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| Great-Great Grandmother, Harriet |
When interviewing a great grand-aunt several years ago (Birdie), she remembered the words of her grandmother, who is also my great-great grandmother "Harriet". Birdie recalled the words of her grandmother who would gather the grandchildren and take them out in the woods of East Texas in or around San Augustine, Texas. She would show her grandchildren the actual marks that the Indians made on the trees as they fled East Texas.
Upon doing some research about the Indian population in and around East Texas, I discovered that Chief Bowles, a famous chief of the Cherokee tribe who knew General Sam Houston personally, lived somewhere in the vicinity of Cherokee County and/or Smith County. These counties are adjacent counties to San Augustine County, Texas.
Anyhow, if you know your history, there was a famous battle that took place between Chief Bowles and his followers and the Texas Calvary in 1839 after the president of the republic of Texas, President Mirabeau Bonaparte Lamar ordered the removal of Chief Bowles and his followers from Texas. During the battle that ensued, Chief Bowles was killed and from what I've read in other accounts, some of his followers that managed to escape ran to the woods of East Texas and hid out. Perhaps this is why my great-great grandmother, Harriet, knew firsthand what she was talking about and was able to share a piece of visual history with her grandkids. Little did she know that her tidbit of information that she shared with her grandkids at that time would trickle down and be passed on to her great-great grandkids and descendants as well.
Please read these links for more information regarding Chief Bowles and General Sam Houston of East Texas. (A Biography of Duwa'li (Chief Bowles) ) and (The Cherokees of Texas). Of course there are other links and information regarding Chief Bowles and General Sam Houston of Texas abundantly available on the web.
Wonderful post! Now I am wondering if the Bowles side of my family is of any relation.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Are your ancestors from Cherokee County or Smith County and of Indian heritage?
DeleteI know there's Indian in my family but, of course, I haven't been able to make that connection. I believe it was my great-great grandmother or one of her daughters that spoke an Indian language fluently. I'm not sure if it was the Cherokee language. It's interesting because there were other Indians besides the Cherokees living in East Texas back then. One of my cousins stated that either her grandmother or mother knew basket weaving. I'd love to know how you're related to the Bowles!
I believe I am a descendant of Chief Bowles. I am trying to figure it out but I keep running into a lot of John Bowles on Ancestry. My second great grandmother is Melvina Bowles. If you can give me any information regarding where I can find the correct line, it would be appreciated. Thank you.
ReplyDelete