Holmes Colbert was a 19th-century leader and diplomat of the

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation () is a federally recognized Indigenous nation with headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma, in the United States. The Chickasaw Nation descends from an Indigenous population historically located in the southeastern United States, in ...

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

. Of mixed European and Chickasaw ancestry, Colbert was born to his mother's Chickasaw

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

and gained significance in the tribe's history through his family's privileged mixed-race status. Educated in an American school, he knew of both European-American and Chickasaw cultures and contributed to his clan as a mediator between both worlds. He helped write the Chickasaw Nation's constitution in the 1850s after its removal to

and reorganization of its government. After the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Colbert then went on to serve as the tribe's delegate.

Early life and education

Holmes Colbert was the son of James Isaac Colbert and Sarah "Sally" McLish. His father, James Isaac Colbert, the son of Maj. James Holmes Colbert already had some remote Chickasaw blood since he was the grandson of James Logan Colbert, a Scots trader from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

who settled in Chickasaw country in the mid-18th century, and of his third wife, Minta Hoye, who had a Chickasaw mother herself. Since the Chickasaw have a

matrilineal Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...

system, children are considered born into their mother's

and gain recognition in the tribe through her legacy, including any hereditary leadership positions; the whole Colbert family was hence considered a part of the Chickasaw Nation. Regarding the Colberts, the status of the men's mothers, combined with their fathers' access to trade goods, led the male members of the family to become prominent landowners and leaders within the Chickasaw Nation. In all likelihood, Holmes and his wife Betsy had six sons themselves, though divergent sources mention that they had only five.

Colberts' leadership contributions

Historical records indicate that Holmes had six sons going by the names of William, George,

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 Israelites, Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron ...

, Samuel, Joseph, and Pittman (or James). For nearly a century, the Colberts and their male descendants provided critical leadership as the Chickasaw faced their greatest challenges. The Chickasaw allied with the United States during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. William Colbert served under General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

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 Creek—refers to an early 19th century traditionalist faction of Muscogee Creek people in the Southeastern Uni ...

during the Creek Wars of 1813–14, a civil war within the Creek involving multiple factions as well as European and US belligerents, and his brothers George and Levi also joined the army. Within their

and the Chickasaw Nation, the brothers were both affluent landowners and a political force to be reckoned with. George and

Levi Colbert Levi Colbert (June 2, 1834) was an early 19th-century Chickasaw leader and the namesake of Itawamba County, Mississippi. Early life and education Levi Colbert was born around 1759 in the Chickasaw Nation (present-day Alabama). He was the ...

served as negotiators and interpreters in the 1820s-1830 during the tribe's negotiations with the US government related to Indian Removal.

Political career

Holmes grew up learning about his family's leadership and was groomed for taking responsibilities in tribal affairs. He and his cousin Winchester created the governmental foundation of the Chickasaw Nation in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). In the 1850s, Holmes Colbert helped write the constitution for their government, as after the Choctaw–Chickasaw Treaty of 1854, the Chickasaw constitution, establishing the nation as separate from the Choctaw, was signed in Tishomingo on the 30th of August, 1856.

Marriage and children

Colbert married Elizabeth Betsy Love, daughter of Henry W. Love and his wife Sarah Ann Moore. Henry W Love son of Thomas Love wife Sally Colbert . They were both well educated, having been sent to schools out of state."Polly Colbert"
T. Lindsay Baker, ''The WPA Oklahoma Slave Narratives'', US Work Projects Administration, p. 90, accessed 3 Nov 2009 Their mothers' clans were influential families in the Chickasaw Nation who were grooming their children for the future and believed they needed education to deal with European-Americans. The Colberts had three children together, but two died before the American Civil War. Colbert and his wife owned about of cleared land, with more in timber. They held eight adult enslaved

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

and several children in what is now Oklahoma. family history states James Holmes Colbert son of James Issac son of James Holmes son of, James Logan was born September 22, 1828, in Marshall County, Mississippi, and died March 24, 1872, in Washington, D.C..He married Elizabeth Love, daughter of Henry Love and Sarah Moore.She was born Abt. 1833 in Mississippi, and died 1914.\\ Love daughter Henry W.son of Sally Colbert,daughter James Logan) was born Abt. 1833 in Mississippi, and died 1914.She married James Holmes Colbert, son of James Colbert and Sarah McLish.He was born September 22, 1828, in Marshall County, Mississippi, and died March 24, 1872, in Washington, D.C.. Children of Elizabeth Love and James Colbert are: 318 i. Eliphett Nott Colbert, born September 21, 1856; died November 21, 1863. 319 ii. Eula Colbert, born July 1869.

Chickasaw delegate

After the American Civil War, the US required a new treaty from the Chickasaw Nation, as the tribe had supported the Confederacy. Holmes Colbert represented the tribe as a delegate to Washington, DC during these negotiations and later to Congress. One of the provisions of the peace treaty required the Chickasaw to emancipate their slaves, as the US had done, and offer those who wanted to stay in Indian Territory citizenship as Chickasaw or relocate to become US citizens. Their decision during this time to refuse citizenship to the Freedmen who stayed, as well as having previously formed an alliance with the Confederacy, likely played a role in the decision for the US government to take over half the land the Chickasaw owned from previous treaties without any compensation. Unlike the Freedmen of the other "

Five Civilized Tribes The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by the United States government in the early federal period of the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Cr ...

," from emancipation in 1866 up until Oklahoma gained statehood in 1907, Freedmen that remained inside Chickasaw boundaries were essentially country-less. However they were later documented as Chickasaw Freedmen on the

Dawes Rolls The Dawes Rolls (or Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, or Dawes Commission of Final Rolls) were created by the United States Dawes Commission. The commission was authorized by United States Congress in 1893 to exe ...

Death

Holmes Colbert died of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

in Washington, DC, in 1872.

Legacy

*The constitution of the Chickasaw Nation *

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 a ...

was named after the family.

References

External links

Testimony about Holmes Colbert

Chickasaw Historical Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colbert, Holmes 19th-century Native American leaders American people of Scottish descent Chickasaw slave owners Native American leaders Colbert family (Chickasaw) 1829 births 1872 deaths