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Chief George Colbert, also known as ''Tootemastubbe'' in Chickasaw (c. 1764–1839), was a leader and war chief of the
Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classifi ...
people in the early 19th century, then occupying territory in what are now the jurisdictions of Alabama and Mississippi. During the
Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...
of 1813–1814, he commanded 350 Chickasaw auxiliary troops, whom he had recruited, as a militia captain under
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame a ...
. Later he joined the
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, c ...
under Jackson for the remainder of the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...
. Colbert temporarily became an overall chief of the
Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classifi ...
, succeeding his older brother Levi Colbert who died in 1834. Colbert was a planter who owned significant cotton lands in
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...
and numerous enslaved African Americans to work them. He also owned and operated a ferry across the
Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names ...
in northwestern
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
. His father, James Logan Colbert, was half Scots-Irish, half Chickasaw. Colbert's mother was Chickasaw, so Colbert and his siblings were three-quarters Chickasaw and one quarter Scottish by ancestry.


Early life and education

George ''Tootemastubbe'' Colbert was born in 1764 in present-day Alabama (then part of the Chickasaw Nation territory).Pate, James P.,
George Colbert
" ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' (accessed November 3, 2009).
He was the second of six sons of James Logan Colbert and his second wife ''Minta Hoye'', a Chickasaw woman. Because the elder Colbert was also mixed-race, son of a
Scots Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: * Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland * Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland * Scoti, a Latin na ...
settler and his Chickasaw wife, his sons with Minta Hoye were three-quarters Chickasaw. This people were one of what the European Americans called the
Five Civilized Tribes The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by European Americans in the colonial and early federal period in the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek ...
in the American Southeast. The tribe practiced
matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...
kinship, and all children were considered to be born into their mother's family and clan, and gained their status from her. Property and positions of hereditary leadership were passed through the mother's line. Minta Hoye's clan was one from which hereditary chiefs were drawn. As a youth George Colbert began to rise in prominence among the Chickasaw, as he also gained status by his bravery in battle and other actions.


Military service

Colbert was said to serve with American troops under
Arthur St. Clair Arthur St. Clair ( – August 31, 1818) was a Scottish-American soldier and politician. Born in Thurso, Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office. During ...
in 1791 and
Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mi ...
in 1794 during the
Northwest Indian Wars The Northwest Indian War (1786–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native American nations known today as the Northwester ...
. During the
Creek Wars The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...
of the early 19th century, he recruited 350 Chickasaw warriors and assisted
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame a ...
against the
Red Sticks Red Sticks (also Redsticks, Batons Rouges, or Red Clubs), the name deriving from the red-painted war clubs of some Native American Creeks—refers to an early 19th-century traditionalist faction of these people in the American Southeast. Made u ...
, the more conservative portion of the people. Later he also led Chickasaw warriors against
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...
forces during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...
.


Career

By the early 1800s, George Colbert, also known as ''Tootemastubbe'' in Chickasaw, established Colbert's ferry near Cherokee, Alabama. It was a significant crossing of the
Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names ...
along the
Natchez Trace The Natchez Trace, also known as the Old Natchez Trace, is a historic forest trail within the United States which extends roughly from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi rivers. ...
, an important trade route. Colbert acquired land and became an influential cotton planter; he also raised livestock and was a trader. Due to his clan, he was eligible for the position of Chief. The Chickasaw communally owned an estimated 150 enslaved
Africans African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Et ...
as labor on their lands, as was custom with many intercultural tribes in the region. A few slaves escaped during the confusion of the eventual
Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...
. Colbert and his brothers, Levi (older) and the younger James, were among the primary negotiators between his people and the United States government in the early 19th century. The Chickasaw ended up ceding much of their land to the United States after Levi "Itawambamingo" Colbert had died en route to Washington D.C during negotiations in 1834. Having grown up with both Chickasaw and "white" language and culture, the Colbert brothers were strongly relied upon to act on the tribe's behalf. After Levi died, their negotiations abruptly ceased. In 1834, most of the Chickasaw joined members of other Southeast tribes in forced removal to
Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
(now Oklahoma) west of the Mississippi River. This removal became known among the Indians as the
Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...
. Itawamba County in
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...
is named after Levi Colbert. Before removal, George ''Tootemastubbe'' Colbert served again temporarily as chief of the Chickasaw. The year 1834 was the beginning of the forced removal process, accomplished by overland march and travel by rivers. Most of it took place in the later 1830s. ''Tishomingo'' became chief of the Chickasaw when they started on the trail and led the people until his death in 1838 en route, near the Arkansas River. Neither he nor Colbert, who died en route in 1839 at age 75, reached the new Chickasaw territory. Colbert/''Tootemastubbe'' died at Fort Towson (which is in Choctaw territory east of the Chickasaw reserve) just before the people reached their new territory.


Marriage and family

Colbert married two times. The women were sisters from the
Wind Clan Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few h ...
Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...
; their father was Chief
Doublehead Doublehead (1744–1807) or Incalatanga (''Tal-tsu'tsa'', ᏔᎵᏧᏍᎦ in Cherokee), was one of the most feared warriors of the Cherokee during the Cherokee–American wars. Following the peace treaty at the Tellico Blockhouse in 1794, he serv ...
. Colbert first married Tuskiahooto. When she proved to be barren, he also married Saleechie, the younger sister. (The Chickasaw allowed the men in the tribe to marry multiple wives, per tribal law). Colbert fathered a total of six sons and two daughters. He never reached the Chickasaw section of ''Oka Homa''.


Grandfather's family

His father, James Logan Colbert, was the son of Mimey (also known to settlers as "Dorothy"), daughter of a Chickasaw chief, and her husband William d'Blainville ''Piomingo'' Colbert (born 1695,
Blainville-sur-Orne Blainville-sur-Orne (, literally ''Blainville on Orne'') is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Geography Blainville-sur-Orne is on the west side of the Canal de Caen à la Mer, just south of ...
, France, although he was of Scottish descent (see Addendum section below). Such interracial marriages were considered advantageous by both sides; William Colbert was a trader and had better access to the tribes because of his wife's status, and her clan benefited by close relations with the trader. In 1786, soon after the American Revolutionary War and late in life, William Colbert received a commission as a Major from President George Washington. His grandson, General William "Chootshemataha" Colbert, also received a commission that year, and no doubt could contribute more to warfare needs. After William Colbert's death about 1792, his body was shipped overseas for burial on the
Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...
. (Look up Chief Piomingo, Major William d'Blainville Colbert; Blainville-sur-Orne, France; Chateau d'Colbert in Blainville; Jacobite Uprisings; Massacre of Glencoe.) Addendum: (William "d'Blainville" Colbert is so called since he was one of the first of the Castlehill Colberts of Inverness to be born outside Scotland in
Blainville-sur-Orne Blainville-sur-Orne (, literally ''Blainville on Orne'') is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Geography Blainville-sur-Orne is on the west side of the Canal de Caen à la Mer, just south of ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
, in 1695. The Chateau de Colbert is located in Blainville. It was once owned by the deceased
Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...
, a cousin, who had served as King
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...
's Treasurer in the mid-1600s. The Colberts/Cuthbert's of Castlehill,
Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...
, had left
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
because of the original
Jacobite uprising , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...
, and the Glorious Revolution, known for the
Massacre of Glencoe The Massacre of Glencoe ( gd, Murt Ghlinne Comhann) took place in Glen Coe in the Highlands of Scotland on 13 February 1692. An estimated 30 members and associates of Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by Scottish government forces, alle ...
in their country. This had ousted
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
King
James II of England and VII of Scotland James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious ...
to be replaced finally in 1692 by his Protestant daughter
Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England, List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland, and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III of England, William III & II, from 1689 unt ...
and William of Orange. The Jacobite Uprisings of 1689-1692 resulted in the deaths of 30 members of the
Clan MacDonald of Glencoe The MacDonalds of Glencoe, also known as Clann Iain Abrach, was a Highland Scottish clan and a branch of the larger Clan Donald. They were named after Glen Coe. the MacDonalds of Glen Coe (or MacIains as they were more specifically known) hav ...
, who were also close to King James. The "King Baron" Colberts fled to France for sanctuary in a Catholic country. They had intermarried with the Catholic Stuart family. Chief George "Tootesmastube" Colbert circa 1830 Chateau de Colbert in Blainville-Sur-Orne, France , representing Colbert family ownership of their chateau. Unicorns are Scotland's National "Animal"; the blue is similar to St. Andrews Flag of Scotland Colbert Scottish Coat of Arms during Jacobite Uprisings


Legacy

Numerous place names commemorate George and/or Levi Colbert: *
Colbert County, Alabama Colbert County () is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the county's population was 57,227. The county seat is Tuscumbia. The largest city is Muscle Shoals. The county is named i ...
was named after the Chickasaw chiefs
Levi Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and ...
and George Colbert. *George's Cave was named after George Colbert. It is near Colbert's Spring (named after Levi). *
Itawamba County, Mississippi Itawamba County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 23,401. Its county seat is Fulton. The county is part of the Tupelo, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area. The county ...
was named after Levi Colbert (a shortened version of his Chickasaw name). *
Colbert, Oklahoma Colbert is a town in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,140 at the 2010 census, a 7 percent increase over the figure of 1,065 recorded in 2000. It was incorporated in 1939. History Colbert men became prominent leaders am ...
was named generally after the family in recognition of their contributions and Chickasaw blood ties. The small town is near the Texas border in the
Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...
. It was not a tribal seat in Indian Territory, such as what are now
Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, Tu ...
and
Ardmore, Oklahoma Ardmore is the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,283, with an estimated population of 24,698 in 2019. The Ardmore micropolitan statistical area had an estimate ...
.


References


Further reading

*Arrell M. Gibson, ''The Chickasaws'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1971). *Don Martini, ''Who Was Who Among the Southern Indians: A Genealogical Notebook '' (Falkner, Miss.: N.p., 1997).


External links


"Colbert, George"
''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Colbert, George 1760s births 1839 deaths 18th-century Native Americans 19th-century Native Americans United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 American militia officers American militiamen in the War of 1812 American people of Scottish descent Chickasaw people Native American leaders Native American slave owners People from Colbert County, Alabama People of the Creek War United States Army officers