Quarterly Meeting, Saturday, November 7, 2015, Martin TN
Dr. David Webb will speak to members and guests of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society. His topic is “The Trail of Tears through Henry and Weakley Counties in Tennessee.” The quarterly meeting of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society begins at 10:30 AM Saturday, November 7th, at the Weldon Public Library in Martin, Tennessee. The meeting is open to the public and free of charge, but seating is limited.
“Some of the Cherokee were small plantation owners with slaves, whom the Cherokee brought along on their forced exodus to Oklahoma,” Webb said. “This massive Indian removal project was begun under President Andrew Jackson but carried out under President Martin Van Buren. One of the sixteen groups of a total of 17,000 Indians forced to make the trip, the ‘Benge group’ went up the Tennessee River from Fort Payne, Alabama, eventually making its way through Palmersville and downtown Paris on their way to the Oklahoma Territory. The Benge group is significant because it was the first group to emigrate under the gentler leadership of Cherokee officers instead of under the bayonet of U.S. soldiers.”
Dr. Webb teaches at Henry County High School in Paris, Tennessee, and serves as a Henry County Commissioner.