But we couldnt learn to read or have a book, and the Cherokee folks was afraid to tell us about the letters and figgers because they have a law you go to jail and a big fine if you show a slave about the letters. Old Master Joe had a big steam boat he called the Lucy Walker, and he run it up and down the Arkansas and the Mississippi and the Ohio river, old Mistress say. Their slaves also helped build the nearby Moravian mission and school in Spring Place. After the explosion someone found an arm up in a tree on the bank of the river. He'd take us and enjoy us, you know. My father was a carpenter and blacksmith as well as race-horse man and he wanted to make money. He builds the large brick mansion house at Spring Place, Murray Country, Georgia, which stands today as a monument at its owner. When they get it they take it back to their cabin. Lord yes, su-er. Its got a buokeys and a lead bullet in it. Interestingly, Mrs. Vann also speaks of some time that her family spent before and during the war in Mexico. There'd be a hole wagon-load of things come and be put on the tree. Below New Albany, the vessel blew up when one or more boilers blew up, killing the majority of the passengers and among them the owner and captain. My uncle belong to old Captain Joe nearly all his life. When de War come old Master seen he was going into trouble and he sold off most of de slaves. I don't know how old I is; some folks ay I'se ninety-two and some say I must be a hundred. When I left Mrs. McGee's I worked about three years for Mr. Sterling Scott and Mr. Roddy Reese. Mammy had the wagon and two oxen and we worked a good size patch there until she died, and then I git married to Cal Robertson to have somebody to take care of me. I'se born right in my master and missus bed. Joseph Vann inherited the "Diamond Hill" estate from his father and from him he also inherited the ability for trading by which he increased his fortune to a fabulous size. He took us back to Texas right down near where I was born at Bellview. We had bonnets that had long silk tassels for ties. There was big parties and dances. The French Revolution broke out in 1789, and its effects reverberated throughout much of Europe for many decades. Others were returned to their owners. If somebody bad sick he git de doctor right quick, and he don't let no negroes mess around wid no poultices and teas and sech things, like cupping-horns neither! And dishes, they had rows and rows of china dishes; big blue platters that would hold a whole turkey. Sometimes I eat my bread this morning none this evening. On October 23, 1844, the steamboat Lucy Walker departed Louisville, Kentucky, bound for New Orleans. But de Big House ain't hurt cepting it need a new roof. Although he was born after slavery had ended, Nave's remembrances of what his father had told him about slavery days include some interesting details. Explore historical records and family tree profiles about Joseph Vann Chief on MyHeritage, the world's family history network. But later on I got a freedman's allotment up in dat part close to Coffeyville, and I lived in Coffeyville a while but I didn't like it in Kansas. Marster had a little race horse called "Black Hock" She was all jet black, excepting three white feet and her stump of a tail. The slaves of the Creeks also joined those of the Cherokees and the band set out for Mexico. And we had corn bread and cakes baked every day. Everything was kept covered and every hogshead had a lock. The following oral history narrative is from the The WPA Oklahoma Slave Narratives in the Library of Congress, edited by T. Lindsay Baker, Julie Philips Baker: Yes Sa. World War I began in 1914. Old Master Joe had a mighty big farm and several families of Negroes, and he was a powerful rich man. Perhaps because they had observed the prosperity so often achieved by slave-holding whites, Indians of mixed-blood were more apt to own slaves. His father John Joseph VANN is about 48 years old in 1779 - estimations) Sept. 27 1793 - Daniel SMITH Letter to Henry KNOX. One time we sold one hundred hogs on the foot. Some of us had money. After de War was over, Old Master tell me I am free but he will look out after me cause I am just a little negro and I ain't got no sense. Pappy wanted to go back to his mother when the War was over the slaves was freed. The Chief Vann House, built between 1804 and 1806 by the Cherokee leader James Vann, is called the "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation .". Dey would come in de night and hamstring de horses and maybe set fire to de barn, and two of em named Joab Scarrel, and Tom Starr killed my pappy one night just before the War broke out. Born on February 11, 1798, in Murray County in northwest Georgia, Vann was the son of Chief James Vann and Margaret "Peggy" Scott. Joseph also inherited his father's gold and deposited over $200,000 in gold in a bank in Tennessee. By and by I married Nancy Holdebrand what lived on Greenleaf Creek, bout four miles northwest of Gore. Mammy and pappy belong to W.P. I never did have much of a job, jest tending de calves mostly. Pappy is buried in the church yard on Four Mile Branch. I had on my old clothes for the wedding, and I ain't had any good clothes since I was a little slave girl. They got over in the Creek country and stood off the Cherokee officers that went to git them, but pretty soon they give up and come home. Next came the carpenters, yard men, blacksmiths, race-horse men, steamboat men and like that. Everything was fine, Lord have mercy on me, yes. So many years had passed since slavery ended that most of the former slaves then available for interviews had been born very near the end of the slavery era. I would stay around about a week and help em and dey would try to git me to take something but I never would. on the Ohio River. Circa 1736 1815 Chief John Joseph Vann 1736 1815 Kansas. Right after the War, de Cherokees that had been wid the South kind of pestered the freedmen some, but I was so small dey never bothered me; jest de grown ones. Geni requires JavaScript! They taken some of their slaves with them. Don't know much about him. townhomes for rent in pg county. Two pounds of hog meat sold for a nickel. to me".1 At that time, no doubt many in the legal profession were similarly placed. Old Mistress cried jest like any of de rest of us when de boat pull out with dem on it. Once they catch a catfish most as big as a man; that fish had eggs big as hen eggs, and he made a feast for twenty-five Indians on the fishing party. He was the father of Nancy Vann Mackey; and Delilah Amelia, wife of Oliver H. Perry Brewer (Brewer cemetery). I got all my money and fine clothes from the marster and the missus. They was Cherokee Indians. He had to work on the boat, though, and never got to come home but once in a long while. There Vann constructed a replica of his lost Georgia mansion. Every dollar she make on the track, I give it to Lucy." Old Master Joe was a big man in the Cherokees, I hear, and was good to his Negroes before I was born. Everything we had was made by my folks. They'd sell 'em to folks at picnics and barbecues. The Vanns were a prolific family who reused many names, so later in life he was referred to as "Rich Joe." He was one of eight children born to his father's nine wives. Mr. Reese had a big flock of peafowls dat had belonged to Mr. Scott and I had to take care of demWhitefolks. He was a multi-millionaire and handsome. Do you know what I am going to do? He had apparently been attending the horse races at Louisville, KY. Vann, Joseph H., Cherokee Rose: On Rivers of Golden Tears, 1st Books Library (2001), ISBN 0-75965-139-6. His Uncle John Vann was the son in law of Terrepin and grandson-in-law of Oconastota; Oconastota was. Chief Joseph H. Vann was a prominent Cherokee leader in Georgia. http://www.timcdfw.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I7805&tree= Joseph Vann removed to the West in 1836. Don't know where the other one lived. My mother was born way back in the hills of the old Flint district of the Cherokee Nation; just about where Scraper Oklahoma is now. Us Cherokee slaves seen lots of green corn shootings and de like of dat but we never had no games of our own. She was weavin when the case came up so quick, missus Jennie put her in her own bed and took care of her. He sure stood good with de Cherokee neighbors we had, and dey all liked him. Before he was killed, James Vann was a powerful chief in the Cherokee Nation and wanted Joseph to inherit the wealth that he had built instead of his wives, but Cherokee law stipulated that the home go to his wife, Peggy, while his possessions and property were to be divided among his children. I slept on a sliding bed. It made my Master mad, but dey didn't belong to him no more and he couldn't say nothing. Revolution and the growth of industrial society, 1789- 1914 Developments in 19th-century Europe are bounded by two great events. McFadden, Marguerite, "The Saga of 'Rich Joe' Vann", Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol. He wanted people to know he was able to dress his slaves in fine clothes. Mammy died in Texas, and when we left Rusk County after the Civil War, pappy took us children to the graveyard. And we learned some things about religion from an old colored preacher named Tom Vann. After we got our presents we go way anywhere and visit colored folks on other plantation. There was a big church. Marster never whipped no one. Two year old when my mamma died so I remember nothing of her, and most of my sisters and brothers dead too. We put all the bed clothes on its back. Excepting master and mistress, couldn't nobody put things in there but her. Joseph H. Vann, (11 February 1798 - 23 October 1844). Marster had a little race horse called "Black Hock" She was all jet black, excepting three white feet and her stump of a tail. Joseph Vann took the rebel slaves belonging to him out of the Cherokee Nation and permanently assigned them to work on his steamboats. They had fine furniture that Marster Vann had brought home in a steamboat from far away. He had to work on the boat, though, and never got to come home but once in a long while. Then, in Section 2, John Vann's own records will be presented as unembellished as can be in order to glimpse him at work as a Chickasaw packman, Cherokee trader and government translator. I was afraid I would get cheated out of it cause I can't figure and read, so I tell old Master about it and he bought it off'n me. He owned 110 slaves and on his plantation there were thirty-five houses, a mill and a ferry boat. Joseph H. Vann was born in Spring Place, Georgia. I always think of my old Master as de one dat freed me, and anyways Abraham Lincoln and none of his North people didn't look after me and buy my crop right after I was free like old Master did. Snow on the ground and the water was muddy and all full of pieces of ice. Master went plumb blind after he move back to Webber's Falls and so he move up on de Illinois River, about three miles from de Arkansas, and there old Mistress take de white swelling and die and den he die pretty soon. We was too tired when we come in to play any games. Malone, Henry Thompson, Cherokees of the Old South: A People in Transition, University of Georgia Press, (1956), ISBN 0670034207. One day young Master come to the cabins and say we all free and cant stay there lessn we want to go on working for him just like wed been, for our feed and clothes. Yes Lord, it was, havy mercy on me yes. The most terrible thing that ever happen was when the Lucy Walker busted and Joe got blew up. Chief Vann House Historic Site 22.44 KMs away from Cohutta Wilderness The Chief Vann House Historic Site is a 19th century plantation house that has been carefully restored to its original grandeur. There'd be a whole wagon-load of things come and be put on the tree. Yes I was! The beautiful brick house was surrounded by kitchens, slave quarters and mills, with apple and peach orchards covering the adjacent hills. He'd take us and enjoy us, you know. Among the several hundred slaves owned by the Vanns at that time, many were skilled craftsmen and tradesmen capable of helping build such a fine house. I don't remember much about my pappy's mother; but I remember she would milk for a man named Columbus Balreade and she went to prayer meeting every Wednesday night. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Lord have mercy I'll say they was. They had a big big plantation down by the river and they was rich. I wore a stripedy shirt till I was about 11 years old and den one day while we was down in the Choctaw Country old Mistress see me and nearly fall off her horse. Run it to the bank!" Oh Lord, no. My husband didn't give me nothing. It look lots of clothes for all them slaves. Young Master Joe let us have singing and be baptised if we want to, but I wasnt baptized till after the war. Some 3,500 interviews were conducted. Just 'bout two weeks before the coming of Christmas Day in 1853, I was born on a plantation somewheres eight miles east of Bellview, Rusk County, Texas. Den old Master get three wagons and ox teams and take us all way down on Red River in de Choctaw Nation. Seneca Chism was my father. We never had no church in slavery, and no schooling, and you had better not be caught wid a book in your hand even, so I never did go to church hardly any. Yes Lord Yes. Born on February 11, 1789, he was also a planter, and businessman who owned slaves, and steamboats among others. There was big parties and dances. I thought it was mighty big and fine. We stayed here till everything got fixed up, then we went back to Mexico. Of course I hear about Abraham Lincoln and he was a great man, but I was told mostly by my children when dey come home from school about him. I remember when the steamboats went up and down the river. In summer when it was hot, the slaves would sit in the shade evenings and make wooden spoons out of maple. It wasn't my Master done dat. I dunno her other name. Mistress try to get de man to tell her who de negro belong to so she can buy him, but de man say he can't sell him and he take him on back to Texas wid a chain around his two ankles. Young Master Vann never very hard on us and he never whupped us, and old Mistress was a widow woman and a good Christian and always kind. Marster had a big Christmas tree, oh great big tree, put on the porch. and. Everybody, white folks and colored folks, having good itme. We had meat, bread, rice, potatoes and plenty of fish and chicken. Sometimes she pull my hair. Young Master never whip his slaves, but if they dont mind good he sell them off sometimes. Then one day one of my uncles name Wash Sheppard come and tried to git me to go live wid him. Master give me over to de National Freedmen's bureau and I was bound out to a Cherokee woman name Lizzie McGee. Soon as you come out of the water you go over there and change clothes. Everybody had fine clothes everybody had plenty to eat. The commissary was full of everything good to eat. Another time his officer give him a message; he was on his way to deliver it when the enemy spy him and cry out to stop, but father said he kept on going until he was shot in the leg. We had to get up early and comb our hair first thing. I've seen em. When we wanted to go anywhere we always got a horse, we never walked. When they wanted something put away they say, "Clarinda, come put this in the vault." We didn't suffer, we had plenty to eat. Then I had clean warm clothes and I had to keep them clean too! Coming out of the army for the last time, Pappa took all the family and moved to Fort Scott, Kansas, but I guess he feel more at home wid the Indians for pretty soon we all move back, this time to a farm near Fort Gibson. A Scottish trader came to Cherokee Territory in 1755, married Wai-Li and became a licensed trader-interpreter for the Queen of England. When Mammy went old Mistress took me to de Big House to help her and she was kind to me like I was part of her own family. I had one brother and one sister sold when I was little and I dont remember the names. In the master's yard was the slave cabin, one room long, dirt floor, no windows. The young, single girls lived with the old folks in another big long house. He done already sold 'em to a man and it was dat man was waiting for de trader. Dey was both raised round Webber's Falls somewhere. Every dollar she make on the track, I give it to Lucy." The master had a bell to ring every morning at four o'clock for the folks to turn out. My pappy was a kind of a boss of the Negroes that run the boat, and they all belong to old Master Joe. Pretty soon all de young Cherokee menfolks all gone off to de War, and de Pins was riding round all de time, and it ain't safe to be in dat part around Webber's Falls so old Master take us all to Fort Smith where they was a lot of Confederate soldiers. It was in the Grand River close to the ford, and winter time. His grandfather was Clement Vann, a Scottish trader who moved from Charleston, South Carolina, to the Cherokee lands in northwest Georgia and married Wa-wli, a Cherokee Indian. The spring time give us plenty of green corn and beans too. John Joseph Vann B: 1730 Scotland, M: Wai-Li Princess of Cherokee - 1763,D: 1780 Tennessee, shot by son James (Chief Crazy James) John Vann. He never come until the next day, so dey had to sleep in dat pen in a pile like hogs. He come from across the water when he was a little boy, and was grown when old Master Joseph Vann bought him, so he never did learn to talk much Cherokee. He would start at de crack of daylight and not git home till way after dark. Everybody laugh and was happy. We settled down a little ways above Fort Gibson. He was a traveler, didn't stay home much. Sometimes there was high waters that spoiled the current and the steamboast could't run. The women dressed in white, if they had a white dress to wear. Dey kept after me about a year, but I didn't go anyways. He passed away on 21 Feb 1809 in Shot at Buffington Tavern, GA, USA. Although Lucinda Vann was owned by Jim Vann, she told about the death of "Rich Joe" Vann and the recovery of one of his arms, following the deadly explosion on his steamboat, the Lucy Walker. We was at dat place two years and made two little crops. We had a good song I remember. He was a slave on the Chism plantation, but came to Vann's all the time on account of the hourses. He went clean to Louisville, Kentucky, and back. Born 11 February 1798 - Spring Place, Cherokee Nation-East, IT., GA. 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