Individual Details
John Chism
(Abt, 1750 - Abt, 1789)
"Previously, John Chisum was believed to have been the first of as many as 22 children born to John Chisum and Ellender Gillington (or Girlington). However, it seems that this is not likely, since this John Chisum died at the residence of his brother in Sparta, White County, Tennessee in 1806. At this time, it is unclear as to which Chisum/Chisholm family this John belongs. If the statements of his great grandchildren (Early Monroe Walling and John Gaines Walling) can be believed, this John Chisum was the son of another John Chisum who was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian.
Although no record of this marriage has yet been found, it is believed that John Chisum and Margaret Chisum were married about 1772. The names of all their children will probably never be known, but at least 8 have been identified, depending upon which John Chisum died in 1789 and which one died in 1806 in Sparta, White County, Tennessee. It appears increasingly more certain that the John Chisum that probably died at the home of his brother Elijah in Sparta, White County, Tennessee in 1806 was the son of John Chisum and Ellender Gillington. The identity of the John Chisum who died in 1789 is still in question, but it is likely that this John Chisum is the one who married Margaret Chisum (who later married ? Davis). It is also possible that this John Chisum may have been the source of the "Indian Blood" long-believed to have been in the John Walling/Anna Chisum family. On 24 Nov. 1792, a claim of 100 acres of Western Land, North Carolina, was granted by assignment deed to the children and heirs of John Chisum and Margaret (Chisum) Davis. The children named in this deed were Isham, Anney, Elijah and Cloway Chisum. For many years, this John Chisum has been assumed by many Chisum researchers to have been the son of John and Ellender Chisum. In 1789, the will of William Chisum of Charlotte County, Virginia mentions daughter Margaret Davis, believed to have been the widow of John Chisum who died about 1787 and for whom the assignment deed of 1792 was made. It has also been assumed that the four children mentioned in the assignment deed were the only surviving children of John and Margaret Chisum. The children Isham and Elijah offer a tempting possibility that they were the Chisums who settled in southern Mississippi and probably Washington Parish, Louisiana. The ancestry of Isham Russell Chisum who married Permelia Roberts and whose descendents moved to Texas has long been in question by other Chisum researchers.
Apparently, both of these John Chisums (and possibly a third) lived on the Virginia - North Carolina - Tennessee frontier before 1780. One of them was known as a woodsman, a "land viewer" and an Army scout or spy. In 1777, a John Chisum was in Washington County, Tennessee helping Governor John Sevier organize that new land due west of North Carolina. This man sounds very much like the "Indian" John Chisum and may have been the one who died in about 1787. It is not known, however, what relationship, if any, existed between this John Chisum and the family of Capt. John Chisholm of Nashville, whose descendents include "Chisholm Trail" Jesse Chisholm. At the present time, these three John Chisums do not appear to be related, at least within a generation or two of each other, but their paths surely must have crossed. Capt. John D. Chisholm of Nashville was not an Indian, but his second wife Patsy Holmes was part Cherokee. However, it was his son Ignatius (who was not Indian by his first wife) and Martha Rogers (who was the daughter of Cherokee Charles Rogers) whose marriage produced the famous Jesse Chisholm.
A John Chisum served as a Justice of the Peace, a member of the new court and a deputy surveyor, and there are 11 references made to him in the earliest records of Washington County, Tennessee through 1782. However, it is unclear if one or two John Chisums are being referenced. In 1782, John Chisum (of John and Ellender) returned to Amelia County, Virginia where his father gave him 217 acres of land purchased in adjoining Prince Edward Co. This deed probably represented John's portion of the family inheritance. Since he had previously made plans to settle on his bounty land in southern Kentucky, he sold the land in Prince Edward Co. Late in 1782, accompanied by his brothers Elijah and Obediah Chisum, he returned to eastern Tennessee. Elijah and Obediah had business in Rogersville, Hawkins County, Tennessee while John Chisum continued on to his home in Jonesboro. This John Chisum (of John and Ellender) apparently settled in Logan County, Kentucky in 1792, where his brother Absolom was living. In 1793, he sold 200 acres of land in Logan County, Kentucky to David Standly. John Chisum is shown on the tax list of Logan County, Kentucky in 1795 (1 male over 21, 1 male over 16). With power-of-attorney from his brother Absolom, John filed suit in Mero District, Davidson County, Tennessee to obtain title to 640 acres of land on Richland Creek (after designated as the Sulphur Fork of the Red River) for which he had been granted preemption under the laws of North Carolina. In 1803, John joined his brother Elijah in Jackson County, Tennessee (which soon afterward became White County, Tennessee). John gave power-of-attorney in 1804 to his nephew James Chisum to sell the 640 acres of preemption land. This land was sold to John Long on 3 May 1806. At that time, the land was in Robertson County, Tennessee and it was necessary to register the deed in that county, so that on the deed John Chisum is designated as "of White County". John Chisum probably died at the home of his brother Elijah in Sparta, White County, Tennessee in 1806.
Thomas Jefferson Walling (son of Anna Chisum and John Walling) made a much-quoted statement in 1875 declaring that (among other things known to be true) Anna Chisum was the daughter of John Chisum. On 2 Oct. 1908, Thomas Jefferson's son Early Monroe (Dock) Walling and his nephew John Gaines Walling (son of Alfred Gaines Walling) made statements in Quanah, TX which have been transcribed in the book "Cherokee By Blood" (Vol. 8, pp. 12-14). There is an implication in both of these statements that some type of future monetary incentive was involved. It also appears that both had applied for land in Oklahoma earlier but had been rejected because neither lived in reservations in the Oklahoma Indian Territory. Both statements contain the theme that Anna Chisum possessed a Cherokee Indian heritage, but only the statement of Early Monroe Walling (Misc. Test. pages 3395 - 20125) will be transcribed here since it contains more details:
"My name is Early M. Walling, and I live at Lockney, Texas. I am 56 years old. I claim my Indian blood through my father, Thomas J. Walling. My father was almost 91 years old at the time of his death in 1902. My father was born in White County, Tennessee. My father was 1/8 Cherokee Indian. He got his Indian blood through his mother, Annie Chisum. She was 1/4 Cherokee Indian. She died before I can remember, but I think she died in Texas, though I do not know for sure. My father and grandfather moved to Texas somewhere along in 1835 or 1836. I am not positive as to the exact date. But I know that mother and father were married in Tennessee, had two children there, and then went to Mississippi and had one child there before they finally came to Texas. But I have heard it said that he was married when he was 17 years old. My cousin, John G. Walling, who is here today, may likely know when father and grandfather came to Texas.
He has not applied for this fund himself. We applied for lands under the Dawes Commission, but these were not allowed owing to our not living in the Territory. I have heard my father say that his grandfather, John Chisum, whose name I understand is on the old roll, lived among the Indians, and made baskets and such when he was a little boy. This Joh Chisum, Jr. was the son of John Chisum, Sr., a full-blood Cherokee. I never heard of my people getting any money in 1852. My father has told me that the time of the drive in 1835, some of grandfather Chisum, Sr.'s family were sent away with the Indians and should have been enrolled at that time. As we got along in the white blood, father preferred us children should have the advantages of white children, and so went to Texas than to Indian Territory. Grandfather on the Walling side was Scotch-Irish and pretty well educated, and they used their influence to keep us children away from the Indian settlements."
If these statements are to be believed, then it is very likely that the John Chisum who died about 1787 and who was married to Margaret Chisum, daughter of William Chisum and Deborah Cook, could have been the father of Anna Chisum. This would be consistent with the afore-mentioned 1792 assignment deed. It would also be consistent with Walling family tradition which has always held that John Walling's descendants were related to Jesse Chisholm (though distantly) if John Chisum, Jr. or Sr. was related to Martha Rogers or Patsy Holmes. At the present time, a relationship of this sort has not been found and it must be stressed that a good bit of this is conjecture and in need of supporting documentation." (Michael K. Hendrix, 2005.)
Although no record of this marriage has yet been found, it is believed that John Chisum and Margaret Chisum were married about 1772. The names of all their children will probably never be known, but at least 8 have been identified, depending upon which John Chisum died in 1789 and which one died in 1806 in Sparta, White County, Tennessee. It appears increasingly more certain that the John Chisum that probably died at the home of his brother Elijah in Sparta, White County, Tennessee in 1806 was the son of John Chisum and Ellender Gillington. The identity of the John Chisum who died in 1789 is still in question, but it is likely that this John Chisum is the one who married Margaret Chisum (who later married ? Davis). It is also possible that this John Chisum may have been the source of the "Indian Blood" long-believed to have been in the John Walling/Anna Chisum family. On 24 Nov. 1792, a claim of 100 acres of Western Land, North Carolina, was granted by assignment deed to the children and heirs of John Chisum and Margaret (Chisum) Davis. The children named in this deed were Isham, Anney, Elijah and Cloway Chisum. For many years, this John Chisum has been assumed by many Chisum researchers to have been the son of John and Ellender Chisum. In 1789, the will of William Chisum of Charlotte County, Virginia mentions daughter Margaret Davis, believed to have been the widow of John Chisum who died about 1787 and for whom the assignment deed of 1792 was made. It has also been assumed that the four children mentioned in the assignment deed were the only surviving children of John and Margaret Chisum. The children Isham and Elijah offer a tempting possibility that they were the Chisums who settled in southern Mississippi and probably Washington Parish, Louisiana. The ancestry of Isham Russell Chisum who married Permelia Roberts and whose descendents moved to Texas has long been in question by other Chisum researchers.
Apparently, both of these John Chisums (and possibly a third) lived on the Virginia - North Carolina - Tennessee frontier before 1780. One of them was known as a woodsman, a "land viewer" and an Army scout or spy. In 1777, a John Chisum was in Washington County, Tennessee helping Governor John Sevier organize that new land due west of North Carolina. This man sounds very much like the "Indian" John Chisum and may have been the one who died in about 1787. It is not known, however, what relationship, if any, existed between this John Chisum and the family of Capt. John Chisholm of Nashville, whose descendents include "Chisholm Trail" Jesse Chisholm. At the present time, these three John Chisums do not appear to be related, at least within a generation or two of each other, but their paths surely must have crossed. Capt. John D. Chisholm of Nashville was not an Indian, but his second wife Patsy Holmes was part Cherokee. However, it was his son Ignatius (who was not Indian by his first wife) and Martha Rogers (who was the daughter of Cherokee Charles Rogers) whose marriage produced the famous Jesse Chisholm.
A John Chisum served as a Justice of the Peace, a member of the new court and a deputy surveyor, and there are 11 references made to him in the earliest records of Washington County, Tennessee through 1782. However, it is unclear if one or two John Chisums are being referenced. In 1782, John Chisum (of John and Ellender) returned to Amelia County, Virginia where his father gave him 217 acres of land purchased in adjoining Prince Edward Co. This deed probably represented John's portion of the family inheritance. Since he had previously made plans to settle on his bounty land in southern Kentucky, he sold the land in Prince Edward Co. Late in 1782, accompanied by his brothers Elijah and Obediah Chisum, he returned to eastern Tennessee. Elijah and Obediah had business in Rogersville, Hawkins County, Tennessee while John Chisum continued on to his home in Jonesboro. This John Chisum (of John and Ellender) apparently settled in Logan County, Kentucky in 1792, where his brother Absolom was living. In 1793, he sold 200 acres of land in Logan County, Kentucky to David Standly. John Chisum is shown on the tax list of Logan County, Kentucky in 1795 (1 male over 21, 1 male over 16). With power-of-attorney from his brother Absolom, John filed suit in Mero District, Davidson County, Tennessee to obtain title to 640 acres of land on Richland Creek (after designated as the Sulphur Fork of the Red River) for which he had been granted preemption under the laws of North Carolina. In 1803, John joined his brother Elijah in Jackson County, Tennessee (which soon afterward became White County, Tennessee). John gave power-of-attorney in 1804 to his nephew James Chisum to sell the 640 acres of preemption land. This land was sold to John Long on 3 May 1806. At that time, the land was in Robertson County, Tennessee and it was necessary to register the deed in that county, so that on the deed John Chisum is designated as "of White County". John Chisum probably died at the home of his brother Elijah in Sparta, White County, Tennessee in 1806.
Thomas Jefferson Walling (son of Anna Chisum and John Walling) made a much-quoted statement in 1875 declaring that (among other things known to be true) Anna Chisum was the daughter of John Chisum. On 2 Oct. 1908, Thomas Jefferson's son Early Monroe (Dock) Walling and his nephew John Gaines Walling (son of Alfred Gaines Walling) made statements in Quanah, TX which have been transcribed in the book "Cherokee By Blood" (Vol. 8, pp. 12-14). There is an implication in both of these statements that some type of future monetary incentive was involved. It also appears that both had applied for land in Oklahoma earlier but had been rejected because neither lived in reservations in the Oklahoma Indian Territory. Both statements contain the theme that Anna Chisum possessed a Cherokee Indian heritage, but only the statement of Early Monroe Walling (Misc. Test. pages 3395 - 20125) will be transcribed here since it contains more details:
"My name is Early M. Walling, and I live at Lockney, Texas. I am 56 years old. I claim my Indian blood through my father, Thomas J. Walling. My father was almost 91 years old at the time of his death in 1902. My father was born in White County, Tennessee. My father was 1/8 Cherokee Indian. He got his Indian blood through his mother, Annie Chisum. She was 1/4 Cherokee Indian. She died before I can remember, but I think she died in Texas, though I do not know for sure. My father and grandfather moved to Texas somewhere along in 1835 or 1836. I am not positive as to the exact date. But I know that mother and father were married in Tennessee, had two children there, and then went to Mississippi and had one child there before they finally came to Texas. But I have heard it said that he was married when he was 17 years old. My cousin, John G. Walling, who is here today, may likely know when father and grandfather came to Texas.
He has not applied for this fund himself. We applied for lands under the Dawes Commission, but these were not allowed owing to our not living in the Territory. I have heard my father say that his grandfather, John Chisum, whose name I understand is on the old roll, lived among the Indians, and made baskets and such when he was a little boy. This Joh Chisum, Jr. was the son of John Chisum, Sr., a full-blood Cherokee. I never heard of my people getting any money in 1852. My father has told me that the time of the drive in 1835, some of grandfather Chisum, Sr.'s family were sent away with the Indians and should have been enrolled at that time. As we got along in the white blood, father preferred us children should have the advantages of white children, and so went to Texas than to Indian Territory. Grandfather on the Walling side was Scotch-Irish and pretty well educated, and they used their influence to keep us children away from the Indian settlements."
If these statements are to be believed, then it is very likely that the John Chisum who died about 1787 and who was married to Margaret Chisum, daughter of William Chisum and Deborah Cook, could have been the father of Anna Chisum. This would be consistent with the afore-mentioned 1792 assignment deed. It would also be consistent with Walling family tradition which has always held that John Walling's descendants were related to Jesse Chisholm (though distantly) if John Chisum, Jr. or Sr. was related to Martha Rogers or Patsy Holmes. At the present time, a relationship of this sort has not been found and it must be stressed that a good bit of this is conjecture and in need of supporting documentation." (Michael K. Hendrix, 2005.)
Events
| Birth | Abt, 1750 | ||||
| Marriage | Abt, 1772 | Virginia - Margaret Chisum | |||
| Death | Abt, 1789 |
Families
| Spouse | Margaret Chisum (1750 - 1798) |
| Child | Isham Russell Chisum (1775 - 1829) |
| Child | Anna Chism (1777 - 1832) |
| Child | Elijah Kaufman Chism (1779 - 1860) |