I was told by a long-time researcher in Graves County that the area around Graves (which I assume would also apply to Weakley "next door") was Indian Hunting ground and wasn't occupied by any one tribe. My great grandfather McAbee who grew up in Graves told stories about his boyhood experiences with Native Americans, but evidently this must have happened after the family moved to Massac County Illinois when he was around nine or ten. I was curious about the Native American tribes around Graves/Weakley because according to family history my Weakley Williams sisters were part Native American. Given the fact there weren't in act any tribes living in the area, I suspect that family oral history may be erroneous. Michal -----Original Message----- From: tnweakle-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:tnweakle-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Joe Stout Sent: Sunday, July 08, 2007 6:21 PM To: tnweakle@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [TNWEAKLE] Trail of Tears The period was in 1838 and 1839. As I understand the history of what is called the Jackson Purchase it occurred in 1818 from the Chickasaw Indians and that they did not live here in West TN but this was their hunting grounds. Davy Crockett came here in 1820. In 1826 and 1828 he was elected to the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives"United States House of Representatives. As a Congressman, Crockett supported the rights of squatters, who were barred from buying land in the West without already owning property. He also opposed President HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson"Andrew Jackson's HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Removal_Act"Indian Removal Act, and his opposition to Jackson caused his defeat when he ran for re-election in 1830; however, he won when he ran again in 1832 and lost again because of Jackson in the election of 1835. Had he not opposed Jackson's Indian Removal Act he would most likely have stayed in Tennessee and not been at the Alamo. Crockett is responsible for 4 of my great and great great grandparents being able to own land in Weakley Co. That occurred with the first book of recorded deeds for those squatters called the Occupant Entry Book. The Occupant Entry Book is online on MaryCarol's Weakley Site here; HYPERLINK "http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnweakle/Occupant_Entry_Book.htm"http://www.rootsw eb.com/~tnweakle/Occupant_Entry_Book.htm I hope you find some relics pj. I'm wondering if there might be a way to tell if any of the relics found in Weakley Co. were Cherokee or Chickasaw. If they were to be found to be Cherokee that would indicate they were a part of "The Trail of Tears." Joe Stout