Our Somers Family Heritage

Editor's Note: I love this story of Missionary Evan Jones because he truly followed Christ and he helped bring the Gospel to our Cherokee ancestors.  This an excerpt of a recent story by Simonetta Carr, posted at Place for Truth :  The Trail of Tears In the spring of 1838, when it was clear that removal was inevitable, Cherokee Chief John Ross divided his people into regiments, placing Jesse Bushyhead at the head of one and making Jones the assistant commander of another. Jones was one of the few white missionaries who accompanied Native Americans during their removals. His letters provide an important account of the Natives’ struggle on the Trail of Tears. After being dragged from their homes with just the clothes they were wearing, the Cherokees were taken to detention camps while awaiting removal. There, about 175 Cherokees asked to be baptized. During the march, Bushyhead and Jones continued to hold worship services and to care for the people’s physical and spiritual need...