Native American

William Livingstone Austin was born November 9, 1830, at Trincomalee, Ceylon Island, East Indies, the son of Dr. William Austin, of the Queen’s Own Regiment and a hero of Waterloo. His mother was daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel William Morris. When the subject of our sketch was an infant in arms, his mother, en route homeward with the regiment, touched at the island of St. Helena, and being fatigued while visiting the great Napoleon’s last quarters, was placed upon the bed of the departed hero. Thus W. L. Austin had the honor of sleeping on Napoleon’s bed. His uncle, Robert Austin, surgeon … Read more

Hon. G. W. Parks, deceased, supreme judge of the Cherokee Nation, was born in Monroe County, Tennessee, March 20, 1820, and emigrated with his father and family to the present nation in 1838. George received a common school education, and at eighteen years of age was appointed wagon master by Gen. Winfield Scott, who conducted the Cherokees to their homes in the Indian Territory. George remained in the new country two years, after which he returned home, and at his father’s death embarked in the dry goods business in 1840, in Cleveland, Tennessee, on a capital of $4,000. Remaining there … Read more

The life of William L. Byrd has undergone many changes within the past three years. His early career of uneventful peace has given place to one of excessive turbulence. The quiet, plodding businessman of long ago is now metamorphosed into a ruler whose every action is looked forward to with something very much akin to dread. His recent conduct in the disfranchisement of the white citizens was alone sufficient to gain him notoriety. But let us commence at the beginning. William L. Byrd, from the most reliable information, was born in Poutotoe, Mississippi, being the son of John Byrd, a … Read more

The subject of this sketch was born September 12, 1846, at Williamstown, Massachusetts, eldest son of Joseph Smith, of Vermont, a prominent mechanic of that State. John’s mother was a Miss Cope. John attended public school until he was seventeen years, after which he went to railroading, and from 1861 to 1867 continued that business, when he went west to the Cherokee Nation, and was appointed deputy marshal under Marshal Roots Sarber. He rode for the first court ever held in Fort Smith, serving during two terms of Marshal Buttons’ office. There are at present only two (including Mr. Smith) … Read more

John M. Smith was born December 2, 1834, in New York County, the son of Harvey D. Smith and Miss S. Cook, of the same county. John attended public school until the age of eighteen years, after which he devoted himself to agriculture, until his twentieth year, when he became a frontiersman and spent many years on the Texas border. In 1857 he went to Missouri, and began the nursery business, and in 1866 moved to the Cherokee Nation, settling at Fort Gibson, where he was employed by the government as wagon boss. In 1868 he commenced the nursery business … Read more

The subject of this sketch was born in East Tennessee, in 1818, the eldest son of Richard Taylor, half Cherokee. His mother was a Miss McDaniel, a white lady. Thomas Fox was educated at the missionary schools of Tennessee, and at the Nashville and Knoxville colleges. At an early age he became a prominent politician, being endowed with a rare fluency of speech both in English and Cherokee. His first offices were those of clerk of the house and interpreter, after which he was elected to the house as a representative, and afterwards to the senate, unfortunately, however, he was … Read more

The subject of this sketch is the second daughter of Rev. E. W. King, a leading citizen of Sebastian County, Arkansas. Miss Artelle, was born October, 1857, in Greenwood, Arkansas, and attended common school until the age of fifteen, after which she entered the Industrial University at Fayetteville, attending seven years, and graduating in the classical and normal courses in June, 1880. Being well adapted for teaching, Miss Artelle King taught school for two years in Hackett, Arkansas, and while there obtained the admiration and affection of her pupils, and indeed, all with whom she came in contact. During her … Read more

The subject of this sketch was born May 3, 1854, and is the eldest son of William F. Belt and Margaret I. John’s parents moved from Tennessee to Arkansas in or about 1847, where they were in the mercantile business. In his younger days John was sent to a neighborhood school. Leaving his family about the year 1877, he commenced dealing in merchandise on his own account at Sans Bois, Choctaw Nation, in which business he continued for one year. In 1878 he moved to Hackett City, Arkansas, entering the same line (merchandise) and successfully following it for a period … Read more

The subject of this sketch, father to the present Lucien B. (Hooley) Bell, was born January 1, 1805, in South Carolina. He was the son of John Bell, whose father was Scotch-Irish and emigrated to this country during the persecution. John A. Bell, the subject of this sketch, was one of the leaders of the treaty party, and one of the first signers of the document that afterwards doomed to death Elias Boudinot and the two Ridges. In 1837 he emigrated to the new country, and settled near Evansville, Arkansas, in the Flint district, but during the troubles immediately preceding … Read more

Ellis Buffentan Childers was born January 10, 1866, the third son of Napoleon B. Childers and Sophia Melford. N. B. Childers was a half Cherokee and white man, adopted by the Creeks at the termination of the war. Ellis’ mother was one-fourth white and three-fourths Creek, while his grandfather, on both sides, was of English descent. The young man went to school at the old Tallahassee Mission in March 1877, where he remained three years. Afterward he went to the Government School at Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, where he remained three years and a half. During these years he acquired … Read more

The subject of this sketch was born February 20, 1835, in Chillicothe, O., the only son of James L. Gibbs, a merchant tailor. Joseph’s mother was a Miss Donohoe, daughter of Amos Donohoe, of Leesburg, Va. Joseph went to school until fifteen years of age, when he began to learn the blacksmith’s trade. In 1856 he stated business for himself at Clarksburg, Ohio, but moved his shop, in 1858, to Mattoon, Illinois, where he worked for twenty-three years. Then moving to Independence, Kansas, in September 1881, he remained until the spring of 1884, when, moving to Claremore, Indian Territory, he … Read more

Peter Ewing was born in 1860, the eldest son of Chuffee (which, in English, means rabbit), who was born in Georgia about 1816, and emigrated to the Creek Nation in 1833. His mother came from the same place, but died in 1878, a devout member of the Baptist Church. Peter attended a neighborhood school from the time he was thirteen years of age until sixteen, after which he went to Asberry Mission, near Eufaula, where he remained until 1880. After leaving that institution he assisted his father in agriculture for three months, and then went to school at Louisville, Ky., … Read more

The subject of this biography was born December, 1850, in Jersey County, Illinois, the fifth son of James Navin, of Jersey County. His mother was a Miss Barker, of Alabama. William attended public school until he was eighteen years of age, after which he began teaching school in Calhoun County, Illinois, where he remained one year, and then engaged in the study of medicine at the St. Louis Medical College. Graduating and securing his diploma in 1872, he began practicing at his home and there remained until 1876, when he moved to Rush County, Kansas. Resuming his profession, he continued … Read more

Wade H. Kornegay was born April 17, 1865, in North Carolina, son of H. R. Kornegay and Miss Jeanette Williams. Mr. Kornegay was a leading lawyer, and served as High Sheriff and clerk of the superior court, during and after the war. Until the age of fourteen, Wade was sent to the academies and high schools of his native county, and at fifteen, entered the Wake Forest College, Wake County, North Carolina, where he remained until he graduated in A.M., at the age of nineteen. After that he taught school four years, being principal of the Richland high school. In … Read more

The subject of this sketch was born January, 1814, in Montgomery county, New York, the son of John C. Lipe, and grandson of Caspar Lipe, who emigrated to the country in 1710. Oliver, with his parents, settled on the Mohawk River, but he left home in 1835 en route to Santa Fe, New Mexico. He stopped off at Boonville, Mo., however, and after some time found his way to Georgia, where he enlisted in the public works, Georgia Union Railroad Company, and became a contractor. In 1837 he went to Athens, Tennessee, and the following year rode on horseback from … Read more

The subject of this sketch was born March 18, 1826, in the State of Tennessee, the oldest son of Rev. Jesse Bushyhead, a well-known Baptist divine and who was associated for many years with Rev. Evan Jones in the translation of the Bible and other religious works. Rev. Jesse was several times delegate to Washington, and a commissioner on other important occasions. Dennis’ mother was a Miss Eliza Wilkinson, a Georgian and half-breed Cherokee. The young man first attended school in 1833 at the Candy Creek Mission School, Tennessee, under charge of Rev. Holland. In 1835 he went to the … Read more

This prominent citizen was born near Muskogee, Creek Nation, in 1833, the third son of Mayes Perryman, who held many high offices during his lifetime. The young man was sent to school at Coweta Mission until 1853, when he began his studies for the Presbyterian ministry, continuing the same for three years. Before the breaking out of the war he was licensed to preach the gospel, but when the tocsin of war was sounded he joined the Confederate service under Colonel D. N. McIntosh, and held rank in various capacities until the close. When the war ended he went to … Read more

The subject of this sketch was born at Wyandotte, Kansas, November 27, 1857. His father, Dr. James E. Bennett (deceased), was a physician and surgeon, graduated of the University of Maryland. He served in the Fourteenth Kansas Cavalry throughout the war, after which he was postmaster in Fort Smith, Arkansas, during Grant’s administration. Leo received his education at Rugby Academy, Wilmington, Delaware, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, graduating in medicine at the University of Tennessee in 1883. Between the years 1869 and 1872 he served his apprenticeship in the newspaper business at Fort Smith, Arkansas. In the fall … Read more

So long as the noble or virtuous man breathes the breath of life, so long shall malice and envy strive to feast at the expense of his reputation. But only let death intervene, and behold the halo gather round his name. Who is there among the Chickasaw people at the present day ready or willing to cast a slur upon the memory of Cyrus Harris, the great and good; though, while he lived, see him surrounded by traducers and political enemies numberless? Verily does history repeat itself in his nephew, William Malcolm Guy, who, following the example of his uncle, … Read more

The subject of this sketch was born November 23, 1854, at Beattus Prairie, near Mayesville, on the line of the Cherokee Nation. Darius was the eldest son of the Rev. James Ward, the first Moravian missionary that came among the Cherokees. He married a granddaughter of Chief Lowrey, illustrious in the nation’s history. Darius Ward is therefore a Cherokee by blood. In 1862 his father was assassinated, close to his home, while hunting some stray stock. The country was in a state of political agitation at the time, and numerous murders were committed. The above outrage was perpetrated by a … Read more