Claim | Origin (first known mention) of the Claim | Status of the Claim | WikiTree Native Americans Project Actions |
Mis-information abounds about the origins, family and life of Jacob Troxel (1759-1843). This document tracks the history of how the myths came about, reviews each of the claims, points out where the claim originated, identifies sources that support or debunk the claim and notes action taken by the WikiTree Native Americans project on the affected wikitree profiles.
History of the Myth. The existence of Cornblossom, her relationship to known Cherokee Chief Doublehead and to Revolutionary War soldier Jacob Troxel was first introduced to the world in 1958 (two centuries after the fact) in the book Legion of the Lost Mine by Thomas H. Troxel. This out-of-print, 45-page book may be viewable at the end of a compilation of various digitized records here. Some Troxel descendants claim that her story predates this book, but have been unable to provide evidence for their claims. In his introduction, Troxel admits that some of the characters have been fictionalized. Nowhere in his book does he share his sources for his tales about Cornblossom or her purported family members. There is no record or mention of Cornblossom or of her relationship to either Doublehead or Jacob Troxel prior to this 1958 publication. Some descendants claim this is due to lack of genealogical documentation in the Cherokee records. However, much has been written and published since the mid 1700s through the early 1900s about the Cherokee (see our Annotated Bibliography), and no reference to her is found anywhere before 1958. Subsequent authors repeated and embellished Troxel’s 1958 work, mostly notably:
The WikiTree Native Americans project has examined what is known and what is myth about this set of profiles and has updated the profiles accordingly (see far right column for specifics). If you have sources that are contrary to the following, please discuss them in the appropriate g2g thread (links included in the table below). Please keep comments -- here and on WikiTree -- focused on evidence. Thank you.
Existence of Cornblossom
| Thomas H. Troxel (hereafter THT), Legion of the Lost Mine (1958; photostat of original is appended at the end of the linked document):
NOTES:
| There is no documentation of Cornblossom’s existence prior to THT’s 1958 book; most subsequent writing about her (including Tankersley 2007, Walker 2012) derives from either this 1958 work or a 1975 article by Collins (more on this below). Her existence has been denied by renowned Cherokee experts Jerrie Chasteen (link) and David Cornsilk, as well as by Samuel Perry (link). The known, documented children of Doublehead are listed later in this table. The only documented name of any spouse of Jacob Troxel is “Elizabeth”; see next row. | Detach Cornblossom/Pawalin as:
Suggested re-write of Cornblossom’s profile. Done. (Old profile replaced with this one.) Add a new profile for Unknown Unknown to represent the first wife of Jacob Troxell and mother of his first set of children (b c1780-1796). DONE. Attach the appropriate children to her. (See separate row about the children of J. Troxel for guidance.) DONE. Ensure that a Disputed Origins section links to each of these. And update each child’s profile with its own “Disputed Origins” section. DONE. Also PPP’ed children and added NA to TL. Project-protect all relevant profiles, including Cornblossom. DONE (I think) If you know of earlier evidence of Cornblossom’s existence, please discuss it here. |
Elizabeth Blevins was the second wife of Jacob Troxel; they married in Tennessee about 1823. | Many online trees (here) (citing, at best, other family trees, possibly originating in 1997 with a tree by Charles E. Austin) that Elizabeth Blevins was first married to Christian Steele, then married Jacob Troxell. Kentucky marriage records do show a marriage of Elizabeth Blevins to Christian Steele in April, 1808, bond with permission of her father Jonathan, March, 1808. No source found for a subsequent marriage to Troxell. NOTE: no such wife is currently linked to l (as of 7 Dec 2017), but she has appeared as Elizabeth Blevins in various online trees. | The only documented name of any spouse of Jacob Troxel is “Elizabeth” without a maiden name -- she is identified as such when she applied for a widow’s pension in 1843, stating she lived in DeKalb Co, Alabama.
They likely married by 1830 as the oldest female in Jacob’s household is too young to have mothered his known children. In February 1853, T.W. Newman made inquiry on Elizabeth’s behalf seeking her widow’s pension. The attempt was unsuccessful because she could not prove she had been married to Jacob. Given this timing, she is probably the Elizabeth Troxell in DeKalb Co., Alabama in the 1850 US Census. Her age in this census (56) -- if indeed this is Jacob’s widow -- suggests that a) she was born about 1794, and therefore, b) she was not his first wife, nor mother of his children (who were born between 1780-1796). If so, she could NOT have been the Elizabeth Blevins who married first Christian Steele in 1808, as she would have been only 14 years of age. Not impossible, but unlikely. NOTE: DAR application files list Elizabeth (no surname) as Jacob Troxel’s second wife. | Create and add Elizabeth Unknown, b about 1794 North Carolina (per 1850 census), as a spouse of Jacob Troxel with a “before 1830” marriage date and an after Feb 1854 death date. DONE Add “disputed origins”to her profile with information about the `claim of “Blevins” as her maiden name. DONE. Project-protect her to prevent LNAB from being changed. DONE. Discuss what is known about the wife or wives of Jacob Troxel here. She may be the mother of Eliza Troxel who is enumerated with her in the 1850 census. Eliza has a whole set of descendants (through Jane) as can be documented through subsequent census records. |
Use of the name Pawalin as an aka for Cornblossom | The use of a supposed Delaware word “Pawalin” for Cornblossom was introduced by Tankersley about 2004/5 in Native Americans in Kentucky, Unpublished report to the Kentucky Heritage Commission. Update June 2020: The Council has removed this report from its website. It is archived on Archive.org’s WayBack Machine here. “Pawalin” is not found in the 1975 Collins work; he only calls her Cornblossom. In a 2002 message board Link she is only Cornblossom, not Pawalin. (Note that this thread was started by a Troxel descendant who doubts her existence.) | According to the Lenape, “pawalin’ means ‘the corn blossom falls off’ and is not a proper name. Source: “Disputed Lenape Name,” Email from TalkLenape.org to Jeanie Roberts, 20 Nov. 2017, Privately held by Roberts, [Houston, Texas] 2017. It appears that this Delaware name was “created” by Tankersley at the same time as “Unknown Delaware Indian Woman” was assigned as Cornblossom’s mother after it was shown Cornblossom could not have been daughter of Creat Priber (who did not exist). | Update Cornblossom’s profile with a “Disputed Delaware Name” section. Discuss the issue here. |
Existence of “Big Jake” | The existence of “Big Jake” also came into being in 1958, through Thomas H. Troxel’s admittedly fictionalized story Legion of the Lost Mine, starting with a chapter devoted to him on page 9. This work states he was born in Philadelphia, enlisted at the age of 16 and after four years, went west to Kentucky where he met Doublehead, supposed son Tuckahoe and supposed daughter Cornblossom. | There is no evidence of “Big Jake” prior to this 1958 book. Subsequent authors have perpetuated the myth created in 1958 by THT. Collins, in 1975, associated him specifically with Jacob Troxel. (See next row.) | Add a section on Jacob Troxel’s profile about undocumented claims; include as one of them, that he was known as “Big Jake”. There is no evidence that Jacob Troxel was ever called this. Make sure Troxel’s profile is project-protected. Create a separate profile for Big Jake, keep it attached as spouse to “Cornblossom” and include caveats all over it. Use this g2g thread for discussion of the existence/facts about of Big Jake. |
“Big Jake” = Jacob Troxel | In 1975, Collins expanded on the 1958 story by Thomas H Troxel, further embellishing with unsupported claims, one of which was that “Big Jake” was the same as Jacob Troxel | See Jeanie’s analysis. Bottom line: Jacob Troxel, per his own testimony, was nowhere near where the fictional “Big Jake” was according to THT or Collins. See Troxel’s migration map. Note: there was another Jacob Troxel of Philadelphia. And there was at least one other Jacob Troxel who lived elsewhere in Pennsylvania. We have not yet tracked them. | Add “Big Jake” in the section of Jacob Troxel’s profile about disputed claims. Discuss here. NEW: research and update appropriately the profile of the Philadelphia-based Jacob Troxel, as he may be a future candidate (by some) for “Big Jake”. |
Big Jake (and by later extension, Jacob Troxel) was a half-breed (mother a Delaware) sent by Washington to treat with the Cherokee | THT’s 1958 book did not include this claim. This claim appears to have been introduced by Collins in 1975. Link, starting on p. 136 Others have added onto the fiction, including People of the Hunting Ground blog / website |
| Add this to a “Disputed Information” section on Jacob’s profile. Discuss here. |
Children of Jacob Troxel | Collins (1975) claims the following about “little Jake” son of “Big Jake” and “Cornblossom”
Later, others (who?) associated “Little Jake” with known son Peter. Are there any other children inaccurately associated with Jacob (1759-1843)? The documented children of Jacob Troxel (mother not named), are in the next column. | The following were all married in Wayne County. (See also KF’s compilation.) Information from Troxel(l) Trails book support the following list. Birth years are estimates based on marriages and census records.
There is no evidence that Jacob Troxel (1759-1843) had a son “Little Jake” or Jacob Troxel Jr. (One source claims Little Jake was known son Peter.) There were, however, other Jacob Troxells in Pulaski and Wayne counties:
| On the profile of Jacob Troxel: Include a === Disputed Children === list with links to the disputed children. Then detach any children not on this approved list. Project-protect those disputed children so that neither Jacob Troxel nor Cornblossom is added back as parent. Be on lookout for a Jacob Jr profile associated with Jacob and make note on known son Peter that some have associated him with “Little Jake” about whom there is much unproven myth. Discuss Jacob’s children on this g2g thread. |
That Jacob Troxel and Cornblossom had a son “Little Jake” who a) married either “Standing Fern” or Saleechie Doublehead; b) was the same as Jacob’s son Peter Troxel. | The 1958 work includes no mention of the children of Big Jake and Cornblossom; the story ends with their marriage. “Little Jake” appears to have originated with Collins’ 1975 work. (See row above.) In the absence of a Jacob Troxel Jr as son of Jacob (1759-1843), later writers have associated “Little Jake” with known son Peter Troxel. According to Troxel(l) Trails, Peter was called ‘Little Jake’ and married ‘Standing Fern’. Standing Fern later morphed into Saleechie on the Internet. | There is no proof for a person by the name of Standing Fern. Saleechie Doublehead was a real person and daughter of Chief Doublehead; however, she was married to Chickasaw chief George Colbert. Source: Don Martini, The Chickasaw Colberts: Corrections to Colbert Family Genealogy, 2015. Also, as daughter of Doublehead, Saleechie would then have been (if Cornblossom was another daughter) aunt of “Little Jake”-- not a candidate for a spouse.. | If any profile on wikitree makes the false claims described here, correct them. Add g2g thread if necessary. |
Doublehead (and by extension, his supposed daughter Cornblossom) was in Kentucky during the time that “Big Jake”/Jacob Troxel was supposed to have been there. | This presence of Doublehead in Kentucky first appears in Legion of the Lost Mine (1958). | Doublehead is documented by a variety of authors starting in the late 1700s. See Annotated Bibliography and migration map. Neither Doublehead nor any other Cherokee lived in Kentucky during this era (1750-1838). (See below.) Doublehead’s birth, place of origin and even parents are unknown. His most likely birthplace was the Tellico area of the Cherokee Nation along the Little Tennessee River, southwest of Fort Loudon. Timeline: 1777 Cherokee leaders divide over land concessions to whites; Dragging Canoe’s supporters moved to Chickamauga Creek, become known as ‘Chickimauga Cherokee’; 1779 homes there destroyed by American militia under Evan Shelby. The Chickamauga move south and west, creating five new towns in Tennessee near present-day Chattanooga and in northeast Alabama. The Chickamauga continued to harass white settlers over the next 15 years, with many killings documented to Doublehead. 1794 a white militia which included about 150 Kentuckians destroyed the ‘new’ Chickamauga towns of Nickajack and Running Water. November, 1794 while peace was being made at Tellico, Doublehead attacked Sevier’s station. 1795 Cherokee attacks finally cease, Doublehead settled at Muscle Shoals. Source(s) include Brown’s Old Frontiers, Hoig’s The Cherokee and Their Chiefs, Starr’s History of the Cherokee Indians, Mooney’s History of the Cherokee Indians; see annotated bibliography for details. | Update Doublehead’s profile to reflect all this. Project-protect his profile. Use this g2g to discuss: “Did Doublehead die or ever live in Kentucky?” |
Doublehead’s wives | The following have been claimed as his wives:
| While the number of Doublehead’s children, records, and testimony of descendants suggests that Doublehead had as many as five wives, there are only two that are named in documents: 1) Nannie Drumgoole and 2) Kateeyah Wilson, both named in depositions filed regarding Doublehead’s estate and Eastern Cherokee applications of descendants. Transcriptions at AMERIND-US-SE-L/200-12/0977343555 and AMERIND-US-SE-L/2000-12/0977343614 EC apps 10725(Bird Doublehead) 447 (John Springston) 3) While there is some suggestion that Christian Priber may have cohabitated with a Cherokee between 1736-1744, there is no solid evidence to identify either his Cherokee female mate, nor any offspring that might have resulted from such a union. See separate rows for more about Christian Priber and supposed daughter who married Doublehead. 4) Unknown Cherokee woman/women – the mother or mothers of Saleechie and her unnamed sister, and sisters Nigodigayu and Gulustiyu. See next row for sources for Doublehead’s children. 5. Unknown Delaware Woman. Introduced about 2007 by Tankersley when the “Creat Priber-as-mother” myth was busted. 6. Jennie Harrison, appears in James Hicks Cherokee Lineages tree on Rootsweb. No documentation, no children | Add {{questionable}} (or whatever the current template is for unlikely existence) and Disputed Existence narrative to each of: On each of #3, #5 and #6 to the left, make sure that they are disconnected from Doublehead and as mother of any of his children. Disconnect Creat from Christian Priber. Project-protect each of them as well as their supposed children so that those children do not get reattached. Use this g2g thread to discuss: “Who are the known wives of Cherokee Chief Doublehead?” |
Doublehead’s children | Many online trees’ lists of Doublehead’s children include those named Tuskeahookto and Cornblossom. A son named Tuckahoe was included in THT 1958. Kstieieah, (Keziah Dishman) as a sister of Cornblossom appears in many trees. Recent research by Don Martini has shown that the name of George Colbert’s second Cherokee wife is actually unknown and that Tuskeahookto is a third wife who married George Colbert in 1834 and was the widow of a man named Tyieska. Source: Don Martini, The Chickasaw Colberts: Corrections to Colbert Family Genealogy, 2015. | There are only 9 named children of Doublehead in the records:
Two others are connected through the will of their husband, Samuel Riley:: 10. Nigodagayu 11. Gulustiyu Saleechie and her unnamed sister are recorded in the “Autobiography of Rev Jacob Young,” quoted in Methodism in Mississippi, Jones, pp 193-195. One sister’s name is unknown, she died before the 1818 census, buried at Colbert home near Colbert’s Ferry per 1834 census. Saleechee died 1846 in Indian Territory. Sources for the others include depositions of Bird Doublehead and his cousin Catherine Spencer, and Eastern Cherokee applications of descendants. [Eastern Cherokee application 10725, Bird Doublehead, Message board posts by Jim Hicks, Rootsweb, AMERIND-US-SE-L 2002-12 Emmett Starr does not name Gu lu sti yu and Ni go de ga yu as daughters of Doublehead, but their marriage to Samuel Riley and documents related to Doublehead’s estate strongly suggest that they were his daughters. There is no documentary evidence for the existence of either Cornblossom or Tuckahoe. In fact, there is no evidence of them at all prior to THT’s 1958 story. Keziah’s origin is unknown, although some claim she is named in Catherine Spencer’s deposition. Careful reading shows that Catherine was referring to her aunt, Kateeyah Wilson Doublehead. | Detach Cornblossom and Tuckahoe and Kstieieah from Doublehead; add questionable template and/or Disputed Origins section; project-protect to prevent parents from being added. Use the following g2g for discussion. “Who are the known children of Cherokee Chief Doublehead?” |
Yahoo/Ywahoo Falls Massacre of 1810 | The first mention of this supposed massacre is in a 1975 publication, A History of the Daniel Boone National Forest 1770-1970, by Robert F. Collins Collins claims that in 1810, Rev. Gideon Blackburn wanted to build a school for Cherokee children; something about a plan to trap Cherokee by the falls; that “Cornblossom” learned of the plan and evaded it, and that she murdered Rev. Gideon Blackburn (in 1810). NOTE: THT (1958) has a footnote on page 2 of LLM that says “[Hans] Blackbern is not to be confused with name of the Reverend Gideon Blackburn, a Presbyterian divine, who established a school for Indians in Sequatchie Valley around 1803.” Collins appears to have ignored this footnote! | No independent evidence for this massacre has been found; see the following commentary:
Rev. Gideon Blackburn a) never had a mission in the Sequatchie Valley. The furthest west of his missions was at Sale Creek in what is now northern Hamilton County, Tennessee. Source: wikipedia profile for Gideon Blackburn; b) Blackburn died of old age in 1838. He was not murdered in 1810. Discussion: Fake Indians blog. Wikipedia article on Blackburn is reasonably accurate. He had a school for Cherokee children at Hiwassie until about 1809; two of Doublehead’s children attended it. | Add to the list of false claims about Jacob Troxel and any profile associated with this non-existent massacre. If we have a profile for Rev. Gideon Blackburn, make sure it doesn’t include these myths (or identify them as such). It does not. (Updated 31 Jul 2024.) |
Jacob Troxell was buried near Yahoo Falls, Kentucky | Collins’ 1975 History of the Daniel Boone National Forest | Apparently this “gravesite” (or memorial) was created in the 1960s (check) by Robert F. Collins, based on his reading of Thomas H Troxel’s 1958 Legions of the Lost Mine and adding additional fictions. (Note: Th. Troxel did not mention this supposed massacre; it appears to have emerged out of Collins’ head in an effort to increase attendance to the Daniel Boone national park.) See analysis by Samuel Perry. UPDATE Nov 2018: This “memorial” includes text that indicates that Jacob Troxel was of the 6th company of the Philadelphia County militia. There WAS such a company, and one Jacob Troxel was second class in this company. However, he must be a different Jacob Troxel, as the Jacob Troxel of Kentucky was never in Pennsylvania. Source: Pennsylvania, Published Archives Series, 1664–1902, Vol· 01, Part 02, p 639; Muster Rolls Relating to the Militia of the County of Philadelphia: “6th company (a); Captain John Shelmire… Second class:... Jacob Troxel.” ANOTHER UPDATE: We now believe that the gravestone memorial is a 20th century addition for the following reasons:
Other Jacob Troxels of this era:
| Move any reference to this to the false claims section on Jacob Troxell’s profile. |
Cornblossom / wife of Jacob Troxell died shortly after Yahoo Falls Massacre and is buried near there There is a memorial for her somewhere in Kentucky (Somerset?) Some say she was buried at Otter Creek, not Yahoo Falls | THT (1958) ends with the marriage story of Cornblossom and Big Jake. He does not mention her death. Her 1810 death appears to originate with Collins (1975). Online discussion boards and trees appear to be the source of her burial in Otter Creek. | The monument dedicated to Cornblossom was erected a good 150 years after the claimed events and there is no evidence to back up anything claimed on it. It does not mark a true burial site. There is no record of the death of Jacob Troxel’s wife / mother of his children. The first wife of Jacob Troxel was probably deceased by the mid 1820s or at least by 1830 by which time Jacob had married second Elizabeth, who survived him. | Move any reference to this death and memorial to a disputed information section on profiles of both Cornblossom and Unknown first wife of Jacob Troxel. |
Doublehead is buried in Kentucky | THT (1958) says that Doublehead was murdered in association with his “son” Tuckahoe running off with Margaret, daughter of John Mounce. Some (who?) even say that his daughter Cornblossom moved his body hundreds of miles from Hiwassee “back” to Wayne Co., KY. | His 1807 death in Hiwassee (current day Tennessee) is documented in the contemporary diaries of the Moravian Mission to the Cherokee. (See Annotated Bibliography for details.) There are also contemporary accounts of Doublehead’s death in the National Archives - records of the Cherokee Agency (available on Fold3) | Ensure this is included in a “Disputed information” section on Doublehead’s profile. Use same g2g thread created above, “Did Doublehead die or ever live in Kentucky?” |
a) had daughter Creat who was mother of “Cornblossom” b) was married to Clogoittah Moytoy | Claim is that Christian Priber, a real person, married into the Cherokee tribe, married a specific Cherokee woman and by her had at least one child, including Creat (see next row). | Christian Priber was born in Saxony (Germany); he married there Christiane Dorothea Hoffmann (the daughter of a merchant, printer, and Senator) in November 1722; they had five children. Source: Mellon, Jr., Knox (1973). "Christian Priber's Cherokee "Kingdom of Paradise"". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. Georgia Historical Society. 57 (3; Fall): 319–331. He emigrated by the mid 1730s. 1736 petition implies he was seeking South Carolina land to support his still-in-Germany family. See Mellon, cited above. Shortly after that petition, he went west and lived with Cherokee in Tellico, Tennessee from about 1736 - c1743. See this article on JSTOR Adair said Priber ‘married with them [the Cherokee].’ Source: James Adair- History of the American Indian But while he did, he lived in a home with males, suggesting he was not mated with a Cherokee woman. (See Jeanie’s blog.) Priber was captured by British and sent to prison in 1744; he died there by 1750. There is no evidence that he married or even mated with a specific Cherokee woman. (Note: there are no records of any Cherokee women from this era.) There is no proof he had any Cherokee children, much less one a) named Creat or b) who married Doublehead and mothered “Cornblossom.” See this article by Jeanie Roberts on Priber | Ensure his profile has appropriate section(s) on disputed information. (I think it already does.) Create a g2g “What is known and what is myth about Christian Priber?” |
Existence of Creat Priber : a) a daughter of Christian Priber; b) a spouse of Doublehead; and c) the mother of Cornblossom | THT (1958) only says that Cornblossom’s mother was half-French. (Christian Priber was German, but was associated-- possibly mistakenly-- with the French church) Collins (1975) says Cornblossom’s mother was a daughter of Christian Priber, no first name given. By 1998, an unknown source had given her the name “Creat” shows up Rootsweb message boards in 1998. Don Greene in his subsequently debunked Shawnee Heritage books, self-published in 2014, lists her as ‘Great Drags Blanket’ Priber. Tankersley (2007) calls her “Creat” Others have claimed that this theory originated with Indian Trader of the era, Ludovic Grant. But it did not. See Grant’s “Historical Relation of the Facts,” found in Journal of Cherokee Studies, Vol XXVI, 2008, pp. 3-23 Walker (2016) lists Creat Priber, daughter of Priber and ‘Clogoittah’, as mother of Tuckahoe and the four oldest daughters, ‘Delaware woman’ as mother of Cornblossom and Ksisteeah (she’s Doublehead-23 in Wikitree), another daughter who supposedly married, lived, and died in Kentucky. If anyone knows of an earlier record of “Creat,” please share it. Tankersley initially wrote about Creat as Cornblossom’s mother, but by 2007 had replaced Cornblossom’s mother with “Delaware Indian woman” and added “Pawalin” as a Native American name for Cornblossom. (More on this below.) | See this article by Jeanie Roberts on Priber | Update her profile accordingly; disconnect from Christian Priber-4 as her father. Project-protect her so she is not re-attached to him. Detach her from Doublehead and as mother of any of his children. Use this g2g thread for discussion: “What is the proof that Creat Priber existed?”
|
Origins of Doublehead | THT’s 1958 Legion of the Lost Mine claims that Doublehead was born about 1750 in what is now Somerset, Kentucky. He does not name a father. That he was born about 1744 and son of “Great Eagle”.
| While much has been written about Doublehead, going back to documents from the time of his life and death, none of these identify Doublehead’s origins or parents. See Annotated Bibiliography. While he first shows up in historical records in the 1770s, there is no contemporaneous record of place of birth, date, or parents. All are later speculations. Knowing where he lived, when he first shows up in records, and who his relatives were make a late 1740s Tellico area birth probable. Probable siblings based on references in various documents and histories:
| Discuss on. this g2g thread “What do we know about the origins of Cherokee Chief Doublehead?” |
Life of Doublehead | THT’s 1958 Legion of the Lost Mine claims Doublehead lived in a cave on Little South Fork River, in Kentucky and died at Doublehead Gap, near Monticello, Kentucky, being shot by Jones, a neighbor of John Mounce, when Doublehead’s supposed son Tuckahoe tried to run off with Mounce’s daughter Margaret. Killed his pregnant wife, sister-in-law of James Vann. Source:Material gathered by John Howard Payne in 1830s. Some of it published as Payne Butrick Papers, remainder at Newberry Library Chicago. Here’s a 1989 work by Thurman Wilkins that mentions the murder. | Reliable books such as Brown’s Old Frontiers, Hoig’s Cherokees and their Chiefs are the best sources for documented, contemporaneous accounts of Doublehead First mentioned in records about 1780 as a Chickamauga Cherokee. 1791: signed Treaty of Holston With Cherokee chief Dragging Canoe, participated in 17-year guerilla resistance against white expansion. Jan, 1793: Doublehead, Pumpkin Boy, and nephew Bench along with 60 warriors killed two white men at Dripping Spring in Kentucky Cherokee under Watts advanced against Sevier in Sept. 1793. Pumpkin Boy killed in raid. As part of this action, attacked Cavett’s blockhouse. Watts promised safety so Cavett surrendered, but Doublehead killed him and his entire family. 1802 nephew John Watts died; Doublehead becomes leader of Chicamauga Cherokee.. This is where Walker (2012) comes in. He has a whole book about Doublehead. The historical part of Walker’s book is reasonably accurate; the genealogy part mostly derivative of Troxel (1958), Collins (1975) and Tankersley (2007). | Use same g2g thread created above, “Did Doublehead die or ever live in Kentucky?” |
Existence of Unknown Delaware (tribe) woman as supposed spouse of Doublehead and mother of Cornblossom | Originated with Tankersley’s 2004/2007 unpublished report to Kentucky Heritage Commission. Update June 2020: The Council has removed this report from its website. It is archived on Archive.org’s WayBack Machine here. | The Delaware lived in eastern Ohio from about 1750 until late in the 18th century. The Cherokee interacted with all the Ohio Indians, so it’s conceivable D. could have fathered a child with a Delaware woman in passing. Helen Hornback Tanner, “Cherokees in the Ohio Valley,” Journal of Cherokee Studies (Spring 1978) Vol. 3 No. 2 discusses the Cherokee in Ohio at length.. | Add questionable template; detach as spouse of Doublehead. Keep as mother of Cornblossom-- both a myth; mark uncertain. Project protect her |
Death and Burial of Chief Doublehead | Some claim he was buried in Kentucky, near Somerset city. (See comments in response to Amazon book listing of Walker, Rickey Butch, Doublehead - Last Chickamauga Cherokee Chief) | August 15, 1807 The Moravian mission records include an account of Doublehead’s death, also described in records of the Cherokee Agency in Tennessee held at the National Archives, testimony of Caleb Starr, an account by Samuel Dale, and newspaper accounts. Most accounts agree that James Vann, the Ridge, George Sanders, and John Rogers were among the young chiefs who decided that Doublehead’s treaty dealings and sale of Cherokee land needed to be stopped. During the Green Corn celebration at Hiwassie Doublehead entered a tavern where Ridge, Sanders, and Rogers were. Doublehead tried to shoot Rogers, but his gun misfired. In the ensuing fight, Doublehead was shot in the face. Friends took him to the schoolmaster’s house for safety, but Ridge and the others followed. They then shot him, tomahawked him, and crushed his head with a shovel. Major Ridge was assassinated for his part in the Treaty of New Echota which led to Removal. Doublehead’s son Bird was one of the assassins. | Reflect in “Disputed Information” section of Doublehead’s profile. |
Researched and compiled by volunteers of WikiTree’s Native Americans Project