Jesse Chisholm

Born: 1805? Tennessee
Died: March 4, 1868 (age 63?), Geary, Oklahoma

Jesse Chisholm was an Indian trader, guide, and interpreter, born in the Hiwassee region of Tennessee, probably in 1805 or 1806.  The Chisholm Trail is named after him.

1. Chisholm had built a number of trading posts in what is now western Oklahoma before the American Civil War.

• Fact or Myth?

2. Ignatius Chisholm, was of Scottish ancestry and had worked as a merchant and slave trader in the Knoxville, Tennessee area in the 1790s. Around 1800 he married a Cherokee woman in the Hiwassee area.

• Fact or Myth?

3. In 1810, where was Jesse Chisholm taken to by his mother with Tahlonteskee's group?

• Texas
• Arkansas
• Florida

4. During the late 1820s he moved to the Cherokee Nation and settled near in what is now eastern Oklahoma. What was the name of the fort?

• Fort Gibson
• Fort Johnston
• Fort Jackson

5. Chisholm became a trader and in 1836 married the daughter of James Edwards, who ran a trading post in what is now Hughes County, Oklahoma. What was her name?

• Eliza
• Beth
• Mildred Ann

6. Chisholm took trade goods west and south into Plains Indian country, established small trading posts, and was soon in demand as a guide and interpreter. How many dialects was he fluent in?

• 3
• 10
• 14

7. Chisholm assembled representatives from seven tribes at a council on the San Saba River. What was the date?

• October 7, 1844
• May 12, 1850
• December 10, 1850

8. In 1865, Chisholm and James R. Mead loaded a train of wagons at Fort Leavenworth and established a trading post at Council Grove on the North Canadian River near the site of the Overholser Lake dam. What is the site of the present city?

• Oklahoma City
• Tulsa
• Clinton

9. Chisholm died of food poisoning after eating rancid bear meat at Left Hand Spring, near the site of present Geary, Oklahoma, on April 4, 1868.

• Fact or Myth?

10. Where is Jesse Chisholm buried?

• Watonga IOOF Cemetery, Watonga, Oklahoma
• Woodland Memorial Park Cemetery, Sand Springs, Oklahoma
• Jesse Chisholm Gravesite, Geary, Oklahoma

Jesse Chisholm Answers

1. Fact
2. Fact
3. Arkansas
4. Fort Gibson
5. Eliza
6. 14
7. December 10, 1850
8. Oklahoma City
9. Fact
10. Jesse Chisholm Gravesite, Geary, Oklahoma

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