Downing was born in eastern Tennessee in 1823 to Samuel Downing and his wife Susan Daugherty , who were both Cherokee with mixed European ancestry , as were many among the leaders of the Nation in those years . The young Downing attended school at the Valley Town Mission in North Carolina . When he was a young man , Downing and his family went west during the forced removal of the Cherokee and their slaves , now known as the Trail of Tears . The family was part of the emigration group led by Jesse Bushyhead
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Lewis Downing