Early Life and Education
Holmes Colbert was of mixed race, the son of Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Colbert, of mixed race, and a Chickasaw mother. He was a descendant of James Logan Colbert, a Scots trader from North Carolina who settled in Chickasaw country in the mid-18th century, and his third wife, who had a Chickasaw mother and belonged to her clan. They had six sons. Other sources say the Colberts had five sons. Because the Chickasaw have a matrilineal system, children are considered born into their mother's clan and they gain status in the tribe through her people, including any hereditary leadership positions. The status of their mothers, combined with their father's access to trade goods, led to the Colbert men becoming prominent landowners and leaders in the Chickasaw nation.
Read more about this topic: Holmes Colbert
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or education:
“It is easy to see that, even in the freedom of early youth, an American girl never quite loses control of herself; she enjoys all permitted pleasures without losing her head about any of them, and her reason never lets the reins go, though it may often seem to let them flap.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)
“I, with other Americans, have perhaps unduly resented the stream of criticism of American life ... more particularly have I resented the sneers at Main Street. For I have known that in the cottages that lay behind the street rested the strength of our national character.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)
“‘Tis well enough for a servant to be bred at an University. But the education is a little too pedantic for a gentleman.”
—William Congreve (1670–1729)