Charles Renatus Hicks (23 December 1767 - 20 January 1827, age 59) was one of the most important Cherokee leaders in the early 19th century and the first non fullblood to be chosen as Principal Chief of the tribe. Born Dec. 23, 1767 in the town of Tomotly on the Hiwassee River, his parents are believed to be a white trader named Nathan Hicks and Nan-Ye-Hi, a half-blood Cherokee woman. She and her brother Gunrod were children of a Swiss national named Jacob Conrad and a native wife. Gunrod was the father of Cherokees named Hair Conrad, Rattlinggoard, Terrapan Head, Young Wolf, and Quatie.

The principal wife of Charles Hicks was Nancy, daughter of Chief Broom of Broomstown. Hicks served as interpreter to U.S. Agent Return Jonathan Meigs, acted as treasurer for the Cherokee Nation, and fought against the Creek Red Sticks in the 1814 Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Allied with the former warriors James Vann and Major Ridge, Hicks was one of the most influential leaders in the Nation during the period after the Chickamauga wars to just past the first quarter of the 19th century. He was baptized by Moravian missionaries as Charles Renatus ("Born Again") Hicks on April 8, 1813.[1] Extremely well-read and acculturated, his personal library was one of the biggest on the continent, public or private. In an 1826 letter to John Ross, Charles Hicks wrote about events in Cherokee history that occurred during his youth, including his encounters with Oconostota, Attacullaculla, and the early European trader Cornelius Dougherty.

He was elected Second Principal Chief under Pathkiller in 1817, but after the "revolt of the young chiefs" two years later, partly over land deals, Hicks became de facto head of government with Pathkiller serving as a mere figurehead. Upon Pathkiller's death in 1827, Hicks became the first mixed-blood to become Cherokee Principal Chief, but died on January 20, 1827, just two weeks after assuming office. His younger brother William Abraham Hicks served as interim Principal Chief, but John Ross, as President of the National Committee, and Major Ridge, as Speaker of the National Council, were the real power brokers in the Nation. Later in 1828 John Ross was elected as the new Principal Chief and served in this capacity until his death in 1867.

from: Wikipedia -------------------- Charles R. Hicks, longtime Second Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation and briefly Principal Chief himself in 1827 following the death of Pathkiller with John Ross as Second Principal Chief, before his own death just a few shorts weeks later brought that to an end. A protégé of the former warrior and Upper Towns chief James Vann, Hicks was one of the most influential leaders in the Nation during the period after the Chickamauga Wars to just past the first quarter of the 19th century. Extremely well-read and acculturated, his personal library was one of the biggest on the continent, public or private. A member of the Cherokee Triumvirate at the beginning of the 19th century, along with James Vann and Major Ridge. Elected Second Principal Chief under Pathkiller in 1811, a political dispute two years later left Hicks as de facto top chief with Pathkiller serving as a mere figurehead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_R._Hicks