Tishomingo Chickasaw (abt. 1738 - abt. 1841)

Born about 1738 in New France

Died about 1841 at about age 103 in Indian Territory, United States

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Biography

Tishominko was Chickasaw.

Tishominko Chickasaw served in the US Army in the War of 1812
Service started: November 1814
Unit(s): Uriah Blue's Detachment, Chickasaw Indians
Service ended: February 1815

Tishominko Chickasaw served with the unknown during the Creek War
Service Started: unknown
Unit(s): unknown
Service Ended: unknown

Tishominko Has No Known Living Descendants

Tishominko Chickasaw is Notable.

Tishomingo (now written as Tishominko) was born as early as 1738 in the area that is now the far northeast corner of the state of Mississippi. His birth name is unknown, and likewise his parents names are also lost to history. The name by which he is forever known is a corruption of the title "Tishu Miko" which means "King's Assistant" or "Servant King," as he was counselor to such notable Chickasaw leaders and hereditary Kings as Piominko, Itawamba and Ishtehotopa. As a warrior he fought other native nations, and alongside the United States during the War of 1812. Representing the Chickasaw he was a signor of several treaties with the United States, making trips to Philadelphia and Washington, and meeting notables of his generation. His life spanned a century of service to his people. Today, the Chickasaw Nation capitol city is named for him, and the Great Seal of the Chickasaw Nation bears a depiction of his image as a symbol of what it means to be Chickasaw.

Name
Tishomingo, or more properly Tishu Miko, is speculated to have been born as early as 1738 or as late as 1758. The Chickasaw lands were part of the French claim to North America at that time, later to become the U.S. states of Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. As his birth predates most written history for the Chickasaw, the exact date and his parents names are unknown. In fact, Tishu Miko was not his birth name, but an earned title in his role as counselor to the hereditary Kings of the Chickasaw, the last one being Ishtehotopa.

Chickasaw, and their close relatives the Choctaw, could potentially have multiple names through their lifetime. New personal names were chosen at adulthood, war names were earned in battle or through service. H.B. Cushman writes in his 1899 seminal work "History Of The Choctaw, Chickasaw and Natchez Indians" about the workings of Chickasaw governance, offering a description of the title "Tishu Miko."

Up to the time the Chickasaws moved west (1836-'38), ...Tishomingo (properly Tishu Miko, chief officer or guard of the king) was the chief of the Tishu Miko district; ...The Chickasaw ruler was styled king instead of chief and his chief officer was called Tishu Miko.^[1]

One possible name, Okoye/Tishumustubee, has come to light in recent years.

The personal and war names of ...Tishominko elude researchers, ...on the 1805 Treaty of Chickasaw Nation, a signature read “Okoye/Tishumustubee.” There is evidence this was the individual later known as Tishominko.^[2]

Until such time as his birth name is discovered, to the Chickasaw and history he will forever be known as Tishomingo.

Birth
Depending on the source, a range of birth and death dates are speculated for Tishomingo. Most biographical sketches of his life refer to him as a centenarian upon his death. However, one reference does give a specific age in a certain year. Tishomingo was reported to have had an operation March 25, 1821 in Columbus, Mississippi. The article states, "The patient is supposed to be in his 63d year."^[3] Yet, the date of his death has not been fixed, and two possible options are generally given depending on the source.

• 1838 is provided by his son Richard in documents for an 1859 Bounty land claim.^[4]
• 5 May 1841 is the specific date given from a eulogy penned by Choctaw stateman Peter Pitchlynn, which was published in the Arkansas Gazette that same month.^[5]

Subtracting 100 from the earliest death year offers 1738 as his birth year. However, the information supplied from the 1821 medical operation means subtracting 63 from 1821, calculating a 1758 birth year.

Unfortunately, his birth date can only be speculated, and a twenty year range possible from the information available. However, based on the documented military service for the War of 1812,^[6] the earlier birth dates would potentially have him age 75 during the war. It is more likely the 1758 birth date is correct, as he would have been a more spry 54 years when fighting against the British.

Death
Similarly to Tishomingo's birth, his death and burial locations are mere speculation without written documentation or a marked grave. Biographers and Historians agree that Tishomingo emigrated from the Old Country about 1837 or early 1838, but do not agree that his death was the result of a smallpox outbreak. Further, the place of his death is often misinterpreted by many as having occurred in Arkansas due to references to the Arkansas River, thinking it near the city of Little Rock some 200 miles east of the true site.

In fact, the noted 1838 location is within the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory (1855 is when the Chickasaw separated their territory from the Choctaw). His son states during his 1859 land claim that the death of his father occurs near Boggy Depot, which is 35 miles east of the current Chickasaw capitol Tishomingo, Oklahoma.^[4] Also note an often erroneously cited locale near Fort Coffee (modern LeFlore County, Oklahoma), this place is actually the death location for Capt. Jim Brown, see Research Notes below.

Family
Details of his family are scant. The name of his wife is unconfirmed, the surname of his son is unknown, and no other references to family have been located by the writer at this time (Nov 2022).

1. U Kuth Le Ya (Unconfirmed)^[7]
   • Richard (unknown surname)^[4]

There does not appear to be any living descendants of Tishomingo.

Warrior and Statesman
Tishomingo was noted as a great warrior, leading by example and was highly respected for his honesty, integrity and high moral standards. He went to battle against the Cherokees about 1769 and the Creeks from 1793-95. With the United States he served with General Anthony Wayne against the Shawnee in the Northwest Territory 1775–1783, receiving a silver medal from President George Washington. He served with distinction in the War of 1812 under Andrew Jackson and the Red Stick War 1813-14. Throughout his service with the US Army to protect American interests, he was fighting alongside those who would eventually push his people from their homeland.

By the early 1800's the tribe was in the midst of a cultural revolution, especially involving trade and material goods. The old deer skin and pottery trade had given way to farming and business. Tishomingo adjusted with the times, but made sure that his people retained as much as possible of their way of life.^[8]

Some of Tishomingo’s greatest influence and service concerned the Chickasaw Removal. He made trips to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., and was a principal signer of several treaties:

• 1805 Chickasaw Country
• 1816 Council House
• 1818 Treaty Ground East of Old Town
• 1832 Treaty of Pontotoc

Honors and Legacy
Tishomingo has been honored by the Chickasaw Nation throughout their history beginning with an 1832 treaty, continuing after arrival in their new home. Both the capitol city and Great Seal speak to this legacy, as recalled in 1940 by Muriel Wright in the Chronicles of Oklahoma.

In 1856, the capital(sic) of the nation was called "Tishomingo City," honoring the name of Chief Tishomingo, the last assistant chief (i. e., war chief) of the old tribal regime in power before the Chickasaws purchased a home among the Choctaws in the West and moved from Mississippi to the new country.^[9]

...Chief Tishomingo had been honored by his tribesmen, with a life pension from their national funds "as a token of their kind feelings for him, on account of his long and valuable services." This provision appeared in the Treaty of Pontotoc, in 1832, which set forth the plans for the sale of all Chickasaw lands east of the Mississippi River. The name of this venerable chief has been perpetuated in Oklahoma by that of the present city of Tishomingo, county seat of Johnston County and location of the old Chickasaw capitol. With the adoption of the Great Seal of the Chickasaw Nation, the figure of the warrior in the device commemorated the courageous Chickasaw of olden times, represented in the person and character of Chief Tishomingo.^[9]

Besides the Chickasaw Nation capitol, Tishomingo, Oklahoma, there is the Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge in Johnson County, Oklahoma. In Mississippi there are found several places named for Tishomingo:

• Tishomingo County, Mississippi
• Tishomingo (Town of), Mississippi
• Tishomingo Creek, stream in Mississippi
• Tishomingo State Park

Research Notes

There is an often repeated story about the death of Tishomingo stating that when he died his daughter implored the nearby U.S. Army detachment at Fort Coffee (this was in the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, just south of the Arkansas River, 35 miles west of Ft. Smith, Arkansas) to provide a proper burial. The referenced story often appears as a partially transcribed interview, or condensed news item republished by a further afield newspaper. However, upon reviewing a scanned image of the original newspaper, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tennessee, the story names another Chickasaw, Capt. Jim Brown, and not Tishomingo.^[10]

When we reached Fort Coffee, we found a large number of Chickasaws encamped near there. The smallpox soon spread, and many died. Capt. Jim Brown, one of their old chiefs, took it and died.^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ Cushman, Horatio Bardwell. History Of The Choctaw, Chickasaw and Natchez Indians. Greenville, Texas: Headlight Printing House. 1899, p. 496 https://books.google.com/books?id=U9ANAaEnO3AC&pg=RA5-PA496#v=onepage&q&f=false
2. ↑ Chickasaw Nation. “Native History: Chickasaw Nation Corrects Names of Famed Leaders.” Indian Country Today, 13 Oct. 2014, https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/native-history-chickasaw-nation-corrects-names-of-famed-leaders.
3. ↑ "Interesting Operation" The National Advocate, New York, NY, August 9, 1821. Page 3.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Bounty Land Application # 305.066, Sept. 27, 1859. US National Archive.
5. ↑ Arkansas Gazette May 26, 1841 (Citation Improvement Needed)
6. ↑ Compiled Military Service Records of Maj. Uriah Blue's Detachment of Chickasaw Indians in the War of 1812, NARA M1829, NCID 300392, RG94 Roll 0001, Tish a mingo (1814), p. 2 https://www.fold3.com/image/300788460 Fold3($)
7. ↑ Henderson, Richey. “Pontotoc County Men of Note: Biographical Sketches of Men of Note Who Have Played a Part in Our History from Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century.” Pontotoc Progress Print, 1940. Tishomingo County Historical & Genealogical Society http://www.msgw.org/tishomingo/ChiefTishomingoChickasawWarriorandChieftain.pdf
8. ↑ Ferguson, Lana. “Chief of Change.” Unconquered and Unconquerable: Part I of Mississippi's Indians, 19 Aug. 2016, pp. 61–63., https://issuu.com/mrmagazine123/docs/chickasawnation_1_2016_web. Accessed 25 Nov. 2022.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Wright, Muriel H., Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol 18. No. 4, Dec 1940, pp. 362-363 (pdf 43-44) Oklahoma State University Library Digital Collections https://cdm17279.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p17279coll4/id/36687/rec/28
10. ↑ Paige, Amanda L., et al. Chickasaw Removal. Chickasaw Press, 2019. p. 286n26
11. ↑ “Good Word For The Red Man.” The Commercial Appeal, 1 Nov. 1894, p. 6, c.3, https://commercialappeal.newspapers.com/image/767307274/. Accessed 25 Nov. 2022.

See Also:

• Wikipedia: Tishomingo_(Chickasaw_leader)

• Wikidata: Item Q4896120, en:Wikipedia

• Find A Grave: Memorial #6873075

• Chickasaw Hall of Fame: Tishominko, Year Inducted: 2011 https://hof.chickasaw.net/Members/2011/Tishominko.aspx

• Chief Tishomingo Home Site, The Historical Marker Database, 11 Nov 2021 https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=185658

• Foreman, Grant, and John Reed Swanton. “Ch. 6 Chickasaw Description.” The Five Civilized Tribes, Univ. of Oklahoma Pr, Norman, 1934, pp. 103–104.

• Gibson, Arrell M. The Chickasaws. University of Oklahoma Press, 1971.