Hezekiah N. (Low Hawk) Whitt

Notes:

Given his date of birth it is likely that he had a different mother than Standing Deer Bailey.

He was adopted by Thomas Mastin and said to have been named for Hezekiah Whitt, who was a friend of his adoptive father, Thomas Mastin.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR RECORDS

Whitt, Hezekiah. Revolutionary War Pension Application. (Tazewell County, Virginia: National Archives, 27 March 1844).

Exercpt: In addition to the certificate given by this affiant, he would state that this affiant was raised from childhood (being Left an orphan) by Captain Thomas Ma(s)rtin, whom he has often heard say, that Hezekiah Whit, the applicant for a pension in the foregoing declaration, was a soldier under him in the Cherokee Expedition into Tennessee. This affiant knew the said Whit at that time and has known him ever since. This affiant knows nothing of any other service stated by the said Whit, but he believes them to have been performed as stated. Sworn to and subscribed the day and year above written in open court. (signed) Thomas Christian

WILL

In the name of God, Amen, June 21, 1815. I, Hezekiah N. Whitt, of the County of Tazewell, being in perfect health and mind do hereby make testimony. It is my will that all just debts and funeral charges in full be paid.

I leave to my brother, Thomas B. Christian, all my apparel, both linen and woolen, and my horses and oxen. I leave to my sister, Sarah Adkins, £70, to be paid by my brother Thomas B. Christian, and two silver salt cellars and pots.

It is also my will that my burying place be for ever kept and be appropriated for that use and none other, and I hereby devise the said burying ground, containing three acres and 1/2, for as to be the burying place for all my descendants, and my wife Hannah shall allow to be there buried.

Last be known it, I leave to my wife, Hannah Whitt, 1/2 of two lots lying at Indian Creek, in Tazewell County, on the south side of the River, and now in occupation of Moses Christian; also all my estate at Sinking Waters, while she remains my widow, and she is to pay all my just debts and funeral charges. "I leave to my brother, Thomas B. Christian, my gold ring and my morters, and to him £100, he paying to the Patron or Lord of the Manor 5 bushels of wheat". I leave to my brother, Thomas B. Christian, after my wife's death or marriage, all the rest of the farm, and he is to pay to my sister, Sarah Adkins, £50, and to all my nephews and nieces, £5, and to the Patron or Lord of the Manor 5 bushels of wheat.

I make my wife executor.

Hezekiah N. Whitt

In the witness of William Davis & Thomas B. Christian

Will was executed September 18, 1817, 15 days after the death of said Hezekiah Whitt.

Signed in authority of the State of Virginia by Leonard S. Harper

Other Events:

• _UID: 98170BCFB04C44DE85D1496261BAF2792E7E

Notes:

Claim made in Shawnee Heritage By Don Greene. This is a fraud.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Shawnee_Heritage_Fraud

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This is what is known about him.

He was the youngest son of Cornstalk ans was described as being over six feet tall. He spoke some English. He participated in the Cornstalk War in 1765, the Pontiac War in 1766 with raids into the the Little Kanawha and Big Sany River Valleys. He was an emmissary for Cornstalk to Point Pleasant in 1775, and became a chief in 1777. He and his father were murdered at Point Pleasant.

According to James Red Wolf, after Chief Cornstalk and his son, Elinipsico were murdered at Point Pleasant, his children were adopted by the Long Hunters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornstalk

From the VIRGINIA GAZETTE 3 April 1778

By HIS Excellency PATRICK HENRY Governor, or Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth of VIRGINIA

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS a most barbarous murder was on the tenth day of November last committed by a number of persons belonging to a detachment of the militia of this state an Indian chief called CORNSTALK, his son, and two other Indians at Fort Randolph on the Ohio, although the said Indians had been convicted of no hostile act or purpose, and were at that time under the pl ghted (sic) protection of the garrison of the place, whereby a deep wound has been given to the honor and faith of this country, the laws of the state have been most flagrantly violated, and the vengeance of a cruel enemy provoked on the innocent inhabitants of the western frontiers, as well as a dangerous example given to licentious and bloodthirsty men wantonly to involve their country in the horrours of a savage war; and whereas it appears from sundry depositions transmitted to me that James Hall of the county of Rockbridqe, and Malcolm McCown of Augusta, Adam Barnes of Greenbrier, William Roane of Rockbridge and Hugh Galbreath of Rockbridge were deeply concerned in promoting and perpetrating the said outrage, I do by and with the advice of the Council of State issue this my proclamation strictly requiring the citizens of this commonwealth, more especially all officers civil and military, to use the most vigorous exertions to bring these seperate offenders to the punishment due their guilt. And as an encouragement thereto, as well as a proof of the public abhorrence of such detestable crimes, I do offer to such person or persons as shall secure any of the offenders so that they be brought to justice the following rewards that is for James Hall 200 dollars, for Malcolm McCown 150 dollars, for Adam Barnes, William Roane and Hugh Galbreath i00 dollars each.

Given under my hand at the Council Chamber in the city of Williamsburg this 27th day of March in the second year of the commonwealth, Anno Dom 1778

There is a lot of discussion on the Christian family forums on Rootsweb, Ancestry, and Genealogy.com about this possible parentage of Thomas Bailey Christian and Rachel Skaggs.

There has been no definitive proof on this, although Mr. Red Wolf alludes to "proof" in the Virginia State Archives, but has not shared any proof beyond oral history from one part of the Christian and Skaggs families.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=AHN&db=adkinsfam&id=I19526

Another source:

http://dahnmonwhittgenealogy.com/individual.php?pid=I14685&ged=Dahnmon-Whitt%20Family

Died:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornstalk

In the fall of 1777, Cornstalk made a diplomatic visit to Fort Randolph, an American fort at present-day Point Pleasant, seeking as always to maintain his faction's neutrality. Cornstalk was detained by the fort commander, who had decided on his own initiative to take hostage any Shawnees who fell into his hands. When, on November 10, an American militiaman from the fort was killed nearby by unknown Indians, angry soldiers brutally executed Cornstalk, his son Elinipsico, and two other Shawnees.

Ellinipsico married Standing Deer Bailey. Standing was born 1755, North Carolina; died 1775, Tennessee. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

According to James Red Wolf, she was Cherokee and died giving birth to her 4th child, leaving him to raise them.

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=AHN&db=adkinsfam&id=I19526

She is a woman of mystery, speculation, and conjecture. Was her name Jane Bailey? Was she Native American or was she possibly a captive?

Her date of birth is a guesstimate at best and I'm not even sure what is the original source. The consensus across the web is between 1750 and 1755. Nevertheless, she is supposed to be the mother of Thomas Bailey Christian and probably Sarah "Mountain Raven" Mastin and John Cornstalk, who died in infancy.

If she was born in 1750 to 1755 she could not be the mother of Hezekiah "Low Hawk" Whitt and Rachel Skaggs. Low Hawk refers to Thomas Bailey Christian and Sarah Christian Adkins as his brother and sister in his will. This does not mean they were blood relatives, but considered themselves as brothers and sisters in being raised by Thomas Mastin.

There is much discussion on the message boards about this family. Hopefully DNA studies may provide some clarity to oral history and rampant hypothesizing about her descendants.

DNA has proved Thomas Bailey Christian has no Native American ancestry. See his record on this site for the proof.




Birth:
Other sources have her place of birth as Chota, Cherokee Nation, TN.

Notes:

If her date of birth is correct, Standing Deer cannot be the mother of Hezekiah N. (Low Hawk) Whitt and Rachel Skaggs. Thomas Bailey Christian considered them as brother and sister, and referred to them as such.

DNA indicates Thomas Bailey Christian was NOT their son. See his page for more information.

Notes:

The story of Cornstalk's seizure and murder is one of the dark spots in American history.

Born about 1735 in what is now Ohio, the future chieftain was named "Hokoleskwa," meaning "maize plant"hence the English name "Cornstalk." He was also known as Keigh-tugh-qua and Wynepuechsika.

He may have had at least 8 wives and possibly as many as 30 children.

Little is known of his early life, but by 1763 he had become a Shawnee tribal chieftain and led war parties against several white settlements. He was described as being over 6 ft 6 in. tall with flowing white hair. He was spoke English well and was known for eloquent speeches before colonists.

In 1764, soldiers raided his tribal town and took him captive. He was carried to Fort Pitt as a hostage, but escaped the following year. In the following years, he became Sachem of all Shawnee tribes and finally king of the northern confederacy of Indian tribes, composed of the Shawnees, Delawares, Mingoes, Wyandottes and Cayugas.

On Oct. 10, 1774, he led 1,100 of his braves against an equal number of Colonial troops at Pt. Pleasant and after a violent battle, was defeated. Following his defeat, Cornstalk pursued a peace policy and forbade his braves to molest whites.

But in 1777, with the American Revolution at its height, he returned to Pt. Pleasant with two companions to warn settlers that the British were trying to incite his tribesmen to attack them. Fearing an attack, Colonial soldiers seized Cornstalk and his companions and imprisoned them in Fort Randolph as hostages.

A month later, Cornstalk's son, Ellinipsico, came to the fort to see his father. During his visit, a soldier walking near the fort was killed by an Indian, and other soldiers rushed to Cornstalk's quarters to kill him in revenge.

During the American Revolution the British tried to build a coalition of Indians to fight against the colonists. Chief Cornstalk alone refused to join, although many members of his tribe opposed him. Chief Cornstalk, however, had come to believe that his people's survival depended on their friendly relations with the Virginians. In the spring of 1777, he visited the garrison at Point Pleasant with a small contingent of Indians, and he informed the colonials of the coalition that was forming. While the Virginians waited for reinforcements, the Indians were held as hostages. Following the killing of a white man outside the fort by other Indians, Chief Cornstalk and his men (including his son, Elinipsico) were murdered by the soldiers.

Chief Cornstalk was admired, even by his enemies, as a fine orator and courageous warrior.

Cornstalk, who is described by historians as a handsome, intelligent, and highly honorable man, stood calmly in the doorway to his room and faced his slayers. He was felled by nearly a dozen rifle shots. The soldiers then entered the room and killed Cornstalk's son and two companions. The murder of their chieftain turned the Shawnees from a neutral people into the most implacable warriors, who raided Virginia settlements for 20 years after the incident.

More detailed information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornstalk


Died:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornstalk

In the fall of 1777, Cornstalk made a diplomatic visit to Fort Randolph, an American fort at present-day Point Pleasant, seeking as always to maintain his faction's neutrality. Cornstalk was detained by the fort commander, who had decided on his own initiative to take hostage any Shawnees who fell into his hands. When, on November 10, an American militiaman from the fort was killed nearby by unknown Indians, angry soldiers brutally executed Cornstalk, his son Elinipsico, and two other Shawnees.

Hokoleskwa married Helizikinopo ca 1739. Helizikinopo was born 1715, Pennsylvania; died Aft 1809, Ohio. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Claim made by Shawnee Heritage By Don Greene. This is a fraud.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Shawnee_Heritage_Fraud