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Levin Wailes was born in Prince George's County, Maryland, on March 9, 1768, to Benjamin and Sarah Howard Wailes. At seventeen, Wailes made two voyages to England on a ship belonging to his uncle, Captain James T. Magruder. Wailes studied navigation during this time. He wanted to become a sailor, but after two of his brothers were lost at sea, he altered his career plans. However, this brief apprenticeship as a navigator introduced him to the fundamentals of charting a course, whether on land or sea. Wailes became principal clerk under his brother Edward Lloyd Wailes, sheriff of Prince George's County, Maryland. He served his brother in the capacity of a deputy and assisted him in conducting the first presidential election of 1787. Wailes also studied law in the library of jurist William Kilty.
He married Eleanor Davies of Prince George's County, Maryland, on October 28, 1796. They were the parents of nine children including naturalist Benjamin Leonard Covington Wailes. The Wailes were Episcopalians by faith.
Levin Wailes and several of his family members later moved to Georgia where Wailes had received a position as an agent for Robert Morris, a wealthy land speculator and a financier of the American Revolution. After the collapse of Morris' financial empire, Wailes briefly operated a flour mill before undertaking a career as a land surveyor. His ability as a land surveyor earned him a considerable reputation within the state of Georgia.
At the prospect of even greater success, he moved his family westward, settling at Washington, Mississippi Territory, in 1807. However, it was not until 1808 that he was able to become gainfully employed as a surveyor. His first major commission was to survey the northern boundary of the Choctaw lands ceded by the Treaty of Mount Dexter in 1805. The boundary line was not completed until 1810. Wailes was later appointed registrar of the federal land office at Opelousas, Louisiana Territory, from 1810 to 1822. Wailes returned to the Natchez district in 1822 to assume the duties of surveyor general of public lands south of Tennessee. During this time, the Wailes family welcomed several boarders into their plantation home including naturalist painter John James Audubon who also sketched portraits of Wailes family members.
Levin Wailes died on May 24, 1847, at Meadville, the home of his son, B. L. C. Wailes. He was eighty at the time of his death.
Pushmataha was born in 1765. His parents were killed by a band of Creek Indians when he was a child Pushmataha eventually became a Choctaw Indian chief and was one of the signers of the Treaty of Mount Dexter in 1805.
During the War of 1812, Shawnee Indian Chief Tecumseh tried to organize an Indian confederation to fight against the United States. When he approached the Choctaws with his plan, he was opposed by Pushmataha who stressed the need for pursuing peace with the United States. Pushmataha led his tribe and raided the Creek Indians in the Fort Mims Massacre of August 1813. He also led seven hundred warriors in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in which the Creek Indians were defeated. Pushmataha also provided five hundred warriors for the Battle of New Orleans. He was commissioned a brigadier general by General Andrew Jackson in recognition of his service to the United States.
When the Choctaws were compelled to sign the Treaty of Doak's Stand, Pushmataha proved to be such a skillful negotiator that he was able to obtain better land for his people than they were to have originally received in the Oklahoma Territory. He also managed to acquire money for Choctaw Indian schools; and because of this, Pushmataha is often referred to as "the father of Choctaw education."
Pushmataha was serving as a member of a Choctaw delegation in Washington, D.C., when he died on December 24, 1824. He was buried in the congressional cemetery with full military honors. Andrew Jackson was one of over two thousand people who attended his funeral.
The collection contains two items documenting Levin Wailes' career as a land surveyor. The first item, a typescript of an account book, includes a list of expenses incurred while surveying the boundary between the United States and the Choctaw Nation in 1809. It also contains an incomplete version of a letter from William C. C. Claiborne to James Wilkinson, 1802. The second item, a surveyor's record book, details Wailes' survey of the guide lines from Broken Bluff to Faluktabunnee and on the Fuketchepoonta Reserve from May 23, 1809, to June 19, 1809. It contains an interesting account of Wailes' survey of the boundary of the Indian reserve, especially his encounters with disgruntled Indians along the way. The surveyor's record book also provides excellent data on the assistance Pushmataha rendered to the United States during that period. It also relates the feelings that his fellow tribesmen had regarding his amiable relationship with the United States government, especially his involvement with the Treaty of Mount Dexter in 1805.
Series 1. Account Book (typescript). 1802; 1809;1824; 1826; 1831; 1840; 1843. 1 item.
This series contains an incomplete typescript of an original account book of Levin Wailes, the location of which is unknown. It includes:
Series 2. Surveyor's Record Book. 1809. 1 item.
This series contains Levin Wailes' original surveyor's record book that includes the field notes and measurements he compiled while surveying the guidelines from Broken Bluff to Faluktabunnee and on the Fuketchepoonta Reserve taken from May 23, 1809, to June 19,1809. On the front cover is written, "Notes on the guide Lines from Broken Bluff to Faluktabunnee; Extended as far as Attola, or Ball Play ground. And on the Reserve for the Fuketchpoonta Village—." It gives a detailed description of the surveyed territory and also contains a few diagrams of creeks and meadows. During the course of the survey, Wailes was aided by two interpreters, Pitchlynn and Luias. Assisting Wailes' survey party was Chief Pushmataha. The surveyor's record book also describes Wailes' survey party's problems with the Indians of the [Patehelchuka] village, which included threats against Pushmataha, as well as resistance to the survey. Much of the survey was taken near the Tombigbee River and reveals the discovery of two paths leading to Fort Stephens. The Indians of that region were averse to the Treaty of Mount Dexter and Pushmataha's association with it. Because of the disruption of his survey by the Indians, Wailes sent letters to his superiors, Pease and Dinsmoor requesting advice.
Box 1, Folder 2.