I found my Indian ancestors!

[flyingfysh]

All my life, I had been told that my grandmother was 1/4 Cherokee. I starting wondering: if I have Cherokees among my ancestors, which ones are they? What are their names? Where did they live?

After a great deal of searching and working with Cherokee genealogists, I finally found her ancestors: among the Choctaws! (no trace of Cherokee). My grandmother may well have been full-blood Choctaw; the old Indian records are very unreliable in that respect. Any Choctaw who admitted to being more than 1/3 Indian was regarded as too stupid to manage his own affairs, and was assigned a white "overseer" who usually found a way to steal his land. So Choctaws all started claiming less than 1/3 Indian blood, since there was no disadvantage to doing so.

By appearance, my grandmother could very well have been full Choctaw. she had darker skin than most whites, and very black hair until the day she died. And people who lose track of their Indian ancestry often claim Cherokee, since Cherokees are the larger and more powerful tribe.

[Arkansas Granny]

1. I was told by an old woman one time (she was born before 1900) that when the government

started assigning roll numbers, those Indian women who were married to white men were told by their husbands to apply for their number claiming the least amount of Indian blood they could and still qualify. They wanted the government benefits without the stigma of being known as married to a full blood Indian. According to her, there are a lot of people today who have a closer Indian heritage than they realize.

I believe this may have happened in my own family. My father, grandmother, great grandmother and other older family members could have easily passed for Indian, but they always claimed that they were 7 or 8 generations removed from Indian ancestry.

[HopeHoops]

2. The only two I know of were Susquehannas from the late 17th century.

They lived near where Harrisburg and TMI are now. It's weird, but some of the facial features and skin pigment are still present. My mom, me, and my youngest daughter all show it. The eldest two don't show a trace. I still haven't figured out how genes that diluted could still be an influence.

[Tikki]

3. I have been fortunate that many of my Native ancestors....

appear on the Internet on the tribal rolls and with added information to follow..
I knew the tribe and my great-grandmother's name and that helps immensely.

Tikki... a daughter of the Oglala Sioux

[MADem]

4. You should see if there's a DNA bank at Ancestry or other geneological societies.

You send in some DNA, and they'll be able to tell you what percentage you are, which will help sort out what Grandmother was. Worth taking up with the person who helped you in your search....

[applegrove]

5. National geographic will trace your male line and your female mitochodrial line if you

buy the kit and do the tests. Then you get a number and can look up how your peeps came to where they are traced back to.

[WolverineDG]

6. That is so cool!

I did one for myself (female line only---still have to tackle my brother so I can get info on my paternal line). I was surprised at the results I got. I would have thought, based on my mom's family history & genealogy, that I would be from one of the more common groups found in the British Isles. Not so! Turns out, my matrilineal heritage originated along the northern coast of Spain, near the Basque region, about 15,000 years ago & that group is thought to be the ones who did the cave paintings at Lasceaux.

[MADem]

10. Armada sailor that managed to swim ashore, maybe? nt

[Neoma]

7. How do you trace that sort of thing?

I kind of don't want to be associated with my grandmother who knows way too much genealogy... But I know my grandfather's name, and it's his grandmother that was full blooded... Kind of you're situation.

[nolabear]

9. Congrats. We've always known my g-g-grandmother is Choctaw.

In fact there are quite a number of stories about her skills as an herbalist and healer. She was Theodosia, the second wife of John. She'd been brought in to care for his first wife, who had puerpueral ("childbed&quot fever after the birth of their baby. The first wife didn't survive and John kept her on to care for the other children, and eventually married her. My line descends from one of their children through my paternal grandmother. My father credits her with saving his life on more than one occasion when he was small, and I've seen her techniques documented many times in SOuthern and Choctaw folk medicine.

We can't find her on the rolls but she was a pretty major character in the family history. As others have said, it was advantageous not to be an Indian in Mississippi in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She's always been the strong woman in my line that I'm pleased to have come from.

[pengillian101]

11. I cross-posted this great thread to the

Ancestry/Genealogy Group.

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/1156217

Good news

[kdmorris]

12. I always thought I was 1/64 Cherokee

turns out she was Potowatomi

Great find, though! I love it when I break down a brick wall.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

13. This makes me think.

I know I have Choctaw blood in me but my grandmother always teased my grandfather, who was from Oklahoma, that he didn't have as much Indian blood in him as he claimed. Now I wonder. He looked pretty Indian to me. I could have a lot more Indian blood in me than I thought. It would be interesting to find out.

[sishistproj]

14. D U Genealogists please help

This is a complete highjack, I'm sorry.

I read on an old DU of Rosie1223 who spoke of two men and requesting information. I know LOTS about eh men, but can't start a thread, or find my way around your site.

Jasper Price was one of the men.

Can anyone assist me to contact Rosie 1223.