Henry Clay Meigs #727

Henry Clay Meigs

Henry Clay Meigs (#727) was born at Park Hill, Tahlequah District, Oklahoma, on November 16, 1841, to Return Jonathan Meigs, 4^th (#372) and Jane (Ross). Jane Ross was the daughter of John Ross, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation for 40 years preceding his death in 1866. Henry and his brothers are the start of the distinguished Cherokee branch of the Meigs family.

When the Civil War broke out, the Cherokee were divided in sympathy between the North and South, and as in many other cases, the line of division cut through Henry and his brothers. His two brothers joined the Union army and he the Confederate service from 1861-62. He was a private in Company H, First Cherokee Mounted Rifles, and saw action at Chuisto-Talasah, Cherokee Nation.¹

Meigs was Postmaster at Fort Gibson, Oklahoma; "elected clerk of Illinois District, August 1, 1893, and Judge of the same district on August 5, 1893."² He resided at Fort Gibson for most of his life. Meigs died on September 16, 1924. On January 11, 1868, he married Josephine Lavinia Bigelow. Their children were:

Children

Meigs # Name
Birth

Death

No. 1190
William Rose 03-30-1869 10-31-1870

No. 1191
Caroline Few - Her nickname was Carrie. she married Richard C. Adams who represented the Delaware Nation in Washington, DC. 06-14-1871 10-03-1921

No. 1192
Annie Stapler - Annie married Frank J. Boudinot, who represented the Cherokee Nation in Washington, DC. 06-28-1873

No. 1193 Robert Henry 03-17-1876

No. 1194 Thomas Fields 04-11-1878 01-30-1879

No. 1195 James MacDonald 06-25-1880

No. 1196
Alice Maude 02-21-1883

No. 1197 Josephine 06-23-1885

1. "War of the Rebellion, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies," Series 1, Volume 8, Chapter 18, pages 16-18.