Henry Timberlake

Henry Timberlake (1730 – September 30, 1765) was a colonialAnglo-Americanofficer, journalist, and cartographer. He was born in Virginia in 1730 and died in England.^[1] He is best known for his work as an emissary to the Overhill Cherokee during the 1760s.

Timberlake was a junior officer in the Virginia militia during the French and Indian War. In 1761, his regiment was building a fort in present-day Kingsport. To their surprise, a large force of Cherokee arrived and appealed for peace. This painting of Ostenaco.

Timberlake's account of his journeys to the Cherokee, published as his memoirs in 1765, became a primary source for later studies of their eighteenth-century culture. His detailed descriptions of Cherokee villages, townhouses, weapons, and tools have helped historians and anthropologists identify Cherokee structures and cultural objects uncovered at modern archaeological excavation sites throughout the southern Appalachian region.^[1] During the Tellico Archaeological Project, which included a series of salvage excavations conducted in the Little Tennessee River basin in the 1970s, archaeologists used Timberlake's 'Draught of the Cherokee Country' to help locate major Overhill village sites.^[2]

1. Henry Timberlake was born in 1963 and is currently 58 years old. Henry currently lives at 96 Stone Ridge Rd Apt A, Bridgeport, CT 06606. Relatives & associates include Barry Timberlake, Winifred Timberlake and Michelle Timberlake.
2. Henry Timberlake was born on month day 1811, at birth place, Maine, to Captain James Timberlake, III and Judith Timberlake, III (born Crane). Captain was born on April 4 1777, in Plymouth, MA. Judith was born on August 22 1779, in Raynham, Bristol County, Massachusetts, USA.

• 2Journey to the Overhill country

Early life and career

Henry Timberlake was probably born in Hanover County, Virginia in 1730. Although he inherited a small fortune when his father died, Timberlake still had to support himself, and sought a military career.^[3] In 1756, at the outset of the French and Indian War, he joined a Virginia militia company known as the 'Patriot Blues.' It had embarked on a campaign to expel French and Native American raiders in the western part of the colony. Shortly thereafter, he applied for a commission in the Virginia regiment—then commanded by George Washington—but was denied due to a lack of vacancies.^[4]

In 1758, Timberlake successfully applied for a commission in Colonel William Byrd's recently formed 2nd Virginia Regiment. Commissioned as an Ensign,^[5] Timberlake accompanied the regiment on its march to Fort Duquesne, but illness kept him from proceeding. In 1759, he took part in several minor operations in the Pittsburgh area, mostly overseeing the construction of defensive works.^[6]

In 1760, British relations with the Cherokee, which had been moderately friendly for several decades, grew sour after several Cherokee chiefs were imprisoned and killed in South Carolina. In early 1760, the Cherokee laid siege to Fort Loudoun, a remote outpost in what is now Tennessee. The garrison held out until August of that year, but was forced to surrender to lack of provisions when a relief column under Archibald Montgomerie failed to reach the fort after burning the Lower Towns and being stopped at the Battle of Echoee. In spite of leaving under a flag of truce, 22 of the garrison were killed on its march home in return for the earlier killing of 22 Cherokee chiefs that were prisoners at Fort Prince George. In 1761, Jeffrey Amherst, the British commander in North America responded with a larger invasion force, sending James Grant against the Middle Towns^[7] and Virginia sending Byrd to threaten the Overhill towns.^[1][8]

While Byrd proceeded to destroy the Cherokee Middle towns in North Carolina, he dispatched Colonel Adam Stephen into the Holston River valley to attack the Overhill towns. Timberlake accompanied Stephen to Long Island of the Holston (in modern-day Sullivan County, Tennessee), where they began building a base known as 'Fort Robinson' and made preparations to march south.^[9]

Journey to the Overhill country

On November 19, 1761, as Fort Robinson was nearing completion, a 400-man Cherokee force led by Chief Kanagatucko (sometimes called 'Old Hop') arrived at the camp and asked for peace, which was immediately granted by Col. Stephen. Kanagatucko asked for an officer to accompany him to the Overhill towns as proof that hostilities had ended. Stephen was reluctant to allow it, but granted the request when Timberlake volunteered.^[10] Timberlake would be accompanied by Thomas Sumter (a sergeant at the time), an interpreter named John McCormack, and an unknown servant. The group purchased a canoe and 10 days' worth of provisions with money Sumter had borrowed. The plan was to follow the Holston River to its confluence with the French Broad River, and then proceed to the Little Tennessee River, where the Overhill towns were situated.^[11]

Timberlake's party left Long Island on November 28, 1761. The Holston River's unusually low water levels almost immediately stalled the journey as the party was forced to drag the canoe over exposed shoals and sandbars. The party ran out of provisions after several days, but McCormack managed to shoot a bear, supplying them with several days' worth of meat. Around December 7, the party explored a stalactite-filled cave situated approximately 50 feet above the river, and Timberlake described an incident in which Sumter swam nearly a half-mile in the near-freezing river waters to retrieve their canoe, which had somehow drifted away while they were exploring the cave.^[12]

On December 13, the expedition reached a series of treacherous cascades that Timberlake called 'Great Falls.' The party spent a whole day carefully maneuvering their way down the cascades only to find the Holston frozen over immediately downstream. The ice slowed the expedition's progress, but rains on the night of December 14 thawed the ice, and the party passed through the mouth of the Holston (in modern Knoxville) into what is now the Tennessee River on December 15.^[13]

The Overhill country

The deeper waters of the Tennessee River allowed the Timberlake expedition to proceed much more quickly. A hunting party led by the Cherokee chief Slave Catcher met the Timberlake expedition near the mouth of the Little Tennessee River, and supplied the weary expedition with provisions of 'dried venison, homminy, and boiled corn.'^[14] The following day, Slave Catcher guided the expedition by canoe up the Little Tennessee, although the Timberlake party struggled to keep up, with Timberlake recalling, 'my hands were so galled, that the blood trickled from them, and when we set out the next morning I was scarce able to handle a pole.'^[14] The Timberlake party arrived in the Overhill town of Tomotley on December 20, where they were greeted by the town's head man, Chief Ostenaco.^[15]

After spending several days in Tomotley as guests of Ostenaco, Timberlake and McCormack proceeded to the Overhill mother town of Chota, where a number of chiefs had gathered in the town's large councilhouse.^[16] Ostenaco gave a speech and ceremoniously buried a hatchet in the ground, symbolizing a state of peace between the English and the Cherokee. Afterward, Timberlake partook in a ceremony in which he smoked several peace pipes with the gathered chiefs, a practice Timberlake personally found 'very disagreeable,' but participated without openly complaining.^[17]

Timberlake and Ostenaco continued southward to Citico, where Timberlake was greeted by a ceremonial dance involving some 400 Cherokee.^[18] Timberlake recalled that the dancers were 'painted all over in a hideous manner' and that they 'danced in a very uncommon figure.'^[19] The town's chief, Cheulah, presented Timberlake with a string of beads and held another pipe-smoking ceremony. The non-stop pipe smoking made Timberlake so sick that he 'could not stir for several hours.'^[20] The following day, Timberlake and Ostenaco traveled to Chilhowee, the second southernmost of the Overhill towns on Timberlake's map, where the town's chief, Yachtino, held a peace procession similar to that at Citico.^[20]

Return to Virginia

His assignment largely completed, Timberlake returned to Tomotley with Ostenaco on January 2, 1762. Timberlake spent the next few weeks studying Cherokee habits and making notes for his map of the Overhill country. At the end of January, rumors began trickling in from Cherokee scouts of renewed hostilities with rival tribes to the north. Although the rumors turned out to be based on a misunderstanding, Timberlake nevertheless grew anxious and begged Ostenaco to guide him back to Virginia. Ostenaco reluctantly agreed, and the party set out on March 10, 1762. Just before departure, Timberlake witnessed the ceremonial return of a war party led by Chief Willinawaw. The party sang 'the war-song' and planted a scalp-filled pole next to the councilhouse door.^[21]

The Timberlake party had decided to make the return trip overland, having purchased horses from the Cherokee. Ostenaco, accompanied by several hundred Cherokee warriors, guided the Timberlake group northward across what is now known as the Great Indian Warpath, which follows the western base of the Appalachian Mountains. On March 11, the party arrived at the abandoned village of Elajoy along Little River in what is now Maryville, and crossed the French Broad River the following day. A week later, they reached Fort Robinson, which the Stephen garrison had abandoned but had left behind a large supply of flour. The expedition left Long Island on March 22, continuing northward to an abandoned army camp where Timberlake was despaired to find that a trunk containing his belongings had been looted. The party finally arrived in Williamsburg in early April.^[22]

Visits to London

While in Williamsburg, Timberlake and Ostenaco attended a dinner party at William & Mary College at which Ostenaco professed his desire to meet the king of England. Although he feared the trip would break him financially, Timberlake agreed. In May 1762, Timberlake, Sumter, and three distinguished Cherokee leaders, including Ostenaco, departed for London.^[23][24]

Arriving in early June, the Cherokee were an immediate attraction, drawing crowds all over the city. The poet Oliver Goldsmith waited for three hours to meet the Cherokee, and offered a gift to Ostenaco.^[25] They sat for Sir Joshua Reynolds to take their portraits,^[26] and they met personally with King George III.^[27] The Cherokee returned to North America with Sergeant Sumter on about August 25, 1762.^[28] Timberlake remained in England dealing with some financial difficulties. He was appointed by Crown Governor of Virginia, Jeffrey Amherst, a Lieutenant in the '42nd or Royal Highland Regiment of foot,' and the pay from this appointment allowed him to pay for his return to Virginia in March 1763.^[29]

Having reached Virginia, Timberlake set out for New York to meet with Amherst to receive his commission. Not long afterward, he received notice that he was among a number of officers to be reduced to half pay. Having learned this, he left the militia and returned home to Virginia to petition the General Assembly for his expenses for the journey to be recompensed, but was denied.^[30]

In the summer of 1764, five Cherokee visited him, seeking an audience with the governor of Virginia and requesting passage to London. The Cherokee wished to appeal to King George to enforce the Proclamation Line of 1763, due to continuing encroachement of white settlers on Cherokee land. The governor denied their request, but Timberlake agreed to help them, and he and three of the Cherokee reached London in the fall of 1764. Not long after their arrival, the benefactor of the trip fell ill and died. Lord Halifax refused to grant the Cherokee an audience, as the trip was unauthorized. Timberlake was accused of attempting to profit off of the public attention given to the Cherokee. The government sent the Cherokee back to North America in March. Shortly after their departure, Timberlake was arrested for failing to pay the debt for the last bill for lodging of himself and the Cherokee. He likely wrote his Memoirs while incarcerated.^[31]

Legacy

Timberlake's primary legacy is the journal he kept while living with the Cherokee. Published in 1765, the volume was likely released posthumously. The journal is of importance both as an ethnological study, as it contains detailed descriptions of various facets of Cherokee society, and as a historical account, as it gives insight into Cherokee political decision-making and the tribe's early reactions to the encroaching European colonists.^[32]

Along with methods of warfare, Timberlake described Cherokee agricultural and hunting habits, religious beliefs, birth and death rites, and marital habits.^[33] He described Cherokee government as a 'mixed aristocracy and democracy,' with chiefs chosen on the basis of merit.^[34] The journals also contain information regarding Cherokee methods for building canoes and dwellings, and the general size and form of Cherokee summer and winter houses.^[35] Timberlake's description of the Cherokee councilhouse— the central structure in a typical Cherokee village— has aided archaeologists in the location of such structures at modern excavation sites.^[36]

Timberlake's map, entitled 'A Draught of the Cherokee Country,' accompanied the journal. On it he located all the Cherokee villages on the lower Little Tennessee River and provided important demographic information about village sizes, populations, and leaders. Modern studies have generally confirmed that Timberlake's map was remarkably accurate. The journal, simply entitled Memoirs, and his map of the Overhill Cherokee country have been reprinted several times.^[1] Timberlake's Memoirs remains one of the best contemporary accounts of the 18th-century Cherokee.^[37]

Henry Timberlake Duncan

Notes and references

External links

• WorldCat catalog)

This display at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, N.C., shows what Timberlake and Chief Ostenaco might have looked like on their trip to London.

We all like to think that if we are diligent, undergo great ordeals in the service of our country, and are involved in the monumental events of our time, we will be rewarded.

But this was not true of Henry Timberlake. He risked his life to help bring an end to a war. He was one of the first people to document what Cherokee civilization was like before it was changed by Europeans. He brought three Cherokee chiefs across the Atlantic Ocean to see King George III, one of the first times in world history that European royalty came face to face with Native Americans.

None of these things earned Timberlake wealth, comfort, or even the gratitude of his country. He died in debtor’s prison and didn’t live to see his life’s work published.

Timberlake was a junior officer in the Virginia militia during the French and Indian War. In 1761, his regiment was building a fort in present-day Kingsport. To their surprise, a large force of Cherokee arrived and appealed for peace.

This painting of Ostenaco
was made in London
IMAGE: Museum of the Cherokee Indian

A Cherokee chief called Ostenaco asked the British commander for an officer to accompany him on a journey through Cherokee lands as proof that the war was over. Timberlake volunteered for that duty. He was accompanied by a sergeant named Thomas Sumter, as well as an interpreter and a servant.

The journey started off as a disaster. Rather than travel overland with the large group of Cherokees, Timberlake opted to go by canoe. However, the Holston River was unusually low. He and his men had to drag their canoes and carry their provisions over slippery shoals for, as Timberlake later wrote, “two or three hours a day for nineteen days.”

One day, Timberlake’s gun misfired and broke, rendering it apparently useless. A few hours later, another gun fell overboard and was ruined. In desperation, the men managed to fix the broken gun and killed a bear, whose meat and fur kept the party alive.

Timberlake eventually hooked up with Chief Ostenaco. He visited the Cherokee villages of Tomotley, Chota, and Settico, where he observed and took part in peace ceremonies.

Timberlake later described the location of Chota and the town-house where he sat for a ceremony. It was “large enough to contain 500 persons, but extremely dark,” he wrote.

“Within it has all the appearance of an ancient amphitheatre, the seats being raised one above another, leaving an area in the middle, in the center of which stands the fire, the seats of the head warriors are nearest it.”

We don’t know what Timberlake looked like, but there is an outside chance that he is the man whose image is depicted here
IMAGE: Museum of the Cherokee Indian

The next day, Timberlake’s party set out for Settico, where they were greeted by a group led by a chief named Cheulah, whose body was painted red, except his face, which was half black. Holding a sword in one hand and an eagle’s tale in the other, Cheulah danced for about a minute, then waved the sword over Timberlake’s head “and stuck it into the ground, about two inches from my left foot.” It was Cheulah’s way of telling Timberlake it was time for peace.

At the various ceremonies, Timberlake did what he thought he should do, including eat the food presented to him and smoke the peace pipes handed to him. But he later wrote that he did not enjoy smoking. “I was almost suffocated with the pipes presented me on every hand, which I dared not to decline,” he said. On one occasion, the smoking made him so sick that he “could not stir for several hours.”

Timberlake remained with the Cherokee for three months, writing detailed descriptions of them, their customs and society, and the land on which they lived. He even saw some of the people who had been taken prisoner by the Cherokee since the seige of Fort Loudoun, only a few years earlier. Then, reports began to arrive that there was renewed fighting in the north. Timberlake asked Chief Ostenaco to go with him to Virginia to ensure the peace, and the chief agreed, taking two other Cherokee leaders with them.

They travelled overland, going by what is now known as the Great Indian Warpath, and arrived in Williamsburg in April. It was while in Williamsburg that Ostenaco asked Timberlake if he would take him to London in hopes of meeting the king. Timberlake agreed, and in May the party boarded ship. They arrived in early June, and the three Cherokee chiefs were an instant attraction, drawing crowds from the minute they arrived.

This display at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, N.C., shows what Timberlake and Chief Ostenaco might have looked like on their trip to London.

In July the chiefs met with King George III. It was a short audience, and “they were struck by the youth, person, and grandeur of his Majesty,” Timberlake wrote. It was the next year that King George III issued his famous “Proclamation of 1763,” which prohibited settlers from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains.

Upon the party’s return to America, Timberlake was promoted to lieutenant. However, the Virginia General Assembly refused to pay his expenses on the journey to London, concluding that he went not because of orders, but because of his own “profit or pleasure.” Embittered, Timberlake sold his parent’s estate to settle his debts.

In 1764, a group of five Cherokees came to Virginia to ask Timberlake to take them to England to tell the king his proclamation was already being ignored by the settlers. Timberlake at first declined, but agreed to do it after a friend offered to finance the trip.

This second trip to England was disastrous. Timberlake’s benefactor died along the way. This time, the king refused to see the Cherokee leaders, and the British government put the chiefs back on a ship for America. Unable to pay their lodging bills, Timberlake was thrown in debtor’s prison. He was writing his memoirs there when he died at the age of 29.

Henry Timberlake Memoirs

Today, we don’t even know where Timberlake was buried.

Timberlake’s memoirs, which were published after his death

The events described in Timberlake’s memoirs occurred about 250 years ago. In recent months their anniversary has been recognized at places such as Fort Loudoun, Tennessee; Fort Necessity, Pennsylvania; and Williamsburg, Virginia.

We now know that Timberlake’s journey did not create a lasting peace; that Timberlake did not experience a happy life afterwards; and that both the Cherokee Indians and King George III faced dire consequences when the Proclamation of 1763 was not observed. Nevertheless, Timberlake’s is a remarkable story from which we can learn much about both Cherokee and white culture.

Three more tidbits about Timberlake’s journey:

Henry Timberlake Cherokee Trail

The archaeological remains of the winter
house at Chota, shown before Tellico Lake flooded the site
PHOTO: McClung Museum

* In 1969, University of Tennessee researchers used Timberlake’s memoirs to locate the remains of Chota. They found that his map and his description of the town-house were remarkably accurate. Shortly thereafter, however, the site of Chota was buried forever under the waters of Tellico Lake.

Henry Timberlake Jerusalem

* Sergeant Sumter, who accompanied Timberlake on his journey, also went to debtor’s prison, but a friend loaned him money to get out. Sumter moved back to South Carolina, where he became a Revolutionary War hero (a British general once said he “fought like a gamecock”). After the war Sumter was elected a U.S. Senator, and he lived to be 97 years old. Fort Sumter, the fortification in Charleston where the Civil War began, was named for him. His nickname stuck to his state, and the gamecock is the mascot of the University of South Carolina.

* Finally, many people might wonder if there is a connection between Henry Timberlake and actor Justin Timberlake. Believe it or not, there may be.

While he was living with the Cherokee, Henry Timberlake took a Cherokee wife, and has Cherokee descendants as a result. In an interview, Justin Timberlake once said his great grandmother was full-blood Cherokee. This makes it very possible that he is a descendant of Henry Timberlake.