Sam Story
Encyclopedia
Sam Story, also named Timpoochee Kinnard, was Chief of the Walton County, Florida
, band of Euchee (Yuchi
) Indians in the early 19th century, who occupied the lands on and to the west of the Choctawhatchee River. His parents were Timothy Kinnard, a white man of Scottish descent, and an unknown Yuchi woman. The chief was a well known figure in the Florida Panhandle
and was highly respected by whites, who migrated to the area in ever-increasing numbers following the acquisition of Florida by the United States from Spain in 1821.
In the spring of 1820, Neil McLendon and brother-in-law Daniel Campbell moved their families from Richmond County, North Carolina
, to Walton County, Florida, where they were invited by Chief Sam Story to settle on lands adjoining his on Bruce Creek in the Euchee Valley. These Scots first camped near Pensacola
and met the Chief in town when he was there trading for supplies. After becoming the first white settlers in Walton County, they were soon joined by other relatives and friends, drawn by the fertility of the soil and the unspoiled wilderness.
However, by 1832, other white people had moved into the area and were wantonly destroying the wildlife as well as starting forest fires. Both the McLennans and old Chief Story decided to depart for better places; the Chief sent his sons to scout for lands to the east, while many of the McLennans and their kin decided to head west by boat, and became prominent early settlers of what later was named McLennan County, Texas
.
Chief Sam Story died just before his tribe moved, and is buried south of the fork of Bruce Creek and the Choctawhatchee River
. After three weeks of mourning, about 500 Euchees went southward to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, embarking on their canoes at Story's Landing, near the burial site of the chief, southeast of the modern community of Red Bay in Walton County. Story's Landing is marked by a man-made marker in the Choctawhatchee River at N30° 35.979, W83° 54.911. They then traveled eastward, both by land and by water. Nothing further was heard of them. Some may have eventually settled with the Seminole Indians in South Florida. It is definitely known, however, that the United States Army
forced some of the Walton County Euchees and several other small West Florida
bands to relocate west of the Mississippi River
.
Chief Sam Story had three sons, Jim Crow, Swift Hunter and Sleeping Fire, and three daughters, Leaping Water, Quiet Water and Round Water. Jim Crow, and perhaps others of the tribe, left numerous descendants, some of them called Dominickers
, in Walton
, Holmes
, and Washington
counties.
Walton County, Florida
Walton County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 40,601. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 50,324. Its county seat is DeFuniak Springs, Florida. The county is home to the highest natural point in Florida: Britton Hill, at .- History...
, band of Euchee (Yuchi
Yuchi
For the Chinese surname 尉迟, see Yuchi.The Yuchi, also spelled Euchee and Uchee, are a Native American Indian tribe who traditionally lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley in Tennessee in the 16th century. During the 17th century, they moved south to Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina...
) Indians in the early 19th century, who occupied the lands on and to the west of the Choctawhatchee River. His parents were Timothy Kinnard, a white man of Scottish descent, and an unknown Yuchi woman. The chief was a well known figure in the Florida Panhandle
Florida Panhandle
The Florida Panhandle, an informal, unofficial term for the northwestern part of Florida, is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide , lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is...
and was highly respected by whites, who migrated to the area in ever-increasing numbers following the acquisition of Florida by the United States from Spain in 1821.
In the spring of 1820, Neil McLendon and brother-in-law Daniel Campbell moved their families from Richmond County, North Carolina
Richmond County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 46,564 people, 17,873 households, and 12,582 families residing in the county. The population density was 98 people per square mile . There were 19,886 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile...
, to Walton County, Florida, where they were invited by Chief Sam Story to settle on lands adjoining his on Bruce Creek in the Euchee Valley. These Scots first camped near Pensacola
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
and met the Chief in town when he was there trading for supplies. After becoming the first white settlers in Walton County, they were soon joined by other relatives and friends, drawn by the fertility of the soil and the unspoiled wilderness.
However, by 1832, other white people had moved into the area and were wantonly destroying the wildlife as well as starting forest fires. Both the McLennans and old Chief Story decided to depart for better places; the Chief sent his sons to scout for lands to the east, while many of the McLennans and their kin decided to head west by boat, and became prominent early settlers of what later was named McLennan County, Texas
McLennan County, Texas
McLennan County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. In 2000, its population was 213,517; in 2008 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population to be 230,213. Its seat is Waco. The county is named for Neil McLennan, an early settler....
.
Chief Sam Story died just before his tribe moved, and is buried south of the fork of Bruce Creek and the Choctawhatchee River
Choctawhatchee River
The Choctawhatchee River is a river in the southern United States, flowing through southeast Alabama and the Panhandle of Florida before emptying into Choctawhatchee Bay in Okaloosa and Walton counties...
. After three weeks of mourning, about 500 Euchees went southward to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, embarking on their canoes at Story's Landing, near the burial site of the chief, southeast of the modern community of Red Bay in Walton County. Story's Landing is marked by a man-made marker in the Choctawhatchee River at N30° 35.979, W83° 54.911. They then traveled eastward, both by land and by water. Nothing further was heard of them. Some may have eventually settled with the Seminole Indians in South Florida. It is definitely known, however, that the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
forced some of the Walton County Euchees and several other small West Florida
West Florida
West Florida was a region on the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico, which underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. West Florida was first established in 1763 by the British government; as its name suggests it largely consisted of the western portion of the region...
bands to relocate west of the Mississippi River
Indian Removal
Indian removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
.
Chief Sam Story had three sons, Jim Crow, Swift Hunter and Sleeping Fire, and three daughters, Leaping Water, Quiet Water and Round Water. Jim Crow, and perhaps others of the tribe, left numerous descendants, some of them called Dominickers
Dominickers
The Dominickers were a small biracial or triracial ethnic group that was once centered in the Florida Panhandle county of Holmes, in a corner of the southern part of the county west of the Choctawhatchee River, near the town of Ponce de Leon...
, in Walton
Walton County, Florida
Walton County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 40,601. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 50,324. Its county seat is DeFuniak Springs, Florida. The county is home to the highest natural point in Florida: Britton Hill, at .- History...
, Holmes
Holmes County, Florida
Holmes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 18,564. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 19,264 . Its county seat is Bonifay, Florida.-History:...
, and Washington
Washington County, Florida
Washington County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 20,973. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 22,299. Its county seat is Chipley, Florida...
counties.
Sources
- John Love McKinnon, History of Walton County. Atlanta: Byrd Printing, 1911. Electronic version created 2002 by the State University System of Florida, pp. 62–66, 94-97. http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?a=51;sid=461e88087b9afbfb79102356ee744f1d;idno=WF00000103;c=fhp;cc=fhp;view=jpg;seq=76;size=s
- E. W. Carswell, Holmesteading: The History of Holmes County, Florida, published by the author at Chipley, Florida, 1986 (available in print only)
- Clayton Gillis Metcalf, Scots and Their Kin, Volume I: Gilli(e)s, Padgett, Arrant, McQuagge, McLennan, published by the author at Enterprise, Alabama, 1984 (available in print only)