LIVING HISTORY
71
COURTESY OF THE DURHAM FAMILY
Sallie Chupco Tommie, daughter of Chief Tallahassee and Polly Parker, one of the most significant women in Seminole history, was
the matriarch of the Tommie family of Fort Pierce, where the family’s camp on Midway Road was arranged around her chickee. The
family may be among the region’s earliest settlers. This pastel of Sallie Tommie, date unknown, was created by Tommie family friend
and Seminole historian John Durham, who died in January. Opposite page, the Tommie family gathered for this photo in 1996 when
tribal land was dedicated for what would become the family’s new home at Chupco’s Landing on Okeechobee Road in Fort Pierce.
These elders (children of Sallie Tommie and her husband, Jack) appear left to right in the front row: Minnie Tommie Howard (in red
dress), Marie Tommie Gillens, Hope Tommie Wilcox and Bessie Tommie, the only one of the siblings who survives today. Seated in
the front row is former tribal chairman James Billie.