Henry Timberlake

Henry Timberlake (1730 or 1735 – September 30, 1765) was a colonial Anglo-American officer, journalist, and cartographer. He was born in the Colony of Virginia and died in England. He is best known for his work as an emissary from the British colonies to the Overhill Cherokee during the 1761–1762 Timberlake Expedition.

Timberlake's account of his journeys to the Cherokee, published posthumously as his memoirs in 1765, became a primary source for later studies of the people's eighteenth-century culture. His detailed descriptions of Cherokee towns, townhouses (also known as councilhouses), weapons, and tools have been invaluable to later historians and anthropologists. The details have helped them identify Cherokee structures and cultural objects uncovered at modern archaeological excavation sites throughout the southern Appalachian region. For instance, during the Tellico Archaeological Project prior to construction of the Tellico Dam, which included a series of salvage excavations conducted in the lower Little Tennessee River basin in the 1970s, archaeologists used Timberlake's map, known as Draught of the Cherokee Country, to help locate major Overhill village sites.

Early life and career

Henry Timberlake was born in Hanover County, Virginia to Francis and Sarah (née Austin) Timberlake. The Dictionary of American Biography says that Timberlake was born in 1730; Timberlake's age as recorded on his marriage license implies that he was born in 1735. According to his memoir, Timberlake was a grandson of Henry Timberlake, a member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London and the Virginia Company.