Expeditions of Fowler and James to Santa Fe, 1821

General Thomas James

When Pike returned from his western expedition and related his experiences in Santa Fe and other places among the Spaniards, his accounts excited great interest in the east, which resulted in further exploits. In 1812, an expedition was undertaken by Robert McKnight, James Baird, Samuel Chambers, Peter Baum, Benjamin Shrive, Alfred Allen, Michael McDonald, William Mines, and Thomas Cook, all citizens of Missouri Territory; they were arrested by the Spaniards, charged with being in Spanish territory without a passport, and thrown into the calabazos of Chihuahua, where they were kept for nine years. In 1821, two of them escaped, and coming down Canadian and Arkansas rivers met Hugh Glenn, owner of a trading house at the mouth of the Verdigris, and told him of the wonders of Santa Fe. Inspired by the accounts of these travelers, Glenn engaged in an enterprise with Major Jacob Fowler and Captain Pryor for an expedition from the Verdigris to Santa Fe.

Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi

Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi

This survey of Wintergreen Cemetery, Port Gibson, Mississippi, was completed in 1956 by Mr. Gordon M. Wells and published by Joyce Bridges the same year. It contains the cemetery readings Mr. Wells was able to obtain at that date. It is highly likely that not all of the gravestones had survived up to that point, and it is even more likely that a large portion of interred individuals never had a gravestone.

Unraveling Catherine Whittle’s Choctaw Citizenship Claim

Choctaw By Blood - Card 237

Catherine Whittle applied for enrollment as a Choctaw citizen in 1899, alongside her children, due to her sister Sarah Whittle’s recognized status. Their application was denied in 1900 despite their long-term residence in the Choctaw Nation. Legal efforts in 1910 highlighted familial connections and supportive testimonies, but a final decision remains unrecorded. Other related claims were made by Eliza Jane Pearce, Catherine’s cousin. Evidence of lineage was provided but met with administrative resistance throughout the enrollment process.