Chief Moytoy of Tellico
Chief Moytoy of Tellico
Chief Moytoy of Tellico
Great Tellico was a Cherokee town at the site of present-day Tellico Plains, Tennessee, where the Tellico River
emerges from the Appalachian Mountains. Great Tellico was one of the largest Cherokee towns in the region.
The Warrior Path— a branch of the Great Indian Warpath— passed through Great Tellico, linking it to Chota in the
north and Great Hiwassee in the south, via Conasauga Creek.
The Trading Path became the main route of trade between the British and the Cherokee during the 18th century.
Chief Moytoy
Full blood Cherokee-Wolf Clan -Chief from 1730-1760 - Son of Amatoya Moytoy
Moytoy of Tellico was a Cherokee leader from Great Tellico, recognized by British colonial authorities as the
"Emperor of the Cherokee"; the Cherokee themselves used the title "First Beloved Man". His name is derived from
Amo-adawehi, "rainmaker," although it is unclear whether this was his personal name or a title he held.
In 1730 Sir Alexander Cuming, a Scottish adventurer with no particular authority, arranged for Moytoy to be crowned
emperor over all of the Cherokee towns. He was crowned in Nikwasi with a headdress Cuming called the "Crown of
Tannassy."
Cuming arranged to take Moytoy and a group of Cherokee to England to meet King George. Moytoy declined to go,
saying that his wife was ill. Attakullakulla (Little Carpenter) volunteered to go in his place. The "Crown" was laid at
King George's feet along with four scalps.
On his death the British recognized his 13 year old son Amouskositte as Emperor. He had little real authority among
the elder-dominated Cherokee, and by 1753 Kanagatucko (Old Hop) of Chota had emerged as the leader.
Amatoya Moytoy of Chota (pronounced mah-tie) was a Cherokee town chief of the early eighteenth century in the area
of present-day Tennessee. He held a prominent position among the Cherokee, and held the hereditary title Ama Matai
(From the French matai and Cherokee ama--water), which meant "Water Conjurer."
His father was a European, Thomas Pasmere Carpenter, who was descended from the noble Anglo-Norman family of
Vicomte Guillaume de Melun le Carpentier. Thus, Moytoy's European lineage can be traced to the Frankish Duke
Ansegisel of Metz Meroving, Peppin II, and Charles Martel. This ancestry also makes the Cherokee Moytoys cousins
to the Carpenter Earl of Tyrconnell, and thus related to the current British royal family.
The Carpenter family of Devonshire & Plymouth England were small sailing ship owners, many of which were leased
out to the East India Trading Company, an affiliation dating to the formation of that company December 31, 1600.
Documented ownership of fifteen different ships owned by the Carpenter family, those of which were involved with
moving furs between the Gulf Ports & Glasgow, or Dublin, and trade goods for North America. These ships usually
made stops both directions at Barbados where the family had banking connections set up. These ships were small and
fast, often able to make the crossing from Scotland and Ireland in less than thirty days. They were shallow draft ships,
capable of handling shallow water ports with ease. The first documented trip made by Thomas Pasmere Carpenter
occurred April 1640, sailing from Maryland to Barbados aboard the Hopewell, and returning on the Crispian in
September 1640. He made another trip in March 1659 departing Charleston South Carolina aboard the Barbados
Merchant, returning on the Concord in August 1659.
Twenty year old Thomas Pasmere Carpenter came to Jamestown, Virginia from England in 1627, living in a cave near
the Shawnee. Thomas was called "Cornplanter" by the Shawnee, derived from their sign language that matched as near
as possible to the work of a carpenter. He married a Shawnee woman named "Pride" and bore a son around 1635
named Trader Carpenter.
Amatoya was taught by his father to “witch” for water with a willow stick. He had become so adept at water witching
that the Cherokee called him "water conjurer" or Ama Matai (Ama is Cherokee for water). Ama Matai eventually
became pronounced as Amatoya. It was later shortened to “Moytoy”, so he is known as Moytoy I. He ruled the town of
Chota sometime between the beginning of the eighteenth century and 1730.
In 1680, Amatoya married Quatsie of Tellico. Many of their descendants went on to become prominent leaders,
founding a family that effectively ruled the Cherokee for a century.
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