- Cherokee Nation participant in 1838 Trail of Tears forced removal
Biography
Charlotte Lightfoot Adair Bell was born 1784 in Adairsville, Bartow County, Georgia, United States to John Adair (1754-1815) and Nancy Ga-Ho-Ga Lightfoot (1760-1789) and died September 1838 United States of unspecified causes. She married John Christopher Bell (1782-1852) 1804 in South Carolina, United States.
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears painting by Robert Lindneux
The Trail of Tears was a series of forced relocations of Native American peoples from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern United States, to areas to the west (usually west of the Mississippi River) that had been designated as Indian Territory. The forced relocations were carried out by government authorities following the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. The relocated peoples suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation while en route to their new designated reserve, and many died before reaching their destinations. The forced removals included members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Ponca nations. The phrase "Trail of Tears" originates from a description of the removal of many Native American tribes, including the infamous Cherokee Nation relocation in 1838.
Between 1830 and 1850, the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee people (including mixed-race and black slaves who lived among them) were forcibly removed from their traditional lands in the Southeastern United States, and relocated farther west. Those Native Americans who were relocated were forced to march to their destinations by state and local militias. The Cherokee removal in 1838 (the last forced removal east of the Mississippi) was brought on by the discovery of gold near Dahlonega, Georgia in 1828, resulting in the Georgia Gold Rush. Approximately 2,000–8,000 of the 16,543 relocated Cherokee perished along the way.
Charlotte probably died at the beginning of the Trail of Tears. Her son led one of the caravans from Fort Cass, Tennessee to Arkansas. Their start date is two weeks after Charlotte's death date.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| John Adair Bell (1806-1860) | 1 January 1805 South Carolina, United States | 1 May 1860 Rusk County, Texas, United States | Jane Jennie Martin (1816-1838) Elizabeth Harnage (1820-1847) Ellen Drowningbear (1814-1896) Sabra Lynch (1808-1863) |
| Elizabeth Hughes Bell (1807-1848) | |||
| Silas Bell (1808-1883) | |||
| David Bell (1809-1848) | |||
| Samuel Bell (1812-) | |||
| Nancy Bell (1814-1864) | |||
| Devereaux Jarrett Bell (1817-1875) | |||
| Sarah Caroline Bell (1820-1882) | |||
| Ruth Bell (1822-1835) | |||
| Charlotte Bell (1825-1912) | |||
| James Madison Bell (1826-1915) | |||
| Martha Jane Bell (1827-1857) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Samuel Jefferson Adair (1781-1845) | |||
| Walter Washington Adair (1783-1835) | 11 December 1783 Adairsville, Bartow County, Georgia, United States | 12 January 1835 Adairsville, Bartow County, Georgia, United States | Rachel Thompson (1786-1876) |
| Charlotte Lightfoot Adair (1784-1838) | 1784 Adairsville, Bartow County, Georgia, United States | September 1838 United States | John Christopher Bell (1782-1852) |
| John Adair (1787-1821) | |||
| Edward Adair (1789-1864) | 7 February 1789 Adairsville, Bartow County, Georgia, United States | 21 December 1864 Oklahoma, United States | Martha Mariann Ritchie (1790-1857) |
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| James Adair (1792-) | |||
| Thomas Benjamin Adair (1794-1836) | |||
| John Alexander Adair (1794-1865) | |||
| James Adair (1795-1850) | |||
| Margaret Jane Adiar (1797-1867) | |||
| William Henry Adair (1798-1833) | |||
| Charles Duncan Adair (1798-1890) | |||
| Elbert Earl Adair (1804-1835) | |||
| Mary Ann Adair (1806-1896) | |||
| Benjamin Franklin Adair (1810-1850) | |||
| George Washington Adair (1814-1862) | |||
Residences
See Also
- Charlotte Adair
- Adair Family
- Adair in Bartow County, Georgia