Bonus Book - John Ross and the Cherokee
Bonus #2 - Words and Audio Files of Trail of Tears and Amazing Grace
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Whatever may be their origins in antiquity, the Cherokees are generally thought to be a Southeastern tribe,
with roots in Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennesee, among other states, though many Cherokees are
identified today with Oklahoma, to which they had been forceably removed by treaty in the 1830s, or with
the lands of the Eastern Band of Cherokees in western North Carolina. The largest of the so-called
Five Civilized Tribes, which also included Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles, the Cherokees
were the first tribe to have a written language, and by 1820 they had even adopted a form of government
resembling that of the United States.
It is a lesser known fact that there was considerably more intermarriage between Cherokees and Whites
than any other tribe, so they have a genealogical significance far out of proportion to their historical
numbers. There is also a great deal of genealogical data on the Cherokees, mostly in the form of
census records and enrollment records. All of which is to point out the abundance of sources available
to Emmet Starr when he came to pen his classic
History of the Cherokee Indians and Their Legends and Folklore.
Not to diminish Mr. Starr's contribution in writing about the early Cherokees, their constitution, t
reaties with the federal government, land transactions, school system, migration and resettlement,
committees, councils, and officials, religion, language, and culture, and a host of other topics upon
which he writes eloquently, but his stated purpose in writing the History was "to make it as near
a personal history and biography of as many Cherokees as possible." And in fact more than half the
book is devoted to genealogies and biographies, of which there are several hundred. The biographies in
particular, each averaging a paragraph or more, are noteworthy for their focus on the genealogical
events of birth, marriage, and death over a period of several generations, naming
thousands of related individuals in a classic roll-call of family members.
Although written in 1921, Starr's pioneering work has never been superseded.
Contents
CHAPTER I. Origin, Religion, Characteristics 21
CHAPTER II. Trouble with the Chickamaugau, Attack at Knoxville, Mussel Shoals Massacre, Removal to
Arkansas, First Printed Laws 35
CHAPTER III. Convention of Delegates, Constitution Adopted -- 55
CHAPTER IV. Proclamation of May 28, 1828 67
CHAPTER V. Treaty with the Cherokees, 1835 — 85
CHAPTER VI. The Emigration from Georgia, Cost Detachment, Resolutions of Protest, Political
Differences, Civil War Averted 103
CHAPTER VII. Act of Union Between the Eastern and Western Cherokees 121
CHAPTER VIII. Treaty with the Cherokees, 1846. Schools Established. Old Settler Payments.
Keetoowah Society Organized.
Organization of Military Companies. Cherokees Enter the Civil War.
General Waite Surrenders 137
CHAPTER IX. Treaty with the Cherokees, 1866. Delawares Acquire Full Rights. Shawnees
Adopted by Cherokees. Land Sold to Osages.
Officers' Salaries Fixed. Land Donated to Masons. Lodges 167
CHAPTER X. The Texas Cherokees 1820-30. Grant from Mexico. Grant from Texas. Treaties. Expulsion 187
CHAPTER XI. Public School System Established. National Officials. Male and Female Seminary.
Graduates. Eleemosynary Institutions 225
CHAPTER XII. Missionary Activities, First Printing 247
CHAPTER XIII. Officers of the Cherokee Nation, September 9, 1839, to June 30, I908__26l
CHAPTER XIV. Old Families and Their Genealogy 303
CHAPTER XV. Continuation of Old Families 335
CHAPTER XVI. Continuation of Old Families 363
HAPTER XVII. Continuation of Old Families 374
CHAPTER XVIII. Continuation of Old Families 399
CHAPTER XIX. Continuation of Old Families 419
CHAPTER XXI. Redbird Smith. The Nighthawk Branch of the Keetoowah Organization.
Election of Chief Levi Gritts 477
CHAPTER XXI. Continuation of Old Families 543