TENNESSEE 
 
                      
Cat'-aw'-ba tribe. - For a brief period in their later history the 
Catawba lived among the Cherokee and they may have occupied lands 
in Tennessee at that time. There are indications that they may have 
been in eastern Tennessee at a more remote epoch. (See Indian tribes 
of South Carolina.)


Cherokee, Che'-ro'-kee' tribe.
Meaning unknown, but possibly from Creek-tciloki, 
"people of a different speech." The middle and upper dialects 
substitute l for r. Also called:
All'-ig'-ewi' or Alleghanys, a people appearing in Delaware tradition 
who were perhaps identical with this tribe. 
Ani'-Kitu'-hwagi, own name, from one of their most important ancient 
settlements, and extended by Algonquian tribes to the whole.
Ani'-Yun'-wiya', own name, meaning "real people."
Ban'-ia'-tho, Arapaho name (Gatschet, MS., B.A.E.).
Entari ronnon, Wyandot name, meaning "mountain people."
Man'-te'-ran, Catawba name, meaning "coming out of the ground."
Ochie'tari-ronnon, a Wyandot name.
Oyata'-ge'-ronon', Iroquois name, meaning "inhabitants of the cave country."
Shanaki, Gaddo name.
Shannakiak, Fox name (Gatschet, Fox MS., B. A. E.).
Talligewi, Delaware name (in Walam Olum), see Alligewi.
Tcaike, Tonkawa name.
Tcerokieco, Wichita name.
Uwatayo-rono, Wyandot name, meaning "cave people."

Che'-ro'-kee' Connections. - The Cherokee language is the most aberrant 
form of speech of the Iroquoian linguistic family.

Che'-ro'-kee' Location. - From the earliest times of which we have 
any certain knowledge the Cherokee have occupied the highest districts 
at the southern end of the Appalachian chain, mainly in the States 
of Tennessee and North Carolina, but including also parts of South 
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Virginia. (See also Arkansas, Kansas, 
Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Texas.)

Che'-ro'-kee' Subdivisions and Villages
There were anciently three Cherokee dialects which probably corresponded 
in some measure to the three groups of towns into which early traders 
and explorers divided the tribe. These groups, with the towns belonging 
to each according to the Purcell map, but following as far as possible 
the Handbook orthography, (Hodge, 1907, 1910)  are as follows:




Che'-ro'-kee' Lower Settlements:

 Town, 
 Num.
 County
 ST
 Remarks



 Estatoee, 
 (1) 
 Oconee Co.
 SC
 Old Estatoee on Tugaloo River below the junction of Chattanooga 
 and Tuilalah Rivers,;

  
 (2) 
 Pickens Co.
 SC
 New Estatoee in the northwestern part of Pickens Co.


 Keowee, 
 (1) 
 Oconee Co.
 SC
  Old Keowee on Keowee River near Fort George;  

 
 (2) 
 Pickens Co.
 SC
 New Keowee on the headwaters of Twelve- mile Creek in 
Pickens Co., S.C., the latter also called probably Little Keowee.


 Kulsetsiyi, 
 (1) 
 Oconee Co.,
 SC
 on Keowee River, near Fall Creek; 

 
 (2) 
 Macon Co.
 NC
 on Sugartown or Cullasagee Creek near Franklin;

 
 (3) 
 Fannin Co.
 GA
 on Sugartown Creek, near Morganton;


 Oeonee, 
 (1) 
 Oconee Co
 SC
 on Seneca Creek near Walhalla;


 Qualatchee, 
 (1) 
 
 SC
 on Keowee River, S.C.; 

 
 (2) 
 
 GA
  on the headwaters of Chattahoochee River, Ga.

 Tomassee,
 (1)
 Oconnee Co.,
 SC
 on Tomassee Creek of Keowee River,

 
 (2)
 Macon Co.
 NC
 on Little Tennessee River near the entrance of Burningtown 
Creek;

 Toxaway,
 (1)
 
 SC
  on Toxaway Creek, a branch of Keowee River, S.C.

 Tugaloo,
 (1)
 Habersham Co.,
 GA
 
 on Tugaloo River at the junction of Toccoa Greek, 

 Ustanali,
 
 
 
 5 towns so called: 

 
 (1)
 Oconee Co.
 SC
  on Keowee River below the present Fort George;

 
 (2)
 
 NC
 probably on the waters of Tuckasegee River in western NC.; 

 
 (3)
 Gordon Co.
 GA
  just above the junction of Coosawatee and Conasauga Rivers 
 to form the Oostanaula River;

 
 (4)
 Franklin Co.
 GA
  perhaps on Eastanollee Creek of Tugaloo River;

 
 (5)
 McMinn Co.
 TN
  perhaps on Eastaunaula Creek flowing into Hiwassee River 

 
 (6)
 
 
 
 possibly another.





Che'-ro'-kee' Middle Settlements:

 Town, 
 Num.
 County
 ST
 Remarks

 Cowee,
 (1)
 Macon Co.
 
 about the mouth of Cowee Creek of Little Tennessee 
River, about 10 miles below Franklin,

 Coweeshee,
 (1)
 
 
  probably between the preceding and Yunsawi

 Ellijay,
 (1)
 
 SC
 on the headwaters of Keowee River, SC;

 
 (2)
 Macon Co.
 NC
 on Ellijay Creek of Little Tennessee River near Franklin, NC; 

 
 (3)
 Gilmer Co.
 GA
  about Ellijay in Gilmer Co., Ga.; 

 
 (4)
 Blount Co.
 TN
 on Ellejoy Creek of Little River near Marysville;

 Itseyi,
  (1) on
 Oconees Co.,
 SC
  Brasstown Creek of Tugaloo River;

 
 (2)M/td>
 Macon Co.
 NS
  on Little Tennessee River near Franklin, NC; 

 
 (3)
 Towns Co.
 GA
  on upper Brasstown Creek of Hiwassoe River;

 Jore,
 (1)
 
 NC
  on Iola Creek, an upper branch of Little Tennessee River, N.C.

 Kituhwa,
 (1)
 Swain Co.
 SC
  on Tuckasegee River and extending from above 
the junction of the Oconaluftce nearly to the present Bryson City;

 Nucassee,
 (1)
 Macon Co.
 NC
  at the present Franklin, N.C.

 Stikayi,
 (1)
 Rabun Co.
 GA
  on Sticoa Creek, near Clayton;

 
 (2)
 Swain Co.
 NC
  on Tuckasegee River at the old Thomas homestead just above Whittier;

 
 (3)
 Graham Co.
 Graham Co.
  on Stekoa Creek of Little Tennessee River, a few miles 
below the junction of Nantahala;

 Tawsce,
 (1)
 Habersham Co.
 GA
 on Tugaloo River, near

 Tekanitli,
 (1)
 
 GA
 Upper Georgia.

 Tessuntee,
 (1)
 Macom Co.
 NC
  on Cowee River, south of Franklin, N.C.

 Tikaleyasuni,
 (1)
 
 NC
  on Burningtown Creek, an upper branch of 
Little Tennessee River, western North Carolina.

 Watauga,
 (1)
 Mason Co.
 NC
  on Watauga Creek, a branch of Little Tennessee River, 
a few miles below Franklin, N.C.; 

 
 (2)
 Carter Co.
 TN
  traditionally located at Watauga Old Fields, about Elizabethtown, 
on Watauga River;

 Yunsawi,
 (1)
 Graham Co.
 NC
 on West Buffalo Creek of Cheowa River.





Che'-ro'-kee' Over-the-Hills and Valley Settlements, or Overhill Settlements:

 Town, 
 Num.
 County
 ST
 Remarks

 Chatuga,
 (1)
 
 SC
  on Chattooga River, on the boundary between SC. and GA; 

 
 (2)
 Monroe Co.
 TN
  probably on upper Tellico River,

 
 (3)
 
 GA
  perhaps on Chattooga River, a tributary of the Coosa, in northwest Georgia.

 Chilhowee,
 (1)
 Monroe Co.
 TN
  on Tellieo River in Monroe Co., Tenn., near the North Carolina border.

 Cotoeanahut,
 (1)
 
 
  between Natuhli and Niowe.

 Echota,
 (1)
 Monroe Co.
 TN
  Great Eehota, on the south side of Little Tennessee River, 
a short distance below Citico Creck,

 
 (2)
 Habersham Co.
 GA
  Little Echota on Sautee Creek, a head stream of the Chattahoochee 
west of Clarksville,

 
 (3)
 Gordon Co.,
 GA
  New Echota, at the junction of Oostanaula and Conasauga Rivers,

 
 (4)
 
 NC
  the old Macedonian Mission on Soco Creek, of the North 
Carolina Reservation;

 
 (5)
 
 
  at the great Nacooehee mound. (See Naguchee below.)

 Hiwassce,
 (1)
 Polk Co.
 TN
  Great Hiwassce on the north bank of Hiwassee River at 
the present Savannah Ford, above Columbus,

 
 (2)
 Cherokee Co.
 NC
 at the junction of Peaehtree Creek with Hiwassee River, 
above Murphy, N.C., probably the Guasuli of the De Soto Chroniclers.

 Natuhli,
 (1)
 Cherokee Co.,
 NC
  on Nottely River, a branch of Hiwassee River 
at or near the site of the present Ranger,

 Nayuhi,
 (1)
 
 SC
  probably of the Lower Settlements, on the east bank of 
Tugaloo River, S.C.; 

 
 (2)
 
 NC
  on the upper waters of Tennessee River, apparently in North Carolina; 

 
 (3)
 
 
 (3 and 4) in the same general region, the last three being 
mentioned by Bartram (1792)

 
 (4)
 
 
 

 Sitiku,
 (1)
 Monroe Co.,
 TN
  on Little Tennessee River at the entrance of Citico Creek,

 Tahlasi,
 (1)
 Blount Co.
 TN
  on Little Tennessee River about Talassee Ford 

 Tallulah,
 (1)
 Rabun Co.
 GA
  on the upper Tallulah River,

 
 (2)
 Graham Co.
 SC
  on Tallulah Creek of Cheowa River

 Tamahli,
 (1)
 Cherokee Co.,
 NC
  on Valley River a few miles above Murphy, about the present Tomatola, 

 
 (2)
 Monroe Co.
 TN
  on Little Tennessee River about Tomotley Ford, a few miles 
above Tellico River

 Tellico,
 (1)
 Monroe Co.
 TN
  Great Tellico, at Tellico Plains on Tellico River,

 
 (2)
 Macon Co.
 
 Little Tellico, on Tellico Creek of Little Tennessee River 
about 10 miles below Franklin, N.C.;

 
 (3)
 Cherokee Co.
 NC
 (also called Little Tellico at times) on Valley River 
about 5 miles above Murphy, N.C.; 

 
 (4)
 
 OK
 Tahlequah, capital of the Cherokee Nation in what is now Oklahoma.

 Tennessee,
 (1)
 
 TN
  on Little Tennessee River a short distance above its junction 
with the main stream in east Tennessee; 

 
 (2)
 Jackson Co.
 NC
  on an extreme head branch of Tuckasegee River, above the 
present Webster, N.C.

 Toquo,
 (1_
 Monroe Co.,
 TN
  on Little Tennessee River about the mouth of Toco Creek, 

 Tsiyahi,
 (1)
 Oconee Co.
 SC
  on a branch of Keowee River, near the present Cheochee, 

 
 (2)
 Graham Co.
 NC
  a modern settlement on Cheowa River about Robbinsville, N.C.; 

 
 (3)
 Blount Co
 TN
 a former settlement in Cades Cove, on Cover Creek,

 Ustanali,
 (1)
 Graham Co.
 NC
  according to Purcell's map, there was a town 
of this name different from those already given, on the upper waters 
of Cheowa River,





Besides the above, the following settlements are given by Mooney and 
other writers:

 Town, 
 Num.
 County
 ST
 Remarks




Che'-ro'-kee'  HISTORY
There seems to have been a Cherokee migration legend something like 
that of the Creeks according to which the tribe entered their historic 
seats from some region toward the northeast. In 1540 De Soto seems 
to have passed through only one town that has a Cherokee name, but 
Pardo in 1566 learned of another, Tanasqui, which has a Cherokee appearance 
and may have given its name to Tennessee River. Continuous contact 
between the Cherokee and the Whites began after Virginia was settled, 
when traders from that colony commenced to work their way into the 
Appalachian Mountains. Contact became more intimate with the founding 
of the Carolina colonies, and a contingent of 310 Cherokee joined 
Moore in his attack on the Tuscarora in 1713. In 1730 Sir Alexander 
Cuming staged a personal embassy to the Cherokee and afterward took 
seven of the Indians to England with him. In 1738 an enemy more serious 
even than White men made its first appearance in this tribe, namely 
smallpox, which cut down their numbers by nearly 50 percent. In 1755 
the Cherokee won a great victory over the Abihka Creeks, who forthwith 
withdrew from the Tennessee River. Relations with the Whites were 
upon the whole friendly until 1759 when the Indians refused to accede 
to the demand of the Governor of South Carolina that a number of Indians 
including two leading chiefs be turned over to him for execution under 
the charge that they had killed a White man. He had asked also to 
have 24 other chiefs sent to him merely on suspicion that they entertained 
hostile intentions. War followed, and the Indians captured Fort Loudon, 
a post in the heart of their country, August 8, 1760, after having 
defeated an army which came to relieve it. The year following, however, 
the Indians were defeated on June 10, by a larger force under Col. 
James Grant, who laid the, greater number of the Middle Cherokee settlements 
in ashes, and compelled the tribe to make peace. 

In 1769 they are said to have suffered a severe defeat at the hands 
of the Chickasaw at the Chickasaw Oldfields. On the outbreak of the 
American Revolution they sided with the British and continued hostilities 
after its close down to 1794. Meanwhile parties of Cherokee had pushed 
down Tennessee River and formed new settlements near the present Tennessee 
- Alabama boundary. Shortly after 1800 missionary work was begun among 
them, and in 1820 they adopted a regular form of government modeled 
on that of the United States. In the meantime large numbers of them, 
wearied of the encroachments of the Whites, had crossed the Mississippi 
and settled in the territory now included in the State of Arkansas. 

In 1821 Sequoya, (or GEORGE GIST, c1760-1843) son of a mixed- blood 
Unknown Cherokee woman and NATHANIEL GIST a White man of Maryland, 
submitted a syllabary of his own devising to the chief men of the 
nation, and, on their approval, the Cherokee of all ages set about 
learning it with such zeal that in a few months numbers of them were 
able to read and write by means of it. 

In 1822 Sequoya (or GEORGE GIST, c1760-1843) went west to teach 
his alphabet to the Indians of the western division, and he remained 
among them permanently. The pressure of the Whites upon the frontiers 
of the Eastern Cherokee was soon increased by the discovery of gold 
near the present Dahlonega, Ga., and after a few years of fruitless 
struggle the nation bowed to the inevitable and by the treaty of New 
Echota, December 29, 1835, sold all of their territories not previously 
given up and agreed to remove to the other side of the Mississippi 
to lands to be set apart for them. 

These lands were in the northeastern part of the present Oklahoma, 
and the greater part of the tribe removed in the winter of 1838-39, 
suffering great hardships and losing nearly one- fourth of their number 
on the way. Before the main migration took place one band of Cherokee 
had established themselves in Texas where they obtained a grant of 
land from the Mexican government, but the Texas revolutionists refused 
to recognize this claim although it was supported by Gen. Sam Houston. 

In consequence, the Cherokee Chief BOWL was killed in 1839 along 
with many of his men, and the rest were expelled from the State of 
Texas. At the time of the great migration, several hundred Cherokee 
escaped to the mountains of Jackson & swain Counties of NC. where 
they lived as refugees until in 1842, through the efforts of William 
H. Thomas, an influential tender, they received permission to remain 
on lands set apart for their use in western North Carolina, the Qualla 
Reservation, where their descendants still reside. 

The early years of the reestablished Cherokee Nation west of the Mississippi 
were troubled by differences between the faction that had approved 
removal and that which had opposed it. Afterward the tribal life was 
entirely disrupted for a few years by the Civil War. 

In 1867 and 1870 the Delaware and  Shawnee were admitted from Kansas 
and incorporated into the Western Cherokee nation. March 3, 1906, 
the Cherokee government came to an end, and in time the lands were 
allotted in severalty, and the Cherokee people soon became citizens 
of the new State of Oklahoma.

Che'-ro'-kee' Population.
Mooney (1928) estimates that in 1650 there was a total 
Cherokee population of 22,000. 
In 1715 a rather careful estimate, yet in all probability too low, 
gave a total of 11,210 
Lower  Cherokee 2,100; 
Middle Cherokee 6,350; 
Upper  Cherokee 2,760;
including 4,000 warriors and distributed among 60 villages. 

In 1720 two estimates were made, of 10,000 and 11,500 respectively, 
but in 1729 the estimate jumps to 20,000, with 6,000 warriors, distributed 
in 64 towns. In 1755 a North Carolina estimate gives 5 divisions of 
the tribe and a total of 2,590 men. 

In 1760 we find a flat figure of 2,000; in 1761, about 3,000. Even 
before this time the Cherokee are supposed to have lost heavily from 
smallpox, intoxicants, and wars with the colonists, but at the time 
of their forced removal to the west in 1838 those in their old country 
had increased to 16,542. Those already in the west were estimated 
at about 6,000. 

The Civil War interfered with their growth but in 1885 they numbered 
19,000, about 17,000 being in the West Cherokee Nation, (Oklahoma). 

In 1902 there were officially reported in the West Cherokee Nation 
28,016 persons of Cherokee blood, including all degrees of admixture, 
but this includes several thousand persons repudiated by the tribal 
courts. 

The Census of 1910 returned 31,489 Cherokee, 29,610 of whom were in 
Oklahoma, 1,406 in North Carolina, and the rest scattered in 23 other 
States. 

In 1923 the report of the United States Indian Office gave 36,432 
Cherokee "by blood" in Oklahoma, and 2,515 in North Carolina: total 
38,947. In 1930, 45,238 were returned: 40,904 in Oklahoma, 1,963 in 
North Carolina, and the rest in more then 36 other States. 

In 1937 the number of eastern Cherokee was given as 3,327.

Che'-ro'-kee' Connection in which they have become noted. - The Cherokee 
tribe is one of the most famous in all North America, (1) on account 
of its size and strength and the prominent part it played in the history 
of our country, (2) from the fact that the invention of the Cherokee 
alphabet by Sequoya was the only case of the adoption of a system 
of writing without immediate White prompting in the annals of our 
Indians, (3) from the perpetuation of numerous place names from Cherokee 
sources and of the name itself in counties in Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, 
Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, and places 
in some of these States and California, Kentucky, and Arkansas; in 
Colbert Co., Ala.; Cherokee Co., Iowa; Crawford Co., Kans.; 
Lawrence Co., Ky.; and the name of stations in Louisville, Ky.; 
Swain Co., N. C.; Alfalfa Co., Okla.; and San Saba Co., Tex. 
There is a Cherokee City in Benton Co., Ark.; Cherokee Dam at Jefferson 
City, Tenn.; and Cherokee Falls in Ckerokee Co., S.C. Several prominent 
Americans were descended from this tribe, including Senator ROBERT 
OWEN and WILL ROGERS.



Chi'-aha tribe. - A part of this tribe was encountered by De Soto 
in 1540, in the territory now forming this State, probably, as shown 
by Mr. J. Y. Brame, on what is now Burns Island. They are also mentioned 
in connection with the explorations of Juan Pardo in 1567. (See Georgia.)

Chic'-ka'-saw tribe. - In historic times the Chickasaw claimed the 
greater part of western Tennessee, and twice drove Shawnee Indians 
from the Cumberland Valley, the first time with the assistance of 
the Cherokee, according to the claim of the latter. At an early date 
they had a settlement on the lower Tennessee River but it is doubtful 
whether this was in Tennessee or Kentucky. (See Mississippi.)

Kaskinampo tribe. - Meaning unknown, though -nampo may be the Koasati 
word for "many."

Kaskinampo Connections.- The Kaskinampo were probably closely related 
to the Koasati, and through them to the Alabama, Choctaw, and other 
Muskhogean people.

Kaskinampo Location.- Their best-known historic location was on 
the lower end of an island in the Tennessee River, probably the one 
now called Pine Island. (See also Arkansas.)

Kaskinampo History.- There is every reason to believe that this 
tribe constituted the Casqui, Icasqui, or Casquin "province" which 
De Soto entered immediately after crossing the Mississippi River, 
and it was probably in what is now Phillips Co., Ark. We hear of 
the Kaskinampo next in connection with the expeditions of Marquette 
and Joliet but do not learn of their exact location until 1701, when 
they seem to have been on the lower end of the present Pine Island. 
We are informed, however, by one of the French explorers that they 
had previously lived upon Cumberland River, and there is evidence 
that, when they first moved to the Tennessee, they may have settled 
for a short time near its mouth. Both the Cumberland and the Tennessee 
were known by their name, and it stuck persistently to the latter 
stream until well along in the eighteenth century. After the early 
years of the eighteenth century we hear little more of them, but there 
is reason to believe that they united with the Koasati.

Kaskinampo Population.- Our only clue to the population of the Kaskinampo 
is in an unpublished report of Bienville, who estimates 150 men, or 
a total population of about 500.

Kaskinampo Connection in which they have become noted.- The Kaskinampo 
are distinguished only for the prominent part they played in the De 
Soto narratives and for the application of their name for a time to 
Tennessee River.

Mosopelia tribe. - This tribe probably established themselves on 
Cumberland River and at one or two points on the Tennessee shore of 
the Mississippi on their way from Ohio to Mississippi. (See Ofo under 
Mississippi and Ohio.)

Muskogee tribe. - Although we do not have records of any settlement 
in Tennessee by the true Muskogee, it is probable that some of them 
occupied part of its territory in prehistoric times, and at a later 
date their war parties constantly visited it. (See Alabama.)

Natchez tribe. - After being driven from Mississippi and Louisiana, 
one band of Natchez lived among the Cherokee. (See Mississippi.)

Ofo tribe. - see Mosopelia tribe.

Shaw'-nee' tribe. - Meaning "southerners," the best-known variants 
of the name being the French form Chaouanons, and that which appears 
in the name of Savannah River. 

Also called: Ani'-Sawanu'gi, by the Cherokee; Ontwagnnn Meaning 
"one who stutters," or "one whose speech is unintelligible," applied 
by the Iroquois to this tribe and many others; Oshawanoag, by the 
Ottawa; Shawala, by the Teton Dakota.

Shaw'-nee' Connections.- The Shawnee belonged to the Algonquian 
linguistic stock, their closest relatives being the Fox, Sauk, and 
Kickapoo.

Shaw'-nee' Location.- There was scarcely a tribe that divided so 
often or moved so much as the Shawnee, but one of the earliest historic 
seats of the people as a whole was on Cumberland River. (See also 
Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and 




the District of Columbia, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, 
South Carolina, Texas, Virginia.)

Shaw'-nee' Subdivisions and Villages
There were five subdivisions of long standing, Chillicothe, Hathawekela, 
Kispokotha, Mequachake, and Piqua. The Hathawekela, Kispokotha, and 
Piqun later formed one body known as Absentee Shawnee. The following 
names of villages have been preserved:
Bulltown, or Mingo, on Little Kanawha River, W. Va.

Chillicothe, 3 or 4 towns: (1) on Paint Creek on the site of Oldtown, 
near Chillicothe in Ross Co., Ohio; (2) on the Little Miami about 
the site of Oldtown in Greene Co., Ohio; (3) on the Great Miami 
River at the present Piqua in Miami Co.; (4) probably the native 
name of Lowertown (see below).

Conedogwinit, location unknown.

Cornstalk's Town, on Scippo Creek opposite Squaw Town, Picksway Co., 
Ohio.

Girty's Town, on St. Mary's River, east of Celina Reservoir, Auglaize 
Co., Ohio.

Grenadier Squaw's Town, on Scippo Creek, Pickaway Co., Ohio.

Hog Creek, on a branch of Ottawa River in Allen Co., Ohio.

Kagoughsage, apparently in Ohio or western Pennsylvania.

Lewistown (and Seneca), near the site of the present Lewistown, Logan 
Co., Ohio.

Lick Town, probably Shawnee, on upper Scioto River, probably near 
Circleville, Ohio.

Logstown, with Delaware, and Inter Iroquois, on the right bank of 
Ohio River about 14 miles below Pittsburgh, in Allegheny Co., Pa.

Long Tail's Settlement, in Johnson Co., Kans.

Lowertown, 2 towns; (1) on Ohio River just below the mouth of the 
Scioto and later built on the opposite side of the river about the 
site of Portsmouth, Ohio; (2) in Ross Co., also called Chillicothe.

Mequachake: There were several towns of the name occupied by people 
of this division; they also had villages on the headwaters of Mad 
River, Logan Co., Ohio.

Old Shawnee Town, on Ohio River in Gallia Co., Ohio, 3 miles above 
the mouth of the Great Kanawha.

Peixtan (or Nanticoke), on or near the lower Susquehanna River in 
Dauphin Co., Pa., possibly on the site of Paxtonville.

Pigeon Town, Mequachake division, on Mad River, 3 miles northwest 
of West Liberty, Logan Co., Ohio.

Piqua, 4 towns: (1) Pequea on Susquehanna River at the mouth of Pequea 
Creek, in Lancaster Co., Pa.; (2) on the north side of Mad River, 
about 5 miles west of Springfield, Clark Gounty, Ohio; (3) Upper Piqua 
on Miami River 3 miles north of the present Piqua in Miami Co., 
Ohio, and (4) Lower Piqua, a smaller village on the site of the modern 
town of that name, Ohio.

Sawanogi, on the south side of Tallapoosa River in Maeon Co., Ala; 




but see Muskogee in Alabama.

Scoutash's Town (or Mingo), near Lewistown, Logan Co., Ohio.

Shawneetown, on the west bank of Ohio River about the present Shawneetown, 
Gallatin Co., Ill.

Sonnioto, at the mouth of Scioto River, Ohio, perhaps the same as 
Lowertown.

Tippecanoe, on the west bank of the Wabash River, just below the mouth 
of Tippecanoe River in Tippecanoe Co., Ind.

Wapakoneta, on the site of the present Wapakoneta, Auglaize Co., 
Ohio.

Will's Town, at the site of Cumberland, Md.

Shaw'-nee' History.- Tradition and the known linguistic connections 
of the Shawnee indicate that they had migrated to the Cumberland River 
Valley from the north not long previous to the historic period. 
They were on and near the Cumberland when French explorers first heard 
of them, although there are indications that they had been in part 
on the Ohio not long before. Shortly after 1674 the Hathawekela or 
that part of the Shawnee afterward so called, settled upon Savannah 
River, and in 1681 they proved of great assistance to the new colony 
of South Carolina by driving a tribe known as Westo, probably part 
of the Yuchi, from the middle Savannah. Early in the following century, 
or possibly very late in the same century, some of these Hathawekela 
began to move to Pennsylvania and continued to do so at intervals 
until 1731. 
Meanwhile, however, immediately after the Yamasee War, a part had 
retired among the Creeks, settling first on Chattahoochee River and 
later on the Tallapoosa, where they remained until some years before 
the removal of the Creeks to the west. Of the remaining bands of Shawnee  those 
which had stayed upon the Cumberland  part of the Piqua moved eastward 
into Pennsylvania about 1678, and more in 1694, so that they were 
able to welcome their kinsmen from the south a few years later. A 
French trader named Charleville established himself at Nashville among 
the rest of the tribe, but soon afterward they were forced out of 
that region by the Cherokee and Chickasaw. 

The Shaw'-nee'  stopped for a time at several points in Kentucky, 
and perhaps at Shawneetown, Ill., but about  1730, by permission of 
the Wyandot, collected along the north bank of the Ohio between the 
Allegheny and Scioto Rivers. Shortly after the middle of the eighteenth 
century they were joined by their kinsmen who had been living in Pennsylvania. 
One Pennsylvania band continued on south to the Upper Creeks with 
whom they lived for several years before returning north. Their return 
must have occurred soon after 1760, and they are said to have settled 
for a time in the old Shawnee country on the Cumberland but were soon 
ejected by the Chickasaw, this time unassisted by the Cherokee. 

From the beginning of the French and Indian War to the treaty of Greenville 
in 1795, the main body of Shawnee were almost constantly fighting 
with the English or the Americans. They were the most active and pertinacious 
foes of the Whites in that section. Driven from the Scioto, they settled 
upon the headwaters of the Miami, and later many of them assisted 
the Cherokee and Creeks in their wars with the Americans. In 1793, 
however, one considerable body, on invitation of the Spanish Government, 
occupied a tract of land near Cape Girardeau, Mo., along with some 
Delaware. After the treaty of Greenville, the Shawnee were obliged 
to give up their lands on the Miami, and part retired to the headwaters 
of the Auglaize, while the more hostile element swelled the numbers 
of those who had gone to Missouri. 





In 1798 a part of the Shawnee in Ohio settled on White River, Ind., 
by invitation of the Delaware. Shortly afterward a Shawnee medicine 
man named Tenskwatawa, known to the Whites as "the Shawnee prophet," 
began to preach a new doctrine which exhorted the Indians to return 
to the communal life of their ancestors, abandoning all customs derived 
from the Whites. His followers increased rapidly in numbers and established 
themselves in a village at the mouth of Tippecanoe River, Ind. 

Their hostile attitude toward the Whites soon becoming evident, they 
were attacked here in 1811 by Gen. W. H. Harrison and totally defeated. 
While this war was going on Tecumseh, Tenskwatawa's famous brother, 
was in the south endeavoring to bring about an uprising among the 
tribes in that section. In the war between the Americans and British 
which broke out in 1812 Tecumseh acted as leader of the hostiles and 
was killed at the battle of the Thames in 1814. 

In 1825 the Shawnee in Missouri, who are said to have taken no part 
in these wars, sold their lands, and most of them moved to a reservation 
in Kansas, but a large part had previously gone to Texas, where they 
remained until expelled by the American colonists in 1839. About 1831 
the Shawnee still in Ohio joined those in Kansas, and about 1845 the 
Hathawekela, Kispokotha, and Piqua moved from Kansas to Oklahoma and 
established them- selves on Canadian River, becoming known later as 
the Absentee Shawnee. In 1867, a band which had been living with the 
Seneca also moved to what is now Oklahoma and came to be known as 
Eastern Shawnee; and still later the main body became incorporated 
with the Cherokee. One band, known as Black Bob's band, at first refused  to 
remove from Kansas, but later joined the rest. All have now become 
citizens of Oklahoma.

Shaw'-nee' Population.- Owing to the number of separate bodies into 
which this tribe became divided, and their complex history, estimates  of 
Shawnee population in early times are difficult. Mooney (1928) places 
their entire number at 3,000 in 1650. Estimates made by various writers 
during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries vary between 
1,000 and 2,000, 1,500 being the favorite figure. In 1760 the Abihka 
and Tallapoosa bands numbered 100 warriors. In 1909 the Eastern Shawnee 
numbered 107; the Absentee Shawnee, 481; and those incorporated with 
the Cherokee Nation, about 1,400. The census of 1910 returned only 
1,338. In 1923, 166 Eastern Shawnee were enumerated and 551 Absentee, 
but no figures were given for that part of the tribe in the Cherokee 
Nation. The census of 1930 gave 1,161, most of whom were in Oklahoma. 
There were 916 in Oklahoma in 1937.

Shaw'-nee' Connection in which they have become noted.- Although 
prominent by virtue of its size, the Shawnee tribe is noteworthy rather 
on account of numerous migrations undertaken by its various branches 
and the number of contacts established by them, involving the history 
of three-quarters of our southern and eastern States. They constituted 
the most formidable opposition to the advance of settlements through 
the Ohio Valley, and under Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa attempted an extensive 
alliance of native tribes to oppose the Whites The name Shawnee is 
preserved in various forms in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, 
Kansas, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois, and most 
conspicuously of all, perhaps, in the name of the river Savannah and 
the city of Savannah, Ga. There are places called Shawnee in Park 
Co., Colo.; Johnson Co., Kans.; Perry Co., Ohio; Pottawatomie 
Co., Okla.; and Converse Co., Wyo.; Shawnee-on-Delaware in Monroe 
Co., Pa.; Shawnee in Claiborne Co., Tenn.; Shawanese in Luzerne 
Co., Pa.; Shawano in Shawano Co., Wis.; Shawneetown in Gallatin 
Co., Ill., and Cape Girardeau Co., Mo.

Tali tribe. - A tribe met by De Soto near the great bend of the 
Tennessee and found in the same region by the earliest English and 
French explorers, living in what is now northern Alabama and perhaps 
also in Tennessee. It is probable that they were a part of the Creeks 




(q. v.).

Tuskegee tribe. - One band of Tuskegee formed a settlement or settlements 
in the Cherokee Nation. (See Cherokee, and Tuskegee under Alabama.)

Yuchi tribe. - The greater part of the Yuchi probably lived at one 
period in and near the mountains of eastern Tennessee though one band 
of them was on the Tennessee River just above Muscle Shoals and there 
is evidence for an early occupation of the Hiwassee Valley. Some remained 
with the Cherokee until a very late date. (See Georgia.)


End of Tennessee Indian Tribes.



Source & Reference Notes!

   [REF:#001]
   "The�Indian�Tribes of North�America"
    By�John�R. Swanton; 1944
    [Retired�from active membership on the�staff�of�the 
    Bureau of American Ethnology in 1944]

   [REF:#002]
   File: TN_PG1.TXT
   Refised: July 05, 1996
   By: Paul R. Sarrett, Jr., [email protected]

SE. Index

N.A. Index

SFA - Index

SFA - REF.

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