The Seminole Indians were Creek Indians from Georgia and Alabama who migrated to Florida for several reasons, including much conflict from not only other native groups but European pursuits. This thesis documents the early Creeks coming into northwest Florida, and thereby contributes to the larger research question of Seminole ethnogenesis. By compiling not only the confusing and often unclear historical documentation, but also the archaeological record, this thesis examines Creek/Seminole archaeological sites along the Apalachicola River and lower Chattahoochee River and matches them up with known historical towns to see where and when the Creek Indians were coming into Florida within this valley and when these groups were being referred to as Seminoles. Another question addressed is why the sites, either known historical or archaeological, all fall in the northern portion of the project area and on the west bank of the rivers. The significance of this research is to try to correlate archaeological sites with historic towns and get a better understanding of which native groups are being referred to as Seminole, when they came into Florida, where they were settling, and what the settlements look like archaeologically.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.

This study surveys the dreams and ideas of the missionary movement as shown in the life of the Worcester-Robertson family who lived among the Cherokee and Creek Indians. The sources include pertinent material in the papers of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), Houghton Library, Harvard University; the Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia; the Indian Archives and Alice Robertson papers, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City; the Alice Robertson Collection, University of tulsa; family papers, interviews and correspondence.