Wilenawa Cherokee (1720 - abt. 1780)

Born 1720 in Cherokee Nation (East)

Died about 1780 at about age 60 in Hiwassie River, Cherokee Nation

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Ron Gragg [send private message], Jeanie Roberts [send private message], Native Americans Project WikiTree [send private message], Mary Imler [send private message], Sandra Evans [send private message], and Janet Brown [send private message]

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

Disputed Relations

A previous version of this profile claimed, without sufficient evidence/sources, that he was the husband of Woman of Ani-Wadi and father of a set of children by her. He has also been claimed to be father of Doublehead. However, there is no documentation of either the wife or children of this known Cherokee chief, nor are the parents of Doublehead known.

Please do not attach any relations to this profile without documented proof. Thank you.

Biography

Willenawa (Great Eagle) first appears in the historical record about 1750. His parents are unknown, as are any wives or children. The little we know of his family comes from a statement made by Old Hop in 1756:

“It is true that Willenawah and the Little Carpenter [Attakullakulla] are my nephews, but I do not know how they would behave.”^[1]

He was a prominent man, best known as a military leader for laying siege to Fort Loudon in 1760.^[2]

Lt. Henry Timberlake described Willenawa as the “Governor” of the Overhill town of Toqua on his map drawn in 1762.^[3]

Christopher French recorded in his journal:

“On August 21 [1761] the Little Carpenter set out for Fort Prince George with a delegation consisting of Oconostota’s brother, Williniwah, Old Hop’s son Cappy, Old Caesar, Moytoy of Hiwassie, the Raven of Tomatly, Half Breed Will of Nequassie, the Mankiller of Nequassee, and a large number of attendants.” ^[4]

He was one of the chiefs present at Sycamore Shoals in 1775, although not a signer of the Henderson Purchase document. ^[5]

The last mention of Willenawa occurred in the spring of 1777 when Dragging Canoe and his followers split from the rest of the Cherokee Nation. Willenawa was one of the older chiefs who supported Dragging Canoe.^[6] His date of death is unknown.

There is no record of Willenawa's spouse or children; claimed profiles of them have been detached.

Listed below are the children previously attached to Willenawa in Wikitree, most of whom are the siblings of Old Tassel and Doublehead with no connection to Willenawa. These people are all members of the same family, but not through Willenawa.

• Gi Yo Sti Ko Yo He, supposed wife of John Watts, the white Cherokee interpreter. Watts’ wife was a sister of Old Tassel, but her name is unknown.
• Corn Tassel, the man known as ‘Old Tassel,’ one of the murdered chiefs
• Nancy Na-Ye-Hi Elizabeth (Broom) Hicks, no connection whatsoever to either Willenawa or Old Tassel. She was the daughter of Chief Broom, documented in the Moravian records^{[citation needed]}
• Chief Chuqaulatague Doublehead, brother of Old Tassel, no relation to Willenawa
• Pumpkin Boy another brother (of Doublehead?)
• Sequechee another brother (of Doublehead?) (it was a big family!)
• Nancy - not sure about the spouse, but Doublehead did apparently have a sister named Nance.
• Ocuma Melton - records of the Cherokee Agency list “Widow Melton” - who she was and whether her first name was Ocuma are unknown to me, but once again, no connection to Willenawa
• Wah-hatch – apparently another brother, based on Catherine Spencer’s affidavit.^{[citation needed]} No way of knowing whether this is a different person or a garbled name of one of the family members listed above.

Research Notes

He is not Kitegista; Kitegista was a brother of Oconostota and clearly a different man:

“Oconostota, however, was still wary of trusting himself within the power of the English, but sent his brother Kitegista with a peace pipe to represent him. Judd’s Friend and Willenawah likewise declined to attend.”^[7]

He was not killed with Abram and Old Tassel; his death date is unknown, but after 1777:

"The murdered Cherokees were: Old Tassel, head chief of the upper towns; Abram and his son; and the Hanging Man of Chote and his brother.” ^[8]

As with most Cherokee names, there was probably more than one man with this name. James Hicks claims that Willenawah and Tistoe/Tiftow of Tannasee are the same man, but they can’t be:

• Tistoe went to England with Attakullakulla in 1730 and was already a mature adult, not a young man. Cuming described the men as "the head Warrior of Tassetchee a Man of great Power and Interest, who has a right to be a King, and is called Oukah Ulah (that is, the King that is to be) Skallelockee, the second Warrior, otherwise Kettagustah (or Prince), Tathtowie [Tistoe], the third Warrior, and Collannah, a fourth Warrior... " ^[9]
• Attakullakulla was the youngest of the group and he is believed to have been born about 1710.
• In addition, all of the men who went to England in 1730, except Attakullakulla, were dead by 1756 and Willenawah was most certainly alive then.

Since he does not appear in records until the 1750s, it’s probable that he was born around 1720, but there is no information whatsoever about his birth or parents.

NOTE:
There are many different versions about the life of this notable Cherokee leader and chief. None of the following are accurate. One states he was born in 1702 in "Stearns, McCreary, Kentucky," names that only came into existence later. ^[10] Another states he was born in 1700 in "Savannah, Dawson, Georgia," a different place altogether but still not in existence in 1700. This site calls him "Willenawah Great Eagle Motoy Cherokee". ^[11] Two Find A Grave Memorials for him exist. One calls him "Chief Great Grey Eagle and states he lived from about 1709 to 1792 in what was/is Virginia. ^[12] The other cites him as "Chief Willenawah The Great Eagle of Tellico Corntassel," and says he lived from 1702 to 1788 in what is today the US state of Georgia. ^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ Brown, John P., Old Frontiers. Southern Publishers, Inc., Kingsport, TN.1938, p. 67
2. ↑ Brown, p. 95
3. ↑ Map, Museum of the Cherokee Indian collection, reproduced in the Museum edition of the “Memoirs of Lt. Henry Timberlake,” p. 16
4. ↑ Corkran, David H. The Cherokee Frontier 1740-1762. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. 1962. p. 265
5. ↑ Brown, p. 4
6. ↑ Brown, p. 164
7. ↑ Brown, p 114
8. ↑ Brown, p. 277, quoting N.C. State Records, 22: 695
9. ↑ Williams, Samuel C. “The Journal of Sir Alexander Cuming,” in Early Travels in the Tennessee Country. The Watauga Press, Johnson City, TN, 1928. pp. 115-127
10. ↑ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/474496510714094089/ = paid photo site. Google summary used.
11. ↑ Willenawah Great Eagle Motoy Cherokee ‎(I7742)‎
12. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #90722773 retrieved 11 Oct 2018 - Chief Great Grey Eagle. Suggests he was born about 1709 in what was then Virginia and died in 1777 in Virginia, USA.
13. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #152769056 retrieved 11 Oct 2018 - Chief Willenawah The Great Eagle of Tellico Corntassel.

• The Forgotten Ones » Chief Willenawah Great Eagle
• Family search id GW99-WFV