James Vann
Encyclopedia
James Vann was an influential Cherokee
leader, one of the triumvirate with Major Ridge
and Charles R. Hicks
, who led the Upper Towns of East Tennessee
and North Georgia
. He was the son of Wah-Li Vann, a mixed-race Cherokee woman, and a Scots
fur trader. He was among the younger leaders of the Cherokee who thought its people needed to acculturate to deal with the European Americans and the United States government. He encouraged the Moravians to establish a mission school on Cherokee land, and became a wealthy planter and slaveholder.
The children grew up within the Cherokee culture and clan
of their mother. As the Cherokee had a matrilineal system of property and hereditary leadership, the children gained their status in the tribe from their mother's people. Their maternal uncles were more important to the rearing of the children, especially the boy James, within the Cherokee nation.
The children were likely bilingual, learning some European-American culture from their father. Wah-li later married Clement Vann (possibly related to Joseph), who acted as a stepfather. (Sources disagree about the identity of Vann's biological father: "Gary E. Moulton of the University of Nebraska, [writes that] Clement Vann was the father. William H. Vann in the book 'Cherokee Origins believes that Joseph Vann was the father, while Virginia Vann Perry claims a man named James Vann was the father. Vann genealogy expert Belinda Pierce thinks John Joseph Vann was the father. According to the experts at the Vann House in Chatsworth, Georgia, Vann's father is unknown.")
James Vann was one of the leaders of the John Watts' 1793 offensive against the Holston River
settlements, an attack originally directed at White's Fort, then capital of the Southwest Territory
(as Tennessee
was known). On their way, Vann argued that only men should be killed, against Doublehead
's call to kill all the settlers. Not long after this, the war party of more than 1,000 Cherokee and Muscogee
warriors came upon a small settlement called Cavett's Station.
Bob Benge
, a leading warrior, negotiated the settlers' surrender, saying no captives would be harmed. But, Doublehead's group and his Muscogee Creek allies attacked and began killing them, over the pleas of Benge and the others. Vann managed to grab one small boy and pull him onto his saddle, only to have Doublehead smash the boy's skull with an axe. Another warrior saved another young boy, handing him to Vann, who put the boy behind him on his horse. Later he gave him to three of the Muscogee for safe-keeping; a Muscogee chief killed and scalped the boy a few days later.
Vann called Doublehead "Babykiller" for the remainder of his life. The events began a lengthy feud between the two men, which contributed to the politics between the Upper Towns and Lower Towns of the early 19th century Cherokee Nation
.
, Vann built the Diamond Hill
mansion in 1804 with access to the road, near present-day Chatsworth, Georgia
. He also had a store and other facilities there. He donated land for the mission school of the Moravian Brethren, which he had encouraged the Cherokee National Council to permit. His father had earlier run a trading post
on that site.
Vann created a ferry across the nearby Conasauga River
, and built a tavern and store nearby to supply locals and travelers. He also owned Vann's ferry
, which crossed the Chattahoochee River
near present-day Atlanta on the road to the Lower Towns of the Muscogee (Creek). Later he opened up a trading post near present-day Huntsville, Alabama
.
Vann held more than 100 slaves and hundreds of acres of Hplantation. e also owned land at the mouth of Ooltewah (Wolftever) Creek in present-day Hamilton County, Tennessee
. He established another Vann's Ferry there, the basis for Vann's Town. Later it became the county seat and was called Harrison
.
A story was recounted about Vann's wealth. Return J. Meigs, Jr.
, the US Indian Agent
to the Cherokee living at Cherokee Agency (now Calhoun, Tennessee
), found the government had misrouted its annuity payment to the Cherokee (for lands surrendered in treaty) to New Orleans. Meigs turned to Vann for help. Vann paid the annuity in full from his own funds and could wait for Meigs to pay him back after he had recovered the original annuity. once they'd retrieved their original allotment.
. Vann furnished the land and building for the Moravian school next to his home at Spring Place, Georgia.
His feud with Doublehead ended in 1807, when his antagonist was killed for having secretly sold Cherokee land for his own profit, a capital offense under tribal law. The council appointed as assassins Major Ridge
and Alexander Saunders from the Nation, and a white trader named John Rogers.
Vann established the Lighthorse Patrol, mounted "regulators" to monitor the roads throughout the Nation. While riding patrol, Vann was shot to death at Buffington's Tavern on February 19, 1809. His killer was rumored to be Sanders, who with Major Ridge had assassinated Doublehead in 1807.
Vann was buried in or near Blackburn cemetery, Forsyth County, Georgia
.
The following family data is derived from the Moravians' daily journals and list of students:
His mother Wah-li (baptized by the Moravians as "Mary Christiana" Vann) had a brother John Vann. John had married a daughter of Terrapin (she was also a granddaughter of the "Great Warrior," Oconostota
).
Wah-li married Joseph Vann, with whom she had three children: James, Nancy and Jennie.
Wah-li Vann married a second time, to a white man named Clement Vann. He became the stepfather to her children.
Clement Vann had a sister Jennie and brother Avery Vann. (Avery also married a Cherokee wife and had a large family, so there are many Vanns in local records). The three were likely siblings of Joseph Vann. A Joseph Vann and John Vann were recorded by the British Indian agent Alexander Cameron as living with the Cherokee in 1779.
John Vann was a white trader in the Cherokee Nation as early as 1745. He operated a trading post in partnership with Bernard Hughes on the Saluda River
near the frontier fort "Ninety Six" in South Carolina
. In 1770 British colonial officials hired John Vann, on the death of his predecessor John Watts, as the official Cherokee interpreter.
The two Vanns joined with separate Chickamauga
war parties led by Oconostota
and his son Terrapin. This John Vann is believed to be the father of Wah-li and John Vann, Jr. Their Cherokee mother, whose name is not yet known, was a half-sister of Jennie Daugherty.
Wah-li and John's mother married a second time, to Bernard Hughes; and then to a third man named Roe or Rowe. Their half siblings were James, Charles, and Sarah Hughes. (The latter married the Tory Col. Thomas Waters.) The second batch of half-siblings were David and Richard Roe. (The latter became one of the executors of Vann's estate in 1809).
In 1796 U.S. Agent Col. Benjamin Hawkins
traveled through the Cherokee Nation and recorded encountering Sarah Waters (née Hughes) and her uncle Sourmush. He also met "Old Mrs. Roe," nearly 80 years old, and her sons David Roe and John Vann. Hawkins also noted meeting Richard Roe and a chief named Terrapin nearby.
Later George Morgan Waters told the Presbyterian missionary
Daniel Butrick a story about his cousin James Vann. Sourmush had killed a member of a rival clan while drunk. To prevent the outbreak of clan warfare for blood revenge, the clans decided that either Charles Hughes or his nephew James Vann should die to assuage Sourmush's crime. At a public meeting, the young Vann walked up to his uncle Charles Hughes and shot him dead, ending the clan dispute. The story shows that Sourmush, Charles Hughes, and James Vann all belonged to the same clan; clan identity was matrilineal. They belonged to the Ani-Gatu-Ge-Wi or Kituwah People clan of Wah-li Vann and her mother "Old Mrs. Roe". The clan name is sometimes translated as "Wild Potato" or "Blind Savannah" clan.
One source {Penelope Allen papers} states that Vann had three legal wives (Jennie Foster, Margaret "Peggy" Scott, and Elizabeth Thornton), all mixed-race Cherokee with white trader fathers. In addition, he had several concubines, with whom he produced thirty-plus children in and out of wedlock. The Moravian Journals do not confirm the "three legal wives" or the large number of illegitimate children.
Under alcohol's influence, he was recorded as having been dangerous and enraged. The Moravian missionaries noted finding him lying senseless beside a path. When they chastised him for being drunk, he declared, "Thank God, I thought I had been shot!"
Vann fought a newsworthy duel with his brother-in-law John Falling, with both armed with muskets and on horseback (Falling died). Vann was generous with his money to those in need, but ruthless to those who crossed him. He ordered a slave Isaac, caught stealing, to be burned alive. In the same incident, Vann had a teenaged girl slave hung by her thumbs to tell about the theft; the Moravian missionaries rescued her and tried to dissuade him from the murder of Isaac.
His primary heir was Joseph Vann
, his eldest son by Nannie Brown. Joseph inherited the Spring Place plantation (Diamond Hill), and the property on the Tennessee River
later known as Vann's Town. He became known as "Rich Joe" Vann. The National Cherokee Council recognized the other children of Vann's nine wives or consorts as minor heirs.
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
leader, one of the triumvirate with Major Ridge
Major Ridge
Major Ridge, The Ridge was a Cherokee Indian member of the tribal council, a lawmaker, and a leader. He was a veteran of the Chickamauga Wars, the Creek War, and the First Seminole War.Along with Charles R...
and Charles R. Hicks
Charles R. Hicks
Charles Renatus Hicks was one of the most important Cherokee leaders in the early 19th century; together with James Vann and Major Ridge, he was one of a triumvirate of younger chiefs urging the tribe to acculturate to European-American ways and supported a Moravian mission school to educate the...
, who led the Upper Towns of East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
and North Georgia
North Georgia
North Georgia is the hilly to mountainous northern region of the U.S. state of Georgia. At the time of the arrival of settlers from Europe, it was inhabited largely by the Cherokee. The counties of North Georgia were often scenes of important events in the history of Georgia...
. He was the son of Wah-Li Vann, a mixed-race Cherokee woman, and a Scots
Scots
Scots may refer to:*The Scottish people, the inhabitants of Scotland*Scots language *Scotch-Irish*Scottish English*Scots pine, a Scottish tree*Short for Pound Scots...
fur trader. He was among the younger leaders of the Cherokee who thought its people needed to acculturate to deal with the European Americans and the United States government. He encouraged the Moravians to establish a mission school on Cherokee land, and became a wealthy planter and slaveholder.
Early life and education
James Vann was born the oldest of three children of Wah-Li Vann and a Scots trader, at Spring Place (in present-day Georgia) in February 1765 or 1766. Wah-li was of the Ani-Gatu-Ge-Wi or Kituwah People clan. James had younger sisters Nancy and Jennie.The children grew up within the Cherokee culture and clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
of their mother. As the Cherokee had a matrilineal system of property and hereditary leadership, the children gained their status in the tribe from their mother's people. Their maternal uncles were more important to the rearing of the children, especially the boy James, within the Cherokee nation.
The children were likely bilingual, learning some European-American culture from their father. Wah-li later married Clement Vann (possibly related to Joseph), who acted as a stepfather. (Sources disagree about the identity of Vann's biological father: "Gary E. Moulton of the University of Nebraska, [writes that] Clement Vann was the father. William H. Vann in the book 'Cherokee Origins believes that Joseph Vann was the father, while Virginia Vann Perry claims a man named James Vann was the father. Vann genealogy expert Belinda Pierce thinks John Joseph Vann was the father. According to the experts at the Vann House in Chatsworth, Georgia, Vann's father is unknown.")
During the wars
During the Chickamauga Wars, James' uncle John Vann, a trader, was involved in the Brown family massacre and captivity of 1788.James Vann was one of the leaders of the John Watts' 1793 offensive against the Holston River
Holston River
The Holston River is a major river system of southwestern Virginia and east Tennessee. The three major forks of the Holston rise in southwestern Virginia and have their confluence near Kingsport, Tennessee. The North Fork flows southwest from Sharon Springs in Bland County, Virginia...
settlements, an attack originally directed at White's Fort, then capital of the Southwest Territory
Southwest Territory
The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was admitted to the United States as the State of Tennessee.The Southwest Territory was...
(as Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
was known). On their way, Vann argued that only men should be killed, against Doublehead
Doublehead
Doublehead or Incalatanga , was one of the most feared warriors of the Cherokee during the Chickamauga Wars. In 1788, his brother, Old Tassel, was chief of the Cherokee people, but was killed under a truce by frontier rangers. In 1791 Doublehead was among a delegation of Cherokees who visited U.S...
's call to kill all the settlers. Not long after this, the war party of more than 1,000 Cherokee and Muscogee
Creek people
The Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
warriors came upon a small settlement called Cavett's Station.
Bob Benge
Bob Benge
Bob Benge , also known as "Captain Benge" or "The Bench" to frontiersmen, was one of the most feared Cherokee leaders on the frontier during the Chickamauga wars.-Early life:...
, a leading warrior, negotiated the settlers' surrender, saying no captives would be harmed. But, Doublehead's group and his Muscogee Creek allies attacked and began killing them, over the pleas of Benge and the others. Vann managed to grab one small boy and pull him onto his saddle, only to have Doublehead smash the boy's skull with an axe. Another warrior saved another young boy, handing him to Vann, who put the boy behind him on his horse. Later he gave him to three of the Muscogee for safe-keeping; a Muscogee chief killed and scalped the boy a few days later.
Vann called Doublehead "Babykiller" for the remainder of his life. The events began a lengthy feud between the two men, which contributed to the politics between the Upper Towns and Lower Towns of the early 19th century Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation (19th century)
The Cherokee Nation of the 19th century —an historic entity —was a legal, autonomous, tribal government in North America existing from 1794–1906. Often referred to simply as The Nation by its inhabitants, it should not be confused with what is known today as the "modern" Cherokee Nation...
.
Career
Vann became the richest man in the Cherokee Nation, and possibly in the entire eastern U.S. at the time. As a result of his favorable negotiations for access and land when the US government built the Federal RoadFederal Road
Federal Road may refer to one of the following:*Federal Road from Athens, Georgia to Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee*Federal Road from Fort Wilkinson Federal Road may refer to one of the following:*Federal Road (Cherokee lands) from Athens, Georgia to Chattanooga and Knoxville,...
, Vann built the Diamond Hill
Chief Vann House Historic Site
The Chief Vann House is the first brick residence in the Cherokee Nation that has been called the "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation". Owned by a Cherokee chief named Chief James Vann, The Vann House is a Georgia Historic Site on the National Register of Historic Places and one of the oldest...
mansion in 1804 with access to the road, near present-day Chatsworth, Georgia
Chatsworth, Georgia
Chatsworth is a city in Murray County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Dalton, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,531 at the 2000 census, but was estimated around 3,890 as of the 2005 census. The city is the county seat of Murray County...
. He also had a store and other facilities there. He donated land for the mission school of the Moravian Brethren, which he had encouraged the Cherokee National Council to permit. His father had earlier run a trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
on that site.
Vann created a ferry across the nearby Conasauga River
Conasauga River
The Conasauga River is a river that runs through southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia. The Conasauga River is long and is home to 90 species of fish and 25 species of freshwater mussels...
, and built a tavern and store nearby to supply locals and travelers. He also owned Vann's ferry
Historic ferries of the Atlanta area
There were several historic ferries around the metro Atlanta, Georgia area, for which many of its current-day roads are named. Most of the ferries date back to the 1820s and 1830s, to carry travelers across the Chattahoochee River or several other smaller rivers...
, which crossed the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
near present-day Atlanta on the road to the Lower Towns of the Muscogee (Creek). Later he opened up a trading post near present-day Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
.
Vann held more than 100 slaves and hundreds of acres of Hplantation. e also owned land at the mouth of Ooltewah (Wolftever) Creek in present-day Hamilton County, Tennessee
Hamilton County, Tennessee
Hamilton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It was named for Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 310,935 . Its county seat is Chattanooga....
. He established another Vann's Ferry there, the basis for Vann's Town. Later it became the county seat and was called Harrison
Harrison, Tennessee
Harrison is a census-designated place in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,769 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
A story was recounted about Vann's wealth. Return J. Meigs, Jr.
Return J. Meigs, Jr.
Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr. was a Democratic-Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the fourth Governor of Ohio, fifth United States Postmaster General, and as a U.S. Senator.-Biography:...
, the US Indian Agent
Indian agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with Native American tribes on behalf of the U.S. government.-Indian agents:*Leander Clark was agent for the Sac and Fox in Iowa beginning in 1866....
to the Cherokee living at Cherokee Agency (now Calhoun, Tennessee
Calhoun, Tennessee
Calhoun is a town in McMinn County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 496 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Calhoun is situated along the north bank of the Hiwassee River, which flows down from the Appalachian Mountains to the east and empties into the Chickamauga Lake impoundment of the...
), found the government had misrouted its annuity payment to the Cherokee (for lands surrendered in treaty) to New Orleans. Meigs turned to Vann for help. Vann paid the annuity in full from his own funds and could wait for Meigs to pay him back after he had recovered the original annuity. once they'd retrieved their original allotment.
Politics
In national Cherokee politics, Vann led the so-called "young chiefs" (some of whom could hardly be called young), who rebelled against the oligarchy of those, primarily from the Lower Towns, referred to as the "old chiefs" (although not all of them were old), led by Doublehead. James Vann and Charles R. Hicks persuaded a reluctant National Council to permit the establishment of a school operated by the United Brethren (Moravians) of Winston-Salem, North CarolinaWinston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
. Vann furnished the land and building for the Moravian school next to his home at Spring Place, Georgia.
His feud with Doublehead ended in 1807, when his antagonist was killed for having secretly sold Cherokee land for his own profit, a capital offense under tribal law. The council appointed as assassins Major Ridge
Major Ridge
Major Ridge, The Ridge was a Cherokee Indian member of the tribal council, a lawmaker, and a leader. He was a veteran of the Chickamauga Wars, the Creek War, and the First Seminole War.Along with Charles R...
and Alexander Saunders from the Nation, and a white trader named John Rogers.
Vann established the Lighthorse Patrol, mounted "regulators" to monitor the roads throughout the Nation. While riding patrol, Vann was shot to death at Buffington's Tavern on February 19, 1809. His killer was rumored to be Sanders, who with Major Ridge had assassinated Doublehead in 1807.
Vann was buried in or near Blackburn cemetery, Forsyth County, Georgia
Forsyth County, Georgia
Forsyth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The county seat is Cumming, Georgia. Forsyth County is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
.
Family
Both his Cherokee mother and Scots father were surnamed Vann.The following family data is derived from the Moravians' daily journals and list of students:
His mother Wah-li (baptized by the Moravians as "Mary Christiana" Vann) had a brother John Vann. John had married a daughter of Terrapin (she was also a granddaughter of the "Great Warrior," Oconostota
Oconostota
Oconostota was the Warrior of Chota and the First Beloved Man of the Cherokee from 1775 to 1781.-Meaning of the name:...
).
Wah-li married Joseph Vann, with whom she had three children: James, Nancy and Jennie.
Wah-li Vann married a second time, to a white man named Clement Vann. He became the stepfather to her children.
Clement Vann had a sister Jennie and brother Avery Vann. (Avery also married a Cherokee wife and had a large family, so there are many Vanns in local records). The three were likely siblings of Joseph Vann. A Joseph Vann and John Vann were recorded by the British Indian agent Alexander Cameron as living with the Cherokee in 1779.
John Vann was a white trader in the Cherokee Nation as early as 1745. He operated a trading post in partnership with Bernard Hughes on the Saluda River
Saluda River
The Saluda River is a principal tributary of the Congaree River, about 200 mi long, in northern and western South Carolina in the United States...
near the frontier fort "Ninety Six" in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. In 1770 British colonial officials hired John Vann, on the death of his predecessor John Watts, as the official Cherokee interpreter.
The two Vanns joined with separate Chickamauga
Chickamauga Indian
The Chickamauga or Lower Cherokee, were a band of Cherokee who supported Great Britain at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. They were followers of the Cherokee chief Dragging Canoe...
war parties led by Oconostota
Oconostota
Oconostota was the Warrior of Chota and the First Beloved Man of the Cherokee from 1775 to 1781.-Meaning of the name:...
and his son Terrapin. This John Vann is believed to be the father of Wah-li and John Vann, Jr. Their Cherokee mother, whose name is not yet known, was a half-sister of Jennie Daugherty.
Wah-li and John's mother married a second time, to Bernard Hughes; and then to a third man named Roe or Rowe. Their half siblings were James, Charles, and Sarah Hughes. (The latter married the Tory Col. Thomas Waters.) The second batch of half-siblings were David and Richard Roe. (The latter became one of the executors of Vann's estate in 1809).
In 1796 U.S. Agent Col. Benjamin Hawkins
Benjamin Hawkins
Benjamin Hawkins was an American planter, statesman, and United States Indian agent . He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a United States Senator from North Carolina, having grown up among the planter elite...
traveled through the Cherokee Nation and recorded encountering Sarah Waters (née Hughes) and her uncle Sourmush. He also met "Old Mrs. Roe," nearly 80 years old, and her sons David Roe and John Vann. Hawkins also noted meeting Richard Roe and a chief named Terrapin nearby.
Later George Morgan Waters told the Presbyterian missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
Daniel Butrick a story about his cousin James Vann. Sourmush had killed a member of a rival clan while drunk. To prevent the outbreak of clan warfare for blood revenge, the clans decided that either Charles Hughes or his nephew James Vann should die to assuage Sourmush's crime. At a public meeting, the young Vann walked up to his uncle Charles Hughes and shot him dead, ending the clan dispute. The story shows that Sourmush, Charles Hughes, and James Vann all belonged to the same clan; clan identity was matrilineal. They belonged to the Ani-Gatu-Ge-Wi or Kituwah People clan of Wah-li Vann and her mother "Old Mrs. Roe". The clan name is sometimes translated as "Wild Potato" or "Blind Savannah" clan.
Marriage and family
James Vann was recorded as having had at least nine wives or consorts. It was common for successful men among the Cherokee to take more than one wife, especially younger sisters of his wife. Women had a high mortality rate, often related to complications of childbirth, and many died young. His wives were:- 1) Elizabeth Hicks (sister of Charles R. Hicks);
- 2) Elizabeth (Betsy) Scott (mother of Delilah Vann);
- 3) Mary (Polly) Scott (younger sister of Elizabeth; mother of Robert or Robin Vann);
- 4) Margaret (Peggy) Scott (younger sister of Elizabeth and Mary Scott);
- 5) Jennie Foster (former wife of DoubleheadDoubleheadDoublehead or Incalatanga , was one of the most feared warriors of the Cherokee during the Chickamauga Wars. In 1788, his brother, Old Tassel, was chief of the Cherokee people, but was killed under a truce by frontier rangers. In 1791 Doublehead was among a delegation of Cherokees who visited U.S...
and mother of Sarah Vann); - 6) Peggy (full-blood, mother of John Vann);
- 7) Daw-ni (full-blood, mother of Jesse Vann);
- 8) Nannie Brown (mother of JosephJoseph VannJoseph H. Vann was a Cherokee leader who owned Diamond Hill , many slaves, taverns, and steamboats that he operated on the Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers. He born at Spring Place, Georgia on February 11, 1798...
and Mary Vann); and - unnamed mother of James Vann (Jr.). Wives #1–5 and #8 were all mixed-blood Cherokee. Betsy (#2), Polly (#3), and Peggy (#4) Scott were sisters and nieces of Elizabeth Hicks (#1). Peggy Scott was Vann's last wife and widow.
One source {Penelope Allen papers} states that Vann had three legal wives (Jennie Foster, Margaret "Peggy" Scott, and Elizabeth Thornton), all mixed-race Cherokee with white trader fathers. In addition, he had several concubines, with whom he produced thirty-plus children in and out of wedlock. The Moravian Journals do not confirm the "three legal wives" or the large number of illegitimate children.
Legacy
Vann was a shrewd tribal leader and businessman, but he had trouble with alcohol. He owned taverns, ferry boats, grist mills, and livestock. His business activities included a cattle drive to Pennsylvania and a pack train of goods to South Carolina. Vann brought European-American education into the Cherokee Nation with his support of the Moravian mission school. He urged adoption of European-style "civilization" for the positive aspects he observed.Under alcohol's influence, he was recorded as having been dangerous and enraged. The Moravian missionaries noted finding him lying senseless beside a path. When they chastised him for being drunk, he declared, "Thank God, I thought I had been shot!"
Vann fought a newsworthy duel with his brother-in-law John Falling, with both armed with muskets and on horseback (Falling died). Vann was generous with his money to those in need, but ruthless to those who crossed him. He ordered a slave Isaac, caught stealing, to be burned alive. In the same incident, Vann had a teenaged girl slave hung by her thumbs to tell about the theft; the Moravian missionaries rescued her and tried to dissuade him from the murder of Isaac.
His primary heir was Joseph Vann
Joseph Vann
Joseph H. Vann was a Cherokee leader who owned Diamond Hill , many slaves, taverns, and steamboats that he operated on the Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers. He born at Spring Place, Georgia on February 11, 1798...
, his eldest son by Nannie Brown. Joseph inherited the Spring Place plantation (Diamond Hill), and the property on the Tennessee River
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
later known as Vann's Town. He became known as "Rich Joe" Vann. The National Cherokee Council recognized the other children of Vann's nine wives or consorts as minor heirs.
Representation in media
- Dee Alexander Brown wrote a novel related to a fictionalized version of Vann's life, called Creek Mary's Blood (1981).
- The book's title was used for a song on the album OnceOnceOnce may refer to:Music* Once * Once * Once * Once * Once * Once , an Indonesian singerOther uses* Once...
(2004) by the Finnish band NightwishNightwishNightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. Formed in 1996 by songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former vocalist Tarja Turunen, Nightwish's current line-up has five members, although Tarja has been replaced by Anette Olzon and the...
.
Sources
- Colonial Records Relating to Indian Affairs, 1710–1765, South Carolina Archives, Charleston,SC.
- Dews, Robert to Alexander Cameron (1779 letter), Southern Superintendency of Indian Affairs, British Colonial Office Records, National Archives of Great Britain, Kews, U.K. (Microfilm in Library of Congress).
- Hawkins, Benjamin. Letters of Benjamin Hawkins, 1796–1806. Collections of the Georgia Historical Society, Vol. IX, Savannah, GA, 1916.
- McClinton, Rowena. The Springplace Mission to the Cherokees, 1805–1821 (2 volumes). (University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2007).
- McLoughlin, William G.William G. McLoughlinWilliam Gerald McLoughlin was an historian and prominent member of the history department at Brown University from 1954 to 1992. His subject areas were the history of religion in the United States, revivalism, the Cherokee, missionaries to Native Americans, abolitionism, and Rhode Island.Born in...
. Cherokee Renascence in the New Republic. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992). - McLoughlin, William G.William G. McLoughlinWilliam Gerald McLoughlin was an historian and prominent member of the history department at Brown University from 1954 to 1992. His subject areas were the history of religion in the United States, revivalism, the Cherokee, missionaries to Native Americans, abolitionism, and Rhode Island.Born in...
. "James Vann: Intemperate Patriot, 1768–1809". The Cherokee Ghost Dance; Essays on the Southeastern Indians, 1789–1861. Mercer University Press, 1984). - John Howard Payne / Daniel Butrick Papers, Newberry Library, Chicago, IL.
- Shadburn, Don L. Unhallowed Intrusion: A History of Cherokee Families in Forsyth County, GA. (Shadburn, 1993).
- Wilkins, Thurman. Cherokee Tragedy: The Ridge Family and the Decimation of a People. (New York: Macmillan Company, 1970).
External links
- http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lpproots/Neeley/cvann.htm (Penelope Allen Papers: Clement Vann/Descendants of James Vann)