Early Life
Alexander Posey born on August 3, 1873, near present Eufaula, Creek Nation. He was the oldest of twelve children, and his parents were Lawrence Hence Posey, who was Scotch-Irish, and Nancy Phillips Posey (Creek name Pohas Harjo), who was Muscogee Creek and a member of the Harjo family.
Because Posey's mother was from the tribal town of Tuskegee and Creek clan membership follows matrilineal lines, Posey himself was a Wind Clan member of Tuskegee. Although Posey's father named Lewis H. Posey was born to European-American parents, he called himself Creek. He was raised in the Creek Nation from the time he was orphaned, he spoke the Muscogee language fluently, and he was a member of the Broken Arrow tribal town. Young Alexander spoke only Muscogee. When he was fourteen, his father insisted that he speak English and punished him if he spoke in his native language. From that time, Posey received a formal education, including three years at Bacone Indian University in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
In 1896, Posey married Minnie Harris, a schoolteacher. Together they had three children, Yahola Irving, Pachina Kipling, and Wynema Torrans, each with a middle name reflecting the couple's literary heroes.
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