George Lowrey (also Lowery or Lowry) or Tsa-Tsi-Agi-Li (c. 1770 â 20 October 1852) was a Cherokee chief, political leader, translator, and longâÂÂserving public official in the Cherokee Nation. He held numerous national offices, including multiple terms as Assistant Principal Chief, and participated in the creation of both the 1827 and 1839 Cherokee constitutions.
Lowrey was born around 1770, the son of George Lowrey, a white trader, and Nannie (Nancy) Watts of the AniâÂÂGilohi (Long Hair) clan. His Cherokee names were recorded by John Howard Payne in the 1830s as TsiâÂÂtsaâÂÂLawili or Agili. He may have been the unnamed Cherokee youth who accompanied a delegation to Philadelphia in 1792.
By the early nineteenth century, Lowrey was a local chief and frequent correspondent of U.S. Indian Agent Return J. Meigs, writing from âÂÂLowryvilleâ on issues including white intruders, stolen horses, and supply shortages. He took a land reservation under the Treaty of 1819 and later helped negotiate the treaty as part of the Cherokee delegation.
Lowrey held numerous public offices in the Cherokee Nation. His tombstone erected by order of the National Council records that he served as:
Although some later accounts claimed he was a major in the War of 1812, muster rolls do not list him; his brother John served in that capacity.
Lowrey collaborated with his sonâÂÂinâÂÂlaw David Brown to translate portions of the New Testament into the Cherokee syllabary. Their translation of the Gospel of Matthew appeared in the Cherokee Phoenix between April and July 1828.
He also authored a tract on temperance in Cherokee.
In the 1835 Cherokee census, Lowrey, his wife, and twenty enslaved people were recorded as living in WillâÂÂs Valley (presentâÂÂday Alabama). He and his family were forcibly removed to Indian Territory in 1838 as part of the Benge/Lowrey detachment, settling in the Delaware District.
Lowrey died on 20 October 1852 in the Tahlequah District of the Cherokee Nation (Indian Territory). His tombstone describes him as âÂÂAn Honest Man. A Spotless Patriot. A Devoted Christianâ and notes his long service as a ruling elder and deacon in Cherokee churches.
Lowrey married Lucy Benge around 1790, and they had seven children: James, Susan, George, Lydia, Rachel, John, and Anderson. He also fathered three sons, Archibald, Washington, and Charles, by other women.