Ahuludegi ‘John’ Jolly, Principal Chief of the western Cherokee (AR)

John Jolly was a Cherokee man

Biography

John Jolly was born in the Cherokee Nation (East) probably in the early 1760's. His parents are uncertain, although he is described as both the brother of Jennie Due, (daughter of white trader Robert Due and Cherokee Elizabeth Emory) [1] and of Tah Lon Tee Skee Cherokee , who became head of the Cherokees in Arkansas. [2] A possible scenario is that John and Jennie shared a father, and John and Talonteeskee shared a mother or were the children of sisters. There are no documents that connect Robert Due and John Jolly, and Emmet Starr did not list parents for either Jolly or Tahlonteeskee. [3]

An English botanist, Thomas Nuttall, met Jolly in 1819 and described him: "Being a half-Indian and dressed as a white man, I should scarcely have distinguished him from an American, except by his language. He was very plain, prudent, and unassuming in his dress and manners. " [4] Missionary Cephas Washburn described him later as "of a massive frame. He wore the Indian buckskin hunting shirt, leggings moccasins, and a cloth turban. [5]

Although his brother Tahlonteeskee moved west to the Arkansas about 1809, Jolly remained in the East and was a successful business man and trader with an establishment on Hiwassee Island (now Tennessee) . His name appears frequently in the accounts of the Cherokee Agency. When Sam Houston ran away from home in 1810 he ended up in the Cherokee Nation, living with John Jolly.

The U.S. government had pushed the Cherokee to move west for many years, giving them title to lands in Arkansas under the Treaty of 1817. Many of the hundreds of Cherokee 'Old Settlers' who moved were traditional, hoping to maintain their hunting traditions. Following a visit from his brother in 1818, John left his home in Hiwassee with over 300 other Cherokee and moved to Arkansas. [6]

In February, 1818 Chief John Jolly headed for the Arkansas region with a party consisting of sixteen boats of Cherokee and their possessions. The US Government provided the boats, which remained Government property, and rations for seventy days. Of the 333 that left with Jolly, 108 were warriors who had each been supplied with a new rifle under the provisions of the treaty of 1817.[7] Jolly was elected Principal Chief of the western Cherokee in 1824. [8]

Thomas Nuttall stated that Jolly had a wife when he met him, but did not name her or mention any children. Jolly is believed to have had at least two children, a son named Girt and a daughter Coleesta.

in 1828 the Arkansas Cherokee were forced to give up their homes once again and move to Indian Territory. Jolly settled near what is now Webber's Falls, Oklahoma. One of Jolly's last acts as Chief was signing a treaty at Fort Gibson in 1833. [9] Jolly died in office in December, 1838, just as the Removed Cherokees began to arrive.

From Newspapers.com: "The Buffalo Times," Buffalo, New York, 09/07/1904. Chief John Jolly was a man of wealth. He had large herds of cattle and owned a number of negro slaves. He lived in patriarchal Indian fashion. HIs cabin was situated in a grove of cottonwood trees.

From Newspapers.com: "The Indian Leader," Lawrence, Kansas, 09/19/1913. Sam Houston and his servant went directly to the residence of John Jolly, Chief of the Cherokee Nation, who then lived on the east bank of the Arkanas River, at the mouth, and on the south side of he Illinois River. Tahlonteeskee, the capital, was on the same side of the Illinois and about three miles east of Jolly's. The residence of the Chief was on a high bluff that divided the confluent streams (where steamboats could be seen) and amid a majestic grove of sycamore and cottonwood tree.

From Newspapers.com: "The Tulsa Democrat," Tulsa, Oklahoma, 08/13/1919 - In 1832 the Chiefs were John Jolly, Black Coat and Walter Webber.

Research Notes

The following is undocumented: John Jolly married a woman named Sarah and they had six children. [10] Some claim that he was also married to Elizabeth Emory (the mother of his half-sister Jennie Due), but this is not supported by evidence.

Children:

Girt Jolly b. 1795 d. 1825 m. Naomi
Rachel Jolly b 1816
Sallie Jolly b 1826 m. Isacc Upton
Coleesta (Golista) Jolly b 1820 in Arkansas m. Looney Price
Price Jolly b. 1822
Betty Jolly b 1824
Wife 2: Elizabeth Emory
Two Children: John Jolly Jr and William Jolly

Sources

1. ↑ Meserve, John B. "CHIEF THOMAS MITCHELL BUFFINGTON and CHIEF WILLIAM CHARLES ROGERS" Chronicles of Oklahoma Volume 17, No. 2 June, 1939. p. 141
2. ↑ National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Cherokee Agency in Tennessee, Meigs to Calhoun, Feb. 19, 1818. "Jolly is the brother of Talonteeskee the head of the Arkansas Cherokees... " Image at Fold3 Meigs
3. ↑ Starr, Emmet. History of the Cherokee Indians. Oklahoma Yesterday Publications edition, Tulsa, OK. 1979. p. 472, Note A32, p. 474, Note A44. Digitized edition at Starr.
4. ↑ Nuttall, Thomas. Journal of Travels into the Arkansa Territory, during the year 1819 p. 182 digitized at Nuttall
5. ↑ Starr, Emmet. Cherokees “West”. Emmet Starr, Claremore, OK. 1910.
6. ↑ Mooney, James. History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees.
7. ↑ National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Cherokee Agency in Tennessee, Meigs to Calhoun, Feb. 19, 1818. Images at Fold3 beginning at: Meigs
8. ↑ Hoig, Stanley W. The Cherokees and Their Chiefs. University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville. 1998. pp. 134-135
9. ↑ image at treaty
10 ↑ Walker, Rickey. Doublehead Last Chickamauga Cherokee Chief. Heart of Dixie Publishing, 2012
http://ericflint.wikia.com/wiki/John_Jolly
Newspapers.com: "The Buffalo Time" 09/07/1904, Buffalo, New York, The Indian Leader, Lawrence, Kansas, 09/19/1913 and "The Tulsa Democrat," Tulsa, Oklahoma, 08/13/1919.

Source: The WikiTree Native American Project @ https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Jolly-852