Biography:

David Folsom was born on January 25, 1791, to Nathaniel Folsom and Aiahnichih Ohoyoh, who, according to Choctaw custom, was one of his father's two wives. He left home at age sixteen and went to school for six months on the Elk River in Tennessee. Folsom later married Rhoda Nail. His brother-in-law was Peter Pitchlynn, a famous interpreter and Choctaw Indian chief during the cession period.

Folsom was the first Choctaw Indian chief to be elected by ballot. He was against the cession of Indian lands to the United States government. In April 1826 Folsom led warriors of the Northeastern District to oust Chief Moshulatubbee, an ally of Pitchlynn and an advocate of cession. Later in 1826 Folsom and Greenwood Leflore, chief of the Northwestern District, sought to convene a national council that would frame a comprehensive tribal constitution. Folsom was ultimately compelled to cede Choctaw lands, and he moved his people to the new Indian lands in the West. He led part of his tribe on the winter migration to the Red River in the Indian Territory between November 1831 and January 1832. It was there that Folsom helped establish missions and schools. He also operated a salt factory and became relatively wealthy. Folsom died on September 24, 1847, at Fort Towson, Indian Territory.

Appendix 2: Scope and Content Note.