Lewis Walker And The Creeks/Cherokees

I have finally gotten my hands on the audio recording of Lewis Walker recanting his knowledge of Willis family stories and oral histories. From his recollections he seemed to have done quite a bit of historical research as well.

I think it is important to note that discrepancies in oral histories in no way belittle or disrespect those that pass them down- on the contrary, it is extraordinary that so much information can be remembered and passed on from generation to generation. Lewis Walker’s passion for history and love of the people that cared for him are the only reason that we have a place to start documentable research. He was in the twilight of his light recanting tales from his childhood-from people in the twilight of their lives recanting tales of their childhoods! on top of that, far from the convenience of the internet, he had to write a letter and wait for a response every time he needed information he could not find in a library. My goal is to create a documentable, factual historical timeline to establish the truth to the best of our ability… I’d like to think that if Lewis could have made it through a few more decades he’d be using Google to do the same thing now!

In the recording Lewis does say that Russell Holman graduated from Brown Medical School and went as a medical missionary to the indians, however he referred to not the Creek Indians specifically but to what he calls the “Creek Nations” and states the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Seminole and Creeks- what are actually referred commonly to as the Five Civilized Tribes- they had no formal alliance between them.

Lewis then goes on to saw that in the Creek Nations, Holman was particularly fond of the Cherokee, and states clearly that the Cherokee had a written language that Holman translated. He does not mention a bible, and states that he does not know where he heard this piece of information. He recants a tale of Mary Holman (Willis), explaining that she came downstairs one night at their home in Alabama and saw teepees in the yard, and heard Russell Holman talking with indians all night long. She said that she was a young girl, about 6 or 7 years old when this happened.

Russell Holman’s first tenure as the corresponding secretary for the mission board was from 1845-51, then he spent five years in New Orleans supporting the First Baptist Church there. his second tenure as the corresponding secretary began in 1856, and his letters and records show that the primary concern of the mission board was supporting the Pottawatomie mission that had been established in Oaklahoma. There were, however, many other tribes including the Cherokees and the Creeks that had missions supported by the board, whom Holman was actively corresponding with at the time. One must address also that though none of the afore mentioned tribes utilized teepees before they were forced west, they did adapt the teepee once on the plains. All this being considered, it may never be known specifically what tribe was visiting or why, but it was almost certainly either Cherokees paying a friendly visit to an old friend, or Pottawatomies or another tribe coming to discuss matters relating to missions in the field.

Russell Holman’s Childhood

There is almost no recorded history or oral tradition around Holman’s childhood, but I have been able to uncover a few more nuggets. There were a few major events going on in Warwick MA as he was growing up, and they likely would have had a major effect on his childhood.

A group of Utopian Unitarians attempted to start a community revolving around a glass factory around the time Holman was born. They were so zealous to pay great wages to improve the lives of the people they brought in that the whole thing was bankrupt by the time Holman was a toddler.

When Holman was 11 years old, a major tornado came through the area and a few young girls, one Holman’s age, were killed. It did major damage to several farms and homes, and the community had to make significant adjustments and take up a collection to assist those affected. It was a small community, and this likely had a major impact on Holman’s worldview as a child.

I have found record via the census and the Warwick Historical Society that Holman was actually the oldest of several siblings, but was 5 years older than the next youngest. By the 1830 census, at 18 years of age, he was no longer living with his family, and from what I can gather, never returned home.

The record at Brown University records that he was actually from Grafton MA, which is a suburb of Worcester. It is likely that Holman was sent to live with relatives there to attend a school in an urban setting of more prominence, but unfortunately at this time only the names of heads of households were recorded on the census, so it may never be possible to establish if this is the case.

Unless we can find a school record…