Bark Cherokee (abt. 1760 - bef. 1835)

Born about 1760 in Cherokee Nation (East)

Died before 1835 before about age 75 in Cherokee Nation (East)

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Native Americans Project WikiTree [send private message]

Bark was Cherokee. Join: Native Americans Project Discuss: native_americans

Biography

"The Bark" was a Cherokee man who lived near Chota, the Cherokee capital town in Tennessee. His parents are unknown as are the names of his wife and children.

NOTE: There is no reason to believe that his father was Oconostota.

He had at least one son who died of smallpox in 1806.^[1]

The Moravians referred to him as both the grandfather and great-uncle of their student George Vann, so he was probably the brother of Polly Terrapin's mother.

Samuel Riley, a white trader, signed a receipt in August, 1801, for a "large cotton [spinning] wheel for the family of Bark at Chota."^[2] He was a friend and neighbor of Sequoyah.^[3]

There are several records regarding the loss and sale of horses, and an 1809 payment lists him as "The Bark, C. Chief."^{[citation needed]}

In 1813, The Bark requested assistance from Cherokee Agent Return Meigs regarding the actions of some white men living in the area. ^[4]

In 1819 The Bark, by now referred to as "The Old Bark," was one of thirty-nine Cherokee who received a fee simple interest in their land as a provision of the treaty (most of the Cherokee reservees received only a life estate).^[5]

He does not appear on the 1835 Cherokee Census,^[6] suggesting that he was deceased by this time.

Sources

1. ↑ "...had died of the smallpox this fall. Among others was a son of Chief Bark.... " 20 Dec 1806. McClinton, Rowena, ed., The Moravian Springplace Mission to the Cherokees. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE. 2007. Vol. I, p. 149
2. ↑ Records of the Cherokee Agency in Tennessee, 1801-1835. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 75 M208. Image at Fold3 Riley
3. ↑ Lowrey, George and Payne, John Howard. The Life of George Gist. Cherokee Nation, 1835; reprinted in the Journal of Cherokee Studies, Vol. Ii, Fall, 1977, p. 387.
4. ↑ Cherokee Agency, images at Fold3 Nicholson
5. ↑ Hampton, David K. , compiler, Cherokee Reservees. Baker Publishing Co., Oklahoma City, OK. 1979. p. 13
6. ↑ 1835 Cherokee Census, transcription published by the Oklahoma Chapter, Trail of Tears Association, Park Hill, OK. 2002.