The story of Daniel Eades was passed down through my
Mother’s family from Daniel, to his Daughter Penelope, to her Daughter Mary, to
her Daughter Carrie, who was my Grandmother.
Somehow stories passed from Mother to Daughter seem to retain more of
the texture and personal feeling than when passed through the males of the
family. Or maybe that’s just my personal
impression, or how it seemed in my family.
In any case, I heard the stories many times from my
Mother and my Grandmother. When Daniel
was a child he fell from a tree and suffered a gash on his leg. When it healed
it left a unique scar which he had for life. After he was captured during an
Indian raid he was adopted by the Medicine Man of the tribe, who had a son,
about the same age as Daniel who had died.
Daniel grew up with a “brother” who was the son of the tribe’s Chief.
When they were grown, the son of the Chief told Daniel that he knew where his
family was and asked if he wanted to return.
Daniel decided that he did. On his return he found his Mother sitting on
the porch. She did not recognize him, but then he showed her the scar on his
leg, and she knew this “Indian” was her son.
Of course we know now that Daniel grew up and lived in
Hillabee (Hilabi) Town. The Scottish trader who
became a prominent leader in the Creek Nation, Robert Grierson lived a few
miles north of Hilabi.
Grierson started out by trading tools, guns, gunpowder, cooking
pots, blankets, etc. for deer skins which were exported to Europe. The Griersons
(or Graysons) had a large farm or ranch with cattle and one of the largest
cotton farms in the area which would become Alabama. Grierson introduced wage labor to the Indian
population by employing Creek women to pick and spin cotton. Robert and his Creek wife Sinnugee had 6
children; Sandy, Sarah, Walter, David, Liza & William. Surely Daniel and his adopted brother were
their friends as children.
I think growing up watching Grierson’s cotton farming
operation, and how profitable it was later influenced Daniel to move from
Georgia to Louisiana and start building a similar operation, but I’m getting
ahead of myself.
We do know that Daniel was present at the Tribal Council
at Hilabi in the summer of 1788, when he would have been about 18 years old.
The following is from “Black, White, and Indian” by
Claudio Saunt, who is a Professor of History at University of Georgia. His book is an excellent reference if you are
researching the Creek Nation.
The annual Busk is a yearly Muscogee ceremony marking the
first harvest of corn. The 1788 Busk
brought together a remarkable assortment of people in the town square of old
Hillabee (Hilabi). Their names testify to their diversity:
Auwillaugee
Thomas Scott
Robert Grierson
Mad Bear
Big Chatter
Reles Eneha
Hilabi Captain
Hilabi Harjo
Hilabi Tustunagee
Paya Locko
Grence
Saucy Jack (Daniel Eades)
David Hay
Stephen Hawkins (married Sarah, the Daughter of Robert
Grierson)
Eneha Thlucco Harjo
Thomas
Opioche Tustungee
James
Venus
Rachel Spillard
Sinnugee (Wife of Robert Grierson)
Fannautotau
Opio Docta
John Eades filed an Affidavit in November 1793 saying
that Daniel was a captive at Hilabi. So
I can be sure Daniel did not return to Georgia until 1794 or later. Daniel was
back in Georgia before his father signed his will in December 1800, leaving the
land on which he (John Eades) lived to his son Daniel.
So Daniel was somewhere between 24 and 30 years old when
he returned.
I have three questions I hope to answer.
Who was the Medicine Man who adopted and raised Daniel
and who are his descendents? I would like to know about the family he grew up
in.
Who was the Son of the Chief who was like a brother to
Daniel and what became of him? Was he in the Red Stick War? Did he move to
Oklahoma?
The third and most important question is, did Daniel
marry and have children before returning to Georgia? Do we have unknown cousins in the Creek
Nation?
If you are descended from any of the people mentioned or
have any information to contribute, please contact me at TomScott@gmail.com
This section is not complete, but this is the extent of
the facts I have about Daniel, or Saucy Jack, during this period. I will come back and add more about what was
happening in the Creek Nation during the years Daniel was there.
