I went to the missionary Baptist church where Marster and Missus went. Everybody had plenty to eat and plenty to throw away. My aunt done de carding and spinning and my mammy done de weaving and cutting and sewing , and my pappy could make cowhide shoes wid wooden pegs. One day Missus Jennie say to Marster Jim, she says, "Mr. Vann, you come here. There was Mr. Jim Collins, and Mr. Bell, and Mr. Dave Franklin, and Mr. Jim Sutton and Mr. Blackburn that lived around close to us and dey all had slaves. They make pens out in the shallow water with poles every little ways from the river banks. The slaves had a pretty easy time I think. Old Mistress had inherited some property from her pappy and dey had de slave money and when dey turned everything into good money after de War dat stuff only come to about six thousand dollars in good money, she told me. There was a house yonder where was dry clothes, blankets, everything. Nearly a century later (in 1932), Joseph Vann's grandson, R. P. Vann, told author Grant Foreman that Joseph Vann had built a house about a mile south of Webbers Falls (Oklahoma) "a handsome homebuilt just like the old Joe Vann home in Georgia." Sometims just white folks danced; sometimes just the black folks. The grandson reported that the Vann Family lived in that house until "the War," when some 3,000 federal troops descended upon Webbers Falls. Mistress say old Master and my pappy on the boat somewhere close to Louisville and the boiler bust and tear the boat up. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. When Marster Jim and Missus Jennie went away, the slaves would have a big dance in the arbor. I'm goin' give Lucy this black mare. In summer when it was hot, the slaves would sit in the shade evenings and make wooden spoons out of maple. Well, I'll tell you, you pull it out from the wall something like a shelf. Mammy say they was lots of excitement on old Masters place and all the Negroes mighty scared, but he didnt sell my pappy off. The place was all woods, and the Cherokees and the soldiers all come down to see the baptizing. Den old Master get three wagons and ox teams and take us all way down on Red River in de Choctaw Nation. He was called by his contemporaries "Rich Joe" and many legends of his wealth ware still told among the Cherokees. And we learned some things about religion from an old colored preacher named Tom Vann. When we git to Fort Gibson they was a lot of negroes there, and they had a camp meeting and I was baptized. Its inception resulted from many trends in European society, culture, and diplomacy during the late 19th century. He sold one of my brothers and one sister because they kept running off. Mammy and pappy belong to W.P. Women came in satin dresses, all dressd up, big combs in their hair, lots of rings and bracelets. She holler, "Easter, you go right now and make dat big buck of a boy some britches!". All my children was from the first marriage: Thomas, Dora, Charley, Marie, Opal, William, Arthur, Margaret, Thadral and Hubbard. Pappy was the shoe-maker and he used wooden pegs of maple to fashion the shoes. Sometime Young Master Joe and the other boys give me a piece of money and say I worked for it, and I reckon I did for I have to cook five or six times a day. woodland hills market owner; warframe norg brain without bait; firefighter class a uniform pin placement. I never forget when they sold off some more negroes at de same time, too and put dem all in a pen for de trader to come and look at. My uncle used to baptize 'em. Lots of bad things have come to me, but the good Father, high up, He take care of me. Pappys name was Kalet Vann, and mammys name was Sally. They rendezvoused with other slaves who had agreed to participate in the revolt, stole horses to ride to their freedom, then broke into a store to steal guns, ammunition, food, and supplies they needed for their planned escape to Mexicowhere slavery was illegal. The women dressed in whtie, if they had a white dress to wear. on the Ohio River. The place was all woods, and the Cherokees and the soldiers all come down to see the baptising. is anything else your are looking? He didn't want em to imagine he give one more than he give the other. The commissary was full of everything good to eat. My mother Betsy Vann, worked in the big house for the missus. Lord yes, su-er. Because I'se so little, Missus Jennie took me into the Big house and raised me. The grandparents were Joseph Vann, a Scottish trader who came from the Province of South Carolina, and Cherokee Mary Christiana (Wah-Li or Wa-wli Vann). Chief Joseph David VANNfamily tree Parents John Joseph 'Indian Trader' Cherokee Vann 1735- 1815 Waw Li Otterlifter 1750- 1835 Wrong Chief Joseph David VANN? My uncle Joe was de slave boss and he tell us what de Master say do. They had one son: Isaac Vann. Dere come six children; Charley, Alec, Laura, Harry Richard and Jeffy, who waS named after Jefferson Davis. Actually, the Assistant Principal Chief was Joseph "Tenulte" Vann, son of Avery Vann and probably a cousin of "Rich Joe" Vann. How did they hear about it at home? My names' Lucinda Vann, I've been married twice but that don't make no difference. They brought it home and my granmother knew it was Joe's. Christmas lasted a whole month. He jest kept him and he was a good Negro after that. The young, single girls lived with the old folks in another big long house. Coming out of the army for the last time, Pappa took all the family and moved to Fort Scott, Kansas, but I guess he feel more at home wid the Indians for pretty soon we all move back, this time to a farm near Fort Gibson. Perdue, Theda, "The Conflict Within: The Cherokee Power Structure and Removal," Georgia Historical Quarterly, 73 (Fall, 1989), pp. The comfort accorded house slaves is in stark contrast to the lives of the field slaves described in other interviews. A town was laid out on his Hamilton Country farm which was called, Vanntown. Nov 1773 Joseph Vann from SC received 500 acres in Wilkes County, Georgia listing a wife, three sons and four daughters ages 7-16. I wore loom cloth clothes, dyed in copperas what the old Negro women and the old Cherokee women made. Next came the carpenters, yard men, blacksmiths, race-horse men, steamboat men and like that. The 1860 Census records for Oklahoma (the last Census of the slavery era), indicates that the Cherokees held 4,600 Negro slaves; the Chickasaws owned 975; the Choctaws owned, 2,344; the Creeks held 1,532; and the Seminoles reportedly owned 500. Little hog, big hog, didn't make no difference. Sometimes us children would try to follow her, but she'd turn us around pretty quick and chase us back with: "Go on back to the house or the wolves get you.". I always think of my old Master as de one dat freed me, and anyways Abraham Lincoln and none of his North people didn't look after me and buy my crop right after I was free like old Master did. Section 1 is called "Vann Ancestry and Early History" and will include only John Vann's ancestry up to his generation. I dunno her other name. Pedigree report of John Joseph Vann, son of Edward Ned Vann Sr and Mary Lewis Barnes (Ani'-Ga'tge'wi = Kituah or Wild Potato), born in 1736 in Jonesboro, Washington Co., Tennessee. Old Master Joe had a big steam boat he called the Lucy Walker, and he run it up and down the Arkansas and the Mississippi and the Ohio river, old Mistress say. He made a deal with Dave Mounts, a white man, who was moving into the Indian country to drive for him. We had bonnets that had long silk tassels for ties. I had a silver dime on it, too, for along time, but I took it off and got me a box of snuff. One day Missus Jennie say to Marster Jim, she says, "Mr. Vann, you come here. Born on February 11, 1798, in Murray County in northwest Georgia, Vann was the son of Chief James Vann and Margaret "Peggy" Scott. That meant she want a biscuit with a little butter on it. When they wanted something put away they say, "Clarinda, come put this in the vault." People just go and help themselves, till they couldn't eat no mo! Courtesy of Atlanta History Center. He courted a girl named Sally. He didn't tell us children much about the War, except he said one time that he was in the Battle of Honey Springs in 1863 down near Elk Creek south of Fort Gibson. McFadden, Marguerite, "The Saga of 'Rich Joe' Vann", Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol. We got letters all the time form Indians back in the territory. We had seven horses and a litle buffalo we'd raised from when its little. I was afraid I would get cheated out of it cause I can't figure and read, so I tell old Master about it and he bought it off'n me. As a result, they had to settle in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Someone call our names and everybody get a present. Marster had a little race horse called "Black Hock" She was all jet black, excepting three white feet and her stump of a tail. We had a good song I remember. He never come until the next day, so dey had to sleep in dat pen in a pile like hogs. Old Master Joe was a big man in the Cherokees, I hear, and was good to his Negroes before I was born. Everybody, white folks and colored folks, having good itme. My names' Lucinda Vann, I've been married twice but that don't make no difference. Old Master bought de cotton in Ft. Smith, because he didn't raise no cotton, but he had a few sheep and we had wool mix for winter. They had run out of food and were starving, too weak and disillusioned to offer effective resistance. They'd clap their hands and holler. Women came in satin dresses, all dressed up, big combs in their hair, lots of rings and bracelets. Some of the Indian families was Joe Dirt Eater, Six Killer (some of the Six Killers live a few miles SE of Afton at this time, 1938), Chewey Noi, and Gus Buffington. My mammy was a Crossland Negro before she come to belong to Master Joe and marry my pappy, and I think she come wid old Mistress and belong to her. Sometimes I eat my bread this morning none this evening. Sometimes she pull my hair. When Marster Jim and Missus Jennie went away, the slaves would have a big dance in the arbor. At night dem trundles was jest all over the floor, and in de morning we shoved em back under de big beds to git dem outn' de way. A brother was owned by another Vann Family in Tahlequah. 5, Special Issue: American Culture and the American Frontier (Winter, 1981), pp. When they get it they take it back to their cabin. He moved his family to this location and resided there two or three years, until he could establish himself in the west. I never did have much of a job, jest tending de calves mostly. Old Master Joe had a mighty big farm and several families of Negroes, and he was a powerful rich man. Don't know much about him. In 1842, 35 slaves of Joseph Vann, Lewis Ross, and other wealthy Cherokees at Webbers Falls, fled in a futile attempt to escape to Mexico, but were quickly recaptured by a Cherokee possee. )(Alexander Nave) and Joseph Rich Joe Vann b. We didn't suffer, we had plenty to eat. I'd like to go where we used to have picnics down below Webbers Falls. Born 11 February 1798 - Spring Place, Cherokee Nation-East, IT., GA. Deceased 23 October 1844 - Aboard the Lucy Walker,aged 46 years old Parents James Vann, Chief 1809 Nancy Ann Timberlake Brown 1780-1850 Spouses and children Married, Georgia., USA, to Elizabeth Catherine Rowe 1798- with Living Vann Clarinda Rebecca Vann ca 1817- Delia Vann 1834- Lord, Yes! He wanted people to know he was able to dress his slaves in fine clothes. It was tied up at de dock at Webbers Falls about a week and we went down and talked to my aunt an brothers and sister. They'd come to the door like this, "sh.." and go out quick again. Everybody laugh and was happy. He didn't want em to imagine he give one more than he give the other. The Chief Vann House, built between 1804 and 1806 by the Cherokee leader James Vann, is called the "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation .". Joseph Vann took the rebel slaves belonging to him out of the Cherokee Nation and permanently assigned them to work on his steamboats. The married folks lived in little houses and there was big long houses for all the single men. Some niggers say my pappy kept hollering, Rum it to the bank! When the war come they have a big battle away west of us, but I never see any battles. When Mammy went old Mistress took me to de Big House to help her and she was kind to me like I was part of her own family. Lord, Yes! Deutsche Bahn Regional. Christmas morning marster and missus come out on the porch and all the colored folks gather around. Yes, Lord Yes. Born on February 11, 1789, he was also a planter, and businessman who owned slaves, and steamboats among others. . In one month you have to get back. Seneca Chism was my father. A doctor put it in alcohol and they kept it a long time. Everything was stripedy cause Mammy like to make it fancy. One year later my sister Phyllis was born on the same place and we been together pretty much of the time ever since, and I reckon dere's only one thing that could separate us slave born children. Black Hock was awful attached to the kitchen. It had no windows, but it had a wood floor that was kept clean with plenty of brushings, and a fireplace where mammy'd cook the turnip greens and peas and corn--I still likes the cornbread with fingerprints baked on it like in the old days when it was cooked on a skillet over the hot wood ashes. Marster Jim and Missus Jennie wouoldn't let his house slaves to with no common dress out. After the war I married Paul Alexander, but I never took his name. My mother saw it but the colored chillun' couldn't. In winter white folks danced in the parlor of the big house; in summer they danced on a platform under a great big brush arbor. The spring time give us plenty of green corn and beans too. Once they catch a catfish most as big as a man; that fish had eggs big as hen eggs, and he made a feast for twenty-five Indians on the fishing party. Joseph was the son of a Chief of the Cherokees James Vann, and Nancy Brown Vann. All the slaves lived in a log house. My brothers was name Sone and Frank. John Joseph Vann B: 1730 Scotland, M: Wai-Li Princess of Cherokee - 1763,D: 1780 Tennessee, shot by son James (Chief Crazy James) John Vann. There was five hundred slaves on that plantation and nobdy ever lacked for nothing. Snow on the ground and the water was muddy and all full of pieces of ice. My mammy was a Cherokee slave, and talked it good. McLoughlin, William, Cherokee Renascence in the New Republic, Princeton University Press, (1986), ISBN 0691047413. The preacher took his candidate into the water. Old Master Joe was a big man in the Cherokees, I hear, and was good to his negroes before I was born. In one month you have to get back. I'se born across the river in the plantation of old Jim Vann in Webbers Falls. Sometimes Joe bring other wife to visit Missus Jennie. He passed away on 21 Feb 1809 in Shot at Buffington Tavern, GA, USA. Master Joe was sure a good provider, and we always had plenty of corn pone, sow belly and greens, sweet potatoes, cowpeas and cane molasses. After it was wove they dyed it all colors, blue, brown, purple, red, yellow. We had to get up early and comb our hair first thing. Brown sugar, molasses, flour, corn-meal, dried beans, peas, fruits butter lard, was all kept in big wooden hogsheads; look something like a tub. Before he was killed, James Vann was a powerful chief in the Cherokee Nation and wanted Joseph to inherit the wealth that he had built instead of his wives, but Cherokee law stipulated that the home go to his wife, Peggy, while his possessions and property were to be divided among his children. Lord it was terible. He was a slave on the Chism plantation, but came to Vann's all the time on account of the horses. Everybody had fine clothes everybody had plenty to eat. They spun the cottons and wool, weaved it and made cloth. We even had brown sugar and cane molasses most of de time before de War, sometimes coffee, too. After it was wove they dyed it all colors, blue, brown, purple, red, yellow. Morris Sheppard was owned by a Cherokee named Joe Sheppard. Train operators. Chief Joseph David VANN passed awayon 1844in in boat race on Ohio River, Indiana. Dey tole me some of dem was bad on negroes but I never did see none of dem night riding like some say dey did. He and Master took race horses down the river, away off and they'd come back with sacks of money that them horses won in the races. Oh Lord, no. Master give me over to de National Freedmen's bureau and I was bound out to a Cherokee woman name Lizzie McGee. Joseph H. Vann, (11 February 1798 23 October 1844). We lived there a long time, and I was old enough to remember setting in the yard watching the river (Grand River) go by, and the Indians go by. Used to go up and down the river in his steamboat. I had to work in the kitchen when I was a gal, and they was ten or twelve children smaller than me for me to look after, too. I got all my money and fine clothes from the marster and the missus. He say he wanted to git de family all together agin. He'd take us and enjoy us, you know. The people conducting the interviews from 1936-1938 were instructed to write the material gleaned from the interviews as closely as possible to the speech patterns of the former slaves they interviewed. Chief Joseph Vann Family Tree Check All Members List, June Carter Family Tree Check All Members List. Dey was for bad winter only. Bahnen der Stadt Monheim GmbH. Everbody goin' on races gamblin', drinkin', eatin', dancin', but it as all behavior everything all right. Person Interviewed: Betty Robertson Location: Fort Gibson, Oklahoma Age: 93 I was born close to Webbers Falls, in the Canadian District of the Cherokee Nation, in the same year that my pappy was blowed up and killed in the big boat accident that killed my old Master. Although he was born after slavery had ended, Nave's remembrances of what his father had told him about slavery days include some interesting details. I raised eleven children just on de sweat of my hands and none of dem ever tasted anything dat was stole. I think I hear 'em say mamma was born on Bull Creek; that somewhere up near Kansas, maybe near Coffeyville. Bahnen der Stadt Monheim. In the pre-dawn hours of November 15, 1842, the Negroes locked their still-sleeping masters and overseers in their homes. We never put on de shoes until about late November when de front begin to hit regular and split our feet up, and den when it git good and cold and de crop all gathered in anyways, they is nothing to do 'cepting hog killing and a lot of wood chopping and you don't get cold doing dem two things. I had me a good blaze-faced horse for dat. Everything was fine, Lord have mercy on me, yes. It is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 76 and Georgia 225 in Murray County, on the outskirts of Chatsworth in northwest Georgia. Hams cakes, pies, dresses, beads, everything. I lost my land trying to live honest and pay my debts. It was in the Grand River close to the ford, and winter time. He would tell em plain before hand, "Now no trouble." We take a big pot to fry fish in and we'd all eat till we nearly bust. I've seen em. There was lots of preserves. I joined the Catholic church after the war. Don't know what they ever did with that arm. Mistress try to get de man to tell her who de negro belong to so she can buy him, but de man say he can't sell him and he take him on back to Texas wid a chain around his two ankles. She turned the key to the commissary too. Joseph and his sister Mary were children of James Vann and Nannie Brown, both Cherokee of mixed-blood, with partial European ancestry. When the white folks danced the slaves would all sit or stand around and watch. Thank you for visiting chief joseph vann family tree page. When the Indians decided to return home for reinforcements, the slaves started moving again toward Mexico. John Joseph had two wives named Agnes Weatherford, Wawli War-le Wah Li Mary Otterlifter (Cherokee) and nine children named Keziah, John Isaac, Joseph David Joe, Alcey Mary Ann, James Clement Clemens, Avery, Mary B . I've heard em tell of rich Joe Vann. Sometimes we got to ride on one, cause we belonged to Old Jim Vann. http://www.timcdfw.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I7805&tree= Joseph Vann removed to the West in 1836. My mother was seamstress. James Vann had several other wives and children. The participants in this near slave revolt received physical punishments, but none were killed. Had to sign up all over again and tell who we was. He would tell em plain before hand, "Now no trouble." People all a visitin'. Marster had a big Christmas tree, oh great big tree, put on the porch. Yes, Lord Yes. He was a Cherokee leader who owned Diamond Hill (now known as the Chief Vann House), many slaves, taverns, and steamboats that he operated on the Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers. Yes Lord Yes. Some 3,500 interviews were conducted. Young Master Joe let us have singing and be baptised if we want to, but I wasnt baptized till after the war. In the morning we got up early, made a fire, and made a big pot of coffee. I spent happy days on the Harnage plantation going squirrel hunting with the master---he was always riding, while I run along and throw rocks in the trees to scare the squirrels so's Marse John could get the aim on them; pick a little cotton and put it in somebody's hamper (basket) and run races with other colored boys to see who would get to saddle the masters horse, while the master would stand laughing by the gate to see which boy won the race. This is a reconstruction of the non-Indian immediate relatives of Chief James Vann, based on the solid evidence of Cherokee sources (especially the Moravian Diaries at Spring Place,GA 1800-1836), plus confirming information obtained from postings on the Vann Family Forum: He had black eyes and mustache but his hair was iron gray, and everybody like him because he was so good natured and kind. There was big parties and dances. The second time I married a cousin, Rela Brewer. The following slave narratives all mention the Vanns. I wouldn't go, so he sent Isaac and Joe Vann dat had been two of Old Captain Joe's negroes to talk to me. He'd take us and enjoy us, you know. Old Master had some kind of business in Fort Smith, I think cause he used to ride into dat town about every day on his horse. Trusted by millions of genealogists since 2003. . The following oral history narrative is from the The WPA Oklahoma Slave Narratives in the Library of Congress, edited by T. Lindsay Baker, Julie Philips Baker: Yes Sa. Marster had a big Christmas tree, oh great big tree, put on the porch. I dont know, but that was before my time. Some had been in a big run-away and had been brung back, and wasnt so good, so he keep them on the boat all the time mostly. Soon as you come out of the water you go over there and change clothes. It's on records somewhere; old Seneca Chism and his family. I'm gonna give Lucy this black mare. Some of us had money. When meal time come, someone ring that bell and all the slaves know its time to eat and stop their work. Every dollar she make on the track, I give it to Lucy." Historical records and family trees related to Cherokee Vann. Two year old when my mamma died so I remember nothing of her, and most of my sisters and brothers dead too. After the explosion someone found an arm up in a tree on the bank of the river. We had fine satin dresses, great big combs for our hair, great big gold locket, double earrings we never wore cotton except when we worked. I wore a stripedy shirt till I was about 11 years old and den one day while we was down in the Choctaw Country old Mistress see me and nearly fall off her horse. Everybody a hollerin' and a cryin'. The beautiful brick house was surrounded by kitchens, slave quarters and mills, with apple and peach orchards covering the adjacent hills. The command of the Army was shared by Doublehead and Watts. I remember Chief John Ross. Dey called young Mr. Joe "Little Joe Vann" even after he was grown on account of when he was a little boy before his pappy was killed. Everybody had a good time. They'd bring whole wagon loads of hams, chickens and cake and pie. We was too tired when we come in to play any games. Missus Jenni lived in a big house in Webbers Fall.s Don't know where the other one lived. Marster never whipped no one. Some Negroes say my pappy kept hollering, "Run it to the bank! Mammy had the wagon and two oxen and we worked a good size patch there until she died, and then I git married to Cal Robertson to have somebody to take care of me. Vann's father, James . She was weavin when the case came up so quick, missus Jennie put her in her own bed and took care of her. Sometimes they fish in the Illinois river, sometimes in the Grand, but they always fish the same way. Yes, my dear Lord yes. Everything was cheap. We settled down a little ways above Fort Gibson. The colored folks did most of the fiddlin'. Like the Ph.D. and the Christmas tree, as Tony Weir has pointed out, the Festschrift is a German import.2 The literal . He would start at de crack of daylight and not git home till way after dark. They was so many of us for dat little field we never did have to work hard. After we got our presents we go way anywhere and visit colored folks on other plantation. A Scottish trader came to Cherokee Territory in 1755, married Wai-Li and became a licensed trader-interpreter for the Queen of England. Because mamma was sick then he brought her sister Sucky Pea and her husband, Charley Pea, to help around wid him. They was Cherokee Indians. Then the preacher put you under water three times. Chief Vann House Historic Site 22.44 KMs away from Cohutta Wilderness The Chief Vann House Historic Site is a 19th century plantation house that has been carefully restored to its original grandeur. https://web.archive.org/web/20071026072208/http://www.cherokeebyblo Webbers Falls, Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States of America. The slaves of the Creeks also joined those of the Cherokees and the band set out for Mexico. Joseph, 11 years old, was in the room when his father, James, was murdered, in Buffingtons Tavern in 1809 near the site of the family-owned ferry.