Samuel Keys Jr. [17086]

  General Notes:

Samuel Jr. is the child of Samuel Keys Sr. and brother to William, Isaac Keys.

  Research Notes:

This is from a deposition by William Rorex on 9 Nov 1837 to Charles L.
Roach, an acting Justice of the Peace for Jackson Co, AL..... ".... in
the case of Samuel Keys reservation that before Samuel Keys moved from his resevation to the south side of the TN River, he was continually threatened by the settlers, that they would beat him with clubs, that at one time Keys came to me to assist him in getting a set of house logs, but I declined going, having heard the settlers say if the logs was got they would cut them in two and I was informed that on that day some men came to where Keys and his brother William was at work, and drew their axes upon them and physically drove them off and afterwards the logs were cutup. The settlers was in the habit of abusing Keys children before and during that sickness of Keys' wife.... Affiant states that Keys had a great deal of trouble in getting possession of his reservation and all the while he lived upon it there was continually some of the settlers abusing him and threatening to drive him off by force. .... states that after Keys moved off a certain John Hancock told him once he was done with Samuel Keys' reservation it should not be worth one damn and he fell too and destroyed the timber all over the reservation and in a manner destroyed its value, also deadening the foresaid trees. After the reservationist had been run out, affiant was informed that the attachment under which Samuel Keys' reservation was sold was served by an officer by the name of Elijah Blagg who was run out of the country shortly after for
counterfeiting and has never since returned."

Then in another affadavit made by Samuel Keys on 1 June 1838 toThomas Hardwick, an acting Justice of the Peace for Jackson Co, AL ...."... in the month of May 1818, William Keys, who had formerly
intermarried and connected himself with a Cherokee woman filed his claim to a reservation..... That said William Keys moved to his reservation in the Fall of 1819 expecting to settle upon it, but was prevented from settling thereon by the intruders some ten or fifteen in number who had embodied together with wagon whips, axes and other weapons threatening to inflict personal violence upon him if he attempted to build upon his reservation, said William Keys being prevented as aforesaid from settling his reservation was permitted to build a cabin upon the reservation of affiant (Samuel Keys) to shelter himself and family from the approaching winter. ....William Keys reservation was surveyed in December 1820 .... Affiant states that he employed William Rorex to go with William Keys to the Cherokee Agency to see the Agent Col. Meigs who sent to the intruders a notice notifying the intruders to abandon the reservation of affiant and the said William Keys by a certain day, which said notice when read to them only increased their anger, and they cursed the agent and swore he was nothing but an old Indian traitor and threatened to beat and abuse the said reserver if they attempted in any way to settle their reservations. After which William Keys brougth suit against the intruders upon his resevation and finally succeeded in dispossessing them in the Circuit Court of Jackson County (these court records no longer exist unfortunately) and had full and peaceable possession of his
reservation for 5 or 6 years when he moved to the southside of the TN River from fear of personal abuse which was threatened against the said William and his family ..... they had as well move off amongst the Indians WHERE THEY BELONGED and commenced deadening and destroying the timber .... ....William Keys never sold or disposed of his said reservation and that the resevation was taken up by the occupant under an Act of Congress provided for the disposal of the public lands in that part of Alabama."

Samuel married Mary "Polly" Riley [17694] [MRIN: 6088], daughter of Samuel Riley Jr. [17698] and Gulustiya "Gu-Lu-Sti-Yu" Doublehead [17697], on April 2, 1808 in , Roane, Tennessee, USA. (Mary "Polly" Riley [17694] was born circa 1787 and died on April 4, 1855 in , , , USA.)