In 1838-39 the United States federal government removed most of the Cherokee Nation to Indian Territory, now called Oklahoma. Most of these are my ancestors or other kin that went on the infamous Trail of Tears.The Bigby family sent original tin-types back to the folks whom had escaped the exodus by fleeing to the mountains of North Carolina. The tin-types became the treasured possessions of James Mack Whitaker of Valley Town, North Carolina. He cared for them for many decades. He left them to his great-neice Lousie Cooper Zimmerman. Some time after Louise passed away, her son Billy McFalls entrusted their safekeeping to me. I'm truly delighted to share them and other photos that I've acquired with you by means of the web. I'm including Sequoyah's Cherokee Syllabary since it was of such great importance to my Cherokee kin.