Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

[morbiusandneo]

Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

I can't find even half of my research papers, etc.....From about 1980-1989 I was an armchair TH. Did a lot of research and bought many books and mags, etc....I have two questions. In the 1830's the Cherokkeee were all rounded up in north Georgia to be forced marched to a new reservation in Oklahoma. The reason was GOLD. Whites wanted it, yet the red man HAD it! I believe there are still many, many lost mines around Dahlanega, GA that they hid before they were evacuated. Many, many caches, too, I'm sure. That is the first question. Does anyone have some definitive research lead/information other than Penfield or Terry about any caches by the Cherokkee before the forced march? Second question is about when they were held up at the Mississippi River the whole winter in S.Illinois. I remember reading somewhere, and copied the article, about this location description. There was a reference to "...some power lines off a certain interstate near mile marker such-and-such...". Does anyone know exactly where this encampment was with a very good description? They just mustuv hidden stuff they could no longer carry that I could pinpoint with a MD....Thanks in advance, steven.

 

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[morbiusandneo]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

Jeff of Pa, maybe I put this into the wrong forum? There are probably hundreds of caches associated with this one. And, I am surprised nobody has anything to share regarding this one.....

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

The Cherokees crossed the Ohio River into Illinois at Golconda. Their trek took them westward on the 19th Century version of what's now Route 146. They went through Vienna and Jonesboro and crossed the Mississippi at two different ferries. One was immediately west of Jonesboro at Willard Landing and the other was to the southwest opposite Bainbridge, Mo.
Today the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail auto route enters Southern Illinois on the ferry at Cave-in-Rock, turns west onto Route 146 north of the city and continues westward until it crosses the Mississippi at Cape Girardeau
The Cherokees traveled in 13 contingents to Oklahoma. One went by river, three took a southern route and nine traveled across Illinois. Each contingents was set up to take 1,000 people, all except the 13th, which was smaller.
Butrick crossed the Ohio on Dec. 15, 1838, he didn't see the Mississippi River until Jan. 25. Even then, it took three more weeks to get all the people in his contingent crossed. From the time the first contingent crossed the Ohio in November to the last part of Butrick's group in February, The Cherokees spent three months in Southern Illinois.
According to Butrick's diary, by Dec. 29, 1838, the detachments were spread out across the region.
"One detachment stopped at the Ohio River, two at the Mississippi, one four miles this side, one 16 miles this side, one 18 miles, and one 13 miles behind us. In all these detachments, comprising about 8,000 souls, there is now a vast amount of sickness, and many deaths," wrote Butrick who himself was suffering from fever and a cough.
With the exception of taking three weeks to cross the Mississippi, Butrick's group's longest stay was in an area about 25 miles east of the Mississippi which would put it in the Pleasant Grove to Mount Pleasant area.
At Pleasant Grove was John Bridges' Tavern and Wayside Store. The tavern was a large two-story dog-trot log cabin which stood until the 1940s when it burned. The store was a separate log cabin located behind the tavern or inn. The store had a thick door with a number of nails driven into to prevent Indians, or local thieves, from breaking in and stealing the whiskey. The door still survives to this day in a private collection.

 

[Cubfan64]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

What an amazingly sad and shameful part of our nation's history

 

[Treasuredawg]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

Gypsy, you are absolutely amazing!! Your knowledge, research, and detail is unsurpassed on this forum. With that said.....I know one of the Cherokee trails came thru Northern Arkansas, I'm just not sure where. I live south of Mtn. Home about 10 miles. I know it came thru here somewhere and my 87 year old father-in-law great, great grandfather was one of Indians on the trail. He escaped near here and started a family here. They must have had to camp before they crossed the White river. West of White river was Indian territory until 1838 when all Indians were moved to OK. Do you know where they crossed the White?? treasuredawg

 

[morbiusandneo]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

What an amazingly sad and shameful part of our nation's history

Sad, yes SAD, and very shameful indeed. BUT, the US Cavalry only finished off what white man's plagues and the Spanish had started and nearly finished. By the time of the louisiana Purchase 90% of the aboriginal indiginous peoples of this continent were already slowly (300 years)genocided. But, not until as much gold & silver were mined by them for "God & king"!!! stvn.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

Answer to treasuredawg..........

I understand from some of the Marion County History that the road left the Mississippi River near Memphis and went norththrough the town of Batesville, on up near the banks of White River until a good ford was found to Denton Ferry, at a farm now known as the Joe Fee place. This place was known as the Talbert Ford, later Talbert's Ferry. The road crossed Boone County and on into Indian Territory. The old road from the White River into Marion County is now known as Dentons Ferry Road, and goes just north of Flippin on west toward Yellville approximately where HWY 202 is now. I am told that because Shawneetown (now Yellville) was such a trouble town, the indians were sold whiskey, that they bypassed this town on the Old Military Road, going north of it probably leaving the Military Road about Wilkerson Crossing. The other "Trail of Tears" crossing for Arkansas was up the Arkansas River. Much of this data came from an article in 'The Mountain Echo' Yellville, AR dated 24 Jan 1963.

.....................................
BrambleBrush Quarterly News
Vol. 8, No. 1 January 2004 Yellville, Arkansas 72687

1838 - December - During the Christmas season, the Benge Route of the Trail of Tears, having crossed the Mississippi River south of Cape Girardeau and walked to Batesville AR, traveled up the Old Military Road on the north side of White River to what is now Denton Ferry Road in Baxter Co. Crossed White River above Cotter AR, walked through Flippin Barrens and what is today Summit, crossed Crooked Creek west of Yellville, and proceeded past Bruno and Everton AR.

1839 - 17 January - The Benge Trail of Tears arrived in Indian Territory (now Talequah OK) with a head count of 1132. Captain Benge reported one birth and 33 deaths during the 106-day walk

 

[morbiusandneo]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

Gypsy-heart: THANKS SO MUCH for all your research! (I hope you are organizing a book for publication, soo!) My general knowledge from memory was that over 12,000 Cherokee men, woman & children were marched over land(assumed to all be together).When they got to S.Illinois, they were stopped & could not cross the Mississippi R. and camped until spring.They crossed in early spring and arrived in Oklahoma with over 30% dying during the march because of cold & lack of proper provisions.I never read anywhere that they were broken into so many smaller groups, but your research confirms this to be true.Was there any of these groups that were camped all winter within view & on EAST side of Ole' Miss all winter?Thanks in advance.... stvn.

 

[Mac232]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

I am from the Charleston TN area where supposedly the Cherokee,s where brought together for the move to OK , can you give me more info on this
Mac232

 

[Dave45]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

Treasuredawg I used to live in Calico Rock, do you know any Criders up that way

 

[SC_hunter]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

I am from the Charleston TN area where supposedly the Cherokee,s where brought together for the move to OK , can you give me more info on this
Mac232

Here is another map showing moving through TN.

 

[Mac232]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

Thanx for the information SC Hunter

 

[les]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

Hi Steven: I live where the indians Camped in Southern Illinois, They had one Camp East Of Anna IL, just Off of RT. 146 at the Site of what now is called The Campground Church, It got it's name Campground from the indians camping there, The Other Site is West Of Anna/Jonesboro Right on Rt. 146, there is a Marker there & a small rest area along Dutch Creek, this camp is just a few Miles from the Mississippi River, they Crossed the river At what I think was Called willards landing just across the river is Trail of Tears park North Of Cape Girardeau MO. There are some mass Graves somewhere in this area ,but I don't have a clue where?. there are Two large mounds right beside the road in a farm field on private Property just a tad West OF Ware IL. Maybe these are the Graves? They would have been in route to the river. Thats about all I know about it.
Les

 

[morbiusandneo]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

Hi Steven: I live where the indians Camped in Southern Illinois, They had one Camp East Of Anna IL, just Off of RT. 146 at the Site of what now is called The Campground Church, It got it's name Campground from the indians camping there, The Other Site is West Of Anna/Jonesboro Right on Rt. 146, there is a Marker there & a small rest area along Dutch Creek, this camp is just a few Miles from the Mississippi River, they Crossed the river At what I think was Called willards landing just across the river is Trail of Tears park North Of Cape Girardeau MO. There are some mass Graves somewhere in this area ,but I don't have a clue where?. there are Two large mounds right beside the road in a farm field on private Property just a tad West OF Ware IL. Maybe these are the Graves? They would have been in route to the river. Thats about all I know about it.
Les

Thanks a lot Les!! Would the one WEST of Anna be east or west of Berryville road? I cannot find "Dutch Creek" on maps....And, is "The Campground Church" an actual church that I would be looking for? And, are both of these on the North or South side of Rte. 146? (Again, thanks a lot for these details i was looking for!) stvn.

 

[les]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

Hi: There is a rest area right where the indians camped with a marker on the South side of 146,right by the hwy, & Yes it is several miles west of Berrryville, Dutch Creek runs right along the Hwy at this spot,that may be why ya can't find it on a map.
There is a Church at the other one & graveyard also, But, there is another spot East of Anna where a Old Store was Located, im not sure where it is at,but, it should be easy to find out, The Old Campground Church has been Coin Hunted by a Bunch of folks, down through the years, at one time we had two detector dealers here in our small town,a Whites dealer & a Fisher Dealer,. hey there is suppose to be a Cache of Coins in Berryville,but I would have to show you were,the old house is gone now, I think I may be the only person living that knows about it also. My Dad Hunted for it for about 30 minutes & got aggervated & quit because he kept digging up mason jar lids,,the ones that have the white glass inside,this was years ago with a coinmaster 4. there is suppose to be about a dozen jars of Coins there.but, it isn't a ancient Cache it may date back to the late 30's.
Les

 

[les]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

Hi Steven: The Campground Church is on the North side of 146, there is a rather Obvious sign where you turn off, It says Campground Church, ya have to drive back off the Hwy just a bit, forgot to tell you in the last post!
Also If you Want to try your Luck at Finding those Jars of Coins,,I can send you the terraserver Aerial of the spot, Pm me with a email addy If your interested in taking a look, heck I would even go along, The Owner has this land in crp. It's rather grown up in woods also.
Les

 

[morbiusandneo]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

Hi Steven: The Campground Church is on the North side of 146, there is a rather Obvious sign where you turn off, It says Campground Church, ya have to drive back off the Hwy just a bit, forgot to tell you in the last post!
Also If you Want to try your Luck at Finding those Jars of Coins,,I can send you the terraserver Aerial of the spot, Pm me with a email addy If your interested in taking a look, heck I would even go along, The Owner has this land in crp. It's rather grown up in woods also.
Les

Thanks again, Les!! In my profile is my private addy. stvn.

 

[GrayCloud]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

God bless the Cherokees. My Grandfather was born in 1880 and would have married my Grandmother around 1900. She was a Cherokee and lived on the reservation at that time. Her white name was Dorthy Smith. I wish I knew her Indian name. Possibly her parents would have made the Trail as a child.

 

[Shortstack]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

What an amazingly sad and shameful part of our nation's history

Sad, yes SAD, and very shameful indeed. BUT, the US Cavalry only finished off what white man's plagues and the Spanish had started and nearly finished. By the time of the louisiana Purchase 90% of the aboriginal indiginous peoples of this continent were already slowly (300 years)genocided. But, not until as much gold & silver were mined by them for "God & king"!!! stvn.

I respectfully suggest that you do somemore research on the Cherokees in the southeastern U.S. in the times leading up to the Trail of Tears debacle. The Cherokees were settled, prosperous farmers and landowners. They were not hardscrabble dirt farmers and wanderers. The fact that they owned rich, valuable farmlands put them into the gunsights of Congress. Congress passed laws forcing all native Americans to be relocated to the Indian Nations, where they could be lumped together in an area of land that had little value to the whites. Heh, Heh, Heh. Until oil was discovered around the turn of the 20th century.

 

[morbiusandneo]

Re: Cherokkee march the "Trail of Tears"

I respectfully suggest that you do somemore research on the Cherokees in the southeastern U.S. in the times leading up to the Trail of Tears debacle. The Cherokees were settled, prosperous farmers and landowners. They were not hardscrabble dirt farmers and wanderers. The fact that they owned rich, valuable farmlands put them into the gunsights of Congress. Congress passed laws forcing all native Americans to be relocated to the Indian Nations, where they could be lumped together in an area of land that had little value to the whites. Heh, Heh, Heh. Until oil was discovered around the turn of the 20th century.
[/quote] Hi ShortStack!!! I've done oodles of research. You have not yet gotten to the research I did. It was NOT their farmland, but their GOLD mines that the white settlers around Dahlonega, Georgia were after. The Cherokees skunked them, and got the final laugh, though. NOT even 10% of the gold mines were ever found after they chased out the Indians! They even had to shut down the mint there because the flow of gold just petered to nothing after the forced march/evacuation/miltary-action.But, to this day folks regularly do find nuggets in the streams, and ALL the gold found in that area is the purest in the world. Now, regarding what you stated about land.There were Cherokees up in NY-state that also got evicted , and that WAS for their farmland.