Cornblossom Cherokee
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Cornblossom Cherokee (abt. 1770 - abt. 1810)

Cornblossom [uncertain] "Pawalin" [uncertain] Cherokee aka Troxel, Doublehead [uncertain]
Born about in Tellico Plains, Tennesseemap [uncertain]
Daughter of [father unknown] and
[spouse(s) unknown]
Died about at about age 40 in Sand Cliffs, McCreary, Kentucky, USAmap [uncertain]
Profile last modified | Created 25 Nov 2015
This page has been accessed 5,227 times.

Contents

Biography

Research suggests that this person may never have existed. See the text for details.
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Cornblossom Cherokee is currently protected by the Native Americans Project for reasons described below.
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Disputed Existence

Cornblossom's existence first appears 200 years after her life, in the 1958, highly fictionalized work by Thomas H. Troxel, Legion of the Lost Mine.[1] This work was then highly quoted and expanded upon in 1975 by Robert Collins in A History of the Daniel Boone National Forest 1770-1970, written for the U.S.D.A. Forest Service in large part to draw increased tourist traffic to the park. Several subsequent works further extracted from and enhanced upon these two works.[2][3] Other writers have subsequently debunked these claims.[4][5]

The Cherokee View of this Individual's Life

"Those people who are trying to claim descent from someone called "Princess Cornblossom- the daughter of Doublehead" and have visited "Doublehead's grave" in Kentucky, should note that the place of his death and burial was NOT in Kentucky, but in the part of the Cherokee Nation that became Georgia and there is no evidence that he had a daughter named "Cornblossom".[4]

The following is from David Cornsilk, Cherokee citizen and currently the most-respected authority on Cherokee genealogy. He has worked for the Cherokee Nation as a tribal enrollment research analyst and for the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a genealogical researcher.

"Cornblossom does not exist. The state of Kentucky trusted a professor from one of their state universities who is a Troxel descendant and an historian (I use that term loosely). His research was sketchy at best, but the state didn’t question it because of his profession. His motivation was to create a history of Cherokee presence in Kentucky and then insert his family. Some people are that desperate to be Indian." [6]

Conclusions

There is, therefore, no evidence to support the following :

  • That she was daughter of Chief Chuqaulatague Doublehead and sister of another non-existent person,
  • That her mother was either Creat Priber (nonexistent daughter of Christian Priber and nonexistent Clogoittah Moytoy or Unknown Delaware Woman who named her "Pawalin"
    • The Delaware (Lenape) word "Pawalin" as well as a Delaware Indian mother was associated with her about 2007, probably originating with Tankersley.[7] (We find no previous record of this word or Delaware woman prior to this time.) While "pawalin" is a Lenape word meaning "Corn blossom falls off," it was never used as a given name for men or women.[8] A query submitted to the Lenape Language website about the word Cornblossom/Pawalin, resulted in learning that there was a 17th century woman named Pawalui, daughter of a Chief Montaukett of Long Island. She married a dutchman. This is the only instance of the name that they could find.
  • That she was married to Jacob Troxel (aka George Jacob Troxell) (1759-1843)
  • That she was the mother of any of the children of Jacob Troxel
  • That she is buried in Kentucky.
  • That there was a massacre of Cherokee children in 1810 at Yahoo Falls, Kentucky.[9]

For an in-depth examination about the various claims concerning Cornblossom and associated profiles, please read Claim Origins - Troxel Cornblossom Doublehead and More, compiled in late 2017 by a number of volunteers from WikiTree's Native Americans project.

When making claims concerning any of these or related relations and events, please use this g2g discussion thread and support your claims with sources that can be followed and viewed by others. Thank you.

Sources

  1. Thomas H. Troxel, "Legion of the Lost Mine," self-published (1958); image 103 of linked compilation of multiple records (requires free account at familysearch.org to access)
  2. Doublehead Last Chickamauga Cherokee Chief, p. 52, Rickey Butch Walker, Heart of Dixie Publishing, Feb 4, 2012.Doublehead Last Chickamauga Cherokee Chief page 52
  3. James Dotson, Looking for Cornblossom, Lulu Press, 2015, p. ??
  4. 4.0 4.1 Misconceptions: Doublehead, Priber, and Yahoo Falls, quote of Jerri Chastain, former registrar of the Cherokee Elder Society, by Vance Hawkins, Sunday, March 10, 2013; see also her direct response at this genealogy.com forum discussion
  5. Jacob Troxell and his wife compares and analyzes the various claims and evidence (and lack thereof) about Cornblossom and associated individuals.
  6. Personal e-mail, David Cornsilk to [[Parks-2399|Kathie Forbes, quoted with permission
  7. Kenneth Barnett Tankersley, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, Copyright 2004-2011 Kinship Notes
  8. “Disputed Lenape Name,” Email from TalkLenape.org to Jeanie Roberts, 20 Nov. 2017, Privately held by Roberts, [Houston, Texas] 2017.
  9. Massacre at Ywahoo Falls points out that there is no historical evidence that such an event took place.

See also:

  • Ancestry.com (DNA match)




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Comments: 92

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The name Cornblossom likely emanates from the 1929 silent film, Redskins. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redskin_(film)
posted by Stephen Hampton
Warning to readers: the Find-a-Grave memorial is inaccurate. Please review the narrative here. Thanks.
posted by Jillaine Smith

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Categories: Cherokee | Uncertain Existence | Native American Adjunct