Henry Timberlake
Encyclopedia
Henry Timberlake was a colonial Anglo-America
n officer
, journalist
, and cartographer. He was born in Virginia in 1730 and died in England. He is best known for his work as an emissary to the Overhill Cherokee
during the 1760s.
Timberlake's account of his journeys to the Cherokee
, published as his memoirs in 1765, became a primary source for later studies of their eighteenth-century culture. His detailed descriptions of Cherokee villages, townhouses, weapons, and tools have helped historians and anthropologists identify Cherokee structures and cultural objects uncovered at modern archeological excavation sites throughout the southern Appalachian region. During the Tellico Archaeological Project, which included a series of salvage excavations conducted in the Little Tennessee River
basin in the 1970s, archaeologists used Timberlake's "Draught of the Cherokee Country" to help locate major Overhill village sites.
in 1730. Although he inherited a small fortune when his father died, Timberlake still had to support himself, and sought a military career. In 1756, at the outset of the French and Indian War
, he joined a Virginia militia company known as the "Patriot Blues." It had embarked on a campaign to expel French and Native American raiders in the western part of the colony. Shortly thereafter, he applied for a commission in the Virginia regiment—then commanded by George Washington
—but was denied due to a lack of vacancies.
In 1758, Timberlake successfully applied for a commission in Colonel William Byrd's
recently formed 2nd Virginia Regiment. Commissioned as an Ensign, Timberlake accompanied the regiment on its march to Fort Duquesne
, but illness kept him from proceeding. In 1759, he took part in several minor operations in the Pittsburgh
area, mostly overseeing the construction of defensive works.
In 1760, British relations with the Cherokee, which had been moderately friendly for several decades, grew sour after several Cherokee chiefs were imprisoned and killed in South Carolina. In early 1760, the Cherokee laid siege to Fort Loudoun
, a remote outpost in what is now Tennessee
. The garrison held out until August of that year, but was forced to surrender to lack of provisions. In spite of leaving under a flag of truce, the garrison was massacred on its march home. In 1761, the British colonies responded, with South Carolina sending James Grant against the Lower towns and Virginia sending Byrd against the Overhill and Middle towns.
While Byrd proceeded to destroy the Cherokee Middle towns in North Carolina, he dispatched Colonel Adam Stephen into the Holston River
valley to attack the Overhill towns. Timberlake accompanied Stephen to Long Island of the Holston (in modern-day Sullivan County, Tennessee), where they began building a base known as "Fort Robinson" and made preparations to march south.
(a sergeant at the time), an interpreter named John McCormack, and an unknown servant. The group purchased a canoe and 10 days' worth of provisions with money Sumter had borrowed. The plan was to follow the Holston River to its confluence with the French Broad River
, and then proceed to the Little Tennessee River, where the Overhill towns were situated.
Timberlake's party left Long Island on November 28, 1761. The Holston River's unusually low water levels almost immediately stalled the journey as the party was forced to drag the canoe over exposed shoals and sandbars. The party ran out of provisions after several days, but McCormack managed to shoot a bear, supplying them with several days' worth of meat. Around December 7, the party explored a stalactite-filled cave situated approximately 50 feet above the river, and Timberlake described an incident in which Sumter swam nearly a half-mile in the near-freezing river waters to retrieve their canoe, which had somehow drifted away while they were exploring the cave.
On December 13, the expedition reached a series of treacherous cascades that Timberlake called "Great Falls." The party spent a whole day carefully maneuvering their way down the cascades only to find the Holston frozen over immediately downstream. The ice slowed the expedition's progress, but rains on the night of December 14 thawed the ice, and the party passed through the mouth of the Holston (in modern Knoxville
) into what is now the Tennessee River
on December 15.
The deeper waters of the Tennessee River allowed the Timberlake expedition to proceed much more quickly. A hunting party led by the Cherokee chief Slave Catcher met the Timberlake expedition near the mouth of the Little Tennessee River, and supplied the weary expedition with provisions of "dried venison, homminy, and boiled corn." The following day, Slave Catcher guided the expedition up the Little Tennessee, although the Timberlake party struggled to keep up, with Timberlake recalling, "my hands were so galled, that the blood trickled from them, and when we set out the next morning I was scarce able to handle a pole." The Timberlake party arrived in the Overhill town of Tomotley
on December 20, where they were greeted by the town's head man, Chief Ostenaco
.
After spending several days in Tomotley as guests of Ostenaco, Timberlake and McCormack proceeded to the Overhill mother town of Chota
, where a number of chiefs had gathered in the town's large councilhouse. Ostenaco gave a speech and ceremoniously buried a hatchet
in the ground, symbolizing a state of peace between the English and the Cherokee. Afterward, Timberlake partook in a ceremony in which he smoked several peace pipes with the gathered chiefs, a practice Timberlake personally found "very disagreeable," but participated without openly complaining.
Timberlake and Ostenaco continued southward to Citico
, where Timberlake was greeted by a ceremonial dance involving some 400 Cherokee. Timberlake recalled that the dancers were "painted all over in a hideous manner" and that they "danced in a very uncommon figure." The town's chief, Cheulah, presented Timberlake with a string of beads and held another pipe-smoking ceremony. The non-stop pipe smoking made Timberlake so sick that he "could not stir for several hours." The following day, Timberlake and Ostenaco traveled to Chilhowee
, the second southernmost of the Overhill towns on Timberlake's map, where the town's chief, Yachtino, held a peace procession similar to that at Citico.
The Timberlake party had decided to make the return trip overland, having purchased horses from the Cherokee. Ostenaco, accompanied by several hundred Cherokee warriors, guided the Timberlake group northward across what is now known as the Great Indian Warpath
, which follows the western base of the Appalachian Mountains. On March 11, the party arrived at the abandoned village of Elajoy along Little River
in what is now Maryville
, and crossed the French Broad River the following day. A week later, they reached Fort Robinson, which the Stephen garrison had abandoned but had left behind a large supply of flour. The expedition left Long Island on March 22, continuing northward to an abandoned army camp where Timberlake was despaired to find that a trunk containing his belongings had been looted. The party finally arrived in Williamsburg
in early April.
.
Arriving in early June, the Cherokee were an immediate attraction, drawing crowds all over the city. The poet Oliver Goldsmith
waited for three hours to meet the Cherokee, and offered a gift to Ostenaco. They sat for Sir Joshua Reynolds to take their portraits, and they met personally with King George III. The Cherokee returned to North America with Sergeant Sumter on about August 25, 1762. Timberlake remained in England dealing with some financial difficulties. He was appointed by Crown Governor of Virginia, Jeffrey Amherst, a Lieutenant in the "42nd or Royal Highland Regiment of foot," and the pay from this appointment allowed him to pay for his return to Virginia in March 1763.
Having reached Virginia, Timberlake set out for New York to meet with Amherst to receive his commission. Not long afterward, he received notice that he was among a number of officers to be reduced to half pay. Having learned this, he left the militia and returned home to Virginia to petition the General Assembly
for his expenses for the journey to be recompensed, but was denied.
In the summer of 1764, five Cherokee visited him, seeking an audience with the governor of Virginia and requesting passage to London
. The Cherokee wished to appeal to King George to enforce the Proclamation Line of 1763, due to continuing encroachement of white settlers on Cherokee land. The governor denied their request, but Timberlake agreed to help them, and he and three of the Cherokee reached London in the fall of 1764. Not long after their arrival, the benefactor of the trip fell ill and died. Lord Halifax
refused to grant the Cherokee an audience, as the trip was unauthorized. Timberlake was accused of attempting to profit off of the public attention given to the Cherokee. The government sent the Cherokee back to North America in March. Shortly after their departure, Timberlake was arrested for failing to pay the debt for the last bill for lodging of himself and the Cherokee. He likely wrote his Memoirs while incarcerated.
Along with methods of warfare, Timberlake described Cherokee agricultural and hunting habits, religious beliefs, birth and death rites, and marital habits. He described Cherokee government as a "mixed aristocracy and democracy," with chiefs chosen on the basis of merit. The journals also contain information regarding Cherokee methods for building canoes and dwellings, and the general size and form of Cherokee summer and winter houses. Timberlake's description of the Cherokee councilhouse— the central structure in a typical Cherokee village— has aided archaeologists in the location of such structures at modern excavation sites.
Timberlake's map, entitled "A Draught of the Cherokee Country," accompanied the journal. On it he located all the Cherokee villages on the lower Little Tennessee River and provided important demographic information about village sizes, populations, and leaders. Modern studies have generally confirmed that Timberlake's map was remarkably accurate. The journal, simply entitled Memoirs, and his map of the Overhill Cherokee country have been reprinted several times. Timberlake's Memoirs remains one of the best contemporary accounts of the 18th-century Cherokee.
Anglo-America
Anglo-America is a region in the Americas in which English is a main language, or one which has significant British historical, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural links...
n officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, and cartographer. He was born in Virginia in 1730 and died in England. He is best known for his work as an emissary to the Overhill Cherokee
Overhill Cherokee
The term Overhill Cherokee refers to the former Cherokee settlements located in what is now Tennessee in the southeastern United States. The name was given by 18th century European traders and explorers who had to cross the Appalachian Mountains to reach these settlements when traveling from...
during the 1760s.
Timberlake's account of his journeys to the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
, published as his memoirs in 1765, became a primary source for later studies of their eighteenth-century culture. His detailed descriptions of Cherokee villages, townhouses, weapons, and tools have helped historians and anthropologists identify Cherokee structures and cultural objects uncovered at modern archeological excavation sites throughout the southern Appalachian region. During the Tellico Archaeological Project, which included a series of salvage excavations conducted in the Little Tennessee River
Little Tennessee River
The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River, approximately 135 miles long, in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.-Geography:...
basin in the 1970s, archaeologists used Timberlake's "Draught of the Cherokee Country" to help locate major Overhill village sites.
Early life and career
Henry Timberlake was probably born in Hanover County, VirginiaHanover County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 86,320 people, 31,121 households, and 24,461 families residing in the county. The population density was 183 people per square mile . There were 32,196 housing units at an average density of 68 per square mile...
in 1730. Although he inherited a small fortune when his father died, Timberlake still had to support himself, and sought a military career. In 1756, at the outset of the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, he joined a Virginia militia company known as the "Patriot Blues." It had embarked on a campaign to expel French and Native American raiders in the western part of the colony. Shortly thereafter, he applied for a commission in the Virginia regiment—then commanded by George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
—but was denied due to a lack of vacancies.
In 1758, Timberlake successfully applied for a commission in Colonel William Byrd's
William Byrd III
William Byrd III was the son of William Byrd II and the grandson of William Byrd I. He inherited his family's land in Virginia and continued their planter prestige as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses.He chose to fight in the French and Indian War rather than spend much time in Richmond...
recently formed 2nd Virginia Regiment. Commissioned as an Ensign, Timberlake accompanied the regiment on its march to Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
, but illness kept him from proceeding. In 1759, he took part in several minor operations in the Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
area, mostly overseeing the construction of defensive works.
In 1760, British relations with the Cherokee, which had been moderately friendly for several decades, grew sour after several Cherokee chiefs were imprisoned and killed in South Carolina. In early 1760, the Cherokee laid siege to Fort Loudoun
Fort Loudoun (Tennessee)
Fort Loudoun was a British colonial fort in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee, near the towns of the Overhill Cherokee. The fort was reconstructed during the Great Depression and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.-History:...
, a remote outpost in what is now Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. The garrison held out until August of that year, but was forced to surrender to lack of provisions. In spite of leaving under a flag of truce, the garrison was massacred on its march home. In 1761, the British colonies responded, with South Carolina sending James Grant against the Lower towns and Virginia sending Byrd against the Overhill and Middle towns.
While Byrd proceeded to destroy the Cherokee Middle towns in North Carolina, he dispatched Colonel Adam Stephen into the Holston River
Holston River
The Holston River is a major river system of southwestern Virginia and east Tennessee. The three major forks of the Holston rise in southwestern Virginia and have their confluence near Kingsport, Tennessee. The North Fork flows southwest from Sharon Springs in Bland County, Virginia...
valley to attack the Overhill towns. Timberlake accompanied Stephen to Long Island of the Holston (in modern-day Sullivan County, Tennessee), where they began building a base known as "Fort Robinson" and made preparations to march south.
Journey to the Overhill country
On November 19, 1761, as Fort Robinson was nearing completion, a 400-man Cherokee force led by Chief Kanagatucko (sometimes called "Old Hop") arrived at the camp and asked for peace, which was immediately granted by Col. Stephen. Kanagatucko asked for an officer to accompany him to the Overhill towns as proof that hostilities had ended. Stephen was reluctant to allow it, but granted the request when Timberlake volunteered. Timberlake would be accompanied by Thomas SumterThomas Sumter
Thomas Sumter nicknamed the "Carolina Gamecock" , was a hero of the American Revolution and went on to become a longtime member of the Congress of the United States.-Early life:Thomas Sumter was born near Charlottesville in Hanover County, Virginia in 1734...
(a sergeant at the time), an interpreter named John McCormack, and an unknown servant. The group purchased a canoe and 10 days' worth of provisions with money Sumter had borrowed. The plan was to follow the Holston River to its confluence with the French Broad River
French Broad River
The French Broad River flows from near the village of Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into the state of Tennessee. Its confluence with the Holston River at Knoxville is the beginning of the Tennessee River....
, and then proceed to the Little Tennessee River, where the Overhill towns were situated.
Timberlake's party left Long Island on November 28, 1761. The Holston River's unusually low water levels almost immediately stalled the journey as the party was forced to drag the canoe over exposed shoals and sandbars. The party ran out of provisions after several days, but McCormack managed to shoot a bear, supplying them with several days' worth of meat. Around December 7, the party explored a stalactite-filled cave situated approximately 50 feet above the river, and Timberlake described an incident in which Sumter swam nearly a half-mile in the near-freezing river waters to retrieve their canoe, which had somehow drifted away while they were exploring the cave.
On December 13, the expedition reached a series of treacherous cascades that Timberlake called "Great Falls." The party spent a whole day carefully maneuvering their way down the cascades only to find the Holston frozen over immediately downstream. The ice slowed the expedition's progress, but rains on the night of December 14 thawed the ice, and the party passed through the mouth of the Holston (in modern Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
) into what is now the Tennessee River
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
on December 15.
The Overhill country
Tomotley
Tomotley is a prehistoric and historic Native American site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Occupied as early as the Archaic period, the Tomotley site had the most substantial periods of habitation during the Mississippian period, likely when the earthwork mounds...
on December 20, where they were greeted by the town's head man, Chief Ostenaco
Ostenaco
Ostenaco , who preferred to go by the warrior's title he earned at any early age, "Mankiller" , also known as Judd's Friend, who lived c...
.
After spending several days in Tomotley as guests of Ostenaco, Timberlake and McCormack proceeded to the Overhill mother town of Chota
Chota (Cherokee town)
Chota is a historic Overhill Cherokee site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. For much of its history, Chota was the most important of the Overhill towns, serving as the de facto capital of the Cherokee people from the late 1740s until 1788...
, where a number of chiefs had gathered in the town's large councilhouse. Ostenaco gave a speech and ceremoniously buried a hatchet
Bury the Hatchet
Bury the hatchet is an American English colloquialism meaning "to make peace." The phrase is an allusion to the figurative or literal practice of putting away the tomahawk at the cessation of hostilities among or by Native Americans in the Eastern United States, specifically concerning the...
in the ground, symbolizing a state of peace between the English and the Cherokee. Afterward, Timberlake partook in a ceremony in which he smoked several peace pipes with the gathered chiefs, a practice Timberlake personally found "very disagreeable," but participated without openly complaining.
Timberlake and Ostenaco continued southward to Citico
Citico (Tellico archaeological site)
Citico is a prehistoric and historic Native American site in Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The site's namesake Cherokee village was the largest of the Overhill towns, housing an estimated population of 1,000 by the mid-18th century...
, where Timberlake was greeted by a ceremonial dance involving some 400 Cherokee. Timberlake recalled that the dancers were "painted all over in a hideous manner" and that they "danced in a very uncommon figure." The town's chief, Cheulah, presented Timberlake with a string of beads and held another pipe-smoking ceremony. The non-stop pipe smoking made Timberlake so sick that he "could not stir for several hours." The following day, Timberlake and Ostenaco traveled to Chilhowee
Chilhowee (Cherokee town)
Chilhowee was a prehistoric and historic Native American site in Blount County and Monroe County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States...
, the second southernmost of the Overhill towns on Timberlake's map, where the town's chief, Yachtino, held a peace procession similar to that at Citico.
Return to Virginia
His assignment largely completed, Timberlake returned to Tomotley with Ostenaco on January 2, 1762. Timberlake spent the next few weeks studying Cherokee habits and making notes for his map of the Overhill country. At the end of January, rumors began trickling in from Cherokee scouts of renewed hostilities with rival tribes to the north. Although the rumors turned out to be based on a misunderstanding, Timberlake nevertheless grew anxious and begged Ostenaco to guide him back to Virginia. Ostenaco reluctantly agreed, and the party set out on March 10, 1762. Just before departure, Timberlake witnessed the ceremonial return of a war party led by Chief Willinawaw. The party sang "the war-song" and planted a scalp-filled pole next to the councilhouse door.The Timberlake party had decided to make the return trip overland, having purchased horses from the Cherokee. Ostenaco, accompanied by several hundred Cherokee warriors, guided the Timberlake group northward across what is now known as the Great Indian Warpath
Great Indian Warpath
The Great Indian Warpath — also known as the Great Indian War and Trading Path, or the Seneca Trail — was that part of the network of trails in eastern North America developed and used by Native Americans which ran through the Great Appalachian Valley...
, which follows the western base of the Appalachian Mountains. On March 11, the party arrived at the abandoned village of Elajoy along Little River
Little River (Tennessee)
Little River is a scenic river in Tennessee which drains a area containing some of the most spectacular scenery in the southeastern United States. The first of the river are all located within the borders of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park...
in what is now Maryville
Maryville, Tennessee
Maryville is the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. The city is located south of Knoxville. Maryville's population was 27,258 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Maryville has received a number of accolades for its...
, and crossed the French Broad River the following day. A week later, they reached Fort Robinson, which the Stephen garrison had abandoned but had left behind a large supply of flour. The expedition left Long Island on March 22, continuing northward to an abandoned army camp where Timberlake was despaired to find that a trunk containing his belongings had been looted. The party finally arrived in Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
in early April.
Visits to London
While in Williamsburg, Timberlake and Ostenaco attended a dinner party at William & Mary College at which Ostenaco professed his desire to meet the king of England. Although he feared the trip would break him financially, Timberlake agreed. In May of 1762, Timberlake, Sumter, and three distinguished Cherokee leaders, including Ostenaco, departed for LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Arriving in early June, the Cherokee were an immediate attraction, drawing crowds all over the city. The poet Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
waited for three hours to meet the Cherokee, and offered a gift to Ostenaco. They sat for Sir Joshua Reynolds to take their portraits, and they met personally with King George III. The Cherokee returned to North America with Sergeant Sumter on about August 25, 1762. Timberlake remained in England dealing with some financial difficulties. He was appointed by Crown Governor of Virginia, Jeffrey Amherst, a Lieutenant in the "42nd or Royal Highland Regiment of foot," and the pay from this appointment allowed him to pay for his return to Virginia in March 1763.
Having reached Virginia, Timberlake set out for New York to meet with Amherst to receive his commission. Not long afterward, he received notice that he was among a number of officers to be reduced to half pay. Having learned this, he left the militia and returned home to Virginia to petition the General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
for his expenses for the journey to be recompensed, but was denied.
In the summer of 1764, five Cherokee visited him, seeking an audience with the governor of Virginia and requesting passage to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The Cherokee wished to appeal to King George to enforce the Proclamation Line of 1763, due to continuing encroachement of white settlers on Cherokee land. The governor denied their request, but Timberlake agreed to help them, and he and three of the Cherokee reached London in the fall of 1764. Not long after their arrival, the benefactor of the trip fell ill and died. Lord Halifax
George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax
George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, KG, PC was a British statesman of the Georgian era.-Early life:...
refused to grant the Cherokee an audience, as the trip was unauthorized. Timberlake was accused of attempting to profit off of the public attention given to the Cherokee. The government sent the Cherokee back to North America in March. Shortly after their departure, Timberlake was arrested for failing to pay the debt for the last bill for lodging of himself and the Cherokee. He likely wrote his Memoirs while incarcerated.
Legacy
Timberlake's primary legacy is the journal he kept while living with the Cherokee. Published in 1765, the volume was likely released posthumously. The journal is of importance both as an ethnological study, as it contains detailed descriptions of various facets of Cherokee society, and as a historical account, as it gives insight into Cherokee political decision-making and the tribe's early reactions to the encroaching European colonists.Along with methods of warfare, Timberlake described Cherokee agricultural and hunting habits, religious beliefs, birth and death rites, and marital habits. He described Cherokee government as a "mixed aristocracy and democracy," with chiefs chosen on the basis of merit. The journals also contain information regarding Cherokee methods for building canoes and dwellings, and the general size and form of Cherokee summer and winter houses. Timberlake's description of the Cherokee councilhouse— the central structure in a typical Cherokee village— has aided archaeologists in the location of such structures at modern excavation sites.
Timberlake's map, entitled "A Draught of the Cherokee Country," accompanied the journal. On it he located all the Cherokee villages on the lower Little Tennessee River and provided important demographic information about village sizes, populations, and leaders. Modern studies have generally confirmed that Timberlake's map was remarkably accurate. The journal, simply entitled Memoirs, and his map of the Overhill Cherokee country have been reprinted several times. Timberlake's Memoirs remains one of the best contemporary accounts of the 18th-century Cherokee.