Many people have asked for our history.  This is now it was told to my parents William & Ethel Buley, by my grandmother Josephine Martin.

 

 

        After the Civil War General Stand Watie signed a Cease Fire Treaty with the U.S. Army, that is why we never surrendered our flag, or our arms.  They agreed to protect us in this Treaty.  Which they did not do, we were forced out of Oklahoma by the Pinn Cherokee.  They were burning our homes and killing our People.  The word went out through James Samuel Martin, that a delegation of the Southern Cherokee Nation were going to meet at Fort Smith Arkansas, asking the army to honor the treaty to protect us from the Pinns.  They informed our people they did not have the troops to do that, and for us to see to yourselves.

 

          

 

 

 

 

 

     A month later 75 wagons left Fort Smith, some stayed in Arkansas, some went to Missouri, some went to Tennessee and the remainder came to Kentucky...Carrying our flag, seal and our Constitution.  It was fall of 1871, General Watie had died.  We arrived in Kentucky early winter.  Some of our family had hid out in caves and such and had remained in Kentucky after the removal.  On our return from Oklahoma, we were welcomed home by our cousins (family) that had remained here.

 

         We have sit here out of everyone's way, almost secretively, for over a hundred years.  We would still be unknown, if it weren't for all these other groups calling themselves Southern Cherokee.  And these are the facts, backed up by our documents.