By the early 1800s , George " Tootemastubbe " Colbert established Colbert 's ferry near Cherokee , Alabama . It was a significant crossing of the Tennessee River along the Natchez Trace , an important trade route . George Colbert was able to accumulate land and became an influential planter ; he also raised livestock and was a trader as well as being the eldest son eligible for the position of Chief . The tribe owned an estimated 150 enslaved Africans as labor on their land as was custom with many intercultural tribes in the region . A few slaves escaped during the confusion of the eventual Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
George Colbert