Tahlonteeskee (Cherokee chief)

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Tahlonteeskee (or "'Talotisky' '") was a Principal Chief of the first Cherokee Nation, and one of the "" of the Cherokee Nation–West.

Early life[]

Tahlonteeskee was a Cherokee headman of Cayoka town, on Hiawassee Island (in modern-day Hamilton County, Tennessee). Following the decision he and Chief Doublehead made to sign over large parcels of traditional Cherokee hunting grounds to the United States in 1805, they found themselves considered by many Cherokee to be traitors.[1] After Doublehead was assassinated in 1807 for his part in the land transfer, Tahlonteeskee emigrated into the west in 1809, one of the first of the "Old Settlers" of the new Cherokee Nation then being established in the Arkansaw Territory. He was the son of Tahlonteeskee "Aaron Price" Bloody Fellow and Wurteh Betsy Watts, who was the mother of Chief John Jolly Due, Chief Robert "the Bench" Benge, and Sequoyah George Gist.

Tahlonteeskee became the third Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation -West in 1817 (succeeding Takatoka), and served until his death in 1819, when he in turn was succeeded by his brother, John Jolly.[1] He was the first western chief to allow Christianity to be taught to the Cherokee, and permitted missionaries to establish Dwight Mission in the Nation's holdings in the Arkansaw, before the Federal Government forced the Old Settlers even further west, into the area of the future Indian Territory.[1]

Extended family[]

According to the Cherokee genealogist, Dr. Emmet Starr, the alternative spelling of his name, "Talotisky," was possibly an alliterative spelling of Tahlonteeskee (since at that time there was not yet a uniform system of writing Cherokee sounds into English). He was the older brother (or possibly a half-brother) of John Jolly. Tahlonteeskee married Jennie Lowrey, sister of Assistant Principal Chief . Lowery may have been a cousin of Sequoyah. Lowery's wife was Lucy Benge, a half-sister of Sequoyah. Lucy was the sister of Chickamauga warrior, Bob Benge (often referred to as 'Captain' Bench), whose uncle was John Watts (or 'Young Tassel').[2]

Namesake[]

Tahlonteeskee, Oklahoma, the first capital city of the early western Cherokee Nation, was named for him.[1] The town acted in that capacity from 1828 through 1839, when the new capitol building was completed in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and the seat of government moved there. It is the oldest governmental capital in Oklahoma.[3]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c d Gore, Oklahoma: Tahlonteeskee - Oldest Capital in Oklahoma; webpage; Leisure and Sports Review; accessed November 2015
  2. ^ NOTE: The Cherokee embraced the matrilineal clan system, in which uncle-nephew connections were more important than father-son relationships.
  3. ^ Tahlonteeskee; photo of roadside marker [Oklahoma Historical Society]; at waymarking.com; accessed November 2015.

References[]

  • Wilkins, Thurman. Cherokee Tragedy: The Ridge Family and the Decimation of a People. (New York: Macmillan Company, 1970).
Preceded by Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation–West
1817–1819 		Succeeded by
John Jolly
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