A Tennessee-born member of the Cherokee Nation, who emigrated to Indian Territory in 1871 by prairie schooner and is considered one of the founding fathers of Muldrow, may have been one of the most tragic figures, at least from a business stand point, that helped pioneer the region of Eastern Oklahoma.
William Jefferson Watts who was born in Tennessee in 1840, was among the founding families of the area in Sequoyah County that now encompasses Muldrow. Because of the political climate of the early 1870's, Watts established and maintained a fertile farm of hundreds of acres before falling victim to governmental interference and waging a 30-year battle trying to maintain his homestead.
The grandson of a revolutionary war veteran, Watts was born April 1, 1840 in Sumner County, Tennessee.
Garrett Zachariah Watts, who was born in Caroline County Virginia in 1756 had one known offspring, Jesse Malachi Watts, who married into the Cherokee tribe after settling in Northern Georgia.
Jesse and his wife Susan Matilda (Toler) Watts had six known children of which William Jefferson (Jeff) Watts was the fourth born and second son.
The birthplace of Susan Watts was never clearly designated by early records or by tribal history. Some said she had been born in Georgia while others claimed she had been part of the original clan of Cherokees that inhabited the area in and around what is now cherokee, North Carolina.
That small fact is what played into the events that led up to an almost 30 years struggle to maintain homesteaded land in Oklahoma by Jeff Watts.
There's absolutely no doubt that Watts was among the founders of Muldrow. In fact, he was was credited with selecting the name of the town on the eastern front of Indian Territory after moving to the area in 1871.
"Jeff", as he was known to his friends and relatives, settled in it at a time when all Indians were receiving homesteads and lands as part of the treaties involving resettlement. Enroute to the IT, the family stopped and settled for a brief time in Johnson County Arkansas before moving into several hundred acres of what was essentially a wilderness north of the Arkansas River.
After three years of hard work and improvements, in 1874 Watson's family ran afoul of the federal government. Since the Cherokee Council l ruled on all things involving land holdings for the tribe in the IT, in 1874 a decision was made to disqualify Cherokees who weren't of the original North Carolina tribe from land ownership in the region.
The so-called "Sweepstakes law" of late 1874 was passed and seventy-seven families, including the Watts clan, were declared to be Interlopers and faced eviction from their property.
For the next 30 years charges and counter chargers were made by the opposing factions and the matter was taken through territory courts and then to the Department of Indian Affairs in Washington DC. At different times the territory Sheriff's wanted to evict the families from they're homestead's but they were often met with armed resistance and demands they produce proof from the Interior Department of the invalid nature of their claims.
The appointment of the Dawes Commission, which gave them final authority and all matters affecting the territorial governments, proved to be the waterloo for the Watts family. The final disposition was that all lands that were taken prior to 1886 belong to the interloping families but had to be sold at a "just and equitable price: and lands improved after that time were to be sold for whatever the family could get.
The Watts and many other families lost a considerable amount of money after that ruling.
Jeff Watts moved to Fort Smith to await the final actions of the Secretary of the Interior but he eventually moved back to the Muldrow area. After years of fighting, in 1903 the rest of his family moved to St Louis but Jeff remained in Indian Territory steadfast in his claims.
In early 1904 all of the proof of his birth, records of his homesteading the land, improvements made to it, and all other necessary affidavits have been forwarded to Washington DC and we're in the hands of the Secretary of the Interior for a final adjudication.
After years of struggle, "The Great Interloper" Jeff Watts died November 7, 1904 at the age of 64 of the effects of longstanding tuberculosis. The matter was still not fully settled but the disputed land eventually reverted back to control pof the Dawes Commission.
A member of theA.F. & A. M. Lodge and the local chapter of Eastern Stars of the Masons, Watts was a popular figure to all the residents of the Muldrow area. Out of respect, schools were closed on the day of his funeral and his funeral was one of the largest ever witness to that point in Muldrow.
Colonel William Jefferson Watts is buried in a dual plot with his wife Martha, who had died in 1896, in the Muldrow Memory Garden in Muldrow.
