At a dead end & unsure of legitimacy of Native American heritage claims for ODUM, South Carolina, 1703

+8 votes
550 views

Hello! I’d be very grateful if anyone can help me.

I was doing some research on Ancestry.com and ran into a brick wall when trying to identify one of my great grandmothers. I couldn’t find any solid record of her myself, but in other people’s trees she is usually labeled Maggie (Cherokee Mother) Odum (1703-1790) 

She was reportedly born in South Carolina and was married to Joshua Odum. In other trees her name is Polly Bowman or Polly Odum, and the spelling of “Odum” ranges from “Odom” to “Oldham.” I can’t find any record of her mother or father.

All the references to her I can find seem to state that she was a Cherokee woman. One other tree states she was possibly Congaree. For the life of me I cannot find the source of this except for a blurb on Geni that states:

“The Bowman family that Polly Bowman was in were AL Cherokee and married Ross Party Sharp. Some joinged in a wagon train from Sharp's Cove, AL McNutty Reservation and left together to go to Rusk TX with Hogg (the Governor's Family) and Thompson familes.

=============================================

Joshua Odom in the North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Index, 1741-2004

Name Joshua Odom
Spouse Polly Bowman
Marriage State North Carolina”

Is there any legitimacy to this? My great grandmother told me before she died that I had Native American heritage, but I know this is a common family myth. 

I listed a portion of my lineage below that I took from Ancestry. Any and all help you can provide is deeply appreciated. Thank you for your time!

————

Maggie (possibly Polly?) Odum (possibly Bowman?) (Cherokee) 1703-1790 

Mary Melissa Talivia Odum Brigman Half Cherokee 1720-1790-Daughter of Polly Maggie Odum (Cherokee)

Isaac Brigman Sr 1748-1811 -Son of Mary Melissa Talivia Odum Brigman Half Cherokee

Moses E Brigman Sr 1796-1857Son of Isaac Brigman Sr

Ann Jane Brigman 1819-1887-Daughter of Moses E Brigman Sr​​​​​​​

in Genealogy Help by M. Masciola G2G Crew (410 points)

3 Answers

+11 votes
 
Best answer

i think you have found a jumbled mess with some wishful thinking added in. There are no records of any Cherokee women by name until late in the 18th century.  Interracial marriage was illegal, so if you have found a marriage record for the couple, the wife was not Native American.  The white traders who married Cherokee women lived in the Cherokee Nation with their wives, not in white communities.  

Joshua Odum and Polly Bowman were married in Burke, N.C. In 1821, not 1741. 

There were multiple men named Isaac Brigman living in North and South Carolina in the second half of the 18th century, but yours is likely the one who died in South Carolina in 1811 naming a son Moses in his will.  I would ignore anything you’ve found on Ancestry or Geni (none of which makes any sense). Start with Isaac and his South Carolina will and try to work back from his death, documenting  his marriage and perhaps finding his parents.  

Link to will on Ancestry: https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/3455577?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a226d4a67594339486247614378357372576a314e5a586a32355964614441717566694c5846714a53796a2f6f3d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d

by Kathie Forbes G2G6 Pilot (997k points)
selected by M. Masciola
Thank you so much for taking the time to take a look at this. That’s what I thought. The longer I was researching the more the story fell apart.I will definitely take your advice.
+5 votes
I am related to the bowmans as well. John blackhawk odum bowman. His father was Daniel bowman, bawman and his mother was an Odum. John was said to be born into the cherokee nation but it's doubtful. The catawba were prominent in Lincoln and Burke counties then. I wonder if our ancestors were from that tribe rather than cherokee. Do you have any info on John bowman and his daughter ailsen kate hawk bowman?
by Lisa Widner G2G Crew (350 points)
+1 vote
My 4th gt grandparents Elijah Driggers b. abt 1760 Georgetown S.C. d. 1823 Charleston Dist. S.C. and Doney Owdom b. Georgetown? S.C. d. 1835 Charleston S.C.  Owdom might be another form of Odom but I thought it might be of Scot Irish origin. Two of their son's Jonas & Elisha are my 3rd gt grandfathers, in the 1850 Census, St. James Goose Creek S.C. a Sarah Sharp was counted in his household as a pauper, she might or might not be a sister to him.
by Barry Huff G2G1 (1.7k points)

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