History

Wondering where the exotic-sounding name "Sehoy" (pronounced Sa-hoy) came from? Sehoy was the name of a brave Indian princess whose name was passed down to three generations of women who shaped Alabama's destiny. It's only fitting that this stunning new development should reflect not only our history but our future as well. For the Creek Indian Nation, the line of political and military succession was through the maternal side of the family, which meant that each husband of' the three Sehoys was a powerful player in the Creeks' civil and military organizations. All of the husbands became adept traders, war chiefs, and diplomats in Creek affairs. They used their powers to appease and deceive the nations fighting for the southeastern part of the United States. In the early 19th century, a log stockade stood just outside the Creek Indian town of Taskifi. From her hut, the Wind Clan chief's young daughter, Sehoy, watched the French soldiers as they went about their duties at Fort Toulouse, or "For des la Alibamus." From her village, this princess could look east up the Coosa River or south down the Tallapoosa River, which joined the Coosa just below the Indian town. Sehoy fell in love with one of the Frenchmen, Captain Marchand, and they married in 1720. Sehoy bore a daughter, also named Sehoy, before Marchand was murdered by the mutinous Garrison in 1722. Through her Creek Indian descendants, Sehoy, the Indian princess would influence the politics of the Creek interior of Alabama to a degree not surpassed in local history. Sehoy Marchand married Lochlan McGillivray, a Scottish trader who lived on the Coosa River at the site of the modern Camp Rotary. A successful trader, McGillivray became a man of great wealth. His marriage to the princess of the Wind Clan, the ruling class of the Creek Confederation, brought him great influence in the Creek nation's affairs. The McGillivrays had one son, Alexander, and three daughters, Sehoy, Sophia, and Jeannet.

Sophia married Ben Durant, for whom Durant's Bend on the Alabama River is named, and they lived on a large plantation along the river. Jeannet married. the French adventurer LeClerc Milfort, who became a war chief of the Creeks and later went back to France to write a book, "Memoire de mon se jour dans la nation Creek." When Lochlan McGillivray returned to Scotland after the British lost their influence in America, Alexander took over his father's interests. Alexander was commissioned in the American, British, and Spanish military and received annuities from the three nations but was astute enough to play them against each other to benefit himself and the Creek Nation. Sehoy McGillivray married John Tait, a British officer who left her just before her son David was born. She then married Charles Weatherford, with whom she had a daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, William. David Tait was brought up as a full brother to Weatherford's children. William Weatherford went on to become the war chief of the "red sticks," the Creeks' war party. He was well-known among both the white men and the Indians for his daring and his intelligence. He drilled his mounted tribesman in military problems devised by Napoleon's calvary general, Murat. Weatherford finally surrendered to General Andrew Jackson at Fort Jackson (formerly Fort Toulouse) and was later paroled. He lived at Little River, Alabama, for several years, and upon his death was buried at Tait's Brickyard near old Montepellier, where his grave is marked by a cairn of native stone He became known as Red Eagle or Lume-Chati. then later as the Truthmaker or Hopolika-Futsahia because of his ruse to foretell the coming of a comet during Tecumseh's attempts to get the Creek Nation on the side of the British during the War of 1812. Weatherford led the Creeks on many war parties; including the Fort Mims Massacre. He inflicted many losses upon white men, both in battle with the military forces and in raids upon the settlements. It is quite remarkable that three generations of Indian women named Sehoy influenced the history of Alabama through their husbands' activities, for good or evil. The princess of the Wind Clan who married the French officer in the pretty blue uniform with gold braid created a line of descendants who would rise to the fore in the development of the Creek Nation's interior to become the great state of Alabama. To honor and permanently capture this era, we have chosen to name this new subdivision Sehoy.

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