Whatever became of William Weatherford’s knife?

William Weatherford

Yesterday – March 27 – marked the 211^th anniversary of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, which took place on this date in 1814. Considered part of the War of 1812, the Battle of Horseshoe Bend involved a force of Americans, Creeks and Cherokees led by Andrew Jackson against Red Stick Creeks led by Chief Menawa.

During the battle, Jackson’s forces attacked the Red Stick stronghold of Tohopeka on the banks of the Tallapoosa River, and Jackson’s men killed more than 900 people. Jackson’s victory soon led to the end of the Creek War and the cession of 23 million acres of Creek territory to the United States.

While researching ties between Monroe County residents and the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, I ran across an interesting story that was published on the front page of the May 2, 1907 edition of The Monroe Journal. Published under the headline, “RELIC OF AN EARLY CHIEF: Knife Presented to State Archives,” the article tells of how the knife carried by famous Creek Indian leader William Weatherford had been presented to the State Department of Archives & History in Montgomery. “It is the first relic of the great Alabama Indian, who played such a prominent part in pioneer history of the state to be secured by the department,” the article said.

The story went on to say that the knife was presented to the department by Will T. Sheehan, who was a staff correspondent of The Montgomery Advertiser. The knife was given to Sheehan by Sidney Weatherford while Sheehan was in Monroe County gathering information for a series of articles on the Creek Indians who were living on Little River in Baldwin and Monroe counties on land they obtained from the government in the early 1800s. Sidney Weatherford was William Weatherford’s grandson.

“The knife was part of the effects of his distinguished kinsman which was awarded Sidney Weatherford,” the article said. “From a number of relics of the war leader, he gave the knife to the newspaperman when he learned that he was writing of the achievements of the famous leader. None of these relics had ever passed out of the possession of the Weatherford family.”

I believe the Sidney Weatherford mentioned in the article to be Sidney Clay Weatherford, who was born in July 1864. Sidney, who was married to Phenie Weatherford, had at least nine children and no doubt has many descendants still living in Monroe County today. Sidney passed away in June 1933 and is buried in the Weatherford Cemetery at Mineola.

One is left to wonder what became of William Weatherford’s knife. A search for the knife’s whereabouts in the Alabama Department of Archives & History’s extensive online catalog results in “No Results Found.” The only knife that I found in their catalog was a pen knife that belonged to William T. King, a wealthy planter from Dallas County.

In the end, perhaps someone reading this column will be able to shed more light on the whereabouts of William Weatherford’s knife. It would be interesting to know where this knife is today. If anyone reading this column can provide additional details, please pass them along, and I’ll update everyone at a later date.