Finding John Brown

Dad used to tell a little story about a cousin of his named “Euness Hankins”, a daughter of Great Aunt Bea. They were always friends when they wereyoung. They had also both heard family stories of being Cherokee. Well Dad heard she had found out something new about our Indian heritage, and so he asked her what she found. Now dad told me this story, because I asked him about our Indian heritage at some point. He said Eunice replied to his query; “Oh, you just want that Indian money.” Well this so embarrassed Dad that he just let the topic go. I am not sure if Dad ever spoke to her after that. But that little story made me think there might be proof of our Indian heritage, somewhere, is some document, somewhere.

I have written quite a bit about our Gist/Guess ancestors in my blog, but haven't touched much upon my Brown's. Recently we have had a huge breakthrough, and I wanted to share it. I'd like to start with Aunt Lorena's letter. Most of Dad's brothers and sister's had passed on, but I remembered Aunt Lorena. I knew she and mom were best friends growing up, and they still talked all the time on the telephone. So I wrote her a letter asking her about our Indian ancestry. She wrote me a letter and here is a small section of it.:Dad told me about a story his grandmother had told him. Dad said she was thumbing through his Oklahoma history book. She had pointed to a picture of an Indian in the book, and dad said she told him, “Do you know you are related to him?” The whole family thought it was Sequoyah, because her mother's maiden name was “Guess”. Here is part of what Aunt Lorena wrote me.

I remember more about what our mother told us than grandmother Richey. We
had a wonderful grandmother and I suppose she talked more about Sequoyah to the
boys than to us girls. Alpha was almost 6 years older than I. She was a Brown before
she married grandfather Richey. Her mother was a Guess before she married great
grandfather Brown. I think mama said she was a niece of George Guess, “Sequoyah”.

Well, I've talked a great deal about searching our Guess/Gist ancestors. Today I will cover the “Brown” part. The person Aunt Lula called called “grandmother Richey” was my great grandma, and her maiden name was Josephine Brown. Her father, David B. Brown, appears in a tax list in 1847 in Walker County, Alabama with his father, John Brown. In 1848 David appears on a tax list in Lawrence County, Arkansas with the following family: Tracing them before 1820 when John Brown married Polly [Mary] Black has been difficult. Now family story says they were Cherokee but we can't prove it. And do you know how many Cherokees there were named “John Brown” who were alive during his lifetime? We have found three on the Reservation Rolls, alone! And I suspect there were others NOT on the Reservation Rolls. Also, while researching our family, I have found several other people, who are not federally enrolled, like us, who claim to descend from a Cherokee named “John Brown”, and NONE of them were OUR John Brown. So I really got discouraged. How can I determine which John Brown is which? I tried to get information from the NARA offices in Fort Worth but they refused to help me. They said I had to go down there myself. I became discouraged, and let it slide. I searched for our ancestors in Indian rolls, census records, county documents, and other historical papers.

Here is much of what we know, at present.

In Alabama. John Brown married Polly Black. Dec 23, 1820 in Lawrence County, Alabama.
This marriage is found in early Lawrence County, Alabama marriage records. John
Brown was married in Lawrence County, Alabama in 1820. 1830 census Lawrence County, Alabama
John Brown 111000001, 2112001. Three males fifteen or under, 2 females five or under, 2 females between 5 and 15 years of age, and 2 females between 15-20. Mary 40-50, and there is no male the age of OUR John Brown, but there is an elder male 60-70 years old. He would have been the head of household, and his name was John Brown. They live near the Emanuel McNutt household where John’s son, David’s future wife lives. There is also a William McNutt nearby. He appears to be Emanuel McNutt's father. Emanuel was Harriet Guess/Gist's step-father. Harriet married David B. Brown, and they are my great great grandparents. Both William McNutt's and John Brown's appear on documents mentioned pertaining to Rachel [Havens] Gist/Guess's father, James Havens. Rachel was Harriet's mothr. All these families knew each other, and are interconnected. There is also the head of a household named “William Black” living nearby as well. Perhaps this is the family of Polly (Mary) Black, wife to John Brown. By 1840 they are living in Walker County, Alabama’s, and are listed on the Alabama census records for that year (10120001,0110101). On this census there IS a John Brown, 50-60 years old. If the elder John Brown were still in the household he is not mentioned. He is probably deceased, and he would have been 70-80 years old, at least 20 years older than the John Brown presently named as the head of the household. On 1847 tax records John Brown is still alive. A second John Brown is already deceased and his wife Hannah is mentioned. David Brown is on the same tax records. So after marrying Harriet in Shelby County, Tn (the Memphis area) in 1841, he has returned to the place of his birth. Marriage problems? Did she go with him? They had no children during those years. Perhaps we will never know. By 1850 census, my John’s widow Mary, is head of household in Walker County, Alabama,so he seems to have died between 1847 and 1850. Nothing is known of him before his marriage to “Polly” [Mary] Black. There was a “Brown’s Ferry” on the Lawrence/Limestone county lines across the Tennessee River. Melton’s Bluff is nearby. We have Gist relations who knew Jason Cloud, who knew a Cherokee named John Brown of the other Brown’s Ferry near what is today Chattanooga, Tennessee. But we have hit dead ends at this point. Maybe one day we will find more. Once we thought it was impossible to discover our branch of the Gist’s, but we have with the help of others. Maybe what is needed is for all the Brown’s to get together and compare notes. Perhaps something else. Maybe we’ll never know. (1).

Our Brown's, 1850 census, Lawrence Co., Arkansas

David B. Brown 29 farmer Ala

Harriet Brown 33 Ala

Nancy I. Brown 7 Tenn

Thomas McNutt 16 farmer Ala

Nancy A. Loony 6 Ala

Thomas Opdych 61 physician Ohio

Our “Josephine” (my great grandma) wasn't born until 1854. Harriet (Guess) Brown's last step father was Emanuel McNutt. Thomas McNutt was her half-brother. They had the same mother. Nancy I. Brown's 'real name' was Nancy I joiner. Another of Harriet's ha-f sinlings was Cynthia McNutt. Cynthia married Thomas S. E. Joiner. Nancy I. was their daughter.

In 1860 this family looked like this:

Thomas McNutt 26 laborer Ala

Orlena McNutt 25 Ala

James McNutt 21 Arkansas

Betsy A. McNutt 3/12 Ark

“ — next door is – “

David B. Brown 37 Al

Harriet Brown 43 Tn

Nancy I. Brown 17 Tn

Nancy A. Brown 15 Al

John Brown 8 Ar

Josephine Brown 6 Ar

Sarah A. Brown 3 Ar

Amanda Brown 1 Ar

Notice “Nancy A. Loony” on the 1850 census has become “Nancy A. Brown”. I cover these things in my book, “Finding Our Indian Blood”. Thomas McNutt (Harriet's half brother) had married a girl named “Orlena”. Just who is “Orlena”? This brings us to another family who had just moved to Lawrence County, Arkansas.

1860 census, Lawrence County, Arkansas

:Mary Brown 59 NC

Nancy J Brown 19 Ala

Martha L. Brown 16 Ala

(next door)

Malinda JOHNSON 34 AL Laborer

Nancy “ 13 AL

Levi “ 12 AL

David “ 10 AL

Thomas “ 1 AR

Now, who are these Brown's? Are they related to ours? Well, to answer that, we have to keep searching.

1850 Walker County, Alabama census

Mary Brown 49 NC

Linday Brown 25 Ala

Elizabeth Brown 16 Ala

Orleny Brown 15 Ala

Alfred Brown 13 Ala

Nancy Brown 10 Ala

Martha Brown 8 Ala

Syntha Brown 4 Ala

Nancy Brown (inmate) 5 Ala

Levy Brown (inmate) 3 Ala

David Brown (inmate) 1/12 Ala

How does this family compare to the 1840 census of the family of John Brown, just discussed?Keep consider that families are dynamic things, as older family membrs move out or the household or pass on, and younger family members are born. Sometimes family members get married and the spouse moves in with them. Knowing that, let us check.

males

1 – 0-5 Alfred Brown would have been 3

0 – 5-10 no mention

1 – 10-15 no mention. One researcher mentions a Nehemiah Brown who would have been 11 years.

2 – 15-20 Our David would have been one of these, abt. 17.

0 – 20-30

0 – 30-40

1 – 40-50 John Brown, would have been 70-80. He is not on the 1840 census, but another John Brown IS on the 1840 census, in the same household, who would have been 40-50 years old..This means his birth would have been between 1790-1800.

females

2 – 0-5 Nancy would have been a baby, Orlena about 5.

1 – 5-10 Elizabeth would have been 6.

1 – 10-15 Malinda would have been 15

2 – 15-20 – unknown. Ten years later they would have been 25-30 years old – perhaps married.

0 – 20-30

0 – 30-40

1 – 40-50 Our Mary (Polly) Brown would have been 39. However often there are census records that are a few years off,

The 1850 of Walker County, Alabama is the same family found in Arkansas in 1860! Notice “Orleny” and recall “Orlena” Notice “Malinda Johnson” and compare her to “Linday Brown”. Notice children named Nancy, Levi, and David. Nancy and martha are also daughters of Mary Brown, but about 10 years older in 1860. These things are NO coincidence – it is the same family. Was Malinda's son David named after Malinda's older brother, also named David, MY ancestor, David Brown? It sure seems that way, but we need proof.

Proof David B. Brown is the son of John Brown and Polly (Mary) Brown

One name missing from the 1860 census in Arkansas is Alfred Brown. Where is he? Well, it just so happens that we have found Alfred Brown in Hopkins County, Texas in the 1860 census, is 22 years old, and says he was born in Alabama. In 1870 we have the following family in Lawrence County, Arkansas;

1870 Census Lawrence County, Ar

Alfred Brown 33 laborer Al

Nancy I. Brown 25 keeping house Tn

Mary J Brown 5 Ar

Louisa Brown 3 Ark

Alice Brown 2/12 Ark

Look at his wife – Nancy I Brown. This is the same girl who was daughter to Harriet's half-sister! Her real name was Nancy I Joiner, but was known as Nancy I. Brown. This ties the two Brown families even closer. The final proof of the relationship between David and Alfred Brown can be found in the 1880 census. Per great uncle's Oscar Richey's interview for “Indian Pioneer Papers”, we find after Jeff Richey married Josephine Brown in 1872, they moved just inside Indian Territory borders near Fort Smith. However, by 1880, they had moved again to live in Denton County, Texas. Here is the census of 1880 Denton County, Tx;

1880 Census, Denton County, Texas

Jeffrey H. Richey, age 28, Ar, In, Ar

Josephine, 26, Ar, Al, Al.

Etta E., 2, Tx, Ar, Ar.

Swaney, 1, Tx, Ar, Ar.

Mandy Knight, 18, sister-in- law, Ar, Al, Al.

Mary J. Brown, 16, cousin, Ar, Al, Al.

Notice the “cousin” Mary J Brown, 16 years old and there is the census 10 years earlier of Alfred Brown with a daughter named Mary J Brown, 5 years old. Notice it says BOTH her parents were born in Alabama while she was born in Arkansas. She IS the daughter of Alfred Brown and Nancy [Joiner] Brown. Josephine is Mary's cousin if her father, David Brown, and Alfred Brown, are BROTHERS! We have not found Alfred Brown on any later census records. But with his daughter living with my family in Denton Co., Tx in 1880, I think we have made a pretty strong case that David Brown and Alfred Brown are brothers.

About John Brown, Cherokee

I was told the following by a CDIB card-carrying enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation:

John Brown, (Cherokee) in the U.S. House of Representative Private Claims, Vol. 1 Record Image Index-only record Report issue

Name: John Brown, (Cherokee) Nature of Claim: Compensation for improvement on lands relinquished

Congress: 23 Session: 1 Manner Brought:

Petition Journal Page: 50

Referred to Committee: Indian Affairs

This is the John Brown the records were connected to ........

John Brown Birth 1795 in Unknown Death 1855 in Walker County, Alabama, USA

Timeline Birth 1795 Unknown [1 Source]

Marriage to Mary Polly Black 1820 23 Dec Age: 25 Lawrence County, Alabama, USA

Alabama Marriage Collection, 1800-1969 - Its repeated 3 Times for each. 2 Sources

Residence 1840 Age: 45 Lawrence, Alabama, United States

Death 1855 Age: 60 Walker County, Alabama, USA

Wife and Children

Mary Polly Black 1801 – 1885

David B. Brown 1822 – 1865

Malinda Amanda Brown 1828 – 1880

Nehemiah Brown 1829 –

Elizabeth A. Brown 1834 – 1922

Alfred L. Brown 1837 –

Nancy Y. Brown 1840 –

Martha L. Brown 1843 –

Orleny Brown 1845 – 1889

Cynthia Brown 1846 –

John Brown in the U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 Record Image View Add alternate information Report issue Name: John Brown Issue Date: 16 Oct 1835 Acres: 80.01 Meridian: Huntsville State: Alabama County:

Winston Township: 11-S Range: 7-W Section: 25 Accession Number: AL1300__.148 Metes and Bounds: April 24, 1820: Sale-Cash Entry (3 Stat. 566) Document Number: 6954

John Brown, (Cherokee) in the U.S. House of Representative Private Claims, Vol. 1 Record Image Index-only record Report issue Name: John Brown, (Cherokee) Nature of Claim: Compensation for improvement on lands relinquished Congress: 21 Session: 1 Manner Brought: Petition Journal Page: 318 Referred to Committee: Indian A

John Brown Jr in the U.S., War of 1812 Service Records, 1812-1815 Record Image Index-only record Add alternate information Report issue Name: John Brown Jr Company: COL. MORGAN, JR.'S, REG'T CHEROKEE INDIANS. Rank - Induction: PRIVATE Rank - Discharge: PRIVATE Roll Box: 27

Prisoner Of War David was listed on a roll of prisoners from Corinth, Mississippi at Provost Marshal's Office October 14, 1862. He was at the battle of Shiloh, Pittsburg Landing Tennessee; the Battle of Iuka, Mississippi on 19 September 1862, the battle of Corinth on the 3rd & 4th; Hatchie on the 5th and 6th of October.

But still, I am trying to differentiate between my Brown's and others, to discover how they go back to the Cherokee, and if there are records that can prove it.

Searching for More Information Based on What I've Been Told

FOLKS – THAT IS US!! But HOW do they attach OUR John Brown to the one in those documents? If we can just do that, he have the connection we need. Apparently there is a record from the 21^st and 23rd session of Congress of our John Brown asking to be compensated for improvements on lands he'd relinquished, and the names of his wife and children are apparently mentioned. Some things are still not clear about this, so more work is needed to be done. Each time we find something, it leaves more questions than it actually answered . . . back to the drawing board, to seek more answers. And I wonder if this is what dad's cousin Euness found? -- that elusive proof . . .

I was able to contact someone at Congressional Archives who sent me the following information:

Dear Mr. Hawkins:

In looking at an index, I saw that your John Brown began petitioning in the 21st Congress, and in the 24th Congress a private law was enacted on his behalf.

The Library of Congress through its American Memory Project has placed online various Congressional-related publications at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html

Through it you'd be able to see the one-sentence references to his submissions of petitions in the 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th Congresses.  Those entries are in the House Journal.  For the 21st Congress, 1st session on page 318; for the 21st Congress, 2nd session on page 163; for the 22nd Congress, 1st session on page 387; for the 22nd Congress, 2nd session on page 79; for the 23rd Congress, 1st session on page 50; and for the 24th Congress, 1st session on page 96.

You'd be able to see the law in Volume 6 of United States Statutes at Large on page 692.

I'll put in the mail to you a copy of the law as well as a printed copy of House Report 73 of the 22nd Congress, 2nd session, to accompany bill H.R. 717 (that you'd also be able to see from the same site) on behalf of James Brown and John Brown.

Typically the same petition is submitted over and over again, which would explain why I didn't see a copy when I looked in appropriate places for the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd Congress.  From the 24th Congress I'll send you a photocopy of the letter on the back of which was written "James & John Brown - March 20 1837 - Papers sent as within requested"  The front of the letter from the 2nd Auditor's Office in the Treasury Department was the request:  "You will please send to the Department of the 2nd auditor all the papers relating to an act fro the relief of James & John Brown, half breeds, of the Cherokee Nation of Indians, passed the 3rd March 1837."

If you want to pursue a quest to locate the paperwork in question, send a new e-mail to archives1reference@nara.gov  For the subject line put:  RG 217, 2nd Auditor request

In the body of the e-mail state that you're looking for the paperwork send from the House of Representatives to the Treasury Department's 2nd Auditor Office on March 9, 1837, in follow-up to a private law passed on March 3, 1837, "for the relief of James and John Brown, half breeds, of the Cherokee Nation of Indians."  Indicate that you're looking for the paperwork associated with John Brown.

Those particular records are extremely difficult to work with.  It could be that the archivist who responds will simply invite you or your designated research representative to come to the National Archives Building to attempt to locate the desired paperwork.  I don't know if that will be the case.  If it is, one option would be to contract with someone in the Washington area to undertake research on your behalf, with names on this list:

http://www.archives.gov/research/hire-help/

Sincerely,

Rodney A. Ross

Center for Legislative Archives

202-357-5350

So, someone assured me our family was the same John Brown mentioned in records found in Washington DC. I have found a Cherokee named John Brown about the same age as ours, but he at present, have no connection between that Cherokee family that ties them to our Brown's other than circumstance. I am hoping these Congressional records in Washington DC will fill up that void. I searched the web site she suggested and found a few things:

From: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?hlaw:3:./temp/~ammem_T3bO::

21^st congress, 1^st session, Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, 1829-1830
MONDAY, February 22, 1830.

Mr. Standifer presented a petition of John Brown, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Indians, praying to be paid for improvements made by him on lands, which were afterwards reserved by treaty between the United States and the Cherokee Indians, to a certain David Fields.

Ordered, That the said memorials and petitions be referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

21^st congress, 2^nd session

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?hlaw:2:./temp/~ammem_T3bO::

On motion of Mr. Standefer,

Ordered, That the petition of John Brown, presented February 22, 1830, be referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?hlaw:1:./temp/~ammem_CSSh::

source 1.

Committee: Committee of the Whole House~Committee on Indian Affairs

January 28, 1833
Read twice, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House to-morrow. Mr. Thompson, of Georgia, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported the following bill: A Bill For the relief of James Brown and John Brown, half breeds, of the Cherokee nation of Indians.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llhb&fileName=016/llhb016.db&recNum=294

(above)

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?hlaw:2:./temp/~ammem_CSSh::

Ordered, That the petitions of John Brown, presented February 22, 1830, and James Brown, Cherokee Indians, presented March 2d, 1830, be referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?hlaw:3:./temp/~ammem_CSSh::

Mr. Thompson, of Georgia, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, made a report on the petitions of James Brown and John Brown, half breeds of the Cherokee nation of Indians, accompanied by a bill (No. 717) for their relief; which bill was read the first and second time, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House to-morrow.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?hlaw:4:./temp/~ammem_CSSh::

Ordered, That the petition of John Brown, a Cherokee Indian, presented February 22, 1830, and the petition of James Brown, a Cherokee Indian, presented March 2, 1830, be referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

The following Brown's are listed on the Reservation Rolls:; Reservation ID. 60, Alexander Brown, 61, James Brown, 62, John Brown, 63, John Brown Jr, 64, John Brown Sr, 65, Polly Brown, and 66, William Brown..David Fields was assigned the reservation #165.

James Brown

Bills and Resolutions, House of Representatives, 22nd Congress, 1st Session, Read twice, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House to-morrow. Mr. Bell, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported the following bill: A Bill For the relief of the legal representatives of James Brown.

Committee: Committee of the Whole House

February 17, 1832

Read twice, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House to-morrow. Mr. Bell, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported the following bill: A Bill For the relief of the legal representatives of James Brown.

View bill H.R. 391

1. Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, 1831-1832; FRIDAY, February 17, 1832.

Mr. Bell, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, made a report on the petition of Joseph Brown, accompanied by a bill (No. 391) for the relief of James Brown; which bill was read the first and second time, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House to-morrow.

Bills and Resolutions, House of Representatives, 24th Congress, 1st Session, Read twice, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House to-morrow. Mr. Everett, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported the following bill: A Bill For the relief of James Brown and John Brown, half breeds, of the Cherokee nation of Indians.

---

Committee: Committee of the Whole House~Committee on Indian Affairs

February 5, 1836

Read twice, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House to-morrow. Mr. Everett, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported the following bill: A Bill For the relief of James Brown and John Brown, half breeds, of the Cherokee nation of Indians.

View bill H.R. 292

Bills and Resolutions, House of Representatives, 22nd Congress, 1st Session, Read twice, and committed to the Committee of the Whole House to which is committed the bill (H.R. No. 391) for the relief of the legal representatives of Joseph Brown. Mr. Mason, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported the following bill: A Bill For the relief of John W. Flowers, Nicholas Miller, William Drew, and Joseph Rodgers.

Committee: Committee of the Whole House~Committee on Indian Affairs

May 10, 1832

Read twice, and committed to the Committee of the Whole House to which is committed the bill (H.R. No. 391) for the relief of the legal representatives of Joseph Brown. Mr. Mason, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, reported the following bill: A Bill For the relief of John W. Flowers, Nicholas Miller, William Drew, and Joseph Rodgers.

View bill H.R. 570

I found the above online as a result of the email I received concerning the Cherokee Brown's. Although I knew of these Brown's, I did not know if we were talking about the same John Brown. Having one person saying this was about my Brown's gave me the will to collect as much material as I could. I have gone down so many dead geological ends in the past, what is one more?Notice the mention of a Joseph brown. I have no idea who he was, but since he was a Brown, I have saved material about him.

More Material Sent by the Archivist

Mr. L. L. Ross of the National Archives and Records Administration, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D. C. 20408-0001, mailed me a few more pages. Know that although the final document declaring they were to be paid is dated March 3^rd, 1837, they had first petitioned the government for relief in about 1829 or 1830. The document covers both James and John Brown. I have transcribed both parts. It reads as follows:

22d Congress, 2d Session [Rep. No. 73.] Ho. Of Reps.

James and John Brown

[To Accompany bill H. R. no. 717.]

Jan 28, 1833

Mr. Thompson of Georgia made the following report:

The Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred the petition of James Brown, and the petition of John Brown, makes the following report:

[section on James Brown]

Te petition of James Brown alleges that he is a citizen and a half breed of the Cherokee Nation of Indians and that in pursuance of the treaty of 1819, between the United States and said Indians, he abandoned two improvements, for which he asks compensation.

The evidence submitted to the committee shows, that the improvements claimed by said James Brown, the first, as appears from the evidence, consisting of fifty-five acres of cleared land, under fence and in cultivation, with one dwelling house, one and a half stories high, nineteen feed wide by twenty-two long,, well sealed above and below, two shed rooms in the rear, piaza in front, under shingle roof, a good stone chimney, with one fire place below and one above stairs; a kitchen, smoke house, corn crib, stables, &c; and the other, consisting of forty acres of improved land, with several ordinarily good cabins, was, at the time, or immediately after the surrender of them by said James Brown, worth the sum of six hundred and forty-seven dollars. That the first of said improvements was said by said James Brown for his own special use; and that the other improvement “was made for the use of a school which the said James Brown did maintain, mostly at his own expense.” And that said James Brown abandoned said improvements to his successors, without any consideration from the State of Tennessee or any individual.”

[section on John Brown]

The petitioner, John Brown, alleges in his petition, that he is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and that the General Government deprived him of an improvement made by himself, by including it in a reserve granted by the United States to David Fields, for which the petitioner claims compensation. The evidence submitted by the committee proves, that the improvements for which the petitioner, John Brown, claims compensation, consisting of, as appears from the evidence, forty acres of land, enclosed and in cultivation; one grist mill and two log cabins, was, at the time the said John Brown was dispossessed, worth the sum of three hundred and thirty dollars, and the said improvement was included in the reserve granted to the said David Fields.

The petitioners claim compensation for improvements of which they were deprived by the operation of the treaty of 1819, between the United States and the Cherokee Nation of Indians under the second article of said treaty by which “the United States agreed to pay according to the stipulation contained in the treaty of the eighth of July, eighteen hundred and seventeen, for all improvements on land lying within the country ceded by the Cherokees, which add real value to the land.” It is shown by the evidence submitted to the committee, that the improvements, for which confirmation is now claimed, was included in the country ceded by the treaty of 1819, and are now situated within the county of Hamilton, in the state of Tennessee. According to the officer in charge of the Indian Bureau, addressed to a member of this committee, in reply to a call for information on the subject, shows that the office affords no evidence that the improvements in question were appraised, or paid for according to the provisions of the treaty of 1819, according to the stipulations contained in the treaty of the eighth of July, eighteen hundred and seventeen.” While it is admitted that the treaty of 1817 provided an allowance for improvements surrendered in pursuance of that treaty,, to such Indians and Indian countrymen only who actually emigrated west of the Mississippi River, the committee are of opinion that the broad provision provided for the second article of the treaty of 1819, for the payment of the value of improvements surrendered with the country ceded by the last mentioned treaty, entitles the petitioners to a fair compensation for the improvements which they surrendered in pursuance of that treaty. The evidence shows that those improvements added a certain real value of the improvements of the ceded lands. By a surrender of those improvements, the petitioners were deprived of the benefits secured to the possessor of the land y such improvements. Common justice will therefore, award to the petitioners renumeration. The committee are of the opinion that the evidence presented to them bears satisfactory marks of credibility, and that valuation of the improvements described by the evidence, is not unreasonable. Believing that James Brown is entitled to the sum of six hundred and forty seven dollars,, and that John Brown is entitled to the further sum of three hundred and thirty dollars,the committee therefore report a bill for their relief.

This appears to be saying that they (John and James Brown) lost lands in Hamilton County, Tennessee, as a result of the treaties of 1817 and 1819. They were not compensated for these loses until 1833. Since James and John Brown are mentioned together, perhaps they are brothers. What is important is that both of these men lost their lands as a result of the treaties of 1817 and 1819, and therefore where did each go after that?

My John Brown married on December 23^rd, 1820, in Lawrence County, Alabama, on lands that had just been ceded by the Cherokee Nation to the United States, as well.

Main Points

James Brown . . . in pursuance of the treaty of 1819 . . .That the first of said improvements was said by said James Brown for his own special use; and that the other improvement “was made for the use of a school which the said James Brown did maintain, mostly at his own expense.” And that said James Brown abandoned said improvements to his successors, without any consideration from the State of Tennessee or any individual.”

James Brown abandoned his home and a school. Neither the person that moved into his home nor the state of Tennessee compensated him for his loss. This suggests the lost lands were in Tennessee.

Davy Crockett, His Own Story

There is another source for Cherokees living in Northern Alabama at the time of the Creek Red Stick War whose surname was “Brown”. Whereas the story above speaks of a Cherokee Indian named John Brown having forty acres of land in Hamilton County, Tennessee at the time of the 1817 and 1819 treaties, Davy Crockette's account puts a Cherokee named “Old man Brown” south and east of Ditto's Landing, at the time of the Creek War, 1813-1814. Old Man Brown was the father of a Cherokee named Colonel “Dick” (Richard) Brown. It is known that his father was named John Brown. It is known that John Brown had a son named John Brown. And both Richard and his brother had sons named John Brown. With all of these Cherokees named John Brown, I have never been able to separate one John Brown from another.

From page 46 Crockett has joined Jackson's army against the Creek Red Stick Warriors. He says that while General Jackson was still in Nashville he states that Major Gibson asked for volunteers to go across the Tennessee River. He and others volunteered..He states; We went on, and crossed the Tennessee River at a place called Ditto's Landing; and then traveled about seven miles further, and took up camp for the night. . . . The next morning however, Major Gibson and myself concluded that we should separate and take different directions to see what discoveries we could make; so he took seven of the men, and I five. Making thirteen in all, including myself. He was to go by the house of a Cherokee Indian named Dick Brown, and I was to go by Dick's father's, getting all the information we could. We were to meet that evening where the roads came together,, fifteen miles the other side Brown's.

Several days later, near the end of this encounter, Crockette says; “We pushed on til we got again to Old Mr. Brown's,which was still about thirty miles from where we had left the main army.” This gives us a pretty good idea of where “Old Mr. Brown” lived. They had left the main army at Ditto's Landing. So he must have lived about 30 miles south of Ditto's landing. On page 55 Crockette mentions a Cherokee Colonel, Dick Brown. This has to be the same Dick Brown he mentioned a few days earlier. He is better known as Richard Brown. He was a well known figure, and it is known that his father was named John Brown. The elder John Brown also had a son named John Brown. Col. Richard Brown also had a son named John Brown. I mention these Cherokee Brown's because my Brown's lived nearby a decade later.

Conclusion

So “Old Mr. Brown” lived about 30 miles from Ditto's Landing, in 1813 or 14. Our John Brown lived in Lawrence County, Alabama 6 years after that, when he married Polly (Mary) Black.

1.] From my book, Finding Our Indian Blood, Chapter 5.

2.] Davy Crockett, His Own Story, p. 46-51.