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Moriah (Bland) Crewes (1615 - 1676)

Moriah Crewes formerly Bland
Born in Varina, Henrico, Virginiamap
Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
[spouse(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Died at about age 61 in Varina, Henrico, Virginiamap
Profile last modified | Created 1 Jun 2013
This page has been accessed 6,229 times.
Research suggests that this person may never have existed. See the text for details.
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Moriah (Bland) Crewes is currently protected by the Native Americans Project for reasons described below.
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This profile is protected by WikiTree's Native American Project due to claims about her Native American origin. Please use g2g to discuss evidence for her existence and relationships.

Biography

Moriah Bland has been claimed to have been born in 1615 or 1634; some claim she was also a Native American, either Cherokee or Powhatan. She is said to have passed away in 1676.

Research Notes

No record of the name, existence, vitals, or relationships of a Native woman named Moriah Bland has been found prior to the late 20th, early 21st century in online trees and captured in the self-published, unsourced book, Shawnee Heritage by Don Greene and Noel Schutz. [1] This 2008 book has been discussed on several genealogical discussion boards. Reviews include complaints of errors, poor documentation and lack of sourcing. [2] [3] [4] These same sources claim that she mated with James Crewes and gave birth to a daughter Hannah who later married Giles Carter.

When James Crewes made his will, he was about to be executed for his participation in Bacon's Rebellion. If he died without a will his property would revert to the Colonial government, something he likely wanted to avoid.

Mary Frances Reynolds Eggleston reposted the following information regarding James Crewes and his supposed daughter, Hannah by Moriah Bland d/o John (Cherokee Indian) Bland 1580 ? 1655 and Native American Cherokee (name unknown) [5]

The theory has been proposed that because James Crewes' will left a large bequest to Giles Carter and his wife Hannah, that Hannah must therefore be his offspring. Court records about James Crewes indicate he had no lawful heirs. Some concluded that this meant that Hannah must be an unlawful heir-- i.e., result of a union with a Native American. This information comes from a 2008 genealogy.com discussion board which presents the evidence that is said to prove that Hannah Carter, wife of Giles Carter was the daughter of James Crewes and an unidentified Indian woman. [6] From a 2008 genealogy.com discussion board reply posted by Richard Zieman titled, "Hannah as the "Unlawful" Daughter" comes the following:

(The comments in italics were added and do not appear in the original post)

Although no official record has been found which names the parents of Hannah, wife of Giles Carter, a convincing accumulation of evidence indicates that Hannah was a daughter of James Crewes and a Native American woman. This conclusion is supported by the following evidence:
1. Contemporaneous records indicate that Hannah, wife of Giles Carter, was a daughter of James Crewes. The records alluded to do not specifically state that Hannah is a child of James Crewes. The conclusion is conjectural.
2. The ages of James Crewes (born about 1621) and Hannah (born about 1652 are consistent with a father-daughter relationship. This is circumstantial and does not take into account that there may be other father candidates in the right age range.
3. James Crewes was present in the vicinity of Turkey Island, and Henrico Co., Virginia during 1651 - the probably location of and year before, Hannah's birth. Hannah date of birth and birth place are conjectural and not proved
4. When Giles Carter exhibited James Crewes Will in court, he was exercising the traditional responsibility of a executor's next-of-kin. Giles Carter was not the executor of James's will. Giles has no known blood relationship to James Crewes. This conclusion does not take into account other possible reasons that Giles may have been entrusted with his will.
5. James Crewes bequest of a plantation for life to both Giles Carter and Hannah, considered in the context of an era of limited female property rights, indicates the connection between James Crewes and the Carters centered upon a special relationship between James Crewes and Hannah. Agreed that there was a close relationship between Giles Carter and James Crewes but the reason given for that relationship is conjectural
6. James Crewes provided in his will for the Carter family as a father provided for his children and grandchildren. According to probate records the court determined that James had no surviving widow or legal children. Since he had no recognized heirs to make claim to his estate he may have been leaving his property to Giles, who james calls his "dear friend" and his wife Hannah. This is not a unique occurrence and Hannah is not named as a child, so the conclusion is conjectural

It is not known when Moriah Bland was first suggested as the native consort or James Crewes and the origins of the story are somewhat murky,


Sources

  1. Don Greene and Noel Schutz, Shawnee Heritage, self-published April 9, 2008
  2. Laverne Piatt and others, Don Greene, Noel Schutz, "Shawnee Heritage", Shawnee Message Board (Ancestry.com), 19 Jul 2011
  3. Reader Reviews, "Shawnee Heritage", Don Greene, Noel Shhutz
  4. Hannah Crews Carter Parents
  5. IMMIGRANT Giles Carter1635 - 1701
  6. Richard Zieman and others, Hannah as the "Unlawful" Daughter, Carter Message Board (Ancestry.com) September 10, 2008.

See also:

  • Giles Carter of Virginia: a genealogical memoir by William Giles Harding Carter,by Carter, William H. (William Harding), 1851-1925. Publication date 1909
  • Will of James Crewes, in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography], Volume 4 For the Year Ending June 1897. Captain James Crews, of Turkey Island, Henrico County; Will Bequests to Various member of the Giles Carter Family. Henry Isham, Sr. Notes.




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Comments: 10

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If you look at Loyalists and Baconians: the Loyalists and Baconians: the participants in Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia, 1676-1677 by John Harold Sprinkle Jr. of the College of William & Mary, it gives a good account of slaves and servants on the James Crewes plantation. Specifically, it states that there was 1 female English servent, 1 Black female slave, and 1 Indian female slave. Specifically, pages 80, 84, and 88 may be relevant to this discussion.

https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3727&context=etd

posted by Cristan Williams
Cristan, can you say more about how what is on those pages is relevant to our discussion? Thanks so much.
posted by Jillaine Smith
Jillaine, The book Cristan Williams referenced has an error on page 85 which is a modern creation showing a tabulation Slaves of early Virginia residences based on Inventories of their estates. This chart does show James Crewes to have a female indian Slave but the source documents do not show this. The there were 2 inventories for James Crewes estate the first in 1677 made for Governor Wm Berkley and a later one about 1679 shows that he had no female indian Slave. He did have an Indian Slave named Tero aka John Tero/Terro/Teroo who James Crewes freed in his will also saying he was to serve 3 additional years to the estate then receive his freedom, and enough land for him and another [should he marry it is though] John Tero did not get his bequest without having to go to court but he did receive it although probably did not get the livestock as that was conditional on Crewes estate having some.

Servants: 1 Negro man about 20 years old. 1 Negro woman about 16 years old. 1 English maid named Mary Stringer 2 years to serve. 1 good Indian man named Turoo: sold by Sir William Berkeley to Major William White for 2000 lbs. 1 sable horse taken when James Crews was taken and given to Col. William Farrar by Sir William Berkeley.

posted by Mike Carter
Thanks, Mike, for this follow up. Can you share or cite the original source documents so others of us could also take a look? Many thanks.
posted by Jillaine Smith
Probate records are digitized at FamilySearch

Virginia wills and administrations. Henrico County

p. 139-140. Will pro. 10 Dec. 1677 & 2 Aug. 1680.

p. 154. Inv. & appr. dated 24 Mar. 1680/81.

p. 161. Adms. bond rec. 21 Dec. 1680.

p. 369-370. Accounts rec. 1 June 1686.

Records, 1677-1697

posted by Kathie (Parks) Forbes
edited by Kathie (Parks) Forbes
The parent-child relationship between Hannah Carter and Moriah Bland has been disconnected for lack of evidence. The character known as Moriah Bland is a fictional creation and no valid sources exists to support her existence. She can be found in the Don Greene work, Shawnee Heritage a self published work on Indian ancestry that is known for it's lack of valid sources and errors of fact.
posted by David Douglass
The Shawnee Heritage books are not just questionable they are complete frauds. If anything in them is accurate it’s by accident.
posted by Kathie (Parks) Forbes
James and Moriah's marriage date is given as 1651 however there is no proof they were ever married. At that time in history a marriage between a white man and a native woman would not have been possible. In 1691 colonial law made a relationship between a white man and Indian woman illegal and punishable. The traditional story about James and Moriah is that they had an illegitimate child, Hannah that later married Giles Carter. If you have proof that James married Moriah please add your source. Hannah who is indicated as being born in 1638 would have been 13 years old at the time of their supposed marriage. It is questionable that James Crewes ever had a relationship with Moriah, even more questionable that they would have married.
posted by David Douglass

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Categories: Shawnee Heritage Fraud | Uncertain Existence | Native American Adjunct