REV. Jesse Bushyhead

This is a sketch of the life of the Rev. Jesse Bushyhead. The Reverend Jesse Bushyhead (1804-1844) was born in the old Cherokee Nation near what is now Franklin, Tennessee. He became a Baptist in 1830, and became associated with Baptist missionary, Reverend Evan Jones. Reverend Bushyhead opposed Cherokee removal to Indian Territory, but lead a group of refugees from Tennessee to what is now Westville, Oklahoma. He became Chief Justice of the Cherokee Nation in 1840. His son, Dennis Bushyhead, was Principal Chief of the Cherokees from 1879 to 1887.