Thanks to all those who have requested that I look at the Captain John Benge, Trail of Tears Muster Roll for names of your ancestors. I appreciate those who have expressed their appreciation whether or not I could find the names requested on the roll. To those of you who questioned my paternity because I could not find the names you asked about, I am sorry. Some have said they know their ancestors were Cherokee, and great grandma said they were on the Trail of Tears. I can only report to you what the official document says. Remember there were several routes for the Trail of Tears, only one of them came through Marion and Baxter County. Just a few facts about this group of folk and a little history that you can bounce off your "Family Tradition". The 959 Indians and 144 Negroes were from DeKalb County, Alabama. Dekalb County is in the Northeast corner of the state, the beginning of the Appalachian Highlands which extend all the way into New York state. DeKalb County was part of the Cherokee Nation and the first white men came during the American Revolution. A British agent, Alexander Campbell, was sent into the area to arouse the Cherokees against the southern colonies. In 1777 Campbell made his headquarters at Wills Town, Wills County, Alabama a Cherokee village located on Big Wills Creek. This settlement was near the present town of Lebanon, Alabama. All of this was named for Chief Red-Head Will Webster. The agent was successful in arousing a number of the Cherokee's interest by promising them clothing and conquered territory in exchange for the scalps of white settlers. In 1816 the Presbyterian Church established a mission at Wills Town calling it "Wills Town Mission" after the Indian Chief who was Indian/Caucasian. The site of the mission is still marked by the gravestone of the missionary Reverend Ard Hoyt. Living in the same area during that time was George Guess "Sequoyah". After 12 years work he announced in 1821 that he had developed an alphabet for the Cherokee language, the alphabet contained eighty-six symbols. Each symbol represented a syllable. It was so well thought out that the average Indian could learn to read and write in just a few hours. By 1830 the immigration of settlers into the Cherokee country increased and friction between the two races grew. The whites wanted the federal government to buy the good land and move the Indians out. A small group of Indians led by John Ridge and Elias Boudinol, who were opposed by a majority of the Cherokees, agreed to give up Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi River. The Treaty of New Echota, signed December 29, 1835, ceded the Cherokee lands in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia to the federal government for a consideration of five million dollars and a joint interest in certain western Indian Territory. The nation's chief John Ross and a vast majority of the Indian population was opposed to this action. The treaty was enforced and federal troops were sent by President Andrew Jackson to transport the Indians westward. General Winfield Scott was placed in charge of these federal forces in 1838 and on May 10, 1838 he issued a proclamation to the Cherokees warning them that their emigration was to commence in haste and that "before moon had passed" every Cherokee man, woman, and child must be in motion to join his brethren in the far west. Most were forced out of their homes and lands with only the clothes on their back and what animals they could take. General Scott sent troops to several areas to build stockade forts and gather the Indians in preparation for the move west. Captain John Payne was sent to Wills Town Mission, Alabama where he selected a site just 200 yards northeast of the big spring. A stockade (and internment camp, only one in Alabama) was built by Captain John Payne and his 22 soldiers, called Fort Payne. Several groups of Cherokees departed during 1838 form Fort Payne with a guide provided by the federal government while others left under their own command. One such, under their own command, was led by Cherokee leader John Benge. They left on 3 October 1838 with 959 Indians and 144 Negroes. They crossed the Mississippi River south of Cape Girardeau Missouri and came down in Arkansas to near Batesville, taking the old military road through to the west. They passed through Baxter and Marion County Arkansas, crossing the White river just above Cotter during Christmas time 1838. They came up the Denton Ferry Road to Flippin Barrens, on west to Summit area, crossing the Crooked Creek just west of Yellville and on to Bruno area where they went west to Everton and on through Fayettevile to Talaquah Oklahoma, arriving on 17 January 1939. Unless your ancestors were Cherokee Indians from the current DeKalb County, Fort Payne area, in and prior to 1838, the likelihood of them being on this roll is small. Many of the Indians from that area came up the Arkansas River on boats furnished by the government. Although the number of losses is greatly contested, generally it is believed that deaths and desertions took about 1 in 7 of the group that started from the east. I believe John Benge lost only about 33 to death and desertion and had at least one birth on the trip. Many of the names on the roll are Cherokee Indian names only such as Laughing Mush, Choctaw Killer, Young Ducks Widow etc. I hope this helps those searching for their Cherokee Roots. Don Ott