John Ridge

John Ridge (1792 - June 22, 1839, translated Cherokee Name: Yellow Bird) was a son of Major Ridge and a member of the Cherokee Tribe.

He was born in what is now Rome, Georgia and was named Skah-tle-loh-skee. He married Sarah Bird Northup, whom he had met while studying in Cornwall, Connecticut. His son John Rollin Ridge wrote the pseudo-biography of Joaquin Murieta that inspired the Zorro legend.

John Ridge was a part of the "treaty faction," a group that advocated removal of the Cherokee Indians to the west as the only way to preserve the Cherokee Nation, rather than attempting to retain Cherokee land illegally annexed by Georgia. This was a minority view; the majority of Cherokees sided with John Ross, who wanted to negotiate with the US and attempt to hold the federal government to its promises. Ridge was one of the signers of the Treaty of New Echota. Since the treaty surrendered all Cherokee land east of the Mississippi River and was agreed to against tribal wishes and without authority, Ridge was regarded as a traitor by the Ross faction. Although the treaty was possibly illegitimate, it was ratified by the United States Senate and Andrew Jackson used it to justify the Cherokee removal now known as the Trail of Tears. The treaty allowed for those Cherokees who wished to remain in the east to do so and become citizens of the states where they resided, but this provision was ignored during the removal.

Ridge moved to what is now Oklahoma before the forced removal of 1838. In June 1839, Ridge, along with his father and a cousin who had also signed the treaty, were assassinated by 25 members of the Ross faction. His murder by stabbing was performed in front of his wife and children.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ridge

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9436070&ref=wvr

Native American. His Cherokee name was Skah-tle-loh-skee. Cherokee Leader assassinated in 1839 by pro-Ross Cherokees for his signing of the Treaty of New Echota which led to the removal of the Cherokees on "The Trail of Tears." John Ridge was educated in Cornwall, CT; he lent his expertise in English to the Creeks as secretary and wrote talks for Chief Opothle Yoholo. He was a representative for the Cherokee interests in Washington, D.C.