Back to New Bern

Actually John Paul Jones wasn't our only family member to fight in the Revolutionary War. John's nephew Jacob was a member of the Virginia Militia. Jacob migrated down to New Bern, North Carolina, after the war, where he began farming. Jacob's son Rhesa settled there too, and in 1808 married Tamsey Whealton. In 1809 Rhesa and Tamsey had a son, and they named him Smith, Smith Paul, my great great grandfather.

Smith was the oldest of nine siblings. His mother Tamsey died in 1819, and Smith, at the age of eleven, left home and joined a band of Chickasaw Indians. He must have had some pretty exciting adventures during this time, but we know very little. What we do know is that New Bern, North Carolina, is on the east coast, and the Chickasaws' homeland in Mississippi is about 400 miles away as the crow flies, too far for an eleven year old boy to travel by himself. I think that Smith must run across a group of Chickasaws on a trading mission.

At any rate, Smith ended up living with the Chickasaws until their forced removal to Indian Territory in 1837, 17 years later, so he spent most of his childhood with them.

The Chickasaws were more influenced by the white culture than many tribes, and by this period in history many were traders and farmers, but the old Chickasaw traditions and culture were still well known and practiced by many. Smith Paul grew up speaking the Chickasaw language, and he would have learned many of the Chickasaw traditions. By the time he decided to go with them to what is now Oklahoma, "Smith Paul was an Indian," as my mother put it.

According to my Uncle Haskell's story, which he got from Uncle Buck, Smith Paul's grandson, Smith made two trips to California with wagon trains before the Removal, so he was familiar with the country west of Mississippi. His daughter, 'Aunt Sippia,' said of him: "My father was interested in farming. It was always his desire to go into the farming business on a large scale."

Apparently Smith Paul saw the Removal as an opportunity to pursue his dream. He had kept in contact with his family through the years, and before his journey west with the Chickasaws he made one last trip home to tell his family of his decision to cast his lot with the Indians.

After saying goodbye to his family, Smith Paul returned to begin the arduous journey which would come to be known as the "Trail of Tears" by the Five Civilized Tribes. Neither he nor his adopted people could have imagined the hardships that were in store for them.