Indian Nations in the Southern Department — 1766 map | Source Catalog
Public source-catalog entry · MAP-022
Record information
Original or catalog title: Indian Nations in the Southern Department — 1766 map
Record type: Colonial map (facsimile). Date: 1766 (later reproduction). Places or communities: Chickasaw; Choctaw; Creek; Cherokee; Delaware; southeastern North America.
Catalog summary
Shows many Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Cherokee towns, principal forts, rivers and routes across the Southeast. The historical map dates to 1766; this digitized sheet is a later facsimile of the manuscript held by the Clements Library. Town symbols and colonial labels help locate communities but do not define modern tribal boundaries.
Source citation
Map of the Indian nations in the Southern Department, original dated 1766, attributed in the catalog to John Gerar William De Brahm. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia, hmap1766d4; facsimile of Clements Library manuscript. Digital Library of Georgia. No Copyright—United States.
Reading the source in context
Record the mapmaker, date, edition or facsimile, and holding institution. Historical town symbols and colonial labels do not define modern tribal boundaries. Different copies may carry different catalog dates.
The summary above is a modern catalog description. It is separate from the original record and does not establish a connection to any reader's family. Consult the source, then corroborate people, places, dates, and relationships.
Identify the map and the copy you are viewing
The Digital Library of Georgia catalogs this item under John Gerar William De Brahm and dates the original map to 1766. Its description identifies the sheet as a facsimile of a manuscript in the Clements Library, University of Michigan. The Hargrett Library holds the cataloged reproduction.
The catalog describes Indigenous villages and principal forts and towns across the Southeast. It gives a scale of 1:1,500,000 and an extent of one reproduction measuring 50 by 63 centimeters. A reproduction's creation date should not be confused with the date of the original information.
A short catalog transcription
Facsimile of original MS map now in the Clements Library, University of Michigan.
Use historical geography as a search tool
Start with a place already supported by a family record. Write down the historical spelling, nearby waterway, and any associated town or jurisdiction. Compare that location with later maps and records before deciding that two similar place names refer to the same place.
Use a historical map to generate questions about neighboring settlements, travel routes, and repositories. Keep those questions separate from conclusions about an individual's ancestry. A town symbol establishes a mapped location; connecting a family to that community requires records naming people or documenting relationships.
For your citation, record the map title, original date, reproduction status, map number hmap1766d4, holding library, and the catalog URL. If you transcribe a label from the image, preserve its spelling and identify where it appears on the sheet.
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