Tsu La ‘Kingfisher’

Tsu-la was a Cherokee man

(Curator Note: Little is actually known about Tsu-la other than in context with his wife Nancy Ward. The sources here mention Tsu-la but there appears to be no primary documentation.)

Tsu-la "Kingfisher" Cherokee
Born 1732 in Cherokee Nation (East)
Husband of Nan-Ye-Hi (Cherokee) Ward — married 1752 in Cherokee Nation, Tennesseemap
Father of Ka-ti (Cherokee) Harlan and Hiskyteehee Cherokee
Died 1755 at about age 23 in Muskogee Nation (East)

Biography

Had he not been married to the woman later known as Nancy Ward, it's unlikely that anyone would remember the young Cherokee man from the Deer clan named Tsu-la, or Kingfisher. His birthdate and parents are unknown, but Nan ye hi and Tsu la married about 1752 (based on the birthdates of their children). They were the parents of two children, Ka ti and Fivekiller. In 1755 Oconostota and several hundred Cherokee went to drive the Muskogee [Creek] from what is now north Georgia. Kingfisher and Nan ye hi were included. At the Battle of Taliwa, Kingfisher was killed. Legend records that Nan ye hi picked up his rifle and continued to fight. [1]

(Curator note: Kingfisher is the English translation of the Cherokee name Tsu La, but it is doubful that he was ever called by an English name in his short lifetime.)

Sources

1. ↑ Starr, Emmet. History of the Cherokee Indians. The Warden Co., Oklahoma City, 1921. p. 468

Source: The WikiTree Native American Project @ https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cherokee-119
__________

Tsu-La Kingfisher

He was born about 1725 in Cherokee Nation East, now Tennessee. Tsu-La is pronounced as jew-law and means fox in Cherokee. He was a full-blood Cherokee of the Deer Clan.

In 1751 at the age of 26 Tsu-La married Nancy Nanye'hi Fivekiller, my 6th great grandmother, who was later in life to be a Beloved Woman of the Cherokee.

Tsu-La was killed while fighting in the Taliwa Battle in Ball Ground, Georgia in 1755 led by the great war chief Oconostota. The Cherokees were determined to drive the Muskogeans (Creeks) out of North Georgia. His wife Nanye'hi the Ghi-ga-u was at his side chewing bullets to cause more deadly effects on the Creeks. Kingfisher was mortally wounded. His wife continued the battle and the Cherokees were eventually victorious. Thus ended the conflict with the Creeks that had started in 1715. As a result of her bravery, Nanye'hi was given the title Ghi-ga-u ("The Beloved One") and, as a result, had veto power over the Cherokee Chiefs.

Source: *, Sharon. “Tsu-La Kingfisher.” The James Scrolls, 29 Jan. 2014, http://thejamesscrolls.blogspot.com/2014/01/tsu-la-kingfishermy-6th....
__________

Per David Keith Hampton, Cherokee genealogist:
"Nancy Ward and Her Descendants" by David Keith Hampton

1. Na-ni "Nancy" (a full-blood Cherokee) was born circa 1736 at Chota, Cherokee Nation East, now, Monroe County, TN. She married Kingfisher "Choo-lah" (a full-blood Cherokee) circa 1751. She married Bryant WARD circa 1758. She died in 1822 at Amohee, Cherokee Nation East, now, Benton, Polk, TN. She was buried at Nancy Ward's Grave, Benton, Polk, TN.

• Kingfisher "Choo-lah" (a full-blood Cherokee) was born circa 1725 probably at Cherokee Nation East. He died circa 1755 at Cherokee Nation East, now, Ball Ground, Cherokee, GA.

——-
Tsu-la "Kingfisher" - Ancestors of Cherokee Genealogist David Keith Hampton

    862.  Tsu-la "Kingfisher" (a full-blood Cherokee); married Nanye'hi "Nancy" (a full-blood Cherokee) (see #863) circa 1751; died 1755 at Cherokee Nation East, now, Ball Ground, Cherokee, GA.''

——-

• Children of Na-ni "Nancy" (a full-blood Cherokee) and Kingfisher "Choo-lah" (a full-blood Cherokee) were as follows:
• 2 i. Katy (a full-blood Cherokee) was born circa 1752 at Cherokee Nation East, now, TN. She married Samuel CANDY circa 1767. She married John WALKER circa 1770. She married Ellis Harlan, son of Ezekiel HARLAN and Hannah OBORN, circa 1778. She died circa 1828 at Cherokee Nation East, now, TN.
• 2 ii. Fivekiller "Little Fellow" "Hi-ski-ti-hi" (a full-blood Cherokee) was born circa 1754 at Cherokee Nation East, now, TN. He married Katy (probably a full-blood Cherokee) (no children). He died circa 1823 at Cherokee Nation East, now, Benton, Polk, TN. He was buried at Nancy Ward's Grave, Benton, Polk, TN.

Emmett Starr indicated that Fivekiller had no children. This information likely came from Ruth STARR Bean. Cherokee Supreme Court records indicate that Fivekiller was dead by October, 1825, and the next year his widow, Katy, was involved in a lawsuit over part of his property; no mention of any children was made.

Bryant WARD was born circa 1732 probably at VA. He married Susie RUTHERFORD circa 1760. He married Ann ____. He died circa 1816 at Franklin County, GA.

• 3 i. Elizabeth "Betsy" WARD was born circa 1759 at Cherokee Nation East, now, TN. She married Joseph MARTIN, son of Joseph MARTIN and Susannah CHILES, circa 1777. She married ____ HUGHES circa 1788. She died circa 1805 at Amohee, Cherokee Nation East, now, Polk County, TN.

Source: Hampton, David Keith. Nancy Ward and Her Descendants. Vol. 1, David Keith Hampton, 2022. pg. 85
__________

Ghigau

Descendants of the Ghi-ga-u, commonly called Nancy Ward.

11 Ghi-ga-u. Kingfisher and Bryan Ward. A22
1122 Catherine. Samuel Candy, John Walker, Ellis Harlan.
2 Fivekiller. * Catherine.
3 Elizabeth Ward. Joseph Martin and ________Hughes

A22. A full blood Cherokee of the Wolf clan, whose name may have been Na-ni. Her first husband, Kingfisher, of the Deer clan, was the father of her first two children; Catherine and Fivekiller. In a battle with the Muskogees, Kingfisher was killed and his wife, who had been laying behind a log, chewing the bullets so that they would lacerate the more; picked up his rifle and fought as a warrior throughout the rest of the skirmish. The Muskogees were defeated and according to custom the captured spoils were divided among the victors. Kingfisher's widow was given a negro that had been captured from the vanquished and in this manner became the first slave owner among the Cherokees and by common consent she became the Ghi-ga-u, or Beloved Woman of the Cherokees, this life time distinction was only granted as an extreme mark of valorious merit and carried with it the right to speak, vote and act in all of the peace and war councils of the tribe, it also vested her with the supreme pardoning power of the tribe, a prerogative that was not granted to any other, not even the powerful peace or war chiefs. …

Source: Starr, Emmett. “History of the Cherokee Indians and Their Legends and Folklore.” Warden Company, 1922.
__________

“ By age seventeen she had two children, Five Killer and Catherine. Her husband was killed in a raid on the Creeks during the 1755 battle of Taliwa, where she fought by her husband’s side, chewing the lead bullets for his rifle to make them more deadly. When he fell in battle, she sprang up from behind a log and rallied the Cherokee warriors to fight harder. Taking up a rifle, she led a charge that unnerved the Creeks and brought victory to the Cherokees.”

Source: Smith, David Ray. “Nancy Ward.” Tennessee Encyclopedia, 5 Feb. 2020, http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/nancy-ward/.
__________

Recommend Reading:
1. Wikipedia contributors. "Battle of Taliwa." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 19 Mar. 2023. Web. 1 May. 2023.

Were it not for the fact that the was the first husband of the famous Cherokee Beloved Woman, Nancy Ward, it's unlikely anyone would remember Kingfisher (Tsula in Cherokee) the young man of the Deer Clan. Nothing is known of his parents or family. He died during the battle of Taliwa in 1755, leaving his wife Nan ye hi (Nancy) and two young children, Kati and Hiskyteehee.

Links

• GED2WWW version 0.31 compiled on Sep 27 1999
• Kingfisher Find A Grave Memorial# 50146484

  ---

  
  

From History of Tennessee: From the Earliest Time to the Present; Together with an Historical and a Biographical Sketch of Hamilton County, Besides a valuable fund of notes, original observations, reminiscences, etc., etc. Nashville: Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1887. pp. 94-95

In a boundary dispute with the Indians, treaty. "In 1793 a force of 1,000 Indians, 700 of them Creeks, the rest Cherokees, under the lead of John Watts and Double Head, 100 of the Creeks being well mounted horsemen, invaded the settlements with the view of attacking Knoxville, but failing to surprise the citizens they abandoned their contemplated attack upon the town. Falling back they found it impossible to leave the country without carrying out in some degree their revengeful purposes, and so made an attack on Cavett's Station. Here after suffering a temporary repulse they proposed that if the station would surrender they would spare the lives of the inmates and exchange them for an equal number of Indian prisoners. Relying upon these promises the inmates of the station surrendered, but no sooner had they passed the door than Double Head and his party fell upon them and put them to death, and most horribly, barbarously and indelicately mutilated their bodies, especially those of the women and children.

"This daring invasion by the Creeks and Cherokees, under the celebrated chief John Watts, convinced the Federal and also the Territorial authorities that defensive warfare was of but little if any use in preventing Indian invasions. The people themselves had long been convinced of this fact, and earnestly desired a return to the tactics of Gen. Sevier. A sudden and decisive blow was loudly called for as the only means of punishment for the Indians and of defense for the settlements. Gen. Sevier was once more the man to lead in a campaign of this kind. His little army then at Ish's was re-enforced by troops under Col. John Blair for Washington District and Col. Christian for Hamilton District, and with these forces Gen. Sevier made his last campaign against the Indians. Crossing Little Tennessee, near Lowry's Ferry he came to an Indian town named Estinaula, and suffered a night attack from the Indians with the loss of one man wounded. Breaking camp in the night he went on toward Etowah, which place he succeeded in capturing after overcoming a determined resistance by the Indians under the command of King Fisher, who, however, fell in the engagement. After being defeated the Indians escaped into the secret recesses of the surrounding country, and Gen. Sevier having burned the town and becoming satisfied that further pursuit would not meet with results commensurate wit the exertion demanded, countermarched and the troops returned safely to their homes." Change Date: 28 Nov 2015 at 09:31:44