William Holland Thomas and the Ginseng Trade

After the removal of Native Americans from the eastern United States in 1838, about 60 Cherokee families struggled to remain in the mountains of western North Carolina. As a boy, William Holland Thomas was adopted by the Cherokee chief Yonaguska and later became a merchant, politician, Confederate officer, and, after removal, the white chief of the remaining Cherokee. Holland had commercial experience and limited knowledge of the law,  which aided him in helping the Cherokee purchase their lands. He also represented them in their negotiations in their struggles to remain in their homeland . With very few resources available for commercial trade, one of the few products of value in the North Carolina mountains at that time was ginseng. This paper will explore the role played by ginseng in the purchase of Cherokee lands and William Holland Thomas’ activities as a middleman in the commercial botanical trade.