John Ross survived two wives and had several children . He married Elizabeth " Quatie " Brown Henley ( 1791-1839 ) in 1812 or 1813 . She was a Cherokee , born in 1791 and a widow with one child . Her previous husband , Robert Henley , may have died during the War of 1812 . Quatie Ross died in 1839 in Arkansas on the Trail of Tears as discussed below , but was survived by their children James McDonald Ross ( 1814 - 1864 ) , William Allen Ross ( 1817 - 1891 ) , Jane Ross Meigs-Nave ( 1821 - 1894 ) , Silas Dean Ross ( 1829 - 1872 ) and George Washington Ross ( 1830 - 1870 ) . John Ross remarried in 1844 , to Mary Stapler ( 1826-1865 ) whom he survived by less than a year . Their surviving children were Annie Brian Ross Dobson ( 1845 - 1876 ) and John Ross Jr. ( 1847 - 1905 ) , although John Ross Sr. would be succeeded as chief by his nephew John P. Ross
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
John Ross (Cherokee chief)