The Real Sequoyah
Will the Real Sequoyah Please Stand Up!
Sequoyah painted by Charles Banks Wilson
Sequoyah. He is as much of a heroic legend among the Cherokee as Tecumseh is for the Shawnee. Like Tecumseh, whom we will explore later on in this series, Sequoyah was a real man who accomplished an extraordinary deed in extraordinary circumstances. When dealing with historical figures who have been lifted up to demi-god statues, such as Tecumseh and Sequoyah, there are often more fabricated stories than truths. People tend to forget figures like these men were human beings with faults of their own and human emotions. I often wondered what the thoughts were of such men when faced with the greatest of adversities. Today we are going try to break through the stories and learn who the real Sequoyah (aka: George Gist) was.
A Little Background Goes A Long Ways
Sequoyah was born around 1776 in the Cherokee village of Tuskeegee, which was located close to present day Vonore, Tennessee. He was considered a half-breed since his mother was Cherokee and his father was white. Born into two different worlds, Sequoyah's life as a native was riddled with complications. To understand his life we must first understand his parents and the world in which he was born into.
During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), native tribes aided either the British or the French with military support. The first four years of the war the Cherokee had fought along the British, which brought them into many conflicts with the Shawnee who fought on the side of the French. Although the British and Cherokee had joined forces at the beginning of the war both parties held great suspicions against each other that would eventually tear apart their union. Tensions grew between the British settlers and Cherokee until it finally erupted into the Anglo-Cherokee War. The Anglo-Cherokee war, (aka: Cherokee Uprising) lasted from 1758 - 1761. Although the war had ended it didn't mark the end of open hostilities. The French and Indian War was still going on. Just as the French and Indian War had drawn to a close the British colonists were beginning to revolt against their mother country, Great Britain. This rebellion affected all native groups. As we learned with the Iroquois, native groups had been trading with Europeans since the early 1600's. It had been over a hundred years of the symbiote relationship between Europeans and the native popualtions. The native populations have become so dependent upon European guns and other trade goods in order to survive they had forgotten the ways of their ancestors and were unable to live without European goods. After the British had forced France to abandon their trade with the native populations and leave the area or face military repercussions, the natives who had been dependent upon them had to look for other European traders for their survival. (Point to Ponder: There were some French traders who did live in New Spain at the time and continued to trade with the native groups after the expulsion. They would cross the Mississippi River, sneak into British territory, trade, then high tail back into New Spain where the British could never find them.) At the start of the American Revolution, the Second Continental Congress had address the Iroquois Nations asking them to spread this word among the native populations:
We desire you will hear and receive what we have now told you, and that you will open a good ear and listen to what we are now going to say. This is a family quarrel between us and Old England. You Indians are not concerned in it. We don't wish you to take up the hatchet against the king's troops. We desire you to remain at home, and not join on either side, but keep the hatchet buried deep."—The Second Continental Congress, Speech to the Six Nations, July 13, 1775
The idea of keeping the native populations out of the rebellion was short lived and it wasn't long before the Cherokee had to chose a side as well. Unlike the French and Indian War, the Cherokee chose to fight alongside the Shawnee in support of the British. The Cherokee entered the war in the same year of Sequoyah's birth.
Born Out Of Greatness
Sequoyah's mother, Wut-teh, was the daughter of the Cherokee chief Great Willenawah and his wife Ani-Wa'Di. She was born about 1742 in Tasagi Town, Tennessee. Wut-teh belonged to Red Paint Clan, a medicine society among the Cherokee. She was a member of a prominent, leading Cherokee family. Her two brothers, Tahlonteeske and Kahn-yan-tah-hee, were men of great distiction. Kahn-yan-tah-hee was known as Chota to the British because he was the principal chief of the large Cherokee village bearing the same name. Kahn-yan-tah-hee was called a Beloved Chief by his people. It was his exclusive duty and greatest delight to serve as peace-preserver of his village. Chota was part of the Overhill Cherokee towns, the same group of towns that Sequoyah's father had lived close to during the 1770's. Cherokee heritage is passed down from a child's mother. As such, Sequoyah was taught by the medicine men how to find herb and plants to heal the sick. Sequoyah was known to white settlers as being an "ingenious natural mechanic" meaning he was very intuitive.
Christopher Gist and George Washington crossing the Allegheny River. Sequoyah's father, Nathaniel Gist, was the son of the infamous and accomplished frontiersman, surveyor and explorer, Christopher Gist. Christopher Gist is more widely known for his travels with the young George Washington in 1753-1754. George Washington and Christopher Gist had surveyed and mapped portions of the Ohio Wilderness of the Ohio Company. You can learn more about Sequoyah's grandfather's adventure with George Washington and the Ohio Company here http://www.wilkesnc.com/gist/
Nathaniel Gist was born on October 15, 1733 in Baltimore, Maryland. He had two brothers, one of whom was killed at the Battle of King's Mountain in 1780 and four sisters. Nathaniel is sometimes mistaken in historical documents for his uncle Nathaniel Gist, whom was his father's brother and had married his mother's sister. During the French and Indian War, Nathaniel Gist joined his father in Braddock's Expedition, serving as Lieutenant. This is possibly where Nathaniel met Daniel Boone, as Daniel had served as scout and wagon driver for the Braddock's Expedition. After the expedition Nathaniel continued to fight in the French and Indian war protecting settlers against the pro-French natives. In 1757, he was granted the commission of Captain and was given the assignment to lead 200 Cherokee warriors in an auxiliary unit against the French. This was not the first time Nathaniel had encounter the Cherokee. He had been trading with them since he was twenty years old. He lead his Cherokee Auxilury group in the John Forbes campaign where he and his men reoccupied Fort Duchesne. Three years later, just as his father had done with George Washington, Nathaniel travelled into the Ohio Wilderness with Daniel Boone to explore and hunt in the frontier. Nathaniel and Daniel split in their journey, where Nathaniel explored the Cumberland Gap and Daniel headed in the opposite direction. The two never saw each other again in the journey. A year later, Nathaniel entered the Anglo-Cherokee War, serving as an officer in Adam Steven's Virginia Regiment against the Cherokees. After the war, he took up employment as a Deputy Indian Trader for the British and settled in the Overhill Cherokee towns along the Little Tennessee River. There he began a romantic relationship with Wut-teh. In March of 1775 he helped negotiate the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals between the Cherokee and the Transylvania Company, whereupon the Cherokee sold a large portion of the lands in Kentucky and northeastern Tennessee to Richard Henderson. During this time the Revolutionary War was just beginning. Nathaniel urged the Cherokees to stay out of the disagreements between the settlers and Great Britain. He felt loyal to the crown because of his position as Deputy Indian Trader. That same year he travelled to West Florida in search of lands that could be awarded to Loyalists (those who were loyal to Great Britain) who were living among the Cherokee. He returned from the trip with British Indian Trader to the Southern Tribes, Henry Stuart. The following year, Wut-teh gave birth to Sequoyah. Although Nathaniel had warned the Cherokee not to enter into the war, they had already begun to attack patriot settlements before Sequoyah was born. In July of 1776, he accompanied the Cherokee warriors when they attacked the Watauga Settlements. The brutality of the Cherokee warriors against the settlers repulsed Nathaniel. He soon lost interest in staying with his Cherokee wife and son and dreamed of returning to his own people. On January 11, 1777, Nathaniel Gist changed his position in the war and was given commission as colonel in the Continental Army by his father's friend, George Washington. He served in the American Revolutionary War and retired from his army career on January 1, 1783. Sequoyah was seven years old. Yet Nathaniel never returned to his wife and son. Instead, he married Judith Cary Bell that year. The couple had four children together. Nathaniel never forgot Sequoyah. When Sequoyah was an adult he was a Baptist preacher in Kentucky and would often visit his father. Nathaniel and his family accepted him as his son.
Abandoned by his father. Raised by his mother during a time of war and chaos. Sequoyah's early years were anything by pleasant. Next week we'll learn about how Sequoyah received his name and the disability that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Join me Thursday as we explore Sequoyah's youth.
If you had been in Nathaniel's shoes do you think you would have abandoned you son?
Sequoyah painted by Charles Banks WilsonSequoyah. He is as much of a heroic legend among the Cherokee as Tecumseh is for the Shawnee. Like Tecumseh, whom we will explore later on in this series, Sequoyah was a real man who accomplished an extraordinary deed in extraordinary circumstances. When dealing with historical figures who have been lifted up to demi-god statues, such as Tecumseh and Sequoyah, there are often more fabricated stories than truths. People tend to forget figures like these men were human beings with faults of their own and human emotions. I often wondered what the thoughts were of such men when faced with the greatest of adversities. Today we are going try to break through the stories and learn who the real Sequoyah (aka: George Gist) was.
A Little Background Goes A Long Ways
Sequoyah was born around 1776 in the Cherokee village of Tuskeegee, which was located close to present day Vonore, Tennessee. He was considered a half-breed since his mother was Cherokee and his father was white. Born into two different worlds, Sequoyah's life as a native was riddled with complications. To understand his life we must first understand his parents and the world in which he was born into.
During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), native tribes aided either the British or the French with military support. The first four years of the war the Cherokee had fought along the British, which brought them into many conflicts with the Shawnee who fought on the side of the French. Although the British and Cherokee had joined forces at the beginning of the war both parties held great suspicions against each other that would eventually tear apart their union. Tensions grew between the British settlers and Cherokee until it finally erupted into the Anglo-Cherokee War. The Anglo-Cherokee war, (aka: Cherokee Uprising) lasted from 1758 - 1761. Although the war had ended it didn't mark the end of open hostilities. The French and Indian War was still going on. Just as the French and Indian War had drawn to a close the British colonists were beginning to revolt against their mother country, Great Britain. This rebellion affected all native groups. As we learned with the Iroquois, native groups had been trading with Europeans since the early 1600's. It had been over a hundred years of the symbiote relationship between Europeans and the native popualtions. The native populations have become so dependent upon European guns and other trade goods in order to survive they had forgotten the ways of their ancestors and were unable to live without European goods. After the British had forced France to abandon their trade with the native populations and leave the area or face military repercussions, the natives who had been dependent upon them had to look for other European traders for their survival. (Point to Ponder: There were some French traders who did live in New Spain at the time and continued to trade with the native groups after the expulsion. They would cross the Mississippi River, sneak into British territory, trade, then high tail back into New Spain where the British could never find them.) At the start of the American Revolution, the Second Continental Congress had address the Iroquois Nations asking them to spread this word among the native populations:
We desire you will hear and receive what we have now told you, and that you will open a good ear and listen to what we are now going to say. This is a family quarrel between us and Old England. You Indians are not concerned in it. We don't wish you to take up the hatchet against the king's troops. We desire you to remain at home, and not join on either side, but keep the hatchet buried deep."—The Second Continental Congress, Speech to the Six Nations, July 13, 1775
The idea of keeping the native populations out of the rebellion was short lived and it wasn't long before the Cherokee had to chose a side as well. Unlike the French and Indian War, the Cherokee chose to fight alongside the Shawnee in support of the British. The Cherokee entered the war in the same year of Sequoyah's birth.
Born Out Of Greatness
Sequoyah's mother, Wut-teh, was the daughter of the Cherokee chief Great Willenawah and his wife Ani-Wa'Di. She was born about 1742 in Tasagi Town, Tennessee. Wut-teh belonged to Red Paint Clan, a medicine society among the Cherokee. She was a member of a prominent, leading Cherokee family. Her two brothers, Tahlonteeske and Kahn-yan-tah-hee, were men of great distiction. Kahn-yan-tah-hee was known as Chota to the British because he was the principal chief of the large Cherokee village bearing the same name. Kahn-yan-tah-hee was called a Beloved Chief by his people. It was his exclusive duty and greatest delight to serve as peace-preserver of his village. Chota was part of the Overhill Cherokee towns, the same group of towns that Sequoyah's father had lived close to during the 1770's. Cherokee heritage is passed down from a child's mother. As such, Sequoyah was taught by the medicine men how to find herb and plants to heal the sick. Sequoyah was known to white settlers as being an "ingenious natural mechanic" meaning he was very intuitive.
Christopher Gist and George Washington crossing the Allegheny River. Sequoyah's father, Nathaniel Gist, was the son of the infamous and accomplished frontiersman, surveyor and explorer, Christopher Gist. Christopher Gist is more widely known for his travels with the young George Washington in 1753-1754. George Washington and Christopher Gist had surveyed and mapped portions of the Ohio Wilderness of the Ohio Company. You can learn more about Sequoyah's grandfather's adventure with George Washington and the Ohio Company here http://www.wilkesnc.com/gist/ Nathaniel Gist was born on October 15, 1733 in Baltimore, Maryland. He had two brothers, one of whom was killed at the Battle of King's Mountain in 1780 and four sisters. Nathaniel is sometimes mistaken in historical documents for his uncle Nathaniel Gist, whom was his father's brother and had married his mother's sister. During the French and Indian War, Nathaniel Gist joined his father in Braddock's Expedition, serving as Lieutenant. This is possibly where Nathaniel met Daniel Boone, as Daniel had served as scout and wagon driver for the Braddock's Expedition. After the expedition Nathaniel continued to fight in the French and Indian war protecting settlers against the pro-French natives. In 1757, he was granted the commission of Captain and was given the assignment to lead 200 Cherokee warriors in an auxiliary unit against the French. This was not the first time Nathaniel had encounter the Cherokee. He had been trading with them since he was twenty years old. He lead his Cherokee Auxilury group in the John Forbes campaign where he and his men reoccupied Fort Duchesne. Three years later, just as his father had done with George Washington, Nathaniel travelled into the Ohio Wilderness with Daniel Boone to explore and hunt in the frontier. Nathaniel and Daniel split in their journey, where Nathaniel explored the Cumberland Gap and Daniel headed in the opposite direction. The two never saw each other again in the journey. A year later, Nathaniel entered the Anglo-Cherokee War, serving as an officer in Adam Steven's Virginia Regiment against the Cherokees. After the war, he took up employment as a Deputy Indian Trader for the British and settled in the Overhill Cherokee towns along the Little Tennessee River. There he began a romantic relationship with Wut-teh. In March of 1775 he helped negotiate the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals between the Cherokee and the Transylvania Company, whereupon the Cherokee sold a large portion of the lands in Kentucky and northeastern Tennessee to Richard Henderson. During this time the Revolutionary War was just beginning. Nathaniel urged the Cherokees to stay out of the disagreements between the settlers and Great Britain. He felt loyal to the crown because of his position as Deputy Indian Trader. That same year he travelled to West Florida in search of lands that could be awarded to Loyalists (those who were loyal to Great Britain) who were living among the Cherokee. He returned from the trip with British Indian Trader to the Southern Tribes, Henry Stuart. The following year, Wut-teh gave birth to Sequoyah. Although Nathaniel had warned the Cherokee not to enter into the war, they had already begun to attack patriot settlements before Sequoyah was born. In July of 1776, he accompanied the Cherokee warriors when they attacked the Watauga Settlements. The brutality of the Cherokee warriors against the settlers repulsed Nathaniel. He soon lost interest in staying with his Cherokee wife and son and dreamed of returning to his own people. On January 11, 1777, Nathaniel Gist changed his position in the war and was given commission as colonel in the Continental Army by his father's friend, George Washington. He served in the American Revolutionary War and retired from his army career on January 1, 1783. Sequoyah was seven years old. Yet Nathaniel never returned to his wife and son. Instead, he married Judith Cary Bell that year. The couple had four children together. Nathaniel never forgot Sequoyah. When Sequoyah was an adult he was a Baptist preacher in Kentucky and would often visit his father. Nathaniel and his family accepted him as his son.
Abandoned by his father. Raised by his mother during a time of war and chaos. Sequoyah's early years were anything by pleasant. Next week we'll learn about how Sequoyah received his name and the disability that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Join me Thursday as we explore Sequoyah's youth.
If you had been in Nathaniel's shoes do you think you would have abandoned you son?
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