Hosea Morgan (1790 - 1834)

Born 1790 in Hiawassee River, Cleveland, North Carolina, United States

Descendants

Died 19 Apr 1834 at about age 44 in Trail of Tears, Burnt Caddens, Arkansas

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Patricia Thomas [send private message]

Biography

Hosea died while migrating west, but was not forcibly removed as he left before the treaty of New Echota was signed. He traveled with Lt Harris' party in the Spring of 1834 along the river trail, mostly by steamboat. In Lt Harris' journal on April 19th he says that "Old Morgan and daughter" died that day, most likely from the Asiatic Cholera pandemic while they were stuck at Cadron Creek waiting for the water to get higher. The water level never rose enough for the boat to pass, and the rest of the party walked or rode in the wagons for the remaining 80 miles.

He is described as being a mix of white and Catawba, and other members of the Catawba that had been adopted by the Cherokee were also on this trip. They describe his wife as being Cherokee, but don't name her.^[1]

Much older sources from the late 1800s make it very clear that Hosea was never adopted by the Cherokees or considered part of the tribe, but they can't seem to agree if he was Mexican/Spanish or part Catawban. This record also states that his wife was Black and formerly a slave:^[2]

"The evidence of Charles Wickliff on part of the plaintiffs in this case, goes to show that he is 63 years old, and that he has known Lucy Fleetwood for about 58 years, and that he knew her back in the Old Nation and that she went to school at that time at Valley Town Mission, in the State of North Carolina, and that this school was established for Cherokees and that he never knew any other than Cherokee children to attend this school and that Lucy Fleetwood had two brothers that went to this Mission with her and that their names were Sam and Jerry, and that he Hosie Morgan, looked like an Indian, but that he did not speak the Cherokee language, but understood it, and that he was considered a Mexican or Spaniard. Mr. Wickliff further says that when a part of the Cherokees left Calhoun in the Old Nation in the year 1834, that he understood Hosie Morgan and family came to this country with them, and that he came to this Nation in the year 1839, but did not know if Hosie Morgan and family were ever recognized here as Cherokees. He further says that he was 10 or 11 years old when he went to this Mission school, before mentioned, in North Carolina, and that it was during this time that Hosie Morgan and family came into that section of country from the State of Georgia, and that he remained there about two years, but did not know if Hosie Morgan and family had any kins-folks among the Cherokees, or not, but did not know that the wife of Hosie Morgan had curley, kinky, or negro hair."

Later on in the record it states "The evidence of James Wofford in this case is both conclusive and satisfactory, as it not only shows that he was acquainted with the Fleedwoods family in this Nation, but that he knew them in the Old Nation, prior to the Treaty of 1835. Mr. Wofford is a man of fair education and great integrity, he is now 82 years old and was a member of the Senate of the Cherokee Council in the Old Nation, which position he held for several years - until he removed to this country- and that he was often Interpretor for Courts and Ministers of the Gospel. Mr. Wofford says that he knew Hosie Morgan in the Old Nation, and that he lived in the North Eastern District of the Nation, next to the North Carolina line, and that he then had a family, some of which were grown, and that Hosie Morgan claimed to be a Catawba Indian, and that his wife was a colored woman and had formerly been a slave, and that Hosie Morgan left that country before the treaty of 1835. Mr. Wofford further states, that Hosie Morgan made an application to the Council in the Old Nation for citizenship among the Cherokees, but that his request or petition was not granted, on the grounds that he was not a Cherokee, but was allowed on the account of him being a Catawba Indian, to open up a field in the (then) Cherokee Nation, upon which to make a living. That he knew Hosie Morgan well, and that he, Hosie Morgan, told him that he was a Catawba Indian, and was so regarded, and that Mr Hagan(?) who used to own Hosie Morgan's wife, mother of Lucy Fleetwood, and grand mother of Martha W. Brown, and great-grand-mother of Lafayette Teel, as a slave, lived near the line of North Carolina, in one of the Old countries, and that this man X Fagan(?) just spoken of, was the father of William Fagan(?), who is now dead, that used to live in Arkansas near the Cherokee line, who was once a Deputy Marshall, and a man well thought of by all who knew him."

"We the Commission of Citizenship after taking into consideration the evidence in this case, are of the opinion that the applicants Martha W. Brown, et al., and Lafayette Teel, et al, are not Cherokee by blood, as the testimony is conclusive in its proof that they are of an admixture of Catawba and negro blood, with no evidence whatever, other than the allegations contained in the application for citizenship, that they are Cherokees which they have signally failed to establish. The fact of Hosie Morgan's children going to a Mission school established for Cherokee children, is no proof that they were Cherokees, only the supposition, which in the fact of contradictory testimony sets this idea as being unworthy of notice. For the Missionary school of that day and time, and down to the present, were governed and controlled by the Missionary Boards of various churches, and Indians have nothing to do with their maintenance and support. They being wholly under the supervision of the Missionaries, and while their object was, and is, ostensibly to benefit the Indians, it is a well known fact that children of any race, whites, negros, & Cherokees attended these schools."

"This Fleetwood family have not continuously resided in the Cherokee Nation, going out into the States and returning at intervals. As to who Hosie Morgan was, the ancestor alleged in these cases, previous to his coming into the Old Cherokee Nation, is wholly unknown to this Commission, or even hat race of people he might have been, other than what he said himself, that he was a Catawba Indian. The evidence of Charles Wickliff and James Wofford would seem to indicate that he might have been of Mexican extraction. On this point there is nothing definite."

Further on in this same record James Wofford states that Hosea had a Mexican accent. It's possible his name was actually "Jose," but misspelled in these records.

A source is needed for this information below. The parents listed are most likely incorrect as the commission in 1888 makes it clear that his parents and wife's parents are unknown -

Hosea "Ocie" Morgan (son of Jeremiah Morgan and Lu-scee Buffalo) was born Abt. 1790 in North Carolina, and died 1834 in Trail of Tears (Burnt Caddens, Ark).He married Ave "Awee" Wolf on Abt. 1815 in North Carolina, daughter of Wolf and Annie Sourjohn.

Children of Hosea "Ocie" Morgan and Ave "Awee" Wolf

1. Lucinda Morgan, b. 1810, Hiawasee River, North Carolina, d. 18 Feb 1888, Delaware District, Cherokee Nation Indian Territory, Oklahoma.
2. Rosa Morgan.
3. Frankie Morgan.
4. Leety Morgan, d. in 1834, during the forced Trail of Tears march.
5. Ho-Sih Morgan.
6. Samuel Morgan.
7. Jerry Morgan.

Sources

1. ↑ Noble, Jane. The River Trail, which contains a transcription of Lt Harris' Journal. pp. 149, 203. 1989.
2. ↑ Dawes Interview Packet, Nora Webster #10099, pages 58-61, 64, Commission on Citizenship, 1888.

• https://www.genealogy.com/ftm/g/i/b/Berry-Gibson-GA/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0154.html
• Source: S827134404 Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.Ancestry Family Tree Ancestry Family Tree 152598102