Biographical Sketch of Levi Adair

(See Grant and Adair) George M. Adair married Catherine Fields and their son Henry Ganoe Adair was born August 10. 1865. Married in May 1884 Caroline Bunch, born April 13, 1863. He elected sheriff of Illinois District August 5, 1895. He died. They were the parents of: Araminta, born May 10, 1885; George, born May 24, 1887; John Bell, born June 12, 1894; Catherine, born August 9, 1897; Levi, born June 9, 1900 and Zola B. Adair, born June 10, 1905. John Adair, a Scotchman married in 1789 Ga-ho-ka, a full blood Cherokee of the Deer Clan. Their son Samuel … Read more

Gen. Anthony Wayne’s Campaign

Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne

In April 1792, General Anthony Wayne was appointed by the general government to take command of the Northwestern Army. On the 5th of the following November a hundred men from Kentucky, under Adair as captain, made a raid across the Ohio River into the Indians country, but the indefatigable Little Turtle and his band of heroes met him and, in a severe fight: defeated him, with heavy loss, and drove him back to his own. In the spring of 1793, during the arrangements that were being made for Wayne’s campaign, Congress sent commissioners to the Northwest Indians to negotiate a … Read more

Biography of John Thompson Adair

John Thompson Adair was born December 22, 1812, the son of Walter Adair, a half-breed, and Rachel Thompson daughter of William Thompson, a white man. John was born on Painter’s Creek, near Tulula Falls and received his earliest education at the neighborhood schools until his twentieth year, when he entered the Lawrenceville Academy, Georgia, and there remained for five months. On leaving that institution he entered a mercantile house, and after serving his time to the business, purchased a stock of goods in New Orleans in 1837, and with them proceeded to the State line, or eastern border of the … Read more

History of Centralia, Washington

Birdseye View of Centralia Washington

“Centralia: The First Fifty Years, 1845-1900,” authored by Herndon Smith and published by the Daily Chronicle in 1949, is an accounting of Centralia, Washington history during its formative years. This work captures the essence of the community’s early development, providing a narrative enriched by diverse anecdotes and some pictorial representations.

Choctaw Hunting Practices

Adair (p. 89) says; “the Choctaws, in an early day, practiced the custom of flattening the heads of their infants by compression, and were first known to the whites by the name of Flat Heads.” Be that as it may, the custom had long ceased to be practiced, when later known. Wherever they went, distant or otherwise, many or few, they always traveled in a straight line, one behind the other. (They needed no broad roads, nor had they any; hence, they dispensed with the necessity of that expense, road-working, so grudgingly bestowed by all white men. Paths alone, plain … Read more

Biographical Sketch of George Adair

(See Adair and Grant) George Adair, born at Braggs May 24, 1887, educated in the Cherokee Public Schools. Married at Nowata in 1907 Edna F., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Adolphus McCoy. He enlisted for the World War on September 19, 1917 and was assigned to the 36th Division, was taken from the firing line in France and placed with other full blood Cherokees in the telephone service, where they foiled the German “listeners in” by repeating, receiving, and transmitting the military orders in the Cherokee language Young Adair, who like all full blood Cherokees, is intensely patriotic and counts … Read more

Biographical Sketch of A. Frank Adair

(See Grant)-Arthur Frank, son of John Lynch and Mary Jane (Jeffreys) Adair was born August 28, 1858, educated in Male Seminary. Married at Tahlequah September 1, 1886 Mollie Elizabeth Miller, born February 22, 1868. They were the parents of: Arthur Lynch, born May 11, 1891 and Owen Lewis Adair, born March 18, 1893. Rachel, daughter of Jeter and Nancy (Martin) Lynch married Thomas Benjamin Adair and they were the parents of John Lynch Adair who married Mary Jane Jeffreys a native of Virginia.

Pioneers of Elk Valley, Del Norte County, California

Pioneers of Elk Valley, Del Norte County, California

In the heart of Northern California lies a hidden gem steeped in history and natural beauty: Elk Valley in Del Norte County. This manuscript, titled “Pioneers of Elk Valley, Del Norte County, California: Fifty Years in the History of Elk Valley from 1850 to the Turn of the Century,” authored by Frances Turner McBeth, embarks on a vivid journey through the transformation of this enchanting valley over half a century. From the early days of exploration and settlement to the bustling activity of the turn of the century, McBeth’s narrative weaves together the lives of the pioneers who braved the unknown to establish a community in one of California’s most picturesque landscapes.

Biography of John Lynch Adair

John Lynch Adair was born in Georgia, and left there with the general removal of the Cherokees in 1839, while a small boy. His father was Thomas Benjamin Adair, a descendant of a brother of General James Adair, the Indian historian. His mother was Rachel Lynch, from whom he derives his Cherokee blood. His parents died while he was a mere child, and he was consigned to the keeping of his aunt, Mrs. Maria Thompson, afterward Cunningham by marriage, and to the guardianship of two of his uncles, Joseph M. Lynch and James Allen Thompson, the latter by marriage. He … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Rollin K. Adair

(See Adair, Grant, McNair, Halfbreed, Cordery and Duncan)-Rollin K. Adair, whose Cherokee name is Takatoka, of the Blind Savannah Clan, was born March 17, 1855, at Locust Grove in Salina District. Educated in the Cherokee Nation and at Dartmouth College. He married August 25, 1881, Rachel Landrum, born November 18, 1859. She died December 5, 1919. They were the parents of: Charles Bertram, born February 15, 1882; Robert McLeod, born July 5, 1884; William David, November 8, 1885; Sue M., born January 17, 1887; Sadie K., born July 6, 1889, and Rachel L., born December 24, 1897. William Martin, a … Read more

Choctaw Culture

Choctaw Village near the Chefuncte, The women appear to be making dye to color the strips of cane beside them, by François Bernard, 1869

The Choctaws, like all of their race, had no written laws, and their government rested alone on custom and usage, growing out of their possessions and their wants; yet was conducted so harmoniously by the influence of their native genius and experience, that one would hardly believe that human society could be maintained with so little artifice. As they had no money, their traffic consisted alone in mutual exchange of all commodities; as there was no employment of others for hire, there were no contracts, hence judges and lawyers, sheriffs and jails were unknown among them. There were no beg gars, … Read more

Massacre at Howard’s Well and Other Depredations – Indian Wars

Closely following the outbreak of the Cherokees and half -breed renegades at Whitemore‘s, Barren Fork, came on attack by a similar party of Indians, half breeds, and Mexicans combined, on a train of supplies, en route to Fort Stockton, at Howard’s Well, near old Fort Lancaster. The facts of this one of the most inhuman massacres in history were reported to the “War Department, by Col. Merritt, through General Angua, under date of April 29th, 1872. We give the report as written: On the 20th inst, I arrived with the cavalry of my command at Howard’s Well, a few hours too … Read more

Biography of J. H. Adair

J. H. ADAIR. This gentleman was born in Independence, Autauga County, Ala., on March 3, 1828. His father was James Adair, born in Morgan County, Ga., in 1806, a successful merchant in Alabama for ten years, then a farmer of Talladega, Ala., until August 5, 1845, when he died, leaving a widow and nine children-five sons and four daughters. His widow, Sarah Adair, remained there until after the late war, when she returned to Georgia, where she now resides in Gainesville, and is in her eighty-fifth year. Her maiden name was Sarah Dean. She was born February 19, 181O, in … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Oscar F. Adair

(See Adair, Ghigau and Foreman)-Oscar Fitzaland, son of John Thompson and Penelope (Mayfield) Adair, was born March 8, 1848. Married February 3, 1875 Mary Catherine, daughter of Augustus and Mary Ann (Bigby) Rider, born April 20, 1859. They were the parents of Mary Louvenia; Wenona; William Penn; Sarah Ruth; John Lafayette; Rose Ada; and Walter Corrigan Adair. John Adair, a Scotchman, married Gahoka’s full-blood Cherokee of the Deer Clan. Their son, Walter, commonly called “Black Watt” Adair, was born December 11, 1783, and married May 15, 1804 Rachel Thompson, born December 24, 1776. He died January 20, 1835; and she … Read more

What Happened to the Sephardic Jewish Colonists?

Map of the Watauga Settlements

There has never been a scientific study to determine the post-colonial history of the Sephardic communities in the Southern Piedmont and Appalachians. Anything that can be said must be in the realm of speculation, based on the known cultural history of the Southeast during the Colonial and Antebellum Eras. The only significant religious-based persecution in the Lower Southeast was between the Sephardic Jews and the Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe. A Protestant minister in Savannah wrote, “Some Jews in Savannah complain that the Spanish and Portuguese Jews should persecute the German Jews in a way no Christian would persecute another … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Roland Kirk Adair

Roland Kirk Adair was born November 17,1855, in Saline district, Cherokee Nation, son of B. Adair, who before the war was a prominent merchant at Locust Grove. His grandfather, Washington Adair, was one of the leading men in the Cherokee Nation. Mr. Roland Adair was educated at the public schools until 1874, and in the autumn of the same year entered Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, graduating with honors in 1877. Roland Kirk followed the career of a teacher from that time until 1881, when he married Miss Rachel Landrum, daughter of D. D. Landrum, of Delaware district, a prominent citizen. … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Virgil H. Adair

(See Adair)-Virgil Harvey Adair, born April 15, 1869, married October 2, 1892, Dorinda, daughter of Jesse and Hariette Calloway, born April 9, 1874 in Missouri. They are the parents of: Viola, born June 15, 1893, married A. B. Jordan; Millard Herron, born July 16, 1898, married Minnie Thompson; Winnie, born December 23, 1900; Virgil, born March 27, 1903; Velma born November 15, 1904; Delphia, born February 28, 1907; Gladys, born December 23, 1909; Francis, born June 27, 1913 and Neva Marie, born July 31, 1915. Mr. Adair belongs to the Wolf Clan and is a Mason. He was elected a … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Timothy M. Adair

(See Grant, Adair, Launders, Downing and Ghigau)-Timothy Meigs, son of Hugh Montgomery and Martha L. (Johnson) Adair was born at Stillwell September 2, 1882. Educated in the Cherokee Public Schools. Married at Nowata April 16, 1906. Martha daughter of Thomas Didymas and Joanna (Pitt) Saunders, born at Braggs December 28, 1885. She died Feb. 10, 1913. They were the parents of: Cleburne, born Feb. 17, 1908. Thereon, born June 30, 1921 and Velma Adair, born Jan. 11, 1913. Mr. Adair married June 22, 1917 Katie E., daughter of John and Mary Nunallee born at Bragg, Okla. 1891. Their children are … Read more