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SAMUEL PROCTOR ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM at
the University of Florida
CRK 57A
INTERVIEWER;
INTERVIEWEE; Tom Weatherford
February 1, 1974
I: Today is February 1, 1974. I'm interviewing Tom Weatherford. Tom,
how old are you?
W: Seventy-eight years old.
I: And you were born when?
W: May the eighth, eighteen ninety-five.
I: Now who are your parents?
W: Thomas Ward Weatherford and Elizabeth Ward. She was a Ward.
I: Now was your mother Indian?
W: My mother was She was an Indian, too. Her grandmother
was a sister My mother and father were about third or fourth
cousins.
I: I see. Now where were you born?
W: I was born right here in )'a-_A County. I lived a quarter of a mile. <
I: Now this is in Uriah?
W: Yes, in Uriah A supposed to be Mount Pleasant.
I: Now, is your wife, who did you marry?
W: I married an English, Agnes English.
I: Now was she Indian?
W: Yes, she was Indian.
I: What, is she Creek?
W: Yes, Creek.
I: And what was, what's your family background? What's your family back-
ground?
CRK 57A
Page 2. dib
U: Mine?
I: Uh huh.
U: Well, on my mother's side I get the Indian blood. On my father's
side I'm French. That's all I know.
W: She came from Tates and Dresbacks. J -2i-j' /David Tate.
I: Now...
W: Her grandmother was a .' from over in C/ar/i County.
U:
I: Can you sort of fill me in on your family background as far back
as you can go?
W: Well, my great grandfather was John Weatherford
And he lived at Clayborn. When he swam that river and got_- '
Andrew Jackson he told him, he says, "I'm going to see that you get payed
for this some day." When he got President of the United States he sent
him a title a section of land, a square mile of land, and he-4ed a
sheep skin copy of'/, it was written on a sheep skin, ef Andrew Jackson's
name signed to it. m/7 5/jsfrs //a 'i. -
I: Is this...
W: _____eiayen.
I: I see.
/ *.. -.. 'tk...,.- ; '/* ...
W: ... :i-t-w-T-- Laa-
I: Now is this, is this land that he gave you, is this still in your
family possession?
W: No Ma'am. No Ma'am, it's not.
I: What happened to this land?
W: I really don't know what happened to it. It got away somewhere ___ '-
CRK. 57A
Page 3. dib
I don't know.
I: Is any of the family interested in seeing what would have happened
to this pea4ei of land?
W: Well, my father,he talked to a lawyer about it. Ihis=-i; J.P. __-_
4, ,, /fO He was a young lawyer. He told him he would take
it and get it for him. But Pa, he decided that, you know, it was too
much. Let them build. Even have to pay for all the building and the
taxes back on it. He wouldn't let him do it. He wanted to do it, this
lawyer did. He was a young lawyer. He said he maybe could get it back.
He knew a lot of the people who were living on it then, and he said he
didn't want to make them mad. And he wouldn't try to get it. c.i'c
been out so long V/ / '- ,. -. /Mr. did./ He
-vA .An- and he wouldn't let Mr. /*.::-Q< do it.
I: Do you think that any of your family today would be interested in
checking back into this matter?
W: I don't think so7 /LD ,
I: What was this land called, though? I mean, was-it a Weatherford grant
land or something like this?
W: I guess it was. It was from the United States government. I guess
that's what it was, a grant. President Jackson sent it to him with his
name signed to it. My sisters up at Uriah have it and the deed.
I: I'd like to see that some day. Just to see what it looks like.
U: Didn't i/--., tell us not too long ago that she hadn't been able to
find that dc/-i since--
W: I don't know. I, I thought they had it in a safety deposit box. I
didn'tA know they- std -it
CRK 57A
Page 4. o dib
-S She-toldme-she -had it-;
W: I think maybe Calvin went down there and looked at that one time.
I'm not sure of that. He was talking about it and I told him where it
was. I think maybe he got-it. I'm not, not quite sure. Anyway,.Calvin
knew about it. talk to him.
I: Have you ever heard of the, the land that was left to the Creek In-
dians in the porch area down there, the three plots of grant land that
Andrew Jackson gave them for services also? To Len McGee and his heirs?
W: Yes, I have.
I: What sort of stories then did you hear of that?
W: Well, Calvin told me all I knew. He told me from his family about the
same thing -that. I-already knew, I knew they did have a
grant.
I: Was there any stories connected with this land? Let's see how I
want to say this? Why did the Creeks in this area down here want to
side with Andrew Jackson?
W: Well, they called them friendly Creeks, you know, down here. They
didn't, didn't uacr too much against them. They did a while, but they
quit, you know. That's all I know,'cause you know when they started ,.
the Creek nation east of the Mississippi they was friendly Creek. I
guess that's the only reason why we got some of this money, because they
give them a chance either to go to out in Oklahoma-or New Mexico .- --
..- r...'--" Some of them didn't go. 7/;r' *' ',
-fcAL ;, -^ ct Well, anyway those out in Oklahoma got some, too, this
land they accepted. .A?/ n i /.
N /2,.J1 .,,.,/ (
CRK 57A
Page 5. dib
I: Have there ever been any stories passed down in your family about
Red Eagle?
U: What about the story, Tom, the one on Red Eagle that, who was it
that spent the night at Mr. Wells?
W: That was...
U: Who was that?
W: ... and that was a traveling salesman. Out in Montgomery
he was a traveling salesman. Met him on the place down on the river.
', L,...4" 7 ..'9,- ,
He came riding out horseback. It was getting kind of late.
This fellow my-if-e=amegout
.--... z --T. He stopped me and asked me. He says, "I'm new up in
this part of the country. But," he says, "I'm up here in this Indian
Weatherford neighborhood." He says, "I want to ask where's the closest
place I can spend the night." We told him, wje said, "Well, I don't know."
We said, "About the closest place is up at '--. ." -We said, that's
about twelve, fifteen miles up there." He was driving horses and buggy,
and then that was a long time. He said, "You mean I'm going to have
/t. ,
to drive _? He says, "I can't get up in these woods down here,
C'i ij-z' /A-CC
down in It's nice Weatherford country,." -'jI said, "Well,
I tell you what you can do if you want, but if you mind to drive out
two miles off of the road / go with me) ." He sa-id, "Would
you do that?" T-said, "Yes.AI would." He said, "Alright, I'll do it."
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