Born probably in July of 1821, Margaret Ann WILSON was part of the migration of Chickasaw Indians from her birthplace, Tuscumbia, Alabama. She is believed to have been the daughter of Colbert ALEXANDER who may have been a man with Native American or mixed Native European ancestry. The identity of her mother is unfortunately unknown.
Margaret was the “wife” of Cornelius PICKENS who died sometime during the Civil War. It is not known if his death was a result of his involvement as a soldier in the war but his legacy lives on through the lives of his children and their descendants.
Margaret lived through many of the changes that occurred to the Chickasaw tribe and since she was enslaved from the time of her birth, she knew first hand the horrors of chattel slavery. Margaret Ann ALEXANDER lived too experience emancipation in 1866 and was present thirty two years later when the Dawes Commission enrolled her and many of her children as Choctaw or Chickasaw Freedmen in 1898.
Margaret Ann witnessed the Civil War in the Chickasaw Nation and saw Indian Territory and its people begin the painful transition to statehood at the turn of the twentieth century. Margaret was witness to the emergence of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen Associations in 1868 and saw one of her own son’s; William ALEXANDER become a leader in their community as he fought to secure the rights of citizenship and education for the formerly enslaved people of African and African-Native descent in the communities of Berwyn, Springer, Woodford, and Stonewall Indian Territory.
Margaret Ann WILSON’S life is testimony to the men and women who survived the inhumane institution of slavery among the Chickasaws Indians. She endured being sold to a Choctaw Indian during the “War of Rebellion” and giving birth to a child she loved though the child’s father; Robert Howard LOVE, was a Chickasaw who was a member of the “mixed blood” elite slave owning family that held her in bondage and brought her to Indian Territory in the migrating party of Benjamin LOVE.
We take pride in bringing attention to the life of Margaret Ann WILSON; a woman whose legacy is manifested through the seventh generation that is alive today. They all should know about this great woman and recognize she was not just a slave but a woman of great substance.
Margaret was the “wife” of Cornelius PICKENS who died sometime during the Civil War. It is not known if his death was a result of his involvement as a soldier in the war but his legacy lives on through the lives of his children and their descendants.
Margaret lived through many of the changes that occurred to the Chickasaw tribe and since she was enslaved from the time of her birth, she knew first hand the horrors of chattel slavery. Margaret Ann ALEXANDER lived too experience emancipation in 1866 and was present thirty two years later when the Dawes Commission enrolled her and many of her children as Choctaw or Chickasaw Freedmen in 1898.
Margaret Ann witnessed the Civil War in the Chickasaw Nation and saw Indian Territory and its people begin the painful transition to statehood at the turn of the twentieth century. Margaret was witness to the emergence of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Freedmen Associations in 1868 and saw one of her own son’s; William ALEXANDER become a leader in their community as he fought to secure the rights of citizenship and education for the formerly enslaved people of African and African-Native descent in the communities of Berwyn, Springer, Woodford, and Stonewall Indian Territory.
Margaret Ann WILSON’S life is testimony to the men and women who survived the inhumane institution of slavery among the Chickasaws Indians. She endured being sold to a Choctaw Indian during the “War of Rebellion” and giving birth to a child she loved though the child’s father; Robert Howard LOVE, was a Chickasaw who was a member of the “mixed blood” elite slave owning family that held her in bondage and brought her to Indian Territory in the migrating party of Benjamin LOVE.
We take pride in bringing attention to the life of Margaret Ann WILSON; a woman whose legacy is manifested through the seventh generation that is alive today. They all should know about this great woman and recognize she was not just a slave but a woman of great substance.
