Woodall Relationship Notes

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

Are the Woodall's referenced in the letter the sons of John Woodall???

Letter from Indian Agent Hugh Montgomery 1817

June 1817

Cherokee country that became Hall County

Description of people living in Indian territory - Hall Co in 1817. Holly Barton and Henry Barton are mentioned. Also, they are living close to John Sr and John Jr Abbercrombie - Holly in 1820 Census in Capt. Abbercrombie's District

In 1817, Hugh Montgomery, later an Indian agent for the State of Georgia, was paid 16 dollars for a journey down the Chattahoochee River to what is now Hall, Gwinnett, and Fulton counties. This was freshly ceded Indian land full of white intruders and Montgomery’s job was to notify them they had to report to authorities. He mentions seeing persons listed in a deposition concerning intruding, whom he reported to governor William Rabun, saying he had advised them to return to Georgia to face inquiries. He begins:

 :3rd July 1817

Sir I have just Returned from the Frontiers & have Down to give you the names of the white persons (heads of Familys) who I find living on the Indian lands adjasent to this County Let it be Remembered that I did not vissit the South west Side of the County, I had no expectation before I set out that any person had Settled over the appalatchee, when I got to the Hog mountain I learnt that the persons named in the Deposition sent to you were all in that Quarter & that they had been all advised to Return before the Depositions were forwarded to you & had Refused. I had a Right to believe that the names of all were sent you, I was also informed that most of them had either moved in or were about to Remove with the exception of a John Camp& a few others.

He then includes a long list of names of white intruders living on Indian lands  from Suwanee Old Town, down past Stone Mountain to the Standing Peachtree and perhaps Buzzard's Roost on the river. He has informed some of them that they are subject to inquiries in the State of Georgia and some have indicated they will take care of the problem. Most indicated they will ignore the government.

I then turned up the North west side of the County & the following are the persons I find on the Indian Lands in that Quarter together with the  Relative Situations in which they live viz between the Stone Mountain& Chatahoochee River, are Silas McGrady, John Steen, & James Steen Senr.& Clanton Steenin the Settlement Called  Raferses Settlement& on both sides of Chatahoochee are James Steen Junr.  John Rogers, John Difoor, a man by the name of Bill, two men by the name of  Bagwell, John Woodall William Woodall Thomas Woodall, & another Woodall given name not known, & Tabitha Harper a widow Parker Collens, Jonathan Gray, & William Harden above the mouth of Suwanee are William Garner Warren Young John Tidwell, & Austin Dobbs, at & near the mouth of Big Creek are John  Mires Thomas Dasset, John Dasset, Obediah Light, James Smith & Robert Smith Junr., at & near the mouth of the Flowery Branch are Bud Mullins, Robert Smith Senr, & Thomson McGuire at & near the Ferry are John Lessly, Danl May,  Caleb Mosely, Benjn  Murry, John Gathard, John Wilson& Hugh Wilson, on Flat creek are Simon Strickland, Sion Strickland Irvin Strickland, Lazeras Strickland, Lewis Crow, Sion Crow, & Richard Litteral, and near the Chestetee are Freeman Averbee Danl. Short, Noah Langly, John Martin, & Jese Martin & at and above the Shallowford are William Staker, William Baity, a man by the name Mason, an other by the name of Hainsan other by the name of Hawkins, & John Wagoner, James Abercrombi a Senr James Abercrombi a Junr Benjm Morris, Henry Morris, John Diffy, Henry Barton, Holly Barton, Widow & George Davis. I did not see all of them, but the greater part of those that I did, promised to Come in, Some few will, Say about one in ten, the ballance will not.

Now Montgomery changes the tone of his letter, he begins commenting on the whole idea of white intruders and Indians living together and the morality thereof:

…there are a great many Shifts which those people make to get settling on those Lands Some Rent of Indians or Mixed Bloods others Settle Down on Such place as pleases them & get Some stroling Vagabond Indian to live or Stay with them, they Call themselves his Croppers, he is to hunt & they Cultivate the Ground, they find him a Gun & amunition  they have the meat & he the Skins, but it often so turns out that he has two Haggskins  for one Dearskin, & this accounts for the Frontier people loosing so many of their Haggs  as they do -- others (if possible) More Lax in their Morrels & Still Less Delicate in their taste will Kiss a Squaw for the privallage of their Land & Range, he then becomes a Landlord he has his Croppers, Tenants, & Hirelings &c. thus a whole Settlement Claim under him, and what seems more abominable then all is that others give their Daughters to the Indian fellows for the privallage of Living in their Country themselves, of this Last & and worst Class are John Tidwell & Noah Langly the Former has given four of his Daughters to Indian fellows for Wives & the Latter two thus a Motly Race are propigating  fast verry fast on the Chatahoochee & its waters –

            

I Should like to know how far the Individual Indians have a Right to Rent or Lease Lands, my own impressions are that Indians have not a principle tittle to any Lands, that theirs is a mere occupant claim, that they are tenants at the will of the Government, the Treaty Reserves the Lands to them for their Hunting grounds, it prohibits all Citizens of the U. S, or other persons from Settling on them with out permits from the Agent of Indian affairs, those people have no permits they are not Indians altho Some of them try to look & act like them, & it seems that to get foothold in the Nation by any of their ways which I have Described has all the effect of taking the Indian Black Drink, it makes them inimical to every person who Does not  ware a Long hunting Shirt & mockisins or a Match Coat & Smell like Tainted Dearskins  & I think I am warranted in saying that If the Comrs. fail of success in the present Treaty it will be in not intirely to the Clamours of those fellows Seconded by a few of the Mixed Bloods, the spurious product of those Disgracefull & unnatural Matches.

I am Sir very Respectfully your Obt Humbl Servnt  H Montgomery 

Research Notes