I have a cousin who loves to search old records and is putting together a family tree for the Riley branch of the family. Our mothers were Rileys before they married. She's gathered a lot of interesting data.
Our great-grandfather’s great-uncle,
Samuel Riley III
Samuel Riley [III], a white man, b.
circa 1747 in Prince George County, Maryland, d. May 13, 1819 in Blue Springs,
Roane County, TN.
Samuel is referred to in several reliable
sources including the "History of the Cherokee Indians" by Emmet
Starr and "Cherokee by Blood" compiled by Jerry Wright Jordan, and
other records including marriage records pertaining to the Cherokees in
Tennessee and Oklahoma. He married 2 daughters of Chief Doublehead in the
Eastern Cherokee Nation, namely the Long Hair Clan. The first being
Gu-Lu-Sti-Yu, and the second being Ni-Go-Di-Ge-Yu producing a total of 18
children. Samuel lived with his two wives near South West Point on the
Tennessee River in Roane County, TN.
Samuel, who fought in the Revolutionary War, was long time agent and interpreter for the Indians was known as "The White Trader from Maryland". He was also a blacksmith, producing many implements for the Cherokee and operated a ferry on the Tennessee River. Roan County courthouse contains records that Samuel also ran a saltpeter mine and a powder mill, likely in vicinity of Nickajack. Most probably these were leased directly from the Cherokees beings he had a deal directly with Chief Doublehead to use part of the land designated as reservation land by the government. In fact, partly because of his making property deals with the white man, Doublehead was assassinated by irate Indians.
Still, Samuel delivered goods to the Cherokees who removed to the
Arkansas River in 1813. There are 2 recorded letters from Crow Town and Fort Deposite asking for corn. Crow Town stated there were 19 families with 95 people. Fort Deposite letter stated their corn crops were poor and the Intruders had ruined their corn range and the people and the cattle and hogs were in bad shape. The 2nd letter does appear to have Samuel Riley's signature and he requested a meeting with General Jackson. Note the significance of the letter; this eventual meeting with General Jackson in the summer of 1817 was the basis of all future reservations in the east and emigrations to the west. And Samuel Riley was there, assumed as an interpreter. In part, the letter stated that he had a load of corn if the Indians would accept it.
Register of persons who wish
reservations under Treaty of 8 Jul 1817, cites Samuel Riley residence as
"south side of Tennessee opposite to South West Point", and his
Reserve was taken in Cherokee lands. In
1818, Samuel Riley was granted life reservation in accordance with above
Treaty.
Local lore is of Chief Riley, and
that he went to England as a Cherokee Interpreter. Riley Creek and Riley Creek
Recreational Area on south side of TN River. Riley Indian Chief buried in what
is now commonly called the Smalley Cemetery. Although he was not of Cherokee
blood, there are several precedence of white-men who were considered to be at
least "minor Chiefs" (actually "leader" would be a better
title) of several of the Tribes." More likely, it is possible that some of
his heirs embellished his title somewhat after his death. Descendants tend to
do that.Many thanks to my cousin, Anna Muriel Dyson, who condensed a multitude of information for easier reading. She noted that many discrepancies were found and finding the true (or as true as can be assumed) answer was difficult. One source stated Samuel Riley married three of Chief Doublehead's daughters rather than two.
If you have a chance to try to read the above letter you'll note that some words are hard to decipher. Others we can understand but they're not spelled as we're used to seeing them. Regardless, they got the message across.
I hope someone in your family is recording and compiling your family's history. Your descendants will appreciate knowing about their forefathers.
Thanks for stopping by. Please leave a comment.
Linda
www.lindalaroque.com
In my family, my brother and I are the family historians. I compiled a book on my mom's family and on my mother-in-law. Now my brother and I are doing one on our dad. Getting the information in a printed form preserves it for the future generations.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting letter! You can tell from his penmanship that your ancestor was educated. Spelling really was not standardized until Webster began producing American English dictionaries in the early 1800s, so your Mr. Riley probably learned to spell phonetically. By sounding out the words as he spelled them, you can gain insight into his dialect, which is also fascinating. Truly a "voice" from the past!
ReplyDeleteSo many times such info is copied into trees, leaving a trail of misinformation. I've been as careful as possible in searching for other info to back up other people's entries. This person was erroneously documented as a direct line grandfather. However, after researching, I found out he is actually a brother to a grandfather. Still, I love a great story, and this Uncle provided a very good one. Besides that, how many of us would discount a blood uncle as insignificant? Thanks for posting this on your blog, Cuz...
ReplyDeleteLinda--that letter is priceless. What a good idea for a blog post--writing about your family history.
ReplyDeleteOne hint--put your name at the top of the text--by Linda.... You could also add your photo if you want--Cheryl always adds her to the top. Most of us don't, but it's a great way to say...this is from me. If you have banners, those work really well, too, at the beginning. We love banners and photos. Just so the reader will know who wrote the blog.
Now I wish I had more information on older ancestors. We only have one short paragraph on our ancestor that got us into The Daughters of the Republic of Texas...and that includes a copy of his honorable discharge from the Texan Army that defeated Santa Anna: Reason for discharge: Piles.
Ewww, well, that's what they wrote down!
Seems like we talked about you being the family historian before, Caroline. I'm hoping my cousin will compile a book also.
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten about that, Lynn. Makes sense why they spelled like they did. Yes, it is a voice from the past. So much out there that we miss.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Cuz. Thanks for all your research!
ReplyDeleteI keep forgetting to put my name or banner at the top. Oh my goodness. Discharged because of piles. That'd be my luck!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great accounting, Linda. We have a journal my great, great grandfather kept coming across country in 1849. It is such a treasure to hear in their own words the way their lives went. Enjoyed reading your post.
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome, Paisley. I'd love to read something like that. We do have some pictures of great-grandparents, but that's all we have. Well, I take that back, we do have a book someone compiled about the Smith branch of my family. I need to get that out and look over it.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a fascinating background you have. My mother's the historian in our family and one of these days, I'll share here a bit of my great grandfather's story. I figure I'll eventually become the historian which means finding room for volumnes of books. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteCiara, I bet when you get started you won't be able to get off Heritage.com. Not only does my cousin spend hours there and other sources, but a friend does also. She has taken me to grave yards here in Waco looking for ancestors and I know Anna likes to visit them also.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, cool article. Samuel Riley Jr. is my 6th cousin 1 x removed. There has been a lot of confusion with him being referred to as Samuel Riley the III. His father was indeed Samuel Riley Sr. however his grandfather was Eliphaz Riley. Eliphaz is my 6th Great Grandfather. I have more information on his Ancestors and his decedents as well as the theft/loss of the land. Susan Riley
ReplyDeleteHi, swani! I am Susan Garrett, and there are 2 James Rileys with Samuel Riley being the patriarch in my family heritage as well. I am the eighth generation Texan descended from these Rileys. They entered Texas and settled for a couple of years at hot springs in northeast Texas before coming down to claim a Spanish land grant signed in Kentucky with Impresario DeWitt. The Spanish Land grant is north of the Old San Antonio Rd in present day Leon County. James and his oldest son fought in the Texas Revolution and received a Texas Land grant... located in Llano County on Highway 16 at Oxford . The family cemetery is there. They owned a silver mine... recently mining operations started up again. It was known as the Lost Silver Mine of Texas. It wasn't that no one knew where it was located, but rather during the Civil War... the Riley's wanted to blow up the entrance so the Yankees couldn't readily mine the silver. Instead, the dynamite was too much... the floor of the mine was blown away and the aquifer flooded the mine and created a swimming hole for the Riley children to enjoy... my father learned to swim there and said there were rattlesnakes all over the place. There is a mountain Range known as the Riley Mountains. Family lore says James Riley and his wife are buried on the mountain. My dad died in 1996 and has all kinds of papers with tons of information from census and wills and cemetery headstones. I had my DNA tested with ancestry.com and am trying to make sense of my records before I add them to the Riley family tree. I believe our Riley to be part of the Samuel Riley and Chief Doubleday story. Dad thought we were another branch. Anything you can share would be greatly appreciated. My email is susangarrett8358@yahoo.com and I live in Huntsville, Texas.
DeleteGreat article Linda! My family and i have lived in anglers cove rd for about 40 years and i have always been interested in the Riley creek area and it's history...i have found many artifacts running through the woods and playing on the riverbanks as a child... I don't know where u got the photo of the tombstone, but I know of a little rod iron one person grave that I believe to be a Indian chief right outside anglers cove... most people don't know about it because it's in someone's yard. It may be chief doublehead or it may be the Riley of in the picture u provided. I'm not sure as I haven't been by and stopped in 20 years or so... just thought I'd mention it to u because it's possible provenance to u... thanks again for the article
ReplyDeleteMy great great grandfather is John Riley born on or abt 1875 Married Mary any one have any information?
ReplyDeleteThank you for this write up. I googled Samuel Riley this morning and this was one of the top hits.
ReplyDeleteI took a DNA test because I found my mom's side of the family very interesting and turns out Samuel Riley is my 7th great grandfather so thank you it is always very interesting to learn about my past family
ReplyDeletei am one of Samuel Riley is my 5th great grandfather on my grandfather's side. How about that we are all related. i too took DNA but knew history frm my grandfather. He loved sharing.
ReplyDeleteAncestry.com , for a brief time, put the Cherokee line into my "potential" ancestors--with Samuel Riley--suggested to be my 5th Great-. My Great Grandfather and 2XGreat Grandfathers were both named Samuel Burlington Riley. When it was posted, I also observed MANY distant cousins sharing the expected DNA for such a relationship. However, there is no ascendancy that I can find (no parentage) for Samuel B (b abt 1820 in KY) I'm hopeful that someone might have some information for me.
ReplyDeleteHello cousins, my great-grandmother is Ruby Rice Dawes 27505. Her mother my gg-grama is Annis Femister Wilson. Her mother, Rebecca McNair Riley is my ggg-grandmother. Her father, John Riley is my gggg-grandfather. Samuel Riley is my 5x great- grandfather. Gulustiyu is my 6x great grandmother. Chief Doublehead is my 7x great grandfather. I just found an article about John Rileys cabin in AL that he built pre-TOT. Nice article and letter!
ReplyDeleteI am a direct descendant of Gulustiyu... my family moved from the Qupaw area in Oklahoma to California during the depression...
ReplyDeleteI am a direct descendant of Gulustiyu and Doublehead... my family moved to california during the depression from Indian Territory around Rabbit Trap, and Qupaw Oklahoma.
ReplyDelete