Their Determination to Remain: A Cherokee Community's Resistance to the Trail of Tears in North Carolina

201 Pages·2022·8.983 MB·English

by  Lance Greene

Their Determination to Remain
indians and southern history
Series Editors
Andrew K. Frank
Angela Pulley Hudson
Kristofer Ray
Editorial Advisory Board
Denise E. Bates
Kathryn H. Braund
Melanie Benson- Taylor
Robbie Ethridge
Julie Reed
Rose Stremlau
Daniel Usner
Gregory A. Waselkov
Their
Determination

Remain
to
A Cherokee Community’s Resistance to
the Trail of Tears in North Carolina
Lance Greene
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487- 0380
uapress.ua.edu
Copyright © 2022 by the University of Alabama Press
All rights reserved.
A Dan Josselyn Memorial Publication
Inquiries about reproducing material from this work should be
addressed to the University of Alabama Press.
Typeface: Arno Pro
Cover design: Lori Lynch
Cataloging- in- Publication data is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978- 0- 8173- 2112- 3
E- ISBN: 978- 0- 8173- 9385- 4
For TJ Holland

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Foreword xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
Welch Plantation, December 1850 23
1
Cherokees during the Early Republic 33
2
“ Leave Home and Take to the Mountains”
Resisting Removal, 1836–38 65
3
“ A Settlement of Indians on Valley River”
A New Community on the Welch Farm 85
4
“ Councils, Dances, Ballplays”
New and Old Ways on Valley River 104
5
“ Their Determination to Remain”
Evading Agents, Lawyers, and Other Swindlers 120
Conclusions 131
Notes 137
Bibliography 169
Index 179

Illustrations
Figures
I.1. Boundaries of the Cherokee Nation, showing location
of the Valley Towns 2
1.1. Swimmer cabin 41
1.2. Locations of study sites 44
1.3. Nineteenth- century Qualla ceramic vessel 46
1.4. Vann House, Chatsworth, Georgia, 2017 53
1.5. Reservee towns within the 1819 treaty lands 60
1.6. Removal era Cherokee towns and key sites in southwestern
North Carolina 62
2.1. Military forts and Cherokee towns in southwestern
North Carolina, 1836–38 66
2.2. Section of 1838 composite map, showing Welch farm 73
2.3. Section of Deaver survey map showing Welch farm (Tract 71) 74
2.4. Welch 1838 property boundaries on digital elevation model,
showing uplands 81
3.1. Welch family tree, 1839 86
3.2. Location of Welch farm, facing south toward the Valley River 89
3.3. Exposed surfaces of three cellar pits 92
3.4. Cellar pit Feature 1 during excavation, showing profile wall 92
3.5. Postremoval Cherokee towns in southwestern North Carolina 97
4.1. Reconstructed blue shell- edged whiteware plate from Welch site 109
4.2. Decorated ceramic sherds from Welch site 110
4.3. Top and side views of chlorite- schist pipe from Welch site 111
4.4. Brass pin converted into a fishhook 117