- Birth Name (Cherokee): Walter Scott Wa di lu ga gah Adair
- Cherokee Nation Supreme Court Justice
- Cherokee Nation participant in 1838 Trail of Tears forced removal
- Signer:1835 Treaty of New Echota
- Signer:1839 Cherokee Constitution
Walter Scott "Red Watt" Adair was born 28 January 1791 in South Carolina, United States to Edward Adair (1756-1800) and Elizabeth Martin (c1760-1816) and died 26 September 1854 Stilwell, Adair County, Oklahoma, United States of unspecified causes. He married Nancy Nerche Harris (1807-1884) 16 November 1824 in Georgia, United States.
"On this day in Cherokee history... January 28, 1791"
Former Cherokee Supreme Court Justice Walter Scott "Red Watt" Adair was born on this day 231 years ago. He was born in the Cherokee Nation East, in South Carolina, to parents Edward Adair and Betsy Scott. In 1824, Walter Scott Adair married Nancy Harris, daughter of James Harris and Lucy Fields. During Cherokee Forced Removal, Adair served as assistant conductor of the detachment led by Richard Taylor. He singed the new Cherokee constitution in 1839, and was appointed as an associate justice of the Cherokee Supreme Court. He also served two terms as the superintendent of education for Cherokee schools. He died September 26, 1854 at his home in the Flint District. He was buried in the Adair family cemetery, which later became the Stilwell City Cemetery in Stilwell, Adair County, Oklahoma. (Source: Goingsnake District Heritage Association)
Notable Events
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.
11th Detachment: Richard Taylor, Conductor; Walter Scott Adair, Asst. Conductor; 897 left Nov. 6, 1838 from Ooltewah Creek camp and 942 arrived March 24, 1839 at Woodall's place(55 deaths, 15 births). Missionary Rev. Daniel Butrick accompanied this detachment, and his daily journal has been published.
Children
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Elizabeth Adair (1786-1835) | |||
| Walter Scott Adair (1791-1854) | 28 January 1791 South Carolina, United States | 26 September 1854 Stilwell, Adair County, Oklahoma, United States | Nancy Nerche Harris (1807-1884) |
| James Adair (1793-1814) | |||
| Edward Adair (1794-) | |||
Residences
Vital Records
Stilwell Gravestone
- Location : Stilwell City Cemetery, Adair County, Oklahoma
- Col Walter Scott Adair at Find A Grave
See Also
- Walter Adair
- Adair Family
- Adair Family Ancestry
- Adair in Adair County, Oklahoma
- Cherokee removal - Wikipedia