FELICITY: The Smyrna Cemetery's Shawnee Sorceress

FELICITY:

THE SMYRNA CEMETERY'S SHAWNEE SORCERESS

There never were many permanent Native American villages in the county because of its humidity and swampiness. Beginning in the 1780s, white settlers were taking over the Indians hunting grounds of present day Kentucky and as the white man began to settle along the south bank of the Ohio River, confrontations became more frequent. The Native Americans wanted to maintain the Ohio River as the permanent border between themselves and the white settlers but the felt safer moving further north into the Ohio country.

One village, which was in Clermont County, was located on the site of present Smyrna Cemetery located on Smyrna Road about a half mile east of Felicity. There are a couple stories about the Shawnee who lived here. The best known story tells of Sweet Lips, the leader of the village who it is also believe was the village's religious leader.

On Christmas Eve 1787 she led an attack on a survey party led by John O’Bannon. The surveyors were camped on the present Felicity-Franklin High School building grounds. A fight ensured and there were some casualties but no deaths. The Shawnee took one prisoner, Peter Hastings. Hastings was brought back to the Shawnee camp and painted black for death. Fortunately for him, Sweet Lips liked him a lot. She persuaded her people to spare him. In the time Hastings was prisoner, he managed to talk her into allowing him to escape by promising to return after Sweet Lips told him she feared he would eventually be executed. She promised him land if he would return.

Hastings did return in the summer of 1795 after signing the treaty of Greeneville, which forced the Indians to surrender the land. He asked Sweet Lips for the land she promised to give him. Her tribe was already extremely foul because they had given up some of their land 8 years earlier, and finding Sweet Lips agreed to give him more of their land made the tribe even more furious.

Before moving more of the Greenville Treaty Line, they decided to execute Sweet Lips. The tribes made her dig her own grave kneel over it, and then she was tomahawked in the back of the head and finally burned after she fell into the grave.

There are stories of what appears to be an Indian woman roaming around the Smyrna Cemetery searching for her people. She is reported to be seen on foggy moonlit nights bent over in grief hoping to make amends with her people who left her behind more than 200 years ago.


	FELICITY: THE SMYRNA CEMETERY'S SHAWNEE SORCERESS There never were many permanent Native American villages in the county because of its humidity and swampiness. Beginning in the 1780s, white settlers were taking over the Indians hunting grounds of present day Kentucky and as the white man began to settle along the south bank of the Ohio River, confrontations became more frequent. The Native Americans wanted to maintain the Ohio River as the permanent border between themselves and the white settlers but the felt safer moving further north into the Ohio country. One village, which was in Clermont County, was located on the site of present Smyrna Cemetery located on Smyrna Road about a half mile east of Felicity. There are a couple stories about the Shawnee who lived here. The best known story tells of Sweet Lips, the leader of the village who it is also believe was the village's religious leader. On Christmas Eve 1787 she led an attack on a survey party led by John O’Bannon. The surveyors were camped on the present Felicity-Franklin High School building grounds. A fight ensured and there were some casualties but no deaths. The Shawnee took one prisoner, Peter Hastings. Hastings was brought back to the Shawnee camp and painted black for death. Fortunately for him, Sweet Lips liked him a lot. She persuaded her people to spare him. In the time Hastings was prisoner, he managed to talk her into allowing him to escape by promising to return after Sweet Lips told him she feared he would eventually be executed. She promised him land if he would return. Hastings did return in the summer of 1795 after signing the treaty of Greeneville, which forced the Indians to surrender the land. He asked Sweet Lips for the land she promised to give him. Her tribe was already extremely foul because they had given up some of their land 8 years earlier, and finding Sweet Lips agreed to give him more of their land made the tribe even more furious. Before moving more of the Greenville Treaty Line, they decided to execute Sweet Lips. The tribes made her dig her own grave kneel over it, and then she was tomahawked in the back of the head and finally burned after she fell into the grave. There are stories of what appears to be an Indian woman roaming around the Smyrna Cemetery searching for her people. She is reported to be seen on foggy moonlit nights bent over in grief hoping to make amends with her people who left her behind more than 200 years ago.