----- Original Message ----- From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2004 6:36 PM Subject: John Sevier (4) The meeting was held at YOAKUM's Station as instructed. Unfortunately, we do not have a list of the people who attended that meeting, but feel assured most every able bodied man living in that area on the Southwest side of Campbell's Indian Boundary Line would have been in attendance. Immediately, a letter was sent out to the Governor concerning the affair at hand by the settlers. Another letter was sent to Ye "Knoxville Gazette". --------------- To his Excellency John Sevier, Govenor of the State of Tennessee and Respectable Gentleman: Richard Sparks and John Wade, Captains of the 3rd Regiment, US Army, we received your letters by the hands of Mr. Sharp in which we thank you for your kind salutations to us. Whereas we are admonished to obedience to the laws of our country it is what we wish ever to be. We have been subject both in taking up arms to defend the rites of our country and paying our lawful dues but we are drawn ignorantly in transgression, if in one we be, and that by the cavalier conduct of our Legislative Body in the first place, in North Carolina by an Act of Assembly granted to Colonel Richard Henderson and Company, twenty odd years ago, two hundred thousand acres of land in Powells Valley which rites have been established by Congress, have obtained patents for land in P. Valley which has come forward and sold and some of us have bought and gave our money and property for it and has settled To land which has been previously to an Act of Congress passed May 19th, 1796 as of the land being! granted to the Indian Tribes after these rites being obtained in a mistery to us by these means we are in trouble but, Honoured Gentlemen, we earnestly beg your pardon if we have done wrong and hope to shew as much bounty as is in the compass of your power and we hope you will give us time to move off for our life is intolerable for we have no place to go to as we know of in the bounds of the United States where we can have any hope we can support our families for we are hedged in on every side. We hope from your kind letters that you are Gentlemen that has (sic) a fellow feeling for us and will give us time to seek a place and make provisions to move to it __________ have __________ up the names of the _____ in Powells Valley to answer your letters and have sent them By our friends ---------- /s/ _____________ /s/ Peter Vanbebber ?? /s/ Jorge Yoacum (George YOAKUM) /s/ John Owen (no date was given) We certifie that Jacob Womack and Richard Newport was elected to answer Capt. Sparks and Capt. Wades handbill and letter to Powell’s Valley. /s/ James Bruton /s/ James David /s/ Samuel Weaver Inhabitants of Powells Valley regarding the removal from Indian Lines. (not dated)