George Lowrey
George Lowrey or Tsa-Tsi-Agi-Li was a Cherokee chief, political leader, translator, and long‑serving public official in the Cherokee Nation. He held numerous national offices, including multiple terms as Assistant Principal Chief, and participated in the creation of both the 1827 and 1839 Cherokee constitutions.
Early life
Lowrey was born around 1770, the son of George Lowrey, a white trader, and Nannie Watts of the Ani‑Gilohi clan. His Cherokee names were recorded by John Howard Payne in the 1830s as Tsi‑tsa‑Lawili or Agili. He may have been the unnamed Cherokee youth who accompanied a delegation to Philadelphia in 1792.Political career
By the early nineteenth century, Lowrey was a local chief and frequent correspondent of U.S. Indian Agent Return J. Meigs, writing from “Lowryville” on issues including white intruders, stolen horses, and supply shortages. He took a land reservation under the Treaty of 1819 and later helped negotiate the treaty as part of the Cherokee delegation.Lowrey held numerous public offices in the Cherokee Nation. His tombstone erected by order of the National Council records that he served as:
- Captain of the Lighthorse
- Member of the First National Committee
- Delegate to President George Washington
- Member of the 1827 Constitutional Convention
- Member of the 1839 Constitutional Convention
- Assistant Principal Chief
- Member of the Executive Council at the time of his death
Translation work
Lowrey collaborated with his son‑in‑law David Brown to translate portions of the New Testament into the Cherokee syllabary. Their translation of the Gospel of Matthew appeared in the Cherokee Phoenix between April and July 1828.He also authored a tract on temperance in Cherokee.
Removal and later life
In the 1835 Cherokee census, Lowrey, his wife, and twenty enslaved people were recorded as living in Will’s Valley. He and his family were forcibly removed to Indian Territory in 1838 as part of the Benge/Lowrey detachment, settling in the Delaware District.Lowrey died on 20 October 1852 in the Tahlequah District of the Cherokee Nation. His tombstone describes him as “An Honest Man. A Spotless Patriot. A Devoted Christian” and notes his long service as a ruling elder and deacon in Cherokee churches.