Dr.Wimberly’s book tells story of Jesse Bushyhead

Cass County’s brain power went up a notch or two when Dan Wimberly and his wife LaMarsha decided to move and retire here.

Dan is Dr. Dan Wimberly, an historian who not long ago had his second research book published.

That book’s title and subject matter is: “Cherokee in Controversy: The Life of Jesse Bushyhead.” Dr. Wimberly’s treatment of Jesse Bushyhead is the first scholarly book published on this respected Cherokee leader who was also an ordained Baptist minister and missionary.

Dr. Wimberly said his goal in writing the book was that he wanted the reader to know of Bushyhead’s importance in unifying the Cherokee and improving their relationship with Baptists.

Dr. Wimberly retired as a professor of history from Oklahoma Wesleyan University. He holds the Ph.D. in history from Texas Tech University, received in 1995.

He was born in Red River Parish, Louisiana, and tells that as a child he was always interested in old things and especially older people and their experiences.

“It was an innate thing. I loved anything old,” Dr. Wimberly said, adding, “My father was a school principal, and we lived next to the small school building which no longer exists. So I always had a library nearby and that’s where I spent most of my time.”

That love kept him in higher education and history for years.

“I’m a late bloomer,” he said. “I started college in 1965 and got my Ph. D. in 1995.”

One reason for the time length is that he would often teach in the public schools and take college courses at the same time. This experience dovetails with his advice for the historian. Be very careful and thorough with documentation, he advises.

“Leave no stone unturned, meticulously document and check the accuracy of your work.”

The two books he’s written seem to be examples of his patience and love. His subjects are people deserving to be known. The first book was Frontier Religion: Elder Daniel Parker -- His Religious and Political Life. Parker, in 1884, led a group into Texas which was to become the first organized Baptist Church in Texas.

Bushyhead used both the Cherokee and English language with such fluency that he was a reliable Cherokee interpreter and translator of the New Testament into Cherokee. He also led a party of some 1,000 people into Oklahoma on what was to be known as the Trail of Tears.

He was a participant in forming the new Cherokee government in the Cherokee Nation and served as a chief justice of the Cherokee Supreme Court.

Though a strong leader and revered by his people, Busyhead became a lightening rod for the two sides of north and south, slavery and anti-slavery matters. The key to this story is that when he came to Oklahoma, his wife brought with her a slave. And at some point, Bushyhead himself had a man-servant, a matter that would cause difficulty from both sides.

Bushyhead was revered and honored by the Cherokees. His grave at the Baptist Mission Cemetery in Westville, Oklahoma, is marked by a 15-ft tall marble monument and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In a quote from a review of his book, Dr. Wimberly remarked, “Jesse Bushyhead was both a statesman and a missionary … The importance of the matter was his struggle and others like him to come to terms with assimilation, both religiously and politically, while maintaining a Cherokee identity.”

Dr. Wimberly said he and his wife La-Marsha chose Atlanta and Cass County for their retirement because of its central four-state location, its small town atmosphere and its friendly spirit. He is a relative of the late Sawyer Wimberly and family in Atlanta but did not know these Wimberlys lived here until arriving.

A member and Sunday school teacher at the Atlanta First Baptist Church, Dr. Wimberly said he continues to do history research while gardening and playing the banjo for relaxation. He is a frequent speaker and active member of the Cass County Genealogical Society.

He said he would be pleased to meet and speak with local groups concerning history. He can be contacted at the email: danwimberly@att.net

Dr. Dan Wimberly is presenting a program for the Cass County Genealogical Society on stories told by his relatives who participated in the Civil War. Here he is showing a dress worn by his relatives during this time. The dress drew careful inspection for its construction and for what its unwashed condition seemed to reveal.