Jack Amos
Newton County Citizen

Jack Amos "E-aht-onte-ube" by Greg Boggan Family Connections of Jack Amos by Dr. Harold Graham

Jack Amos posed for this picture ca. 1905 in a borrowed suit too large for his frame. His tendency toward baldness gives evidence of a white ancestor, who, in this case, would have been his maternal grandfather Jean (John) Cravat, one of two husbands of Nahotima, and of French ancestry. Note his hat on the ground. Photo courtesy of the Lauderdale County Department of Archives and History.

Jack Amos
E-aht-onte-ube
(Going Out There to Kill)

By Greg Boggan

One of Newton Countys most notable residents of the past was a man by the name of Jack Amos. Jack Amos was a Choctaw Indian and was born about March of 1830, based on information given in his deposition before the Dawes Commission in 1901. In this deposition Jack stated that several individuals told him that he was crawling when the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was signed on September 27, 1830. In both of his Dawes applications of 1896 and 1901, Jack testified that he was a full-blood Choctaw Indian and that both of his parents were also full-blood Choctaws. Jack listed his father as Apa-tom-by and his mother as Nah-ha-tema. From his own testimony and through the writings of H. S. Halbert, Jack Amos is known to be the grandson of Nahotima, a sister of Chief Pushmataha.

Jack states in his Dawes testimony that he was born in Lauderdale County near Old Marion, Mississippi. In this immediate vicinity in northeastern Lauderdale County is

Historic Koosa Town (spelling given by Swanton as Kunshak and by some researchers as Coosa), the residence of both Pushmataha and Nahotima, and a well-known Indian village where Nahotima is, according to historical accounts, buried.
.
Other than this, little is known about Jacks early life. He did move to Newton County as an infant with Juzan to Chunky Chitto north of Hickory and on the Chunky Creek. This Juzan is likely Charles Juzan who lived at Koosa for a while and who married Phoebe Cravat, daughter of Nahotima and her first husband Jean (John) Cravat (Jacks uncle by marriage). This move to Chunky Chitto coincides with the emigration of the Koosa people, led by Nittekechi, to the Indian Territory in 1831. Pierre Juzan, a brother of Charles Juzan, had earlier served as chief mingo at Chunky Chitto, and had also operated a trading post. Nittekechi was a son of Nahotima and thereby uncle of Jack Amos.

That Jack Amos was a great warrior during his life and that he most likely killed an enemy is suggested by his name E-aht-onte-ube (Going Out There to Kill).

With the exception of the Civil War and a three-week trek to Skullyville, Indian Territory, Jack lived the majority of his life in and around Newton County. In his latter years, he stayed in various homes of friends and relatives, but most of his time was spent in a small house owned by Evan Shelby Gilbert on Tallahatta Creek north of Chunky, Mississippi. Jack was living there at the time of his death.

The Civil War began in 1861 and it did not take long for Mississippi to become involved. Troops were called up for service all over the state. The newly formed Confederate States of America quickly made treaties with the Choctaw Nation, bringing this nation into the war on the side of the South. Both the Choctaw tribe in Indian Territory and in Mississippi began to raise units for service in the Civil War, and in 1861, Jack Amos, along with 200 other Mississippi Choctaws from Newton and Jasper Counties joined the Confederate Army. Jack served the Confederacy as a scout and interpreter between the Choctaws and Whites.

Jack Amos first enlisted in the 1st Choctaw Battalion, Mississippi Calvary under the command of Maj. J. W. Pearce. Recruitment and training camps were set up in Newton County and in Tangipahoa, Louisiana. During the course of the war, members of this unit, both White officers and Choctaw soldiers, were engaged with Union troops at Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and were taken captive. Some of the Choctaws and White officers escaped and returned to Newton County, others escaped into the Louisiana marshes and were never heard from again, while still others were captured, placed in the Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, and later paraded in New York City as prisoners-of-war. With many of their warriors lost or killed, the unit disbanded on May 8, 1863.

Jack Amos was among those who escaped the clash at Ponchatoula. All members still present, including Jack Amos, were transferred to Spanns Battalion of Independent Scouts under the command of Maj. S. C. Spann. Jack remained with his unit until its surrender in Meridian, Mississippi, on May 9, 1865. After the war, his commanding officer, S. G. Spann, wrote for Confederate Veterans Magazine a compelling story about the role of this Choctaw unit in the Confederacy and how this man--Jack Amos--made such an impact as an individual under his command.

Jack Amos and other Choctaw Indians demonstrated much bravery during a train wreck that occurred on the Little Chunky Creek between Chunky and Hickory, Mississippi on February 19, 1863. A troop train bound for Vicksburg, Mississippi derailed at the last bridge three miles east of Hickory. Heavy rains had washed out the railroad bridge and the engineer failed to heed warnings that the bridge was out. It was reported by a Jackson, Mississippi newspaper The Daily Southern Crisis on February 26, 1863 that 60-plus solders and civilians died in the accident and were buried on the railroad right-of-way. Jack Amos, with other Indians, stripped and plunged into the water to save upwards of twenty-two people involved in the accident. Spanns Battalion had been stationed in a nearby training camp when the accident occurred, and as reported by Spann, his troops were on the scene of the accident shortly after the wreck happened.

Spanns Battalion was also sent to Mobile on one occasion, and while there, Jack Amos, as reported by Spann, prevented a potential problem involving a Mobile attorney named Percy Walker. Mr. Walker was trying to persuade the Choctaw Indians not to fight in the Civil War and promised to get them out of military duty if they paid him $1.00 each. This incident was reported to General Dabney H. Maury who put an end to the whole affair.

Jack Amos returned home to Newton County after the Civil War. Most of his time, from that point forward until his death, was spent working on the farm of Evan Shelby Gilbert on Tallahatta Creek in the Blue Springs community north of Chunky. Jack, however, never relinquished his sense of loyalty to the Confederate cause and later joined Dabney H. Maury Camp, U. C. V. No 1312 of Newton County under the command of his former commanding officer, S. G. Spann. He also attended the U. C. V. convention in New Orleans in 1903. Jack applied for a Confederate Veterans pension on September 2, 1901, and received this pension until his death.

During the late 1890s until his death, Jack Amos became friend, interpreter and guide to Henry Sales Halbert. Halbert was a teacher and writer who lived among the Choctaw Indians and wrote much about their history, customs, schools, and living conditions. It was also during this period that Jack moved to Indian Territory for about three weeks. Nothing has been found as to why he did not remain in Indian Territory, but both his visit and return may have been connected to the activities of the Dawes Commission.

The Dawes Commission was created by Congress in 1893 for the purpose of privatizing tribal land west of the Mississippi. Each successful claimant of Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, or Seminole blood would be given a parcel of land then under tribal control. The land was offered in Indian Territory only. A board of commissioners began the process of receiving and approving applications, but the program was problem-riddled from the start as Indian wannabes and opportunistic lawyers (often charging 50% commissions), filled the courts with fraudulent claims. Rules for eligibility changed without notice, and the under-staffed commission often kept poor records of each applicant.

Little attention was paid to the more than 1,000 Choctaw Indians living in Mississippi until 1897. Much of the land in Indian Territory had already been allocated and the Choctaw Tribal Council, based in Indian Territory, showed little interest in sharing this land or cash-in-lieu with their Mississippi cousins. It was only in December 1900 that the commissioners paid a visit to Mississippi to take applications. From December through June of the following year they scheduled meetings and accepted applications at Hattiesburg, Carthage, Philadelphia, Decatur, and Meridian.

Jack Amos, along with more than 100 others, filed a claim when the Dawes Commission met at Decatur. But Jack Amos, along with other Mississippi Choctaws, was already disillusioned with the delay. In 1898 Congress passed the Curtis Act which allowed claimants to apply the provisions of Article 14 of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. So they tried a new tactic they asked that they be granted the land, not in Indian Territory, but in Mississippi, AND on the rights given in Article 14 of Dancing Rabbit Creek. What followed was a class-action suit with the name of Jack Amos listed first in the petition to the courts.

Among other concerns, the Dawes Commission addressed the legitimacy of each claimant relative to the Article 14 of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830. This was the treaty that released two-thirds of central Mississippi into the hands of white settlers and sent most of the Mississippi Indians on a Trail of Tears to the western lands, later to become the state of Oklahoma. Article 14 of that treaty provided that any Choctaw head of household who remained in Mississippi would be granted a section of land. Any child over the age of 10 was granted a half-section of land and any child under the age of 10, a quarter of section of land. The Indian agent Rufus Ward appointed to process these claims failed to do so in most cases; therefore, few Choctaws Indians received these benefits. (Rufus Ward failed to process more than 75 applications under the terms of the 14th Article of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek and was frequently intoxicated or absent from his station. He later told members of Congress that he thought he was doing what was intended of his position by disregarding these applications.)

The Dawes Commission began the process of determining how many Choctaw Indians were still residents of Mississippi, producing a census that came to be known as the McKennon Roll. Jack Amos was one of the first individuals from the Mississippi Choctaws who filed an application with the Dawes Commission in 1896 in order to receive a land grant, and which was largely ignored. It was at this time that Jack Amos, along with many other Mississippi Choctaws, contracted with attorneys Robert L Owen and Charles F. Winton to acquire land they had been denied under the terms of Article 14 of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. This suit found its way into federal court as Jack Amos et al vs. The Choctaw Nation, U. S. Court of Central District of Indian Territory, No 158 (1897). During 1896 and 1897 Mr. Owen testified and lobbied the United States Congress on behalf of Jack Amos and the other Mississippi Indians named in the suit. Out of all the litigation on his behalf and the behalf of others, Jack Amos never received any compensation or land. He was promised land in the Indian Territory, but he refused to leave his beloved Mississippi.

It has been my observation that the United States Government was bent on removing all Choctaw Indians to Indian Territory during the period without regard to the terms of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Jack Amos died before the court case was settled, resulting in no land and very little money. This case finally came to an end in a civil suit before the U. S. Supreme Court in Winton et al vs. Amos et al, 255 U. S. 373 (1921). Attorney Charles F. Winton, then deceased, his heirs sued to recover attorneys fees for his legal services during his long campaign to help Jack Amos and others. Since no money or land had been awarded to the complainants, no one benefited from this litigation.

The Newton Record published Jack Amos obituary on Thursday, March 22, 1906 with the heading Well-Known Choctaw Indian Departs this Life at a Ripe Old Age. W. C. Mabry, in a later article stated that Jack Amos was living on his great-great-grandfathers place, Evan Gilbert, at the time on his death.

In an interview conducted by WPA canvassers ca. 1936, Samuel E. Gilbert of Chunky stated that

My brothers and I have an old muzzle loading shotgun that was once owned by old Jack Amos who remained in the county after the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was signed. He is known to have fought with the Confederates. This gun is known to be not less than 75 years old, but is probably 100 years old. This old Indian taught me to speak Choctaw before I could speak English. He lived on my fathers place until his death.

During an interview with the Gilbert family on October 23, 2003 it was discovered that the family still had the muzzle-loading shotgun. In 1958 a family member had found the old gun in an abandoned outhouse behind the home of Walter Gilbert, a brother to Samuel E. Gilbert. The family did not know of the guns significance until this moment. It is believed to be the gun once owned by Jack Amos. The old weapon is in fair condition and looks just like it did when found in 1958. It is a double-barreled shotgun with percussion cap hammers. J. H. Mitchell manufactured the weapon.

Jack Amos is shown with a wife, Betsy, in the 1880 Federal Census of Newton County, but there is no indication that they had any children. No solid evidence exists as to his burial place, although many Choctaw Indians from this area were buried in a traditional Indian burying ground at Chunkeyville. Members of the Gilbert family that took care of Jack for the latter part of his life are buried in Blue Springs Baptist Church Cemetery north of Chunky. It is fitting, therefore, that on January 19, 2004, through the efforts of the author and the approval of the Blue Springs Church Cemetery Association, a Confederate marker was placed in Jack Amos honor in Blue Springs Cemetery.

References

Carter, Kent, The Dawes Commission and the Allotment of the Five Civilized Tribes, 1893-1914, Ancestry.com, Orem, Utah, 1999.

Clarke, Hewitt, Thunder at Meridian, Lone-Star Press, Spring, Texas, 1995

Confederate Veterans Magazine, Vol. XIII, #12, December 1905, pages 560-561.

Dawes Application for Jack Amos, Department of the Interior, May 24, 1901, National ArchivesSouthwest Region, Fort Worth, Texas

Halbert, H. S. and T. H. Ball, The Creek and Indian Wars of 1813 and 1814, Donuhue and Henneberry, Montgomery, Alabama, 1895

Jack Amos et al vs. The Choctaw Nation, U. S. Court of Central District of Indian Territory, No. 158 (1897), National Archives Southwest Region, Fort Worth, Texas.

Pension Application of Jack Amos for Indigent Soldiers or Sailor, Confederate States of America, Act of 1900, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, Mississippi.

Supplemental of the Official Records of the Union & Confederate Armies, Part II, Record of Events, Volume 32, Series No. 44.

The Daily Southern Crisis, Jackson, Mississippi, February 26, 1863.

Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, United States Congress, September 27, 1830.

Winton et al vs. Amos et al, 255 U. S. 373 (1921), U. S. Supreme Court.

The Newton Record, April 30, 1936 from a reprint of a May 28, 1903 article.

WPA Records, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, Mississippi, ca. 1936.

The Family Connections of Jack Amos

By Harold Graham

Any genealogy of Native Americans must rely on both documented sources, as well as oral traditions. A genealogy must also consider the passing of generations (estimated at 20-25 years per generation), as well as the places in which family members lived. It is with these precautions that we present some known and some probable parts of the family tree of Jack Amos.

Matriarchal Connections

The grandmother of Jack Amos was Nahotima, a sister of Pushmataha. According to tradition, the parents (their names unknown) of Pushmataha and Nahotima were killed in a Creek raid of their village at Koosa when both children were young. Pushmataha and Nahotima escaped by hiding, but two brothers ran from the bloody scene and were never heard from again. According to Lee Elbert Johnson, these two brothers were visiting a neighboring village and returned to Koosa after the massacre of their parents.

Nahotima (or Nahomtima, as given by Johnson) was recognized as the leading woman within the Choctaw tribe during her lifetime. She was given to great acts of kindness and generosity. The name Nahotima means She who seeks and gives things. According to Johnson she was born in 1766 and died after the death of Pushmataha (1764-1824) at Coosha.

Nahotima was married twice. The order of these marriages is unknown; however these husbands were Jean Cravat, a Frenchman, and Opaha, apparently a full blooded Indian. The marriage of Nahotima to Jean Cravat produced daughters Rebecca Cravat and Nancy Cravat, both wives of Louis LeFleur, as well as Phoebe Cravat, wife of Charles Juzan. Most likely Natima, the mother of Jack Amos, was also a daughter of this marriage

Louis Lefleur was of French ancestry and maintained a trading post at LeFluers Bluff, now the city of Jackson, Mississippi. Among the children of Louis LeFluer and Rebecca Cravat, was Greenwood LeFlore. At the signing of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, Greenwood LeFlore was then chief of the Western District of the Choctaw Nation, and while he spoke fervently in favor of removal of the Choctaws to Indian Territory, he remained in Mississippi, having been awarded substantial land grants by the federal government in the Delta and near his mansion at Carrolton, Mississippi. During his lifetime, he was one of the largest plantation owners and slave-owners in Mississippi. Both the city of Greenwood and the county of LeFlore are named after him.

The marriage of Nahotima to Opala produced (among others) sons Oklahoma and Nittekechi, both of whom served as mingos in the Choctaw Nation.

Patriarchal Connections

It is believed by this researcher that the patriarchal grandfather of Jack Amos was a Choctaw mingo named simply Amos (or more correctly Amos, Sr.), born about 1751 on Tombigbee River, and father of at least two children, Amos (Jr.) and Mary Lucretia Amos.

Amos (Jr.) was born about 1790-1795 in Mississippi and enlisted as a soldier in the Creek and Indian Wars. He is listed on the 1831 Indian Census taken just prior to removal and he is also listed on a special census taken in 1856 of Indian populations still living east of the Mississippi River. On March 25, 1858 Amos applied for a land patent in Newton County, the land consisting of 159.98 acres and located in Section 10, Township 6, Range 12, East, and north of Hickory. His claim to the land was cited as Military Warrant #47266 and a benefit offered to all veterans of the War of 1812. The claim was rejected in 1859 for reasons unknown, but the document does give evidence of the age and location of Amos, Jr., in 1858. This Amos, it is believed, was also known as Apa-tom-by, and the father of Jack Amos.

Family traditions reported by both Mabry Steinhouse and Lee Elbert Johnson, indicate that their common ancestor, Mary Lucretia Amos, was a niece of Pushmataha.

Mary Lucretia Amos, a child of Amos, Sr., as given by Jason Redmond and other Internet researchers, married Aaron Lucky Speaks. According to Lee Elbert Johnson, Aaron was born 1764 in Iredell County, North Carolina, later joined the Army, and was sent to Coosha, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, to quell an uprising of the Creek Indians against the Choctaw Indians. While there, he met and married Mary Lucretia Amos, a Choctaw Indian girl. Lucretia died in the year 1858 in Iredell County, North Carolina, moving there with her husband after their marriage

Lee Elbert Johnson describes Mary Lucretia Amos as a niece of Nahotima Amos through an unidentified brother of Nahotima, who according to Johnson was a chief in the Choctaw Nation. Johnson fails to provide documentation; however the information is not discounted.. If all parts of this puzzle are correctly placed together, it would also mean that the parents of Jack Amos were cousins, an unlikely event under Choctaw marital customs, but is believed by this writer to be correct.

Lee Elbert Johnson names six children for Aaron Lucky Speaks and Mary Lucretia Amos. The child of greatest interest was William Richmond Speaks, born 1785November 1, 1820, and who married on April 12, 1812, Madison County, Alabama, to Susannah Elizabeth Jones, d/o Freeman Jones, Sr., and Christina Paris. While the full extent of their children is not known, they had three daughters who settled in Newton County: Allie Delphia Speaks Johnson, Elizabeth Jane Speaks Gilbert, and Mary Lucretia Speaks Clearman.

Allie Delphia Speaks Walter W. Johnson Family

Allie Delphia Speaks, daughter of Richmond Speaks and Susannah Jones, was born April 3, 1813, Alabama, and died March 14, 1885, Newton County, Mississippi. She was buried in Johnson Family Cemetery with her husband, Walter W. Johnson, son of William Johnson and Dianna Adams, born April 12, 1806, Tennessee died April 4, 1864, Newton County, Mississippi. They were married on August 24, 1826 and were the parents of fourteen children:

1. Diana Adams Johnson, born September 13, 1827, Pickens County, Alabama died March 7, 1903; Decatur, Mississippi; married William Johnson Jones.
2. William Richmond (Bill) Johnson, born October 15 1829, Pickens County, Alabama died February 20, 1923, Newton County, Mississippi, and buried in Johnson Family Cemetery; married (1) Emily C. Kennedy and (2) Mary Amanda Hailey
3. Susan (Susie) Johnson, born March 12, 1832, Pickens County, Alabama died June 7, 1877, Newton County, Mississippi, and buried in Johnson Family Cemetery; married John D. Sims
4. Rebecca Jane Johnson, born July 6, 1834, Neshoba (Newton) County, Mississippi died February 3, 1870, Newton County, Mississippi, and buried in Johnson Family Cemetery; married Henry J. Reynolds
5. Robert J. Johnson, born December 28, 1836, Newton County, Mississippi died June 22, 1863, unmarried, Civil War
6. Lucretia Johnson, born July 13, 1839, Newton County, Mississippi died September 12, 1841, Newton County, Mississippi
7. Elisha Lott Johnson, born January 16, 1842, Newton County, Mississippi died November 11, 1864, Camp Douglas, Illinois, Civil War
8. Elijah Cook Johnson, born April 12, 1844, Newton County; married and moved to Texas
9. Nancy Elizabeth Johnson, born February 11, 1846, Newton County, Mississippi died September 16, 1846, Newton County, Mississippi
10. Delphia Ann Johnson, born September 5, 1847, Newton County, Mississippi died August 23, 1928, Decatur, Mississippi, and buried in Decatur Cemetery; married Reubin W. Rowzee
11. James Terrell Johnson, born November 6, 1849, Newton County, Mississippi died July 17, 1882, Newton County, Mississippi, and buried in Johnson Family Cemetery; married Sally Frances Cleveland
12. Eliza McCormick Johnson, born September 22, 1851, Newton County, Mississippi died December 17, 1932, Newton County, Mississippi; married (1) James H. Gallaspy; married (2) Daniel Richard Mabry
13. Rachael Lucinda Johnson, born October 26, 1855, Newton County, Mississippi died November 7, 1876, Newton County, Mississippi; married Henry H. Alexander
14. Mary Carolina Johnson, born June 9, 1858, Newton County, Mississippi died November 24, 1918, Newton County, Mississippi; and buried in Johnson Family Cemetery; did not marry

Elizabeth Jane Speaks
Evan Shelby Gilbert Family

Elizabeth Jane Speaks, daughter of William Richmond Speaks and Susannah Elizabeth Jones, was born August 3, 1814, Madison County, Alabama and died at Chunky, Newton County, Mississippi, on March 28, 1902, and was buried with her husband in Blue Springs Baptist Church Cemetery. Jane married Evan Shelby Gilbert, son of Stephen H. Gilbert and Hannah Edmonds, born August 8, 1809, Stewart County, Tennessee died June 2, 1883, Chunky, Mississippi. They were the parents of nine known children:

1. 1. Nancy Christina Gilbert, born August 21, 1832, Alabama died June 17, 1912, Meridian, Mississippi, and buried in Magnolia Cemetery; married Rev. Aaron Alvin Gressett. Rev. Gressett was publisher of religious music and owner of Gressett Music House in Meridian, Mississippi.
2. Sarah Gilbert, born about 1834 living 1850. No further record.
3. Stephen Richmond Gilbert, born December 4, 1835, Alabama died November 30, 1864, Franklin, Tennessee, Civil War; married Delilah Ann Loper
4. Charlotte Gilbert, born about 1838; married John Byars
5. John Wesley Gilbert, born October 9, 1840, Chunky, Mississippi died 29 April 1933, and buried in Blue Springs Baptist Church Cemetery; married Julia A. Hughes
6. Susan Limender Gilbert, born April 10, 1843, Chunky, Mississippi died October 6, 1904, Newton County, Mississippi, and buried in Blue Springs Baptist Church Cemetery; married Thomas J. Reynolds
7. Able Pennington Gilbert, born October 27, 1845, Chunky, Mississippi died March 13, 1891, Meridian, Mississippi, and buried in Rose Hill Cemetery; married Mary Jane Daniel
8. Simeon Gilbert, born about 1847, Chunky, Mississippi. No further information.
9. Spencer Bankston Gilbert, born August 12, 1848, Chunky, Mississippi died March 25, 1923, Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi; married Mary (Mollie) Washington Trussell

Stephen Richmond Gilbert and Delilah Ann Loper

Stephen Richmond Gilbert, son of Evan Shelby Gilbert and Elizabeth Jane Speaks, was born December 4, 1835, Pickens County, Alabama and died on November 30, 1864, Franklin, Tennessee, Civil War. He married Delilah Ann Loper, born December 23, 1834, Mississippi died November 17, 1922, and buried in Blue Spring Baptist Church Cemetery. They were the parents of five children:

1. 1. Elizabeth Jane Gilbert, born August 23, 1853, Chunky, Mississippi died September 12, 1915, Chunky, Mississippi, and buried in Blue Springs Baptist Church Cemetery with her husband, Daniel Richard Mabry. Dan, a son of Joel Mabry and Jane Williams, was born December 3, 1852, likely Oktibbeha County, Mississippi and died November 11, 1930, Chunky. They were the parents of nine children, the oldest of whom was William Clifton Mabry, who married Virginia Eddie (Virgie) Thornton. W. C. Mabry served a distinguished career as Newton County Superintendent of Education, Sheriff of Newton County, and editor and publisher of the Newton Record.
2. William Lafayette Gilbert, born July 13, 1854, Chunky, Mississippi died January 27, 1924, Pelahatchie, Rankin County, Mississippi, and buried in Line Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Rankin County; married Mary Elizabeth Wells
3. John W. Gilbert, born March 20, 1858, Chunky, Mississippi died December 31, 1943, Semmes, Alabama, and buried in Fuston Cemetery, Walnut Grove, Leake County, Mississippi
4. Alvin A. Gilbert, born May 7, 1860, Chunky, Mississippi died February 12, 1862, Chunky, Mississippi, and buried in Blue Springs Baptist Church Cemetery
5. Susan L. (Sue) Gilbert, born October 2, 1862, Chunky, Mississippi died September 23, 1953, and buried in Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church Cemetery, Newton County, Mississippi; married Benjamin Franklin Tatum

Mary Lucretia SpeaksWilliam Leslie (Billy) Clearman Family

Mary Lucretia Speaks, daughter of Richmond Speaks and Susannah Elizabeth Jones, was born March 19, 1816, Madison County, Alabama, and died June 11, 1869, Chunky, Mississippi, and buried in Blue Springs Baptist Church Cemetery with her husband William Leslie (Billy) Clearman. Billy was born November 9, 1807, Pendleton District, South Carolina, a son of Jacob Clearman and Hannah Swearingen. He died at Chunky on October 18, 1892. Following the death of Mary Lucretia, Billy married (2) Martha Keith. Mary Lucretia Speaks and William Leslie Clearman had ten known children:

1. 1. Emily Lucretia Clearman, born August 27, 1836, Newton County, Mississippi died December 24, 1917, Chunky, Mississippi, and buried in Blue Springs Baptist Church Cemetery; married (1) L. H. Garrison (2) J. Z. J. Garvin
2. William Washington Clearman, born April 27, 1838, Newton County, Mississippi; married and moved from Newton County. No further information.
3. Newton Richmond Clearman, born February 23, 1840, Newton County, Mississippi died August 22, 1907, Newton County, Mississippi, and buried in Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery; married Sarah Jane (Sallie) Moore
4. Adelia Ann Clearman, born April 29, 1843, Newton County, Mississippi died April 3, 1898, Hickory, Mississippi, and buried in Blue Springs Baptist Church Cemetery; married Dr. Allen Ulysses Gressett
5. Mary Elizabeth Clearman, born April 8, 1844, Newton County, Mississippi died April 26, 1926, Newton County, Mississippi; married Richard Oliver Harris
6. James Dollar Clearman, born October 8, 1846, Newton County, Mississippi died September 22, 1926, Chunky, Mississippi; married Cynthia Roxanne Carter
7. John Taylor Clearman, born June 22, 1849, Newton County, Mississippi died June 11, 1927, Forrest County, Mississippi, and buried in Glendale Cemetery; married Tempie A. __________
8. Hannah Susan Clearman, born April 23, 1852, Chunky, Mississippi died August 31, 1915, Meridian, Mississippi, and buried in Blue Springs Baptist Church Cemetery; did not marry
9. Robert Van Clearman, born September 8, 1855, Chunky, Mississippi died October 19, 1943, Texas; married Lucinda Jane Mabry
10. Sarah Catherine Clearman, born April 27, 1857, Chunky, Mississippi died February 22, 1890, Chunky, Mississippi, and buried in Blue Springs Baptist Church Cemetery; married Jeremiah M. Harris

References

Gay, Ann Harwell, Place Names in Choctaw County, Alabama, Revised Edition, Brown Printing Company, Meridian, Mississippi, 1998.

Graham, William Harold, Gilbert, Mabry, and Clearman Records

Graham, William Harold, Newton County, Mississippi, Marriage Records, 1872-1952, Pioneer Publishing Company, P. O. Box 408, Carrollton, MS 38917

Harrison, Allen Francis, compiler and Jerry Johnson, printer, History of the Johnson Family, League City, Texas, no date.

Johnson, Lee Elbert, The Gilbert Family, manuscript, n/d

Mabry, Don, Mabry Records, Mississippi State University

Mississippi Death Certificates, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, Mississippi

Redmond, Jason, Ancestry.com Message Board, Orem, Utah

Smith, Bonnie Addy, Jackson Eliot Smith, and Robert Ervin Smith, Newton County, Mississippi, A Cemetery Census, 1782-1995, EBRS Publishing Company, 100 Woodville Drive, Natchez, MS 39120

Steinhouse, Mabry, Mabry Records

There is a problem with your facts on Jack Amos.

Halbert's notes clearly state that Phoebe is the daughter of Oklahoma, and she was married to Charles Juzan. In addition to Phoebe, Charles Juzan was married to Oklahoma's sister, Peggy. Peggy went on to marry a Trahern, and is listed as Peggy Trihan in the supplement to the treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creeks. The information on Peggy and Phoebe comes from a few articles by Halbert, one is the Sketches of Prominent Indian's and Countrymen, your reference to Opala comes from that source. In addition to a statement in citizenship or court of claims documents in the Oklahoma Archives.

In Halbert's article on Bernard Roman's map, he also states that one of Shumaka's daughter's is married to Pushmataha. This is Immahoka. Also, in his paper's on the Sketches of Prominent Indian's and Countrymen, and in the Oklahoma Chronicles it states that Robert Cole testified to who his relatives were {Court of Claims 1838}, among them is his "nephew" Greenwood Leflore. As both Greenwood's father and grandfather were white men, that means that Greenwood Lelfore's mother was related to Robert Cole, she could only be his neice, as his son testified his grandmother was Shumaka, and thus Greenwood was his great nephew. Shumaka, the mother of Robert Cole, is the great grandmother of Greenwood Lelfore, and has no blood connection to Nahotima or Pushmataha.

The name Nahotima and variations is common {as seen by Jack Amos' mother own name, Nahatima, and when looking at the census of 1855}, and given the oral history of the name as the grandmother of the Leflore's it was a great leap to conclude they were the same woman in the 1930's, which is when the information was first printed. The only connection between Pushmataha and the Leflore's is he was married to their maternal aunt, a relationship that was not recognized as a family one, he would have been husband of my mother's sister in Choctaw terms.

I don't know why the original authors wished to link Greenwood to Pushmataha, unless it was to further the idea of his being a great leader linked to another one. If he was related to one of the last three heriditary Chief's, it was to Apuckshunnubbee, less known, and surely less favored of the three. Since Robert Cole replaced Apuckshunnubbee as Chief, it is felt that he did so as his nephew, as was the common accepted hereditary practise. There is no proof that Shumaka was the sister of Apuckshunnubbee, but it is not unlikely.

Jack Amos has links to Nittakechi, Okahoma, Tappenahoma, Pierre Juzan {who was a cousin}, he doesn't need to be linked to the Leflore's, especially since it is unlikely that they were related.

Jennifer Mieirs

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