Biography: Will Rogers - Writer, Humorist, "Cowboy," Cherokee Nation citizen
Will Rogers was my 3rd cousin, 3X removed. My great-grandmother, Estelle, an enrolled Eastern Cherokee, was Will's 3rd cousin. Depending on the photo and the period, Will bore a striking resemblance to my father, particularly the likeness above. Will had quite a few one-liners for the events of his day. Famous for saying, "I never met a man I didn't like," he was also known for his anecdotes about the national political scene during the early 1900's. Referring once to the Senate, Will said, "Both parties just spent the session scratching each other's back, and us paying for the manicure." Will was plainspoken and unafraid. Another favorite of mine is, "The successful don't work any harder than the failures. They get what is called in baseball the breaks."
William Penn Adair Rogers descended from the Cherokee matriarch listed on the "Cherokee Family History" page of this site, Soniovee "Susannah" Sonicooie. He was born in Oologah (Rogers County), Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), on 4 November 1879 and died in a plane crash off the coast of Alaska on 15 August 1935. Will was a circus performer, Vaudeville entertainer, and stage cowboy. He later wrote regularly for The New York Times and The Saturday Evening Post. In 1928, to demonstrate his belief that presidential campaigning was nonsense, he ran for the office. On Election Day, he asserted victory, and then immediately withdrew.
Will has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and numerous memorials and tributes are named for him. He was, truly, an American original.
Sources:
Jackson Family History
Shadburn, Don. Unhallowed Instrusion: A History of Cherokee Families In Forsyth County, Georgia. Cumming: The Cottonpatch Press, 1993.
Waldrop, Robert V. Will Rogers Views The News: Humorist Ponders Current Events. Bloomington: Abbott Press, 2011.
Wikipedia
William Penn Adair Rogers descended from the Cherokee matriarch listed on the "Cherokee Family History" page of this site, Soniovee "Susannah" Sonicooie. He was born in Oologah (Rogers County), Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), on 4 November 1879 and died in a plane crash off the coast of Alaska on 15 August 1935. Will was a circus performer, Vaudeville entertainer, and stage cowboy. He later wrote regularly for The New York Times and The Saturday Evening Post. In 1928, to demonstrate his belief that presidential campaigning was nonsense, he ran for the office. On Election Day, he asserted victory, and then immediately withdrew.
Will has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and numerous memorials and tributes are named for him. He was, truly, an American original.
Sources:
Jackson Family History
Shadburn, Don. Unhallowed Instrusion: A History of Cherokee Families In Forsyth County, Georgia. Cumming: The Cottonpatch Press, 1993.
Waldrop, Robert V. Will Rogers Views The News: Humorist Ponders Current Events. Bloomington: Abbott Press, 2011.
Wikipedia
