Biography of Eliza Sevier
Eliza Lowrey Sevier was 1/4 Cherokee of the Holly Clan, 1/4 Scotch, and 1/2 English, born in 1796 to the oldest son of the Governor of Tennessee, Joseph Sevier and his Cherokee lover Elizabeth Lowrey. Betsy as she was called, was the daughter of a Scotch immigrant and fur trader named George Lowrey, and his Cherokee wife, Nannie, who was the grand-daughter of Chief Ocanastota.
After this union produced two daughters, Betsy Lowrey left her lover Joseph Sevier and married a half Cherokee, Major John Walker in 1799, and a year later they had their only son, Chief John Walker in 1800.
Eliza's step-father, Major John Walker admired Chief Dragging Canoe so in 1792, at the age of 14, Walker joined him in a raid on Buchanan Station where Walker became known for taking many white scalps.
Eliza lived with her mother and John Walker in Tennessee where they owned a ferry that crossed the Hiwassee River, and eventually Walker became a respected businessman among his people.
Eliza was raised in the political atmosphere of both her Cherokee and white family. She was surrounded by family that on both sides were judges, attorneys. Generals, Chiefs, Senators and Governors.
She was educated at the Brainerd Mission, which was a Presbyterian church for the Cherokee. There she received an excellent education and learned to read and wright in both English and Cherokee. Like many Cherokee, her religion was Presbyterian, and at the age of 18 Eliza was baptized and admitted into the church as a member on July 24, 1817.
Soon afterward she married her distant cousin, W. Templin Ross on 17 May 1818 in Rhea County, Tennessee, who she shared the same Great Grandparents, Abraham Goad and Katherine Williams.
The Brainerd church register states that she is married to a respectable white man, named W. Templin Ross, who was from Richmond, Virginia, and their home was located near the mission. Eliza did not stay at the mission for very long, and she left sometime before January of 1818.
They were married in May and by June of 1819 Templin had to take his new wife on a short trip to stay with her mother until their new baby was born. When Templin returned to their farmhouse he found "my doors were broken open and possession taken of the premises" by several white men. The men refused to let him back into his house..
Although Templin Ross was well off and well educated, he was unable to defend his property for many years. On February 16, 1827 Templin wrote a letter to Thomas L. McKenny, Superintendent of Indian Affairs
requesting assistance in dealing with the squatters who had taken over their 640 acre reservation in Tennessee. Templin reported again in 1827, "and out of which I am kept to this day."
Some Lowreys remained in the Valley Head area without being forced west. They were known for maintaining a “free loan association” to aid poor farmers, widows and other needy individuals.
Her mother and brother, Chief Walker, remained in Tenn until they died, They were not in the forced migration. On August 1, 1819, Eliza and W. Templin Ross were recorded as residing at #246, on Mill Creek, about 5 miles away from her mother and Major John Walker.
Prior to the forced migration known as "The Trail of Tears," of 1838. Eliza and her husband emigrated from Tennessee to Arkansas in 1834.
September 5, 1835
A Letter written by the acting Executor for the estate of of Joseph McMinn, deceased.
To William W. Cowan
"Regarding the Reservation granted to Eliza Ross by Treaty of 1819 and sold by her and her husband Templin Ross to George Harlin, and by Harlin to the late Joe McMinn,
It being the tract on which John McMinn and family now live and have lived for several years. Land on the north side of Hiwassee River joining the Reservation of JOHN WALKER on which the town of Calhoun stands, now belonging to Lewis Ross.
ELIZABETH LOWREY-WALKER (mother of Eliza) of the Cherokee Nation to John Walker Jr. of the same; Bill of Sale, Dec. 6, 1836. Lewis Ross swears to the handwriting of James McDaniel who is out of the limits of the U.S. and is in the Cherokee Nation West."
During the migration out west many of the Cherokee used blankets that were taken from hospitals that brought many illnesses with them, such as cholera and small pox. W. Templin Ross served as a commissary for the Cherokee that were migrating west. It was for that reason that both he and his wife contracted cholera and they both died in 1836 at their home in Arkansas.
Their children are:
1. Andrew Wellington Ross, July 7, 1819.
2. Hugh Ross b. 1819-1895
3. Benjamin Franklin Ross b 1824 CNE
He came to California after serving in the Mexican War. He raised a large family, and is buried in San Juan Bautist, Ca.
4. Samuel Potts Ross b 1826-1836 of cholera, age 14
He was named after his Uncle Saml Potts that married his Aunt Mary Anne Ross.
5. Joseph Ross b 1828 Tennessee m. Priscilla Gentry, sister of Mary Lucinda Gentry.
6. Margaret Melvina Ross b 1830 - ?
7. Hannah Carolina Ross b. 1832 - 1891, m Phineas Bradley Tompkins Sr
8. Mary Ann Ross b. 1834 - ? She is on the 1851 Old settler rolls. She was named after her Aunt.
9. Robert Ross b. 1836 - ? He was named after his Uncle.
Their oldest son, Andrew Wellington Ross would have been about 16 to 17 years old when his parents died of cholera in 1836.
From the CHRONICLES OF OKLAHOMA Vol 10, # 1 March, 1932
LETTER FROM THE INDIAN OFFICE,
MARCH 14, 1837
TO CAPTAIN ARMSTRONG
Instructs that two Cherokee children were to accompany the party of Choctaws to the academy.
(pages 85-89)
"The relatives of the late W. TEMPLIN ROSS, an emigrant from the Cherokee Nation East in 1832, who died after his arrival west, leaving several children, are anxious to have charge of the two youngest, a boy and a girl, for the purpose of educating them and bringing them up properly.
It is our wish that the children should be sent to Harrisburg in Penna when their UNCLE ROBERT J. ROSS, ESQUIRE, will receive them if my young friend Mr. G,W, Clark should accompany the party. I feel assured that he will do everything in his power for their comfort."
In April, Captain Armstrong received an order for twelve orphaned Choctaw boys to go to the Kentucky school and made arrangements to have them at the Academy on time.
He writes to Dr. Gray that he will have the Ross children brought to the Choctaw Agency so that the Department my inform their UNCLE ROBERT ROSS in Harrisburg.
Dr. Gray wrote MR ROBERT ROSS regarding the children of HIS LATE BROTHER W. TEMPLIN ROSS, and Ross decided that from the accounts he had learned, that it would not be wise to bring the 3 older children, "But only the two youngest, a boy and a girl."
Mr. Clarke arrived at the Academy on June 15th accompanied by the 12 Choctaw boys and the two toddler Ross children.
Mr. Henderson's touching letter to Mr. Harris dated June 20th shows his kind nature and that he was a proper prson to fill the position he held.
"We have two orphan children of the Cherokee tribe, a little boy and girl, left here by Mr. Clarke, and we have already taken the boy into the school, and the girl will be taken into my own family, and will be sent to school with my own daughters. To a female school taught convenient to my house if it should meet your approbation, These children are very anxious to remain here as they have relatives in the institution.
The girl will be placed under the care of my wife, who will take the same care of her that she does of her own children. As others will have to be sent home in a short time, these two will serve to fill the vacancy if they can be permitted to remain."
"The fate of these orphans is not disclosed in the official records search" done by a Ross family member, S. Pollard, who compiled this account.
Eliza Lowrey Sevier was 1/4 Cherokee of the Holly Clan, 1/4 Scotch, and 1/2 English, born in 1796 to the oldest son of the Governor of Tennessee, Joseph Sevier and his Cherokee lover Elizabeth Lowrey. Betsy as she was called, was the daughter of a Scotch immigrant and fur trader named George Lowrey, and his Cherokee wife, Nannie, who was the grand-daughter of Chief Ocanastota.
After this union produced two daughters, Betsy Lowrey left her lover Joseph Sevier and married a half Cherokee, Major John Walker in 1799, and a year later they had their only son, Chief John Walker in 1800.
Eliza's step-father, Major John Walker admired Chief Dragging Canoe so in 1792, at the age of 14, Walker joined him in a raid on Buchanan Station where Walker became known for taking many white scalps.
Eliza lived with her mother and John Walker in Tennessee where they owned a ferry that crossed the Hiwassee River, and eventually Walker became a respected businessman among his people.
Eliza was raised in the political atmosphere of both her Cherokee and white family. She was surrounded by family that on both sides were judges, attorneys. Generals, Chiefs, Senators and Governors.
She was educated at the Brainerd Mission, which was a Presbyterian church for the Cherokee. There she received an excellent education and learned to read and wright in both English and Cherokee. Like many Cherokee, her religion was Presbyterian, and at the age of 18 Eliza was baptized and admitted into the church as a member on July 24, 1817.
Soon afterward she married her distant cousin, W. Templin Ross on 17 May 1818 in Rhea County, Tennessee, who she shared the same Great Grandparents, Abraham Goad and Katherine Williams.
The Brainerd church register states that she is married to a respectable white man, named W. Templin Ross, who was from Richmond, Virginia, and their home was located near the mission. Eliza did not stay at the mission for very long, and she left sometime before January of 1818.
They were married in May and by June of 1819 Templin had to take his new wife on a short trip to stay with her mother until their new baby was born. When Templin returned to their farmhouse he found "my doors were broken open and possession taken of the premises" by several white men. The men refused to let him back into his house..
Although Templin Ross was well off and well educated, he was unable to defend his property for many years. On February 16, 1827 Templin wrote a letter to Thomas L. McKenny, Superintendent of Indian Affairs
requesting assistance in dealing with the squatters who had taken over their 640 acre reservation in Tennessee. Templin reported again in 1827, "and out of which I am kept to this day."
Some Lowreys remained in the Valley Head area without being forced west. They were known for maintaining a “free loan association” to aid poor farmers, widows and other needy individuals.
Her mother and brother, Chief Walker, remained in Tenn until they died, They were not in the forced migration. On August 1, 1819, Eliza and W. Templin Ross were recorded as residing at #246, on Mill Creek, about 5 miles away from her mother and Major John Walker.
Prior to the forced migration known as "The Trail of Tears," of 1838. Eliza and her husband emigrated from Tennessee to Arkansas in 1834.
September 5, 1835
A Letter written by the acting Executor for the estate of of Joseph McMinn, deceased.
To William W. Cowan
"Regarding the Reservation granted to Eliza Ross by Treaty of 1819 and sold by her and her husband Templin Ross to George Harlin, and by Harlin to the late Joe McMinn,
It being the tract on which John McMinn and family now live and have lived for several years. Land on the north side of Hiwassee River joining the Reservation of JOHN WALKER on which the town of Calhoun stands, now belonging to Lewis Ross.
ELIZABETH LOWREY-WALKER (mother of Eliza) of the Cherokee Nation to John Walker Jr. of the same; Bill of Sale, Dec. 6, 1836. Lewis Ross swears to the handwriting of James McDaniel who is out of the limits of the U.S. and is in the Cherokee Nation West."
During the migration out west many of the Cherokee used blankets that were taken from hospitals that brought many illnesses with them, such as cholera and small pox. W. Templin Ross served as a commissary for the Cherokee that were migrating west. It was for that reason that both he and his wife contracted cholera and they both died in 1836 at their home in Arkansas.
Their children are:
1. Andrew Wellington Ross, July 7, 1819.
2. Hugh Ross b. 1819-1895
3. Benjamin Franklin Ross b 1824 CNE
He came to California after serving in the Mexican War. He raised a large family, and is buried in San Juan Bautist, Ca.
4. Samuel Potts Ross b 1826-1836 of cholera, age 14
He was named after his Uncle Saml Potts that married his Aunt Mary Anne Ross.
5. Joseph Ross b 1828 Tennessee m. Priscilla Gentry, sister of Mary Lucinda Gentry.
6. Margaret Melvina Ross b 1830 - ?
7. Hannah Carolina Ross b. 1832 - 1891, m Phineas Bradley Tompkins Sr
8. Mary Ann Ross b. 1834 - ? She is on the 1851 Old settler rolls. She was named after her Aunt.
9. Robert Ross b. 1836 - ? He was named after his Uncle.
Their oldest son, Andrew Wellington Ross would have been about 16 to 17 years old when his parents died of cholera in 1836.
From the CHRONICLES OF OKLAHOMA Vol 10, # 1 March, 1932
LETTER FROM THE INDIAN OFFICE,
MARCH 14, 1837
TO CAPTAIN ARMSTRONG
Instructs that two Cherokee children were to accompany the party of Choctaws to the academy.
(pages 85-89)
"The relatives of the late W. TEMPLIN ROSS, an emigrant from the Cherokee Nation East in 1832, who died after his arrival west, leaving several children, are anxious to have charge of the two youngest, a boy and a girl, for the purpose of educating them and bringing them up properly.
It is our wish that the children should be sent to Harrisburg in Penna when their UNCLE ROBERT J. ROSS, ESQUIRE, will receive them if my young friend Mr. G,W, Clark should accompany the party. I feel assured that he will do everything in his power for their comfort."
In April, Captain Armstrong received an order for twelve orphaned Choctaw boys to go to the Kentucky school and made arrangements to have them at the Academy on time.
He writes to Dr. Gray that he will have the Ross children brought to the Choctaw Agency so that the Department my inform their UNCLE ROBERT ROSS in Harrisburg.
Dr. Gray wrote MR ROBERT ROSS regarding the children of HIS LATE BROTHER W. TEMPLIN ROSS, and Ross decided that from the accounts he had learned, that it would not be wise to bring the 3 older children, "But only the two youngest, a boy and a girl."
Mr. Clarke arrived at the Academy on June 15th accompanied by the 12 Choctaw boys and the two toddler Ross children.
Mr. Henderson's touching letter to Mr. Harris dated June 20th shows his kind nature and that he was a proper prson to fill the position he held.
"We have two orphan children of the Cherokee tribe, a little boy and girl, left here by Mr. Clarke, and we have already taken the boy into the school, and the girl will be taken into my own family, and will be sent to school with my own daughters. To a female school taught convenient to my house if it should meet your approbation, These children are very anxious to remain here as they have relatives in the institution.
The girl will be placed under the care of my wife, who will take the same care of her that she does of her own children. As others will have to be sent home in a short time, these two will serve to fill the vacancy if they can be permitted to remain."
"The fate of these orphans is not disclosed in the official records search" done by a Ross family member, S. Pollard, who compiled this account.
Biography of Eliza Sevier
Eliza Lowrey Sevier was 1/4 Cherokee of the Holly Clan, 1/4 Scotch, and 1/2 English, born in 1796 to the oldest son of the Governor of Tennessee, Joseph Sevier and his Cherokee lover Elizabeth Lowrey. Betsy as she was called, was the daughter of a Scotch immigrant and fur trader named George Lowrey, and his Cherokee wife, Nannie, who was the grand-daughter of Chief Ocanastota.
After this union produced two daughters, Betsy Lowrey left her lover Joseph Sevier and married a half Cherokee, Major John Walker in 1799, and a year later they had their only son, Chief John Walker in 1800.
Eliza's step-father, Major John Walker admired Chief Dragging Canoe so in 1792, at the age of 14, Walker joined him in a raid on Buchanan Station where Walker became known for taking many white scalps.
Eliza lived with her mother and John Walker in Tennessee where they owned a ferry that crossed the Hiwassee River, and eventually Walker became a respected businessman among his people.
Eliza was raised in the political atmosphere of both her Cherokee and white family. She was surrounded by family that on both sides were judges, attorneys. Generals, Chiefs, Senators and Governors.
She was educated at the Brainerd Mission, which was a Presbyterian church for the Cherokee. There she received an excellent education and learned to read and wright in both English and Cherokee. Like many Cherokee, her religion was Presbyterian, and at the age of 18 Eliza was baptized and admitted into the church as a member on July 24, 1817.
Soon afterward she married her distant cousin, W. Templin Ross on 17 May 1818 in Rhea County, Tennessee, who she shared the same Great Grandparents, Abraham Goad and Katherine Williams.
The Brainerd church register states that she is married to a respectable white man, named W. Templin Ross, who was from Richmond, Virginia, and their home was located near the mission. Eliza did not stay at the mission for very long, and she left sometime before January of 1818.
They were married in May and by June of 1819 Templin had to take his new wife on a short trip to stay with her mother until their new baby was born. When Templin returned to their farmhouse he found "my doors were broken open and possession taken of the premises" by several white men. The men refused to let him back into his house..
Although Templin Ross was well off and well educated, he was unable to defend his property for many years. On February 16, 1827 Templin wrote a letter to Thomas L. McKenny, Superintendent of Indian Affairs
requesting assistance in dealing with the squatters who had taken over their 640 acre reservation in Tennessee. Templin reported again in 1827, "and out of which I am kept to this day."
Some Lowreys remained in the Valley Head area without being forced west. They were known for maintaining a “free loan association” to aid poor farmers, widows and other needy individuals.
Her mother and brother, Chief Walker, remained in Tenn until they died, They were not in the forced migration. On August 1, 1819, Eliza and W. Templin Ross were recorded as residing at #246, on Mill Creek, about 5 miles away from her mother and Major John Walker.
Prior to the forced migration known as "The Trail of Tears," of 1838. Eliza and her husband emigrated from Tennessee to Arkansas in 1834.
September 5, 1835
A Letter written by the acting Executor for the estate of of Joseph McMinn, deceased.
To William W. Cowan
"Regarding the Reservation granted to Eliza Ross by Treaty of 1819 and sold by her and her husband Templin Ross to George Harlin, and by Harlin to the late Joe McMinn,
It being the tract on which John McMinn and family now live and have lived for several years. Land on the north side of Hiwassee River joining the Reservation of JOHN WALKER on which the town of Calhoun stands, now belonging to Lewis Ross.
ELIZABETH LOWREY-WALKER (mother of Eliza) of the Cherokee Nation to John Walker Jr. of the same; Bill of Sale, Dec. 6, 1836. Lewis Ross swears to the handwriting of James McDaniel who is out of the limits of the U.S. and is in the Cherokee Nation West."
During the migration out west many of the Cherokee used blankets that were taken from hospitals that brought many illnesses with them, such as cholera and small pox. W. Templin Ross served as a commissary for the Cherokee that were migrating west. It was for that reason that both he and his wife contracted cholera and they both died in 1836 at their home in Arkansas.
Their children are:
1. Andrew Wellington Ross, July 7, 1819.
2. Hugh Ross b. 1819-1895
3. Benjamin Franklin Ross b 1824 CNE
He came to California after serving in the Mexican War. He raised a large family, and is buried in San Juan Bautist, Ca.
4. Samuel Potts Ross b 1826-1836 of cholera, age 14
He was named after his Uncle Saml Potts that married his Aunt Mary Anne Ross.
5. Joseph Ross b 1828 Tennessee m. Priscilla Gentry, sister of Mary Lucinda Gentry.
6. Margaret Melvina Ross b 1830 - ?
7. Hannah Carolina Ross b. 1832 - 1891, m Phineas Bradley Tompkins Sr
8. Mary Ann Ross b. 1834 - ? She is on the 1851 Old settler rolls. She was named after her Aunt.
9. Robert Ross b. 1836 - ? He was named after his Uncle.
Their oldest son, Andrew Wellington Ross would have been about 16 to 17 years old when his parents died of cholera in 1836.
From the CHRONICLES OF OKLAHOMA Vol 10, # 1 March, 1932
LETTER FROM THE INDIAN OFFICE,
MARCH 14, 1837
TO CAPTAIN ARMSTRONG
Instructs that two Cherokee children were to accompany the party of Choctaws to the academy.
(pages 85-89)
"The relatives of the late W. TEMPLIN ROSS, an emigrant from the Cherokee Nation East in 1832, who died after his arrival west, leaving several children, are anxious to have charge of the two youngest, a boy and a girl, for the purpose of educating them and bringing them up properly.
It is our wish that the children should be sent to Harrisburg in Penna when their UNCLE ROBERT J. ROSS, ESQUIRE, will receive them if my young friend Mr. G,W, Clark should accompany the party. I feel assured that he will do everything in his power for their comfort."
In April, Captain Armstrong received an order for twelve orphaned Choctaw boys to go to the Kentucky school and made arrangements to have them at the Academy on time.
He writes to Dr. Gray that he will have the Ross children brought to the Choctaw Agency so that the Department my inform their UNCLE ROBERT ROSS in Harrisburg.
Dr. Gray wrote MR ROBERT ROSS regarding the children of HIS LATE BROTHER W. TEMPLIN ROSS, and Ross decided that from the accounts he had learned, that it would not be wise to bring the 3 older children, "But only the two youngest, a boy and a girl."
Mr. Clarke arrived at the Academy on June 15th accompanied by the 12 Choctaw boys and the two toddler Ross children.
Mr. Henderson's touching letter to Mr. Harris dated June 20th shows his kind nature and that he was a proper prson to fill the position he held.
"We have two orphan children of the Cherokee tribe, a little boy and girl, left here by Mr. Clarke, and we have already taken the boy into the school, and the girl will be taken into my own family, and will be sent to school with my own daughters. To a female school taught convenient to my house if it should meet your approbation, These children are very anxious to remain here as they have relatives in the institution.
The girl will be placed under the care of my wife, who will take the same care of her that she does of her own children. As others will have to be sent home in a short time, these two will serve to fill the vacancy if they can be permitted to remain."
"The fate of these orphans is not disclosed in the official records search" done by a Ross family member, S. Pollard, who compiled this account.
Eliza Lowrey Sevier was 1/4 Cherokee of the Holly Clan, 1/4 Scotch, and 1/2 English, born in 1796 to the oldest son of the Governor of Tennessee, Joseph Sevier and his Cherokee lover Elizabeth Lowrey. Betsy as she was called, was the daughter of a Scotch immigrant and fur trader named George Lowrey, and his Cherokee wife, Nannie, who was the grand-daughter of Chief Ocanastota.
After this union produced two daughters, Betsy Lowrey left her lover Joseph Sevier and married a half Cherokee, Major John Walker in 1799, and a year later they had their only son, Chief John Walker in 1800.
Eliza's step-father, Major John Walker admired Chief Dragging Canoe so in 1792, at the age of 14, Walker joined him in a raid on Buchanan Station where Walker became known for taking many white scalps.
Eliza lived with her mother and John Walker in Tennessee where they owned a ferry that crossed the Hiwassee River, and eventually Walker became a respected businessman among his people.
Eliza was raised in the political atmosphere of both her Cherokee and white family. She was surrounded by family that on both sides were judges, attorneys. Generals, Chiefs, Senators and Governors.
She was educated at the Brainerd Mission, which was a Presbyterian church for the Cherokee. There she received an excellent education and learned to read and wright in both English and Cherokee. Like many Cherokee, her religion was Presbyterian, and at the age of 18 Eliza was baptized and admitted into the church as a member on July 24, 1817.
Soon afterward she married her distant cousin, W. Templin Ross on 17 May 1818 in Rhea County, Tennessee, who she shared the same Great Grandparents, Abraham Goad and Katherine Williams.
The Brainerd church register states that she is married to a respectable white man, named W. Templin Ross, who was from Richmond, Virginia, and their home was located near the mission. Eliza did not stay at the mission for very long, and she left sometime before January of 1818.
They were married in May and by June of 1819 Templin had to take his new wife on a short trip to stay with her mother until their new baby was born. When Templin returned to their farmhouse he found "my doors were broken open and possession taken of the premises" by several white men. The men refused to let him back into his house..
Although Templin Ross was well off and well educated, he was unable to defend his property for many years. On February 16, 1827 Templin wrote a letter to Thomas L. McKenny, Superintendent of Indian Affairs
requesting assistance in dealing with the squatters who had taken over their 640 acre reservation in Tennessee. Templin reported again in 1827, "and out of which I am kept to this day."
Some Lowreys remained in the Valley Head area without being forced west. They were known for maintaining a “free loan association” to aid poor farmers, widows and other needy individuals.
Her mother and brother, Chief Walker, remained in Tenn until they died, They were not in the forced migration. On August 1, 1819, Eliza and W. Templin Ross were recorded as residing at #246, on Mill Creek, about 5 miles away from her mother and Major John Walker.
Prior to the forced migration known as "The Trail of Tears," of 1838. Eliza and her husband emigrated from Tennessee to Arkansas in 1834.
September 5, 1835
A Letter written by the acting Executor for the estate of of Joseph McMinn, deceased.
To William W. Cowan
"Regarding the Reservation granted to Eliza Ross by Treaty of 1819 and sold by her and her husband Templin Ross to George Harlin, and by Harlin to the late Joe McMinn,
It being the tract on which John McMinn and family now live and have lived for several years. Land on the north side of Hiwassee River joining the Reservation of JOHN WALKER on which the town of Calhoun stands, now belonging to Lewis Ross.
ELIZABETH LOWREY-WALKER (mother of Eliza) of the Cherokee Nation to John Walker Jr. of the same; Bill of Sale, Dec. 6, 1836. Lewis Ross swears to the handwriting of James McDaniel who is out of the limits of the U.S. and is in the Cherokee Nation West."
During the migration out west many of the Cherokee used blankets that were taken from hospitals that brought many illnesses with them, such as cholera and small pox. W. Templin Ross served as a commissary for the Cherokee that were migrating west. It was for that reason that both he and his wife contracted cholera and they both died in 1836 at their home in Arkansas.
Their children are:
1. Andrew Wellington Ross, July 7, 1819.
2. Hugh Ross b. 1819-1895
3. Benjamin Franklin Ross b 1824 CNE
He came to California after serving in the Mexican War. He raised a large family, and is buried in San Juan Bautist, Ca.
4. Samuel Potts Ross b 1826-1836 of cholera, age 14
He was named after his Uncle Saml Potts that married his Aunt Mary Anne Ross.
5. Joseph Ross b 1828 Tennessee m. Priscilla Gentry, sister of Mary Lucinda Gentry.
6. Margaret Melvina Ross b 1830 - ?
7. Hannah Carolina Ross b. 1832 - 1891, m Phineas Bradley Tompkins Sr
8. Mary Ann Ross b. 1834 - ? She is on the 1851 Old settler rolls. She was named after her Aunt.
9. Robert Ross b. 1836 - ? He was named after his Uncle.
Their oldest son, Andrew Wellington Ross would have been about 16 to 17 years old when his parents died of cholera in 1836.
From the CHRONICLES OF OKLAHOMA Vol 10, # 1 March, 1932
LETTER FROM THE INDIAN OFFICE,
MARCH 14, 1837
TO CAPTAIN ARMSTRONG
Instructs that two Cherokee children were to accompany the party of Choctaws to the academy.
(pages 85-89)
"The relatives of the late W. TEMPLIN ROSS, an emigrant from the Cherokee Nation East in 1832, who died after his arrival west, leaving several children, are anxious to have charge of the two youngest, a boy and a girl, for the purpose of educating them and bringing them up properly.
It is our wish that the children should be sent to Harrisburg in Penna when their UNCLE ROBERT J. ROSS, ESQUIRE, will receive them if my young friend Mr. G,W, Clark should accompany the party. I feel assured that he will do everything in his power for their comfort."
In April, Captain Armstrong received an order for twelve orphaned Choctaw boys to go to the Kentucky school and made arrangements to have them at the Academy on time.
He writes to Dr. Gray that he will have the Ross children brought to the Choctaw Agency so that the Department my inform their UNCLE ROBERT ROSS in Harrisburg.
Dr. Gray wrote MR ROBERT ROSS regarding the children of HIS LATE BROTHER W. TEMPLIN ROSS, and Ross decided that from the accounts he had learned, that it would not be wise to bring the 3 older children, "But only the two youngest, a boy and a girl."
Mr. Clarke arrived at the Academy on June 15th accompanied by the 12 Choctaw boys and the two toddler Ross children.
Mr. Henderson's touching letter to Mr. Harris dated June 20th shows his kind nature and that he was a proper prson to fill the position he held.
"We have two orphan children of the Cherokee tribe, a little boy and girl, left here by Mr. Clarke, and we have already taken the boy into the school, and the girl will be taken into my own family, and will be sent to school with my own daughters. To a female school taught convenient to my house if it should meet your approbation, These children are very anxious to remain here as they have relatives in the institution.
The girl will be placed under the care of my wife, who will take the same care of her that she does of her own children. As others will have to be sent home in a short time, these two will serve to fill the vacancy if they can be permitted to remain."
"The fate of these orphans is not disclosed in the official records search" done by a Ross family member, S. Pollard, who compiled this account.
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