William Hicks

William Abraham Hicks (1769 – ) was a wealthy farmer and leader of the Cherokee Nation. In a time of crisis, the National Cherokee Council named Hicks the interim Principal Chief in October 1827. He served in that capacity until October 1828. Hicks succeeded his older brother Charles Hicks, who died in office in January 1827, two weeks after coming to the position. Hicks became a farmer in the Oothkalooga valley of present-day Georgia. He was of mixed race and supported European-American education for his and other Cherokee children, as well as the opening of a mission and school in the valley. He and his family were baptized into the Moravian Christian faith. Early life and family Charles and William's father was Nathan Hicks (1740–1829), a trader. Their mother is unknown. William was the youngest of the family. His siblings included Sarah Gosaduisga (1758), Elizabeth (1759), Mary (1760), Nathan Jr (1764), Elizabeth (1766), and Charles (1767). Career and community William Hicks developed a farm in the valley of the Oothkalooga Creek, along with Cherokee leader and neighbor, Major Ridge, and turned it into a recognized "garden spot" (near present-day Calhoun in Gordon County, Georgia).