Discover the Heritage of the Original Koasati People
HISTORY
Sehoy I formed a union with Lachlan Marchand and from this union was born Red Shoe and Sehoy II. Red Shoe formed a union with Elizabeth Abbey/Abbot who had a son Red Shoe II. Red Shoe II had a son, Chief John Abbey, who married Salley Henderson Langley, who are the parents of our grandmother Camille Abbey/Abbot. The other family names in our tree are: Bushnell, Neville/Nevils, Lormand, Langley, Gordon, Marcantel, and Pete/Pitre. These family names are via marriage, although being of the same background.
Chief
Chief
Red Shoe,
Red Shoe,
affectionately known as “a Peacemaker,”
Red Shoe signed the Treaties of Nogales in 1793, in 1796 the treaty between the Creeks and the US. Red Shoe and his nephew Alexander McGillivray signed the Treaty of Pensacola in 1784. In 1790, Red Shoe signed the Treaty of Friendship, and in 1797 the Treaty of San Lorenze.
Born in 1720 he traveled extensively in his lifetime through AL, MS, into the Spanish LA. In 1791 after signing the treaty at NY, he returned south with the Creek Chiefs. In 1807 he traveled to MS to seek justice for the murder of his brother Tom. He is noted for being one of the most influential Chiefs of the country in peace or in war. A historical marker in Merryville, LA notes that in the early 1800s he and his followers settled in or around the present-day town.
John Abbey/Abbot
The son of Red Shoe, was born in 1840 and died in 1910. He was Chief at Indian Village. His dialect was French including a native language of the Koasatis. He worked alongside relatives in the rice and cane fields, as well as logging in the woods and river in the Indian Village, as per Denver Nevils. We have pictures taken of Denver’s grandfather James Neville II with John Abbey. It was James II and Pierre Neville/Nevils who gave the Coushatta people 16,000 acres of land on Bayou Blue in the 1890s, built homes for them, helped plant crops, and gave them animals to raise.
They cared for them until the Coushattas were self-supporting. To make the land transfer legal, James II gave Chief John Abbey, sub-chiefs Jackson Langley and Martin Abbey the dollar he was going to use as payment for the transaction. All these facts and more are recorded in Denver Nevil’s affidavit.
Camille Abbey/Abbot
Was the daughter of Chief John Abbey and Sally Henderson Langley. She was born May 1885 and died 13 Apr 1951, living her entire life in Indian Village, LA.
She married Alphonse Bushnell, son of Ezra Bushnell and Virginia Neville, daughter of James Neville II, and had five children, Roman, Elmer, Luke, Lovinia, and Delia. The older grandchildren and even great-grandchildren have fond memories of visiting with her at the Village. Roman married Elizabeth Lormand and had 13 children, five of which are alive today.
JANET SUELLEN BUSHNELL LAUGHLIN
Is the great-granddaughter of Camille. She has four sons, Gregg, David, Ryan, and Marcus. I, Janet S Laughlin, Chair for The Red Shoe Tribe, and my brother, Gordon T Bushnell, dedicate this work to my four sons, who have been patient with this project. When I am gone, see this remains successful for all!
It has been Tim and my privilege, mission, and goal the last 22 years to get The Red Shoe Tribe federally recognized as a Nation; many times knocking at a door, not without obstacles or adversaries. I forged on realizing with recognition would come many benefits and privileges for all. I am grateful for all the support along the way.
Ryan, Marcus, Janet, David, Gregg
Alexander McGillivray
Was the son of Lachlan McGillivray, a native of Scotland and Sehoy II, daughter of Capt. Marchand and Sehoy I, the sister of Chief Red Shoe. He became the principal chief of the Creeks in the years following the American Revolution. He negotiated the Treaty of New York which he signed in 1790, and he signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo in 1795.
