George Harlin Starr

George Harlin Starr George Harlin Star was born in east Tennessee in the vicinity of what is now Etowah and Benton, Tennessee. This was on May 4, 1800. He was the son of Caleb Starr and Nancy Harlin. Thus he was a great-grand-son of Nancy Ward who was a woman chief of the Cherokees. He was first married to Nell Carr and from this union one child, Jane was born October 30, 1830. His second wife was Nancy Bell, daughter of John Bell and Charlotte Adair. This marriage was in Tennessee prior to the removal of the Cherokees to the west. Nancy Bell was also a sister to John Adair Bell who was a signer of the Cherokee Emigration Treaty of 1835. Also she was a sister of Sarah Bell who was the wife of Stand Watie a Confederate General of the Civil War. Stand Watie was the last general to lay down his arms after the close of the Civil War. A note of tragic is the fact that Stand Watie and Sarah Bell have no living descendants today, their children having died in their youth. George Harlin with his family and his father's (Caleb) family moved westward in 1838 prior to the compulsory removal in 1839. It is thought that most of their journey was by steamshi1> rather than overland with wagons as was common in the forced removal. Trouble had already begun in the east so together with other members of the family already with the Western Cherokees were reasons for removal. The Western Cherokees or Arkansas Cherokees had made a settlement as early as 1809. These early settlements were around Dardanelle, Arkansas. George Harlin Starr settled in what is now the Oak Grove Community. IIis sister Ruth Starr Bean had been in this area for several years and was known as being a member of the Western Cherokee Group. There was a government among them similar to the Eastern Cherokees however instead of one Chief there were three. By the treaty of 1817 this band was made secure by title and government protection. They were the conservative, hunter element of the tribe, and it was their purpose to restore the old Indian life in the western wilderness, from which their brethren in the east were drifting away. His son Ezekial Starr was elected Senator from Flint District in August, 1883: and elected Treasurer of the Cherokee Nation on December 23, 1891. He made the Strip Payment of over seven million dollars to the Cherokee nation: and one of the proud heritages of the family is the fact that no one ever accused him of appropriating a dollar of this or any other fund placed in his trust. George Harlin Starr was born May 4, 1800, died September 28, 1879 and is buried in the Starr Cemetery located on the Joe Starr farm south of Stilwell. Information regarding dates of birth and deaths and names of children are listed as follows: Nancy Bell Starr b. July 14, 1814, d. September 14, 1864. Their children were: I. Jane Starr (Mother: Nellie Carr) b. October 30, 1830, d. January 4, 1854, m. George Howard; 2. William K. Starr b. March 9, 1835, d. September 9, 1958, not married; 3. Charlotte Starr b. December 28, 1840, d. September 29, 1845; 4. John Walker Starr b. July 8, 1842, d. June 19, 1862; 5. Mary Francis Starr b. March 24, 1844 d. October 28, 1928, m. Lucien Burr Bell 6. George Colbert Starr b. March 21, 1847, d. June 29, 1876; 7. Ezekial Eugene Starr b. August 28, 1849, d. October 5, 1905, m. Margaret Starr; 8. Joseph Jarrette Starr b. December 21, 1851, d. August 16, 1872; 9. Caleb Ellis Starr b. May 26, 1854, d. September 21, 1925, m. Malgerine Elizabeth Adair and Jennie Butler; 10. Samuel Jesse Starr b. October 23, 1857, d. April 1, 1942, m. Sarah Ruth McClure. By: Denton M. Starr