John Jumper
The birth of John Jumper is celebrated on this date in c.1820. He was a native American, Principal Chief of the Seminole Nation, slave owner, and Baptist pastor. He was born into a prominent Seminole family. His uncle was Micanopy, the leading chief of the Seminole tribe, and his father was Ote Emathla, a trusted advisor and brother-in-law of Micanopy and an important Seminole leader in his own right.
Jumper became the principal chief of the Seminoles after the death of his brother, James Jumper, in 1849. Jumper fought against the United States in the Second Seminole War (1835 -1842) and was sent to Indian Territory after his capture. Jumper led those Seminoles who supported the Confederacy; these Seminoles owned African Slaves. The signing of a treaty with the new government was in the hope of gaining an Indian state if they were successful. He served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Confederate Army Seminole Mounted Volunteers. In 1850, he led a delegation to Florida to encourage the remaining Seminoles to move to Indian Territory. As chief, he oversaw the establishment of the Seminole Nation in Indian Territory in 1856. He also supported the establishment of schools for his people by Presbyterian ministers.
When the American Civil War broke out, Jumper reluctantly agreed to sign an alliance with the Confederate States of America. He also enlisted in the Confederate Army, first serving as a major in the First Battalion Seminole Mounted Rifles and lieutenant colonel of the First Regiment Seminole Volunteers. He led these troops in the battles of Round Mountain, Chusto-Talasah, Middle Boggy, and Second Cabin Creek.
After the American Civil War, Jumper was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1865 and represented the Southern Seminoles at the Fort Smith Council, where the U.S. Government recognized Union loyalist John Chupko as the Principal Chief of the Seminole Nation. Jumper was elected Principal Chief in 1882 and was succeeded by his son-in-law, John F. Brown, in 1885. He served as pastor of the Spring Baptist Church near the community of Sasakwa in the Seminole Nation, Indian Territory, and remained pastor there until 1894.
Because of the Seminole alliance with the Confederacy, the United States forced the tribe to sign a new peace treaty after the war. They were required to emancipate their slaves and to offer those freedmen who wanted to stay in Indian Territory, full citizenship in the tribe. John Jumper died at his home near Wewoka, Indian Territory, on September 21, 1896.
