Thomas Howard and Skyuka
While doing some research on Thomas Howard and Letty Durham because of DNA results, I found out there was a Thomas Howard who was friendly with the Cherokees, but likely did not become involved with them until some time between 1765 and 1771 when William Tryon served as governor of North Carolina. Unfortunately, this is another one of those dead-end ancestor trails, but a very interesting tale.
The story, as I have pieced it together from several sources, which may or may not be accurate, is that Governor Tryon sent a scout by the name of Thomas Howard to check out that part of North Carolina, which was actually in South Carolina, around what is now the city of Tryon.
There are several areas of contention in the story, so I am going by the one I find most interesting. Howard was apparently living near the Pacolet River in the Tryon area when he met a young Cherokee boy, Skyuka, who had been bitten by a rattlesnake; he took him to his home and saved the boy’s life. The two became friends and in 1776 (five years after Tryon left office), when a group of Cherokees met at Round Mountain and planned an attack on the Block House near Tryon, Skyuka, with other members of his clan, warned Captain Thomas Howard, then commander of a group of American militia, of the impending attack. This information allowed Howard to win the battle.
The Thomas Howard who took part in the fight of 1776 is thought to be the Thomas Howard who married Nancy Gosnell. They lived in that part of Greenville County known as Dark Corner. The problem I have with this is that Thomas is believed to have been born in 1760, making him 16 years old in 1776. I don’t believe a 16 year old would have been a commanding officer in the militia with the rank of captain. When you also figure in the dates that Tryon served as governor, he would have been 11 years old in the last year of Tryon’s reign, provided we could find proof that Tryon sent a Howard on a scouting mission to that part of South Carolina.
It seems more likely the Thomas Howard who befriended Skyuka was perhaps the father of the Thomas who married Nancy Gosnell. He was likely born by 1740 and possibly even earlier. It would be interesting to see if a DNA test of the descendents of this Howard could give us any clues to their ancestry.
August 11th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Alexander & Joanna Tripples had three sons. Your Thomas is the son of Peter Howard. Thomas Howard, b. FEB 25, 1760. He married Mary (Polly) Gosnell, C 1785.
John Milton is another son of Alexander. I am descended from him. This side seemed to go to SC, stay there for a few generations and then spend 200 years in DeKalb or Fulton Georgia.
Some stories, as you said, don’t list Thomas as friendly to the Cherokee. There is a statue of him in. Here is the text I found regarding this statue:
A MONUMENT ERECTED TO HONOR THOMAS HOWARD ON BLUE RIDGE MTN IN 1909 STATED “ERECTED TO COMMEMORATE THE BATTLE OF ROUND MOUNTIAN IN WHICH CAPT HOWARD AND HIS BRAVE FOLLOWERS WITH THE FAITHFUL INIDAN GUIDE SKYUKA DEFEATED THE CHEROKEE NATION 1776″ THIS MONUMENT WAS LATER MOVED TO HOWARD’S GAP ROAD AND RE-ERECTED 1967.
It’s odd how history repeats though. Somewhere in this tree of mine on the Howard side there is Cherokee. My grandpa swore he was Cherokee and defintely looked Native American and this is why my search continues. I believe there must’ve been an adoption somewhere I’m not seeing.
You were questioning more regarding this Thomas’ descendants. Here is the link I found from another searching Howard.
http://www.hctgs.org/Families/howard_thomas.htm