Chief Wahachey traveled to MD from South Carolina, and his daughter Zula married my Forsythe ancestor. I’m hoping to find some definitive proof that the Chief was indeed Zula’s father as is long rumored in the Maryland Forsythe family.
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This is family lore, claiming descent from a chief that was know to have to shown up in Maryland briefly in the 1757-8 There is no extant documentation of this ancestral connection or claim, and the known details would tend to make it highly doubtful, if not outright impossible.
The basic story is that this Zula married a John Jacob Forsythe and she was the daughter of this Cherokee chief. But, there are a few elements that are off in the claim.
First, these were Cherokee war parties that were showing up at forts in western MD during the French and Indian Wars, looking to make alliances with the Anglos, sort of as mercenaries in other words. But, they did this at a specific time – 1757-8. That is a very limited time frame. Also, they didn’t travel with their wives or families when ranging that far north during these very serious war excursions. And they were only there for meetings with officials and establishing payments. Otherwise, they were roaming the Virginia, western MD and even over the PA borders for a very short period of time. They didn’t settled down there or live with the Whites. This was wartime and these were professional warriors.
There is no evidence that this chief had daughter named Zora or that he brought any of his family with him north. Also, there is no z sound in the Cherokee language. So, it doesn’t really match up linguistically anyway.. Also, what documenation that is extant gives details about Forsythe as an earlier settler in Indian Springs and the warfare on the frontier at that time period. And while there is a fair amount of detail about him, it would be odd that the sources would fail to mention he married a daughter of the Cherokee chief. Also, they were married and had offpsring years before the Cherokee parties showed up in Western Maryland. Keep in mind, the Cherokee only allied with the Marylanders from 1757-58. In 1758, the alliance failed and the larger Anglo-Cherokee War broke out.
Some older family claims didn’t have the Cherokee detail, but claimed that John moved into Indian Springs in the 1730s and arranged for a land purchase from local tribes, and married a daughter of an “Indian chief’ (tribe not specified). That is way earlier than Cherokees showing up briefly during the French and Indian War. But, even that claim doesn’t have any clear documentation. However, I would beging to look at the more localized tribal history and see if you can find any clues for Johns settlement history. Usually, males – particularly those that were settler heads of household – tend to generate a lot more records than females at that time period. YOu may have to go to Indian Springs and dig in obscure records and files (if they exist). I don’t think that Cherokee bit is going to pan out for you, unfortunately. But, best of luck on your search.
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~jamie/html/maryland_s_employment_of_the_c.html
http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/j-thomas-john-thomas-scharf/history-of-western-maryland–being-a-history-of-frederick-montgomery-carroll-ahc-742/page-116-history-of-western-maryland–being-a-history-of-frederick-montgomery-carroll-ahc-742.shtml
Just to let you know Zula was a name given after marriage. Not Zora. My maiden name is Forsythe and we live in western MD. We know where John’s homestead is. As a matter of fact there is a family cemetery on the property of a rod and gun club in Indian Springs. My father has been given information by the gentleman that bought the property.