Thomas Chisholm had owned land and slaves in Alabama , but had moved to Arkansas , and then moved his family to Beattie 's Prairie . He caught typhoid fever during a gathering at Talequah . His wife brought him back home , but he did not recover , dying in 1834 when Narcissa was only 3 years old , shortly before eastern Cherokee moved through the area , forced from their homes along the Trail of Tears . Narcissa later wrote of witnessing a group of Army-supervised Cherokee camp on their mother 's farm in January 1839 , noting the cruelty of herding human beings accustomed to warm winters through the cold and wind . She described how many refugees were sick and dozens died and were buried in what had been the family graveyard
Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
Narcissa Chisholm Owen