh, or Yellow Bird, his x mark, Chickasawtehe, or Chickasaw Killer, his x mark, Tuskegatehe, Tuskega Killer, his x mark, Kulsatehe, his x mark,Tinkshalene, his x mark Sawntteh, or Slave Catcher, his x mark, Auknah, his x mark [Aukumna? = Badger aka Long Tom]Oosenaleh, his x mark Kenotetah, or Rising Fawn, his x mark, Kanetetoka, or Standing Turkey, his x mark.Yonewatleh, or Bear at Home, his x mark, Long Will, his x markKunoskeskie, or John Watts, his x mark,Nenetooyah, or Bloody Fellow, his x mark, Chuquilatague, or Double Head his x mark, Koolaquah, or Big Acorn, his x mark, Kulsatche, his x mark, Auquotague, the Little Turkey's Son, his x mark, Talohteske, or Upsetter, his x mark, [Tahlonteeskee] Cheakoneske, or Otter Lifter, his x mark Keshukaune, or She Reigns, his x mark, Toonaunailoh, his x mark, Teesteke, or Common Disturber his x mark, Robin McClemore Skyuka [George Miller] John Thompson, Interpreter. James Cery, Interpreter.
Six headmen signed an addendum in Philadelphia on 17 February 1792:
Iskagua, or Clear Sky, his x mark (formerly Nenetooyah, or Bloody Fellow), Nontuaka, or the Northward, his x mark, Chutloh, or King Fisher, his x mark, Katigoslah, or the Prince, his x mark, [Kitagusta or Willenawah]Teesteke, or Common Disturber, his x mark,Suaka, or George Miller, his x mark.
Who is this Long Will? He is right where Will Emory (Long Will) should be – next to John Watts. (Their grandfathers, John Amory and John Watts, worked together.) Was this actually Will Emory? I believe this was a “stand in” for the spirit of Will Emory: a son, a nephew, or a close clan member. This was a common practice among Native Americans, not just the Cherokee, and explains why there were two “Dragging Canoes”, a “Warhatchy” and an “Oconastota” at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814. [99] This “Long Will” makes no further appearance in tribal records. Who was the stand in? A son named Will is possible, but Emory family research does not support this. The older Will Elder (b.1740-1745), nephew William Falling (Fallen) Jr. (b.c.1767 d.1828), nephew Richard Fields (b.1772-1778) (who went with the Chickamauga to Texas), son Tom Emory (b.c.1770), or even John Watts III (b.c.1774, son of the Chickamauga chief) are also possible. [100]
Will Emory Family Sheet
Will Emory was b.1744 Tomatly, Cherokee Nation (North Carolina) d.1788 Chota, Cherokee Nation (Tennessee). He was the son of William Emory (d.1770) and Mary Grant (d.c.1766) who was the Cherokee daughter of Ludovic Grant (d.1757).
Will Emory’s Cherokee wife is unknown. Will was almost constantly on the move but was associated with the village of Chestoe (Estatoe) in northeast Georgia during the years he was most likely to be having children (his sisters were also located in this area in the late 1760's up until 1780 or so). Since he was ranging from Ohio to Alabama, however, his wife and family could have been anywhere.
Children of Will Emory and unknown Cherokee are:
i. Thomas (Long Tom) Emory b.c.1765-1778 Cherokee Nation; d.bef.1817.
ii. Unknown female Emory b.c.1768-1784 Cherokee Nation; d.unk.
? iii. James Emory? b.c.1780-1786 see note below
Notes on Will Emory:
It is unlikely that he had more than 2 or 3 children. A mixed blood James Emory of eastern Tennessee (1830, 1840 census Sevier County) is a possible son (b.1780) or possible grandson (b.c.1786). [101] (Will Emory could be the father of Creek children as well, or even Shawnee children. So little is known about those tribal genealogies.)
Thomas Emory (b.c.1805 d.bef.1840) was probably a grandson of Will Emory and probably a son of Long Tom Emory (son of Will Emory) because they both went by the Cherokee name “Bullfrog”. Tom Emory had two families: one remained in Tennessee, one emigrated on the Trail of Tears (1838). In the early 1800's at least 3 Cherokee men were called Bullfrog: Tom Sr, Tom Jr, and an unknown third, no relation. Not sure which of these were Ca-Noo-Nah, Dun-A-Waws or Ah-kum-Ne (Badger aka Long Tom). [102]
Conclusion
Nothing can be stated with certainty about Will Emory. Like most searches for the old Cherokees (before the 1817 rolls) so much is based on inference and best-fit guessing.
The reader is invited to question/challenge the suppositions presented. I know I will.
Larry Petrisky, Atlanta. email: [email protected]
End Notes
* John Amory, et al = the asterisk indicates direct ancestor of author
[1] “Cap’n Will” = Will Emory. Richard Pangburn’s Indian Blood, Finding Your Native American Ancestor, cites Draper Manuscript 3QQ117
on a 1774 incident: “Will Emery, a half-breed Cherokee. . .known to be in the Shawanese interest.” Lyman Draper assembled contemporary
data in the 1800's. http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/military/draper/index.asp
[2] Will Emory descendants in TN, Indian Territory. On records as Bullfrog, Tom, Long Tom.
See John D. Emery, Emery Family Forum msgs 1321, 1588, 14104, 14114 at www.genforum.com
Also author at Emory Family Forum msg 288 http://genforum.genealogy.com/ Cited:
Larry S. Watson, Cherokee Emigration Records 1829 – 1835, Reprint Senate Doc #403 24th Cong. 1st Sess. (Laguna Hills, CA.: Histree,1990): pp.35,39,333
James L. Douthat, Cherokee Ration Books 1836-1837-1838, New Echota (Signal Mtn, TN : Mountain Press, 1999). Cited at Rootsweb archive https://lists.rootsweb.com/hyperkitty/th/read/EMORY/2002-09/1032393363
[3] Walter Webber. See notes 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 below.
[4] Wm. Emery, soldier. See notes 92, 93 below.
[5] Wm. Embry, transient early 1800's. See note 94 below.
[6] Will Emory born 1744 at Tomatly. See Emory Forum msg 349, 352 “William Emory of the Cherokee” by author at http://genforum.genealogy.com/emory/messages/349.html The Yamassee Indians were also called the Tomatly Indians and their chief was called the “king of Tomatly”, but the Cherokee village by that name was known from the early 1700's. [SC Indian Docs 1710-1718, pp. 13, 17, 27.]
[7] Killed at Chota 1788 or at the Emory River 1779. See note 12 below and elsewhere for grounds.
[8] John Amory possible father of Will. See Old John Hembree (aka John Emory) available online from Joyce Reece at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnmcmin2/johnhem2.htm .
[9] Names of Will Emory. His father went by Will also. [Coulter & Saye, Early Settlers of Georgia, p. 17] The other names are deduced from references. He, of course, never referred to himself as Indian Will or Halfbreed Will. “Longfellow” is said to be a brother of Nancy Ward, which is a reasonable inference given that the Wards of Tugaloo were neighbors of the Emory family and of Longfellow, up river at Estatoe. That he was the son of “Sir Francis Ward” (or any other Ward) can be rejected unless someone can present proof of a Ward among the Cherokee before 1760. (See also notes 10, 59.)
[10] Indian Will and Chief Watauga. Indian Will of the Allegheny Ridge on PA-MD border. References to him in deeds as early as 1740's make him non-Cherokee and much older than our Will. [History of Bedford County, Pennsylvania].
In 1775 naturalist William Bartram (1739-1823), who was just a few years older than our Will, encountered “a friendly Chief of Watauga, about 60 years old, tall and straight.” [McFall, Keowee River. p.60-61] For more on Bartram’s Travels, see http://www.bartramtrail.org/pages/Bartram_Trail/ga.html
[11] Will’s son Tom, Long Tom. See Will Emory Family Sheet, here. Cherokee Emorys in Tennessee and Indian Territory cannot be accounted for except through the line of Will Emory (or, less likely, through his brothers).
[12] Personal correspondence c.1981, from Mr. J. Russell (deceased). “Was killed by Sevier’s men” puts Will’s death in 1788 but if it was “killed by Shelby’s men” death would be in 1779.
[13] Ludovic Grant. See Emory Forum msg 347, 365 “Ludovic Grant and the Emory Cherokees” by author at http://genforum.genealogy.com/emory/messages/347.html. Emmett Starr, History of the Cherokee Indians, “Old Families”, p.304,305.
[14] Emory Family details. See Emory Forum msg 346 “Cherokee Emory Roots” by author at http://genforum.genealogy.com/emory/messages/346.html
[15] John Amory. See Emory Forum msg 346 “Cherokee Emory Roots” by author at http://genforum.genealogy.com/emory/messages/346.html and Abraham Hembree Data Project, pp.55-72
[16] Sarah (Wilson) Amory. See note 15 above & references.
[17] Creek warrior Emory, Emarhee.
Don L. Shadburn, the foremost researcher of Georgia Cherokees, says in his Cherokee Planters in Georgia 1832-1838 (Roswell, GA: W.H.Wolfe Associates, 1989, 1990): “. . . William Emory . . . sired both Cherokee and Creek children in the 1750’s and 1760’s”. (p.16) (I think this applies to Robert Emory, rather than to William. Robert was licensed to trade among the Creeks in 1750. SC Indian Docs 1750-1754, p.128)
The Creek village “Emarhee” was named for the trader, Emaree (Emory). The Creek have a “hard” ending syllable, so pronounced Emar t’lee, Emar tla, Emar chee. The Creek “Rabbit town” Chistotoe is the same as the Cherokee “Rabbit Place” Chestoe or Estatoe. “Creek Indians Tribal Census” (Department of Indian Affairs, Federal Archives),
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~texlance/1832census/townchiefs.htm
http://ngeorgia.com/history/creek.html
[18] Robert Emory witness will, sues sheriff William Davis upon return to South Carolina.
Robert Emory witnessed the will of Paul Murrel in Berkeley County, South Carolina in August 1787. [see note 19]
Date: 1787. JUDGMENT ROLL. Dewees, Elizabeth vs. William Ransom Davis.
[SC Archives Series roll S136002 Box 132A Item 52A]
(a white relative of Robert Dewes [Due] who m. Elizabeth Emory, Cherokee)
Date: 1789. JUDGMENT ROLL. Emory, Robert, alias Robert Emery and W. Emory vs. William Ransom Davis.
[SC Archives Series roll S136002 Box 143A Item 200A]
[19] Robert Emory will dated 19 March 1790, probate entered 30 March 1790. Caroline T. Moore, Abstracts of Wills of South Carolina.
[20] “William Emory of the Cherokee” http://genforum.genealogy.com/emory/messages/349.html
[21] Permanent Overhills trade after expedition of Col George Chicken 1725. Earlier trade posts (“factories”) before 1720 were located at Chota and Tellico in the Overhills. [SC Indian Docs 1710-1718, pp.214-5, 231]. A readable synopsis of the early Cherokee history can be found at Lee Sultzman’s site at http://www.tolatsga.org/Cherokee1.html and at Ken Martin’s site http://cherokeehistory.com/initialc.html
Excerpts of George Chicken journal at http://appalachiansummit.tripod.com/chapt5.htm
[22] “Ludovic Grant and the Emory Cherokees” at www.genforum.genealogy.com Grant Forum #5964.
William Elder (b.c.1699 d.1748) was trader at Great Tellico c.1738-1746. SC Commons Journal of 31 Jan 1740 and Candler, Col Recs of GA, XXV 55,56 (1746).
[23] Families close to the Emory family. See Abraham Hembree Data Project, Old John Hembree (aka John Emory) available online from Joyce Reece at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnmcmin2/johnhem2.htm and https://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnmcmin2/AbrahamHembree.htm and “Notes on the Amory-Emory Family of Charleston” all by author (printed, in part, in the Abraham Hembree Data Project).
Gov. James Glen made mention of Sarah Amory in passing tribute in 1753: “four years ago . . . some of the Cherokees died at Mrs. Amory’s” (from sickness). [SC Commons Journal 13 April 1753]. In 1748 Gov. Glen vouched for Abraham Smith’s voucher for expenses by noting that one of the services he performed was keeping Smith’s Keowee warriors and James Beamer’s Tugaloo warriors from killing each other in Charleston: “[Smith was] sent up to meet the Tugoloo People and prevent their speaking with the Keowee People at Mrs. Amory’s”. [SC Commons Journal 28 Jun 1748]
[24] Family cluster on Valley River, in ne GA, in Willstown, in Indian Territory. See 1851 Chapman Roll of the Eastern Cherokee, Valley River, for example. Bushyhead, Welch and others – Emory descendants. The same pattern of Emory-related Cherokee is found in five locations before 1850.
[25] Charity Haig, Skiagusta. The identification of “Charite Hagey”, the smallpox conjuror of Keowee, is up for grabs. The colonial records seem to regard him as the spiritual leader of the Lower Cherokee who had military and trade responsibilities and who negotiated the treaty with James Moore in 1718/1721. [SC Indian Docs 1710-1718, pp.72-3, 77, 85, 89, 151-2, 214-5, 231, 303, 311-2] But was not the headman of Keowee. [Ibid., pp.221] Yet a more romantic interpretation is that she was an important female of the tribe. As the Cherokee abandoned agriculture to pursue the fur trade, the female role diminished. She was a healer and a prophetess, who foretold a future race of warriors who would have the bravery of Cherokee and the resistance to smallpox of the whites (i.e., the Chickamauga). Intermarriage with whites was believed to be a strategy that would produce these future warriors, thus there was no stigma against the unions. Yet another theory is that Charity Haig was the Cherokee daughter of Charleston businessman George Haig.
Commissioners of Indian Trade –
Tuesday, July 10, 1716
PRESENT: Ralph Izard, Esq., Col. Jno. Barnwell, and Charles Hill, Esq.
Col. Moore being asked what Agreement he made with the Conjuror, and after what Method the Trade should be carried on, informed the Board, that the Conjuror agreed that for the Present, what Goods should be supplyed between this and the Fall, his People should fetch them from Savano Town, and likewise bring their skins without any Promise from him of sending pack Horses, amongst them, or being paid for it. It was also agreed by Col. Moore, that in the Fall there should be a Garrison and trading House erected at Congarees, that the Conjuror promised as soon as Notice was given him of white Men being come up thither, he would send Eighty Indians to assist them in erecting the Buildings. . . http://appalachiansummit.tripod.com/chapt4.htm
Skiagusta (Skiagunsta) appears as headman of Keowee, Warrior of Keowee by 1740. [SC Indian Docs 1750-1754, pp. 63, 147, 155, 164, etc.] His death c.1753 left Old Hop of the Overhills the undisputed leader of the Cherokee (until Oconastota and Little Carpenter emerged in 1760). Skiagusta was the “Great Warrior” of his day. Oconastota took to calling himself “Skiagusta of Chota” briefly [Ibid. p.486-7, 516] as Old Hop’s war chief and Abraham called himself “Skiagusta of Chilhowee”. [Ibid. p.164] This may not indicate a blood or strong clan relationship – it means, simply, Great Warrior. (“Skiagusta” may be rendered “Kitagusta” in the Upper dialect. Willenawah was aka Kitagusta. John Watts Jr. was “Kitagistee“.)
[26] James Moore, Mary Moore. Col. James Moore II made several trips to Keowee. He and his brother John were licensed Indian traders. The likely father of Mary Moore*(by tradition) is one of the following:
John Moore (1680 - 1729) son of Governor James Moore IJohn Moore (c.1698 - 1735) son of Governor James Moore II Jehu Moore (c.1700 - 1744) son of Governor James Moore II James Moore III (1702 - 1772) son of Governor James Moore II Col. James Moore* II (Gov)(1667 - 1724)son of Governor James Moore I [27] Oconastota, Willenawah from the Lower Cherokee, though they lived in Chota from 1753 on. The derivation of the name “Oconastota” comes from “Oconee-Estatoe”, Lower towns of his father. The Oconee were a small tribe assimilated by the Creeks and Lower Cherokee. Because they were an agricultural society, the Cherokee called them “ground hogs” (Oconee). Thus the name Oconastota literally means ground hog (sausage). Since both Willenawah and Oconastota call each other brothers (and Willenawah takes on the name Kitagusta), I assume they are both from the Lower Cherokee (Keowee or Estatoe lineage), though I am almost alone in this interpretation. Most writers romantically impose a notion of “royalty” and unity onto the Cherokee and try to make everyone a descendant of Moytoy (the “Emperor” of 1730) or Old Hop (his 2nd successor), but the Lower Cherokee never recognized the “throne” of either Moytoy or Old Hop. Oconastota thus seems an “outsider” in the politics of the Overhills but is quite comfortable representing the Lower Cherokee, as when he and Willenawah signed a deed to George Parris for land in South Carolina. http://www.ucan-online.org/culture.asp?culture=206&category=7 [28] Welch Cherokees. See Old John Hembree (aka John Emory) available online from Joyce Reece at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnmcmin2/johnhem2.htm [29] French Woman served as interpreter/spy. One wife of Little Carpenter is believed to be “Nionee” (from Cox, et al). http://www.comanchelodge.com/cherokee-chiefs.html May or may not be same as “Na-nee” (French Woman). Went with Little Carpenter on raid against French. [SC Indian Docs 1754-1765, p.395-6, 445] (Online source:) [30] Attacullaculla (Little Carpenter) argument with Ludovic Grant. [John P. Brown, Old Frontiers (Kingsport, TN: Southern Publishers, Inc, 1938) p.64] Though Grant defended Little Carpenter in 1751. [SC Indian Docs 1750-1754, p.184] http://www.keetoowah-society.org/brown.htm Grant and Carpenter were not close. [31] Old Abram & Corn Tassel. I suspect a relation by marriage but the common belief that Tassel was the father of Ludovic Grant’s Cherokee wife seems impossible. He was likely the nephew of Grant’s wife. Brent Cox suggests brother of Grant’s wife. http://www.comanchelodge.com/cherokee-chiefs.html [32] Dragging Canoe b.c.1740 d.1792. Dragging Canoe known to have been at Tomatly, spending some time of his youth there. Biographers place his birth in the Overhills. His mother is unknown, though he may have come under the care of “Nionee” one of the wives of Little Carpenter. Brent Yanusdi Cox, Heart of the Eagle – Dragging Canoe and the Emergence of the Chickamauga Confederacy. (Milan, TN: Chenanee, 1999), at http://www.comanchelodge.com/cherokee-chiefs.html Nothing is known of Dragging Canoe during the war 1760-1761. I would not be surprised to discover that he was the Mankiller of Nequasse or that he was too young (b.1747/8) to be involved. [33] Will Emory & Dragging Canoe relationship began at Tomatly. Little Carpenter was known to be in Tomatly talking to Ludovic Grant’s father-in-law, the Old Warrior of Tomatly (d.aft.1757), and to Grant. ([SC Indian Docs 1754-1765, p.146 “Little Carpenter’s home is at Tomatly.”]) It is not necessary to suggest more than an acquaintance between Will and Dragging Canoe in their early years. The number of Emory-related Chickamauga serving with Dragging Canoe, even carrying on his work (Richard Fields, John Jolly, Watts Due, et al) speaks for itself. Talhonteeskee (Bushyhead, a son of Susannah Emory), was a successor (per Brent Cox): His nephew, The Black Fox, stated: 'The Dragging Canoe has left the world. He was a friend both to his own and the white people. But his brother is still in his place; and I mention now in public, that I intend presenting him with his deceased brother's medal: for he promises fair to possess sentiments similar to those of his brother, both with regard to the red and white. It is mentioned here publicly, that both whites and reds may know it, and pay attention to him ... Another person I also nominate as a headman, Taloteeskie, who is to be considered in place of Old Tassel. From D. Ray Smith’s Dragging Canoe page. http://members.tripod.com/~SmithDRay/draggingcanoe-index-9.html [34] John Watts relationship. John Watts Sr. witnessed a horse trade from the Cherokee Nation between John Amory and William Elder in 1744. (No small commitment back then: it was upon his own life to be the legal witness to such a trade.) He resided at Ninety Six with his Cherokee wife c.1751-1755, during which time John Watts Jr. (d.1808) was born. [SC Commons Journal of 13 May 1751.] The Emory family was there as well. Watts took some Cherokee (including Mary Moore Emory, the mother of John Emory b.1744) to Virginia in 1752. (It was on this trip “to see the king of England” that Mary Moore died. The Cherokee were turned back at Williamsburg.) John Watts Sr. married a white wife in Charleston in 1754, but maintained his Cherokee family at Ninety Six. He went with the Cherokee to New York City in 1755. [SC Docs Ind. Affairs (3) : 336] John Watts Sr. was at Fort Loudon when it was under siege, along with Susannah Emory and her son Bushyhead (Talhonteeskee). [Ibid., p.335; John P. Brown, Old Frontiers, p.92] The bond can be seen in the next generation, as the Chickamauga went to Arkansas: August 9, 1805 To: Black Fox, Dick Justice, Turtle at Home, Chinowe, Slave Boy, Eusanalee, Toochelar, Parched Corn Flour, Taugustuska We have with much care and attention considered the results of the late Conference [in July] with the Commissioners on the Highwassee, and we think that . . . we shall agree to the request of our Father, at least in part. . . . the Agent had informed us that he could not be Justified in continuing the presents of wheels, cards, and implements of husbandry and in giving corn and provisions [in time of famine] as he had done before [unless there was cooperation from us]. Doublehead, Tolluntuskee, Katigiskee [John Watts], the Seed, Sequeechee, Sikula, the Redbird [35] John Jolly, Richard Fields, etc. See “Robert Emory, Indian Trader” and “William Emory of the Cherokee” by author at Emory Family Forum http://genforum.genealogy.com/emory/ [36] French traders active among Cherokee before 1750. See, for example letter from Ludovic Grant & Cornelius Daugherty in 1746 [SC Commons Journal of 14 Apr 1746]. Letters from Thomas Nightingale, Ludovic Grant and James Beamer warned of armed French presence at Keowee. [SC Commons Journal of 16 Sep 1746] Daugherty himself was accused of helping French traders at Hiwassee c. 1755. [SC Indian Docs (3) pp.426-7, 432-3] [37] Smallpox 1751-1753, Dragging Canoe. A widespread smallpox epidemic in 1738 is usually blamed for Dragging Canoe’s pockmarked face but there were lesser outbreaks every 8 to 14 years. The 1751 outbreak weakened the Lower Cherokee, setting up the devastating raids by the Creeks. See note 39.[SC Commons Journal of 14 Mar 1752.] I place Dragging Canoe’s birth 1740-1750 based on his emergence in 1775, rather than 1760; most authorities place his birth no later than 1738. [38] French Woman rescued from slavery. This is oral tradition (see Old John Hembree aka John Emory) as is her brief marriage to Little Carpenter. But, curiously, Little Carpenter tells the same story of being captured as a child and living with the French but being returned to his people. His youth is well known, the 1730 trip to England being the highlight. Could it be that Little Carpenter was relating his wife’s experience and the translator took it to be in the first person? (This was different than his other account of being taken captive by the French as an adult, several years after his trip to England.) [39] Creek destroy & burn Estatoe, Echota 1750. Destroy Lower Towns again in 1752 . [SC Commons Journal of 14 Mar 1752.] Skiagusta of Keowee and the Good Warrior of Estatoe told Gov. Glen on 15 Apr 1752 that all the Lower towns were gone but Keowee and Estatoe. [SC Indian Docs 1750-1754, p.247] [40] Treaty at Ninety Six (South Carolina) 1753. [SC Indian Docs 1750-1754, pp.520-1] Signers of the treaty: Corane the Raven of Toxowa Co-ra-ne = Raven in lower dialect Col la neh = Raven in upper dialect Canacaugh the Great Conjuror of Keowee Connecorte or Oconee-Ka-Ta (father of Warhatchy?) Ka ni ga ta = Standing Turkey? Sinnawa the Hawk’s Head – warrior of Toxowa unknown Nelle Wagalche of Toxowa unknown Yohoma of Keowee unknown Canasaita of Keowee Oconee-Sa-Ya-di (Oconastota?) Yorhalche of Toxowa Warhatchy or Wauhatchee, born Keowee Owasta the head beloved man of Toxowa Outtacitee = Mankiller, father of Warhatchy? Raymond Demere British captain James McKay British or militia captain White Outerbridge British or militia captain, of Charleston (Saint Philip’s) James Glen Governor of South Carolina Thomas ---- Thomas Nightingale? James Francis a militia captain at Ninety Six, not well liked Ludwick Grant a friend of Gov James Glen and James Beamer James Beamer a leading trader of the Lower Towns, a friend of Thomas Nightingale, Gov. James Glen and Ludovic Grant John Elliot a trader in the Lower Towns, not liked by Little Carpenter or by Ludovic Grant. Was killed by Cherokee Feb 1760. [41] Emory at Ninety Six and Goose Creek, South Carolina. See Abraham Hembree Data Project, at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnmcmin2/AbrahamHembree.htm Old John Hembree (aka John Emory) at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnmcmin2/johnhem2.htm (Courtesy of Joyce Reece) [42] Thomas Nightingale at Ninety Six and supplier of Fort Prince George. [SC Commons Journals of 6 & 7 Feb 1754, 28 Jan 1755, 12 Mar 1755]. Thomas Nightingale had lands in the Ninety Six District in the 1750’s, 1760’s, and 1770’s (after his death). [Clara A. Longley, South Carolina Deed Abstracts 1719 – 1779, (Easley, SC : Southern Historical Press, 1983): IV 26, 39, 319] His lands on Ninety Six Creek of the Saluda River, I believe, is where William Emory moved his family in the 1750’s. (From The Abraham Hembree Data Project) [43] Thomas Nightingale. Oral tradition mentions “Mr. Nightingale” and a “revered uncle” but just recently I figured they were the same. His wife, Sarah Amory, was Will Emory’s grandmother. It’s likely that Ludovic Grant (d.1757) and his daughter Mary Emory (d.c.1766) died at the Nightingale “ranch” at Goose Creek. See Abraham Hembree Data Project, at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnmcmin2/AbrahamHembree.htm [44] Ludovic Grant d.1757, Wm. Emory gone by 1758. See notes 13, 20, 43 above w/refs. (We might find the Emory military records with their brother-in-law Mungo Graham of Crieff, Scotland, rather than in Lincoln, England.) Coleman, Colonial Recs of GA, XXXII, 210. [45] George Washington urges Cherokee to help Virginia. The first group of Cherokee went up in 1757, found that the rifles and horses promised to them were not available, and returned to South Carolina. George Mercer wrote from Fort Loudon (in Virginia) to George Washington 24 April 1757: Dear Sir, Wauhwatchee the head Warrior, after I had told him, among other things, that I was sorry we had not timely notice of their coning, that the Governor would have ordered the necessary presents for them, but they might depend upon everything they could want at their return. He would not receive the wampum I offered him, as is usual at the end of the speech, but immediately got up, and went out of the Council in a great passion and told the rest of the warriors they might speak to me if they had anything to say. This behavior gave me great uneasiness, which was not a little increased when the Swallow, after a long silence, made the speech which I enclose. From this you may see that their journey here had almost produced a revolt of the whole nation from our interest, which would have been as certain, as their return home dissatisfied, for they are all wavering, and only wait to see how these are received. They make no secret of this, and told me the Governor knew not how to treat Indians, that the French treated them always like children, and gave them what foods they wanted. As to the Governor’s not having timely notice of their coming, it was a lie, he had promised them 18 months ago, if they would come here to fight for us they should be supplied with everything they wanted, that they had then promised that they would come, and he should have had everything ready, . . . George Washington wrote to the governor of South Carolina: They are more serviceable than twice their number of white men. Their cunning and craft cannot be equaled. Indians are the only match for Indians. If they return to their Nation, no words can tell how much they will be missed, for upon these people the safety of our march very much depends. However absurd it may seem, it is certain that five hundred Indians have it in their power to more annoy the inhabitants than ten times that number of white men. [Brown, Old Frontiers, p.81] from the excellent Appalachian Summit website: http://appalachiansummit.tripod.com/chapt11.htm [46] Rifles, fort, promised for Overhills. Gov. James Glen made promise formally on 7 Aug 1754. [SC Indian Docs 1750-1754, p.518-9] Little Carpenter met Glen on the Saluda River (SC) in 1755 to plead for the ammo. [John P. Brown, Old Frontiers, pp.54-5] In 1756 they turned to Virginia for help. Old Hop said: “As to the Carolina Men, they have promised us a great many Things but we cannot find one Word of Truth in anything they say or promise us.” [SC Indian Docs 1754-1765, pp.138, 167] [7] Warhatchy takes group to Virginia with Pearis, Smith (and Watts?). [Papers of George Washington, 4:142,144, 158-9,195-6, indexed as Wawhatchee; http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/indexes/colonial/wlist.html also SC Indian Docs 1754-1765, pp.94, 160, 165, 201,283] For excellent detail, see George Parris, online at http://donmchugh.tripod.com/paris/1700_1755.htm [48] Incidents in Virginia & North Carolina. [SC Indian Docs 1754-1765, pp.449-50, 468, 481] The governor of South Carolina warned the Cherokee against retaliation in Virginia: But if you shall refuse to make up the Matter in an amicable Way and shall shed Blood of the Virginians, mark again what I say to you, the Armies of the Great King are strong and mighty, his Warriours are without Number, well armed, well cloathed, well fed and supplied with all the Necessaries of War; but you are few and will soon be in Want of every Thing when once the Trade is withdrawn from you. The English are the only Nation that can furnish you, and are willing to continue to do it, if you do not prevent them your Rashness when it is too late. The Governor of Virginia has given no Orders to his People to fall upon yours, but what they have done was their own private Act. . . . Your Friend and Brother, [William Henry Lyttelton] Given at Charles Town 26th of September, 1758 http://appalachiansummit.tripod.com/chapt11.htm [49] Revenge back in South Carolina. From James Adair’s History of the American Indians: And there was another incident at Fort Prince-George, which set fire to the fuel, and kindled it into a raging flame: three light-headed, disorderly young officers of that garrison, forcibly violated some of their (Cherokee) wives, and in the most shameless manner, at their own houses, while the husbands were making their winter hunt in the woods - and which infamous conduct they madly repeated. . . . they took pleasure in insulting and abusing the natives, when they paid a friendly visit to the garrison. http://appalachiansummit.tripod.com/chapt11.htm [50] Exchange at Fort Prince George. [SC Indian Docs 1754-1765, pp.498] [51] Jan 1760. Cherokee hostages killed. [SC Indian Docs 1754-1765, pp.497,500-1. They are called hostages, not prisoners, in the official documents.] [52] Daughtery & Davis at Fort Prince George. Cornelius Daugherty went to the fort after the hostages were murdered because a stream of warriors from the Overhill and Valley towns was heading toward the fort. Ambrose Davis was at the fort when the lieutenant commander was attacked. [SC Indian Docs (3) pp. 499-500] [53] Montgomery Expedition 1760. “To chastise the Cherokees for the attack, Colonel Archibald Montgomery led an army into the Cherokee Nation in June 1760. After destroying seven Lower Towns in South Carolina, Montgomery's troops were stopped by warriors under Oconastota at Echowee Pass on June 27. The British losses included twenty dead and seventy wounded. With his reputation now greatly enhanced, Oconastota besieged Fort Loudoun, an outpost in what is now Tennessee. Starved into submission, the garrison surrendered the fort on August 8, 1760. Although Oconastota signed the articles of surrender promising the garrison safe passage out of Cherokee country, he did nothing to prevent the killing of twenty-three of the one hundred eighty soldiers two days later.” Encyclopedia of North American Indians Smallpox, desertions just as devastating to the Montgomery expedition. [SC Indian Docs 1754-1765, pp.501-2] [54] Number murdered at Fort Loudon matched number at Fort Prince George. See, for example, http://www.smokymountainnews.com/ Grant Expedition 1761: see site: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnmcmin2/GrantExp.htm [55] Location of Lower & Middle Towns. [primary source: Dr. Duane King, ed. The Cherokee Indian Nation – A Troubled History (Knoxville, TN., 1979); secondary: SC Indian Docs 1750-1754 and 1754-1765, i.e., William L. McDowell Jr., ed. Documents Relating to Indian Affairs 1754-1765. (Columbia, SC: South Carolina Department of Archives & History, 1992)] In the 1750 division, Ludovic Grant’s towns were listed as: “Cotocanahut, Nayowee, Tomattly and Cheewohee” putting Tomatly and Chilhowee (Abram’s village) together among the Valley Towns. Ayoree (Ioree), Watauga and Nequasse were listed together as Middle Towns. Nequasse was burned down three times and became a protectorate of the more remote Valley towns. [SC Docs Ind. Affairs 1750-1754, p. 86,87] [56] Capt. Christopher French Journal of the Grant Expedition 1761. See notation and map at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnpolk2/GrantExp.htm [57] Halfbreed Will of Nequasse. Brought by John Watts Sr. to talk to the Grant Expedition. [SC Docs Ind. Affairs 1754-1765, pp. 478,494-5; Journal of Capt. French] [58] Chief Will Elder. See Elder Family Forum, msg 2015 at http://genforum.genealogy.com/elder/messages/2015.html [59] Will in Chestoe = Estatoe. Both Will of Nequasse and Longfellow of Estatoe disappear when the “Young Warrior of Estatoe” receives mention in the records. His Cherokee name is Salliouwe. Estatoe is a one-day horse ride from Nequasse, down the path toward Tugaloo (“War Woman Path”, as it is marked even today on National Forest maps). There’s no grounds for believing Salliouwe is Will Emory – just proximity in time and place. [SC Indian Docs 1754-1765, pp. 481, 498, 499] The “Halfbreed Will” encountered by Col. Benjamin Hawkins (1754-1816) in the late1790's in n. Georgia is a younger, unknown, Will. http://ngeorgia.com/people/hawkins.html From Grace Woodward Steel, The Cherokees, page 119 (courtesy of Joyce Reece): In other sections of the country Hawkins saw fenced farms, ororchards, plowed fields, sizeable stocks of cattle and hogs, comfortable dwellings and a goodly number of fine horses. Of "Halfbreed Will's" where he spent the night, Hawkins reported: 'They gave me good bread, pork and potatoes for supper and ground peas {peanuts} and dried peaches. I had corn for my horses. The hut in which I lodged was clean and neat. In the morning I breakfasted on corn cakes and pork. They had a number of fowls, hogs and some cattle, the fields of 4 acres for corn fenced and half an acre for potatoes' [referenced - Letters of Benjamin Hawkins 1796-1806 in Collections of the Georgia Historical Society IX page 21] [60] Federations with Shawnee. “Another problem during this period was the activities of the Delaware and Shawnee among the southern tribes. After 1768 it was necessary for the English to counter the efforts of the Shawnees and Delawares to form a hostile Indian confederacy, not only in the Cherokee country, but also in the Creek and Choctaw nations. Such an alliance could never come about, as far as the Choctaws and Creeks were concerned, as long as these tribes continued at war with each other, although continual rumors of the plotting of the Shawnees and Delawares caused much uneasiness in the minds of [John] Stuart, Gage and other British officials.” History of the Southern Indian Department (London), soon online from southernindiandepartment.org [61] Cherokee join Shawnee in 1760's. See note 60. The Shawnee had an off/on federation with the Cherokee. During the removal (1830's) the Western Tribe of Cherokee took in a remnant of the Shawnee and granted them sovereignty, so that many Shawnee were listed on Cherokee rolls until around 1870. Tahlequah, August 14, 1871 This is to certify that the forgoing is the original "copy of the register of names of the members of the Shawnee Tribe of Indians who have moved to and located in the Cherokee Nation." in accordance with an agreement made and entered into by and between the said Shawnee Tribe of Indians and the Cherokee Nation of Indians, through their delegates, on the 7th of June, 1869; and that a true copy of the same has been taken and retained in this office; and that on the 4th of August, the ratification of the agreement herein mentioned was proclaimed; and that the Shawnees registered have been declared to be Cherokee citizens, it being understood that the ratification is admitted by the United States Government, that there is no bar to the final settlement of the agreement on the part of the United States officials after the correction of an error in regard to the insertion of names of the delegates making the agreement. There are registered 772 persons, instead of 770 as shown on the original by figures. In testimony of which of which, I have hereunto set my hand and the Seal of the Cherokee Nation, on this the 11th day of August, A.D. 1871. LEWIS DOWNING Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/1871shawnee/ [62] Blackfish, Boone, Will. For a commentary on the Bakeless biography and the Disney film on Daniel Boone, see Keat Murray’s paper at http://www.lehigh.edu/~ineng/kem3/kem3-source.html The “Captain Gass” mentioned is Christopher Guess/Gist, the father of Sequoyah according to some. Most libraries have biographies of Daniel Boone. [63] Hard Labor Creek in 96 District (later Edgefield & Abbeville Counties) South Carolina. Will of John Waite deeds his land on Hard Labour Creek. (Abbeville District Wills/estates 1805; SC Archives) [64] Treaty of Lochaber. See background at http://www.tngenweb.org/cessions/colonial2.html#Lochaber [65] Will Emory. From Richard Pangburn, Indian Blood, Finding Your Native American Ancestor: In 1774, when Logan's band of Mingoes were raiding the white settlements on the Virginia frontier, "a large man much whiter than the rest" who "talked good English" was reportedly in the war party. "Some think Capt John Logan is about yet --- others that it is Will Emery, a half-breed Cherokee...he is known to be..in the Shawanese interest...he was the interpreter when Col. Donelson run the line, and it was he robbed Knox and Skaggs." See Draper MS, 3QQ117. [66] Treaty of Sycamore Shoals. Online at http://www.tngenweb.org/cessions/17750317.html Joseph Martin joined John Sevier as “attorneys” for the Cherokee. Oconastota, Little Carpenter and Sewanooka or Raven represented the tribe. See www.comanchelodge.com for attendees. [67] Treaty = land deed. The governors of North Carolina and Virginia refused to recognize the legality of the transaction. See wording at note 66 link. [68] Robertson & Brown purchases in Watauga Purchase Book, Old Book A. Link at http://www.lonnd.com/tdugan/noliwata.html [69] “Bloody ground”. Oft-quoted talk of Dragging Canoe. See D. Ray Smith’s Dragging Canoe website. http://members.tripod.com/~SmithDRay/ No doubt the speech has been embellished, but it remains a classic of Native American pride. [70] Emory sisters in Tugaloo area (Georgia). See note 73 below. Chestoe/Estatoe in n.e. GA. A sister village Chestoe in the Overhills was a lesser town (no headman) but the ancient Chistatoyi (Estatoe) or “rabbit’s place” in the Lower Cherokee (also considered an Outer Town) is meant here. [SC Indian Docs 1754-1765, pp.104, 449-50] [71] Abrams Creek. See National Park website http://www.gsmnp.com/pages/abrams_falls.html [72] Loyalists and treaties of 1777. Online http://gileadinternational.org/cherokeehistory.html Dewitts Corner = Dewess Corner (and today known as Due West, South Carolina). For more on Loyalists (Tories) see South Carolina Loyalists and Rebels at http://sc_tories.tripod.com/loyalists.htm [73] Col. Joseph Martin at Toccoa/Tugaloo (Georgia). Ward family, Emory family. Since Martin is one of the more controversial and confused characters in Cherokee genealogy, the following chronology should prove helpful. Some sources: Robert Eldridge Bouwman, Traveler’s Rest and the Tugaloo Crossroads (State of Georgia : Dept of Natural Resources, 1980) Elizabeth Arnett Fields, Between Two Cultures: Judge John Martin and the Struggle for Cherokee Sovereignty (U of Tennessee) The Chronology of Joseph Martin’s time in the Cherokee Nation 1740 born in Virginia 1756 brief militia service in Virginia 1769 tried to establish settlement in Powell’s Valley (in what is now West Virginia) 1770 returned to Henry County, Virginia 1774 returned to Powell’s Valley 1776 Jesse Walton and Benjamin Cleveland of Surry County, North Carolina, defend the Watauga and Nolachucky settlements from Cherokee attacks. Captain Joseph Martin, Virginia’s new agent to the Cherokee, comes to Tennessee and becomes fast friends with Walton and Cleveland. 1777 During peace talks (July 1777) Captain Joseph Martin meets young Cherokee beauty Elizabeth Ward. They marry. 1778 Jesse Walton appointed justice and helps to establish Jonesborough, TN 1779 Joseph Martin writes to Virginia Governor Patrick Henry of the growing Chickamauga threat (he believed to be living at Chota among neutrals in TN) 1780 Virginians defeat Cherokee and destroy Overhill and Chickamauga villages; Joseph Martin’s mother-in-law (Nannie Ward) is taken into custody. 1780/1 Captain John Martin, brother of Colonel Joseph Martin, escorts his Cherokee sister-in-law back to her father’s trading post at Tugaloo, GA and he remains in that area as his brother’s assistant agent; Joseph returns to Virginia, hearing that his wife has taken ill 1781 Joseph Martin’s first wife, Sarah Lucas, dies of smallpox in Virginia in March. 1783 Jesse Walton settles in n.e. Georgia near Tugaloo (then Franklin County); Walton and Bryant Ward (father-in-law of Martin) become partners 1784 Colonel Joseph Martin is in Virginia and has married his second white wife, Susannah Graves, on 24 February 1783. (She will have a son Joseph Martin Jr. b. 1785.) 1785 around this time, Colonel Joseph Martin joins Walton, Ward at Tugaloo and attends the Treaty of Hopewell (Keowee) SC; note: son Joseph Martin Jr. born 23 September 1785 1786 Creek Indians begin sporadic raids in eastern Georgia 1787 Joseph Martin elected to the North Carolina legislature; on a visit to Tugaloo he complains of the damages caused by the Creeks; he also spends time with his white family in Virginia (son Jesse Martin b.1787/8). 1788 Colonel Joseph Martin was called upon to lead (or control) vengeful militia in Tennessee after the Kirk Family Massacre. After the murder of four or five Cherokee (including Long Fellow, Abraham, and Old Tassel) under a flag of truce, Martin resigns as Indian Agent. He returns to Virginia (son Thomas b. 1789) but goes down to Tugaloo for a year. 1789 Jesse Walton and Sheriff Moses Guest are wounded in a Creek raid. Joseph Martin tends to Walton, and writes Walton’s will on 13 June 1789. After burying Walton, Martin goes back to Tennesee (then part of North Carolina) and is again elected to the legislature. 1790 Now General, Joseph Martin takes his two white sons, William and Brice, to Tugaloo 1791 Martin returns to Virginia, and serves in the Virginia legislature. (8 children born in Virginia beginning 1791/2.) 1800 Elizabeth (Ward) Martin noted to be living on a “fine estate” in n.e. Georgia 1803 General Martin officially retires from public office. 1808 Attempting an expedition to the west, General Martin falls ill and returns to to Virginia where he dies in November. [74] Composition of Chickamauga. Based on author’s research of the families. In particular, the black and melungeon Chickamauga who deserved to be honored as warriors were cast aside as racially impure by tribal politics after 1808 (ref: Shoeboots). Recent attempts to present the Chickamauga as some kind of noble Scottish clan are delusional. (I descend from a black Cherokee* enslaved by Robert Love*, whose family became the political force behind the protection of the Eastern Tribe.) “The five lower towns or Chickamauga population consisted of Cherokee, Creeks, Shawano and white Tories and their total force was estimated at 1000 warriors.” From D. Ray Smith’s Dragging Canoe website [75] Dragging Canoe sought peace in 1777 and 1784. Encyclopedia of Native American Biography, p.115. [76] Factions, bitter rivalries. Most tribal/clan societies have bloody transitions of power, the Cherokee had more than their share of betrayals, assassinations, mock trials & executions, and blood feuds. There were also ethnic and religious forces tearing the tribe apart. Many sources & websites cover these struggles. For the down-and-dirty fights before removal (1838) Don Shadburn’s Unhallowed Intrusion is excellent for family relationships and background. A search argument of “Cherokee+murder” on Google will produce unlimited online sources of these political intrigues. [77] Willstown residents. The 1828 valuations & 1835 Henderson Roll provide many family names; “The Cherokee Phoenix” is a contemporary source for events in Willstown in the 1820's. [78] The name of Willstown. John P. Brown, Old Frontiers, p.175: "The towns destroyed by Shelby were partially reoccupied, but the Savage Napoleon led the bulk of his warriors around the base of Chatanugua Mt., and located in the sites, which soon became to be known as the Five Lower Towns of the Cherokees. They were Amoy-Jayunyi (Running Water), Ani-Kusati-yi (Nickajack), Aamo-Yeli-gunhita (Long Island), Stecoyee (Lookout Mt.), Kagunyi (Crow Town). Another settlement was built by the red-headed half-breed Chief Will, which was called Willisi (Wills town)." footnote: "Otherwise known as Will Webber." Dr. John D. Webber’s reply to Joyce Reece https://lists.rootsweb.com/hyperkitty/th/read/WEBBER/2003-03/1047139694 :According to a living Cherokee Webber descendent in OK, Will moved from what was then NC to northeast Alabama and founded Willstown, now Fort Payne Alabama, named after the fort built to contain the Indian population for removal. Chief Red Head, or Chief Will was the soldier chosen for the unpleasant task. Will Webber was alleged to be the grandson of Moytoy of Tellico and child of a white man. But the history of Fort Payne dates the name “Wills Town” to 1780: In 1780, the area now known as Fort Payne, was named after the Cherokee Chief "Red-Haired" Will Weber. The name of this locale was known as Willisi and then Will's Town. What is officially now called DeKalb County was known as Will's County until 1836 when the name officially became DeKalb County. . . . The first general use of the name "Fort Payne" came several years after the Cherokee removal stockades had been abandoned in 1838. Captain John G. Payne was the commander of the local garrison of soldiers in 1838. Fort Payne became an official name in 1869. http://fortpayne.com/fpnameorigin.html [79] First mention of Webber 1793. Old Frontiers, p.380 An interesting note at Comanche Lodge: Will Webber was from Nequasse! Could Will Webber have been an alias for a son of Will Emory? Can a Will Webber (or an unknown Will) be found on tribal documents before 1788? [80] see post 293 Webber Family Forum, www.genforum.genealogy.com 5 Oct 1999. In June 1821 a Cherokee war party led by the half-blooded chief Walter Webber struck the Chouteau trading post on the Grand River. Their justification was that the manager of the post, Joseph Revoir, had been supplying the Osage with guns and ammunition. Revoir was murdered and his scalp taken back to the Cherokee village where it was used as the centerpiece of a Fourth of July celebration. http://www.forttours.com/pages/tocchoute.asp [81] Wallie and Wally (Webber). 1817 Emigration Roll, 1817 Reservation Roll published & online. They, as Old Settlers, were on the 1817 rolls and this is the only family group that fits them. Comanche Lodge, and others, report Webber emigrated 1809, but it was not unusual for early Arkansas Cherokee to return to the east, so there is no contradiction. http://www.comanchelodge.com/arkansas-indians.html We regret to learn that the store of Major Walter Webber, in the Cherokee Nation, was destroyed by fire two or three weeks since, together with all its contents. Major Webber is a Cherokee Chief, and has amassed considerable wealth by his industry and enterprise... Arkansas Gazette March 9, 1824 www.oldstatehouse.com/educational_programs [82] “Red-headed Will.” Old Frontiers, p.175. [83] Treaty of Hopewell on the Keowee 1785. Online at http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/ntreaty/chr1785.htm [84] Tahlonteeskee is Bushyhead, half brother to John Jolly. John Jolly -Emigrated west to Arkansas Territory in 1818. As early as 1820, he was made Principal Chief of the Old Settlers, and he held this office until his death in 1838. . . . He was a brother of Old Settler Chief Tahlonteeskee, and both were uncles of Cherokee Chief John Rogers. He was also the uncle of Tiana Rogers, Sam Houston’s Cherokee wife and of Chief John Rogers, Jr. http://www.cherokee.org/Culture/HistoryPage.asp?ID=59 Tahlonteeskee, permitted missionaries to establish Dwight Mission in Arkansas, the first western chief to allow Christianity to come to the Cherokees. Tahlonteeskee died ca 1818, his brother John Jolly then became chief. Jolly had moved west in 1817. These early Cherokees migrated from Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama and were called Arkansas or Cherokees West, to distinguish them from their tribesmen who remained in the East. Later they were referred to as "Old Settlers." http://www.twinterritories.com/cherokee_settlers.htm [85] Murder of Old Tassel and others. Quote from http://wovoca.com/hidden-history-murders-cherokee-chiefs.htm [86] Col. Joseph Martin a friend. Many genealogies show Joseph Martin as the father of the Emory Cherokee Martins but it was his brother John Martin. Testimony from Benjamin Cleveland (et al) to the governor of Georgia on the parentage of Cherokee John Martin (whom Cleveland knew from childhood) establishes John Martin, rather than Joseph Martin, as the father. See Whites Among the Cherokee, pp. 73, 93, 94. 29 August 1831 letter of General Benjamin Cleveland, to Gov. George R. Gilmer of Georgia: “. . . concerning the parentage of John Martin Treasurer of the Cherokee Nation . . . the father of John Martin was a native of Virginia the brother of Joseph Martin the first Agent of the Cherokee Nation after the Revolution. I have been acquainted with John Martin since he was about ten years old we went to school together when we were boys he has been raised principally by a brother in Law who was a verry decent white man, Martin[‘s] father died when he was nearly grown. . . .” [87] Martin resigned shortly after outrage at Chota 1788. (See chronology at note 73.) Robert Eldridge Bouwman, Traveler’s Rest and the Tugaloo Crossroads (State of Georgia : Dept of Natural Resources, 1980). Martin’s son Thomas was born in Virginia 1789 to his white wife. [88] Old Settlers. Bob Benge explains the distinctions and divisions at http://members.aol.com/lredtail/oldsettlers.html [89] George Washington letter to Congress 1790. He addressed them in 1788, 1789, 1790. “the United States formed a treaty with the Cherokees in November, 1785; that the said Cherokees thereby placed themselves under the protection of the United States and had a boundary assigned them; that the white people settled on the frontiers had openly violated the said boundary by intruding on the Indian lands; that the United States in Congress assembled did, on the 1st day of September, 1788, issue their proclamation forbidding all such unwarrantable intrusions, and enjoined all those who had settled upon the hunting grounds of the Cherokees to depart with their families and effects without loss of time, as they would answer their disobedience to the injunctions and prohibitions expressed at their peril.” George Washington, http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/messages/gw011.htm [90] Slim Tom approached Kirk family for food. “A family named Kirk resided at a forward settlement on Little River twelve miles southwest of present Knoxville. It was visited by a Cherokee named Slim Tom, who asked for something to eat. The father and one son of the thirteen-member family were away, but the family knew Slim Tom and gave him food. Seeing the house to be poorly defended, Slim Tom left and returned with a party of friends to attack it.” From “The Murders of Peace Chiefs Old Tassel and Abraham” at http://wovoca.com/hidden-history-murders-cherokee-chiefs.htm “Among Sevier's troops was young John Kirk, whose mother, sisters and brothers had been so foully butchered by the Cherokee, Slim Tom and his associates. Young Kirk's brutal soul was parched with longing for revenge, and he was, both in mind and heart too nearly kin to his Indian foes greatly to care vengeance fell on the wrong-doers or on the innocent. He entered the hut where the Cherokee chiefs were confined, brained them with his tomahawk, while his comrades looked on without interfering.” John Preston Arthur, History of Western North Carolina, 1914. Excerpt online by Jeffrey C. Weaver. [91] From personal email, similar remark: “Even today it’s very desolate and barren. Hunting grounds and a place to hide if you need too.” John D. Emery, Emery Family Forum msgs 1321, 1588, 14104, 14114 at www.genforum.com [92] Col. Evan Shelby 1779 campaign against the Chickamauga roster at: http://www.tngenweb.org/revwar/counties/sullivan1779.html . Every published roster of colonial soldiers has been carefully searched for anyone resembling the name Emory anywhere near Tennessee. (That’s where many of my ancestors were born or buried.) [93] 1910 article. online: http://www.roanetnheritage.com/research/historical%20articles/mcelwee/09.htm ...Capt. W. E. McElwee who wrote for the “Rockwood Times” in 1910. The Captain in writing about a Roane Rev. War soldier, WILLIAM EDGEMAN, brings in William Emery incidentally. “His farm [Edgeman’s] included the Indian Town destroyed by Evan Shelby in 1779. It was in the expedition against the Indians that WILLIAM EMERY was drowned while swimming the river with his accoutrements on him. For this cause, the river was named EMERY RIVER.” http://www.roanetn.com/emory.htm [94] William Embry, transient through Morgan-Roane County. Emory River also called Embry River in some later records. Leota Bennett mentions him as possibly the same as William Emory at Rootsweb: https://lists.rootsweb.com/hyperkitty/th/read/HEMBREE/2001-08/0998281975 See her Hembree research at http://www.roanetn.com/hembree1.htm. A William Embry (b.1774 or 1784 NC) said to be an Indian trader went from NC to GA to KY through TN then to MO through TN. He is listed as “William Emery” (age 75) among Daniel Boone’s kin in Maries County, MO in 1850 census. Appears 1805 tax list Grainger Co, TN. Related to Boley Embry of GA.. (A less likely William Emory b.1774, son of John Emory* b.1744 is possible here.) [95] Blount’s 1783 deed recorded in North Carolina and later in Tennessee. Roane Deed Book D, pps. 7 and 8: The State of North Carolina granted William Blount 5000 acres on “WILLIAM EMERIES RIVER” in Green (now Roane) on the north side of CLINCH RIVER where Col. Evan Shelby burnt an Indian Town [the calls and bounds follow.] On page 8, John Hackett, District Surveyor, says that based on a NC warrant No. 427 issued October 23, 1783, he surveyed in 1787 the above 5000 acres granted to William Blount on William Emeries River (same bounds and Indian town as above). The deed for the William Blount 5000 acres was recorded in Knox County Deed Book F, p 242 on May 28, 1799. It was registered in Roane County Deed Book D, pps. 7 and 8, on February 29, 1812. http://www.roanetn.com/emory.htm [96] John Chisholm (1730-1794), scout, likely source of river name (Emory River), receiving the name from the Cherokee. http://www.ctc.volant.org/home/genea/chis/html/I049.html . Good chronology of Chisholm’s life, “Our Chisholm Legacy”, by Bill Breedlove at www.zianet.com http://www.zianet.com/blove/Our%20Chisholm%20Legacy/Chronology.html [97] “Emery’s Town”. (Looking for my hardcopy reference, perhaps from J.G.M. Ramsay’s Annals of Tennessee (1853). See http://genforum.genealogy.com/emory/messages/220.html ) [98] Treaty of Holston 1791. Online at Yale University website http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/ntreaty/chr1791.htm [99] Battle of Horseshoe Bend 1814. Cherokee roster at http://members.aol.com/lredtail/muster.html [100] Longfellow (1791) = Richard Fields Jr or John Watts III. The Chickamauga Old Settlers retained the names of the old warriors Dragging Canoe, Oconastota, Longfellow, Warhatchy, and others. For example: Arkansas chiefs singing the treaty at the Cherokee Agency 8 July 1817: Toochalar, his x mark, (L.S.) The Glass, his x mark, (L.S.) Wassosee, his x mark, (L.S.) John Jolly, his x mark, (L.S.) The Gourd, his x mark, (L.S.) Spring Frog, his x mark, (L.S.) John D. Chisholm, (L.S.) em. bef.1817 James Rogers, (L.S.) Wawhatchy, his x mark, (L.S.) (Warhatchy)Attalona, his x mark, (L.S.) bef 1817?Kulsuttchee, his x mark, (L.S.) bef 1817?Tuskekeetchee, his x mark, (L.S.) (Long Fellow)Chillawgatchee, his x mark, (L.S.) John Smith, his x mark, (L.S.) bef 1817? Toosawallata, his x mark, (L.S.) [101] James Emory of TN. Is James Emory (b.c.1785) same as James Welch (b.c.1785), son of Quatsie Emory? See Old John Hembree (aka John Emory) available online from Joyce Reece at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnmcmin2/johnhem2.htm [102] Emory descendants. Emmett Starr has unaccounted for Emorys in his “Old Families” pp.316, 345. “Mrs. Bullfrog” and family in Flint District, Indian Territory, were the family of Thomas “Bullfrog” Emory Jr. For name equivalencies, nicknames in 1800's, see superlative work by Sandi Garrett, A.K.A., at http://www.angelfire.com/ok3/cherokeewoman/page5.htm Peter Emory appears on the Cherokee Confederate roster under Chief John Ross in Indian Territory. http://members.aol.com/lredtail/muster.html His Captain was Richard Fields (Co. F), lieutenant was William Webber, he served with Moses Bullfrog, Thomas Fields, George Bullfrog, Watt Dew, Daniel Fields, John Ridge and Tracker (Human Tracker).. |