Annie Isparhecher

(ca. 1880-unknown death date)

Muscogee (Creek) Nation

Cussetah Tribal Town

By Abby Rush (TU, PhD student)

Preface

This biography is briefer than most, sharing all of the information that is available at this time. If you are a descendant or know a descendant, we encourage you to reach out to us, as we are still seeking information about the life of Annie Isparhecher.

Early History

Annie Isparhecher was born ca. 1880 to Mvskoke parents Lucy (Wahnahka) Barnett (ca. 1842-08/31/1886) and Isparhecher (c. 1828-12/22/1902).1 The source of Annie’s possible birth year is a family tree, within a profile on Ancesty.com, but this document does not include primary sources to verify. Lucy Barnett and Isparhecher are both listed on the 1870 Loyal Creek abstract.2

Annie’s father Isparhecher was of the Tiger Clan and came from Cussetah Tribal Town.3 Annie was the second oldest child of four siblings, including Sarwarhee, Gabriel, and Kizzie. Their mother died on August 31, 1886, when Annie was six years old.

In an article titled “Chief Isparhecher,” published in The Chronicles of Oklahoma, John Bartlett Meserve indicates that prior to her death, Lucy Barnett and Isparhecher had perhaps already been estranged “and had probably recognized a divorce by voluntary separation according to the Creek Indian customs.”4

Isparhecher originally came to Indian Territory with his father, Yarteoa Tustenugee, and mother, Kechahteh, in 1836. Annie’s paternal grandparents were a part of the McIntosh faction of the tribe.5 The family migrated alongside other Mvskoke people who were forcibly removed from Alabama to Indian Territory.

When the family arrived in Indian Territory, Isparhecher was approximately eight years old.6 Annie’s father Isparhecher led an eventful life, with many of his political contributions and acts of battle recorded in a multitude of historical documents. Isparhecher was elected to serve the Muscogee (Creek) Nation as principal chief from December 5, 1895, to December 5, 1899. Following his term as Chief (Mekko), Isparhecher was succeeded by Pleasant Porter, whose niece Nina (Porter) Brook attended the Presbyterian School for Indian Girls (PSIG) in the 1880s.7

School

In 1886, Annie attended Nuyaka Mission Boarding School for Creek Indian Boys and Girls.8 The Muscogee (Creek) Nation established this school in 1882 after a fire in 1880 caused the Tullahassee Manual Labor School (Tullahassee Mission) to burn down. Nuyaka Mission Boarding School was located approximately fifteen miles west of Okmulgee in Indian Territory. Annie attended the school along with approximately eighty students, including Hannah (Monahwee) Alexander and Katie (Monahwee) Harjo.9

Augusta (Robertson) Moore was the Superintendent of Nuyaka Mission Boarding School following her appointment in 1882. Later, in 1885, Alice Robertson, Augusta’s sister, became the Director of the Presbyterian School for Indian Girls.10 During the 1886 school year, Annie stayed at the Robertson Cottage girl’s dormitory. Robertson Cottage was supervised by Grace Robertson, the sister of Augusta and Alice Robertson.

The following image details an inventory of “Breakage” at the school. In an entry from May 12, 1886, Annie is listed next to two items, including “1 small scalloped veg. dish” and “1 butter plate.”11

Caption: Annie Isparhecher is the 16th entry in this list from May 1886: “Names of the Girls of ‘R.C.’” or Robertson Cottage, one of the dormitories of the Nuyaka Mission Boarding School.

Annie’s possible birth year is ca. 1880, according to a family tree in Ancestry.com. Annie is listed as being eight years old in 1886, instead of six years old, which is a minor discrepancy to note regarding her exact age.

Image Credit: Alice Robertson Papers, TU Department of Special Collections and University Archives ID: 1931-001-3-4-2-001

Annie appears in the second entry of an inventoried list of “Breakage” from May 12, 1886.

Image Credit: Alice Robertson Papers, TU Department of Special Collections and University Archives ID: 1931-001-3-4-3-001

These images provide insight into Annie’s experience living in a group home setting. The students lived in close proximity, were expected to abide by the same sets of rules and expectations, and even shared the same space and utensils. The images also provide a record of student activity by showing the documentation of items that may have been broken or lost in their shared space. The images serve as an artifact which illuminates traces of Annie Isparhecher.

Following the 1886 school year at Nuyaka Mission Boarding School, little information has been found regarding the subsequent years of Annie’s life.

Death and Legacy

We do not currently have information about Annie’s death date or information about her funeral. Again, we share here all information that we could find and are hopeful that any interested descendants might reach out to us.

Tribal Enrollment Information

Since Annie Isparhechar died before the Curtis Act was passed in 1898 and implemented, there is no federal documentation of her membership in the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Endnotes

1 Clintonista1, “Hendrix/White family tree,” Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/14151469/person/101907783/story (accessed April 29, 2025); V. Eddleman, “The Last Words of Isparhecher,” p.8 https://repository.ou.edu/islandora/object/oku%3A34848; John Bartlett Meserve, “Chief Isparhecher.” Chronicles of Oklahoma, Volume 10, Number 1, March 1932, p. 71. The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2191815/m2/1/high_res_d/1932-v10-n1_a08.pdf; Meserve, “Chief Isparhecher.” p. 71; Hazen “1870 Loyal Creek Abstract,” https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~texlance/genealogy/loyalcreek/loyalcreek05.htm

2 Hazen, “1870 Loyal Creek Abstract,” https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~texlance/genealogy/loyalcreek/loyalcreek05.htm

3 Meserve, “Chief Isparhecher,” p. 75.

4 Meserve, “Chief Isparhecher,” p. 7; Clintonista1, “Hendrix/White family tree,” Ancestry.com.

5 Meserve, “Chief Isparhecher,” p. 54.

6 V. Eddleman, “The Last Words of Isparhecher,” p.8

7 Claims of the Loyal Creeks, No. 420 (57th Congress, 1st Session September 5, 1871), p. 15. Accessed May 8, 2025. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/SERIALSET-04247_00_00-013-0420-0000/pdf/SERIALSET-04247_00_00-013-0420-0000.pdf; John Bartlett Meserve, “Chief Isparhecher.” p. 53; “Local Items,” Muskogee Phoenix, May 30, 1889, page 5, https://www.newspapers.com/image/611404684/, accessed September 9, 2024; “Presbyterian School for Girls,” Our Brother in Red, June 8, 1889, page 5, https://www.newspapers.com/image/30431616/, accessed September 9, 2024; “Local Items,” Muskogee Phoenix, September 5, 1889, page 5, https://www.newspapers.com/image/611268724/, accessed September 9, 2024.

8 “Nuyaka Mission School.” 1931.001.3.4.2. Papers of the Robertson and Worcester Families, 1815-1932, Special Collections, McFarlin Library, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK

9 Nuyaka Mission School, 1885-1886, 1931.001.3.4.2, Papers of the Robertson and Worcester Families, 1815-1932, Special Collections, McFarlin Library, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK.

10 Angie Debo, The Road to Disappearance: A History of the Creek Indians (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1967), p. 309-311; Guy William Logsdon, The University of Tulsa (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1977) p. 27; “Nuyaka Mission,” Indian Record, July 1, 1886, Newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/585126649 (accessed June 2, 2025); “Nuyaka Mission,” Oklahoma Historical Society, https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1618609/ (accessed December 9, 2023); “Nuyaka Mission School.” 1931.001.3.4.2. Papers of the Robertson and Worcester Families, 1815-1932, Special Collections, McFarlin Library, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK.

11 “Breakage” 1931.001.3.4.3. Papers of the Robertson and Worcester Families, 1815-1932, Special Collections, McFarlin Library, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK.

Bibliography

Barlett Meserve, John. “Chief Isparhecher.” Oklahoma Historical Society, Chronicles of Oklahoma, 10, no. 1 (March 1932): 52–76.

Claims of the Loyal Creeks, No. 420 (57th Congress, 1st Session September 5, 1871).

Clintonista1. “Hendrix/White Family Tree.” Ancestry.com.

Debo, Angie. 1941. The Road to Disappearance, A History of the Creek Indians. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

Eddleman, Ora V. “Twin Territories--February 1903: ‘The Last Words of Isparhecher’ Spoken before His Death to His Interpreter, Turner Taylor.” Muskogee: OU Libraries Digital Collections, February 1903.

Hazen, W.B., and F.A. Field. “1870 Loyal Creek Abstract.” freepages.rootsweb.com. Ancestry.com, n.d.

“Local Items.” Muskogee Phoenix. May 30, 1889. Newspapers.com.

Logsdon, Guy William. The University of Tulsa. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1977.

“Nuyaka Mission.” Indian Record. July 1, 1886. Newspapers.com.

“Presbyterian School for Girls.” Our Brother in Red. June 8, 1889. Newspapers.com.

Papers of the Robertson and Worcester Families, 1815-1932, 1931-001. Special Collections, McFarlin Library, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK.

P., Alice. “Chief Isparhecher.” Findagrave.com

Standiford, J.F. “Nuyaka Mission.” Oklahoma Historical Society., October 1891. The Gateway to Oklahoma History.