1885 - Letter From A White Schoolteacher At Wau-Hil-Lau, Indian Territory, The Grand-niece Of The Famous Cherokee Principal Chief, John Ross Sr., Who Later Became An Official Member Of The Cherokee Nation Through Intermarriage -

" I have a pine school here, 45 named enrolled. Some time I feel real old and dignified, but I am afraid some times I laugh when I ought not too."

Wau-Hil-Lau, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory, 1855.

This four-page letter on blue stationery, which measures 4½" x 6¾", is datelined "Wauhillau. / Oct 9_1885". It was sent by Florrie Caleb to an acquaintance, Mr. J. A. Norman, at Gibson Station, Indian Territory. The matching envelope is franked with a 2-cent stamp (Scott #210) and bears very nice examples of three scarce Indian Territory postal markings: a double-ring "Wau-Hil-Lau C.N / Ind. Ter." postmark dated October 12, a toothed "Gibson Station / Ind. Ter." receiving postmark dated October 13, and an American Shield killer handstamp.

At the time, Florrie was a young white school teacher at one of several schools, probably the Rabbit Trail School, operating in and around Wau-Hil-Lau. Her letter reads in part:

"I have been so very busy of late, teaching and straightening out this school. I have been so busy of late that I neglected many of my correspondents. . .. I have a pine school here, 45 named enrolled. Some time I feel real old and dignified, but I am afraid some times I laugh when I ought not too. I went home two weeks ago and . . . visited the 'old Sem.' And saw the dear old girls, though there were many new faces. How good it was to be once more with Mary. She was well but very busy with her studies. While there I almost wished I was still in school. . .. My school is about 10 miles from home and across the river."

Florrie (Florence Ann) Caleb was the daughter of Catherine "Kate" Larzalere Caleb, a young widow from Delaware. Kate was the sister of Caroline "Carrie" C. Larzalere who married John M. Ross, Jr. the son of the famed Cherokee Principal Chief John Ross, Sr., while he was living in Philadelphia. When John and Caroline relocated to Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory, they brought Kate and Florrie along with them. There, Kate eventually married the Reverend Walter Adair Duncan, who adopted Florrie. Duncan was a former Superintendent of Education for the Cherokee Nation, and, such had influence over Cherokee National Seminary which Florrie was allowed to attend despite being white. Following her graduation Florrie began teaching school at Wau-Hil-Lau, where she penned this letter. Shortly thereafter, she married Henry Benton Smith, a classmate from the Seminary who graduated along with her in June of 1885.

Dawes Commission records and Cherokee Nation Roll Cards reflect that Florrie, Kate, and Carrie all became members of the Cherokee Nation based upon their interracial marriages: Benton was one-eighth Cherokee, Duncan was one-quarter Cherokee, and Ross was one-sixteenth Cherokee.

By the mid to late 1800s, the Cherokee Nation's public education system was one of the best in the United States. From the time of the Nation's arrival in the Indian Territory, Principal Chief John Ross committed funding, much obtained as compensation for its relocation, to build its own educational system completely free of federal or missionary involvement. To that end, he insisted that the Nation establish its own male and female college-level seminaries, staffed with teachers from prestigious eastern colleges. As well, he directed that ower-level public schools be established throughout the Nation. Rabbit Trap School, where Florrie likely taught, was one of 32 public schools opened by the Cherokee Nation following the Civil War.

Gibson Station was the first railroad station established in the Indian Territory. It was built by Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad in 1872. It was located about 10 miles north of Muskogee and 50 miles southeast of Tulsa. It was absorbed into the Missouri Pacific Railroad and, eventually, the Union Pacific. The current UP system map shows that while trains might pass by the old Gibson Station, trains no longer stop there.

(For more information, see online genealogical resources (including Federal Censuses and Cherokee Nation records), "An Old Citizen Gone the obituary of John Ross, Jr." in the 8 July 1905 edition of the Cherokee Advocate, Chapter XI "Public School System Established. . .." within Starr's History of the Cherokee Indians. . ., Pylant's "Cherokee-White Intermarriages: Citizenship by Intermarriage in the Cherokee Nation", "Caleb-Smith" marriage article in the 2 January 1895 edition of the Cherokee Advocate, "Obituary" for "Henry Benton Smith" in the 14 August 1924 edition of the Cherokee County Democrat-Star and the Oklahoma 2018-2020 State Railroad Map.)

An exceptionally scarce first-hand account of a young white female schoolteacher in the Indian Territory, educated at the Cherokee National Seminary, and connected by marriage to the leadership of the Cherokee Nation. At the time of listing, nothing similar is for sale in the trade. The Rare Book Hub shows that another Florrie Caleb letter was sold at a philatelic auction without regard to the significance of its author or content. OCLC reflects nothing similar is held in institutional collections, however, it does report one library holds an 1827 pre-Trail of Tears school teacher letter from the Cherokee Creek Path Mission in Alabama.