Genealogy of the Cherokee Bowles Family

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A33. John Bowles was the son of a Scotch trader and a full blood Cherokee woman. His father was killed and robbed by two North Carolina while on his way home from Charlestown with goods for his establishment. This murder was in 1768 when the son was only twelve years of age, within the next two years the fair complexioned, auburn haired boy killed both of his father’s slayers. Bowles settled at Runningwater To one of the Chicamauga settlements near Lookout Mountain and at this place he became involved in an altercation with some pioneers who were floating down the Tennessee River and killed all the boatmen in June 1794. Bowles and his followers now manned the boats and navigated them down to the mouth of the St. Francis River in the Spanish province of Louisiana.

On arriving at their destination they placed all of the White women and children in a boat, relinquished to them all of the furniture which they claimed and allowed them to descend the Mississippi River to New Orleans.

Bowles and his followers joined the Cherokees that had lived in that locality for many years and he became their Chief in 1 795 a position he held until 181 3. On account of the earthquake that centered in their settlement in the winter of 1811-12, the Cherokees moved enmass to the country between Arkansas and White Rivers and a few of them settled south of the former stream. In accordance with the United States Cherokee treaties the limits of the Cherokee country was marked in the spring of 1819 by William Rector, Surveyor General of Arkansas and because it was not extended to include his town on Petit Jean Creek, on the south side of Arkansas River, Bowles with some sixty townsmen and their families emigrated in the winter of 1819-20 to the Spanish colony of Texas and settled between the Trinity and Angelina Rivers. They staid in Texas until July 16, 1839 when Bowles was killed and his colony evicted.