Question

Was Comfort Johnson (1754-1836) of Cherokee descent? if so, do u have proof?

Comments

can you tell us a little bit more about her? Husband? Where did she live? Does she have a profile here on wikitree?

Answer 1

There is nothing in any records to suggest a Cherokee connection.  Comfort lived in Bladen County, N.C. hundreds of miles from the Cherokee Nation.  She is named in the will of John Hester as his wife in 1819.  The family appears on the U.S. Census as white in 1790, 1800, and 1810.  As a widow, Comfort herself is listed on the 1820 census as white.  There is no one named Hester on the Siler/Chapman Rolls of Cherokee East of the Mississippi from 1851.

Comments

Thank you for getting back so quickly! The 7th generation persons in question in my tree are named 'Comfort' (1754-1836, b Robeson. NC, d. Bladen, NC) and she was reportedly married to John Hester (1754-1819, b/d Bladen, NC), who is reportedly about half Cherokee, although that hasn't been verified at this time. John & Comfort had a daughter named Rebecca Hester (gen. 6, 1788-1870, b. Bladen, NC, d. Loundes Co, AL) and Rebecca had a son named John William Davis (gen. 5,1812-1897, b. Bladen, NC, d. Crenshaw Co., AL), who had a son, Sampson Ephraim Davis (gen. 4, 1858-1946, b. Bladen, d. Loundes Co., AL). Also, John Hester's father is reportedly named Thomas Hester Sr. (gen. 8, 1715-1785, b. Bladen, NC, d. Bladen, NC) There are a lot of name similarities and I see your 'Comfort Johnson' does not have a spouse or children indicated. I have primary docs through my 6th generation. Hitting a blind spot on gen. 7 with Comfort only as I have docs linking John Hester down my tree to me and the other gens. in between. Wondering if your 'Comfort' and mine could be the same woman? My Comfort is only listed as 'Comfort Cherokee'. But if Comfort Johnson did indeed marry John Hester, who was indeed a half-blood Cherokee man, Comfort would have become a member of the Cherokee nation via marriage, even if she were white and they were living off a reservation. Her family may have not wished to recognize the marriage and the offspring if this is true. Or it could all just be a big name coincidence:)

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This is not my family, so I don’t know much more than I can find on line.  Based on your message and the profile for “Comfort Johnson” on Wikitree, it appears you were referring to the  woman married to John Hester in Bladon County.  I did not find a record online that confirmed her maiden name, only the will of John Hester naming his wife, Comfort, and chidren matching those on the Wikitree profile.  There is absolutely nothing to suggest that either of these people had any connection to the Cherokee Nation, hundreds of miles away from where they lived.  Every record says they were white.  John Hester was not Cherokee, he was born, lived, and died in eastern North Carolina.  Very few white men lived with or even visited the Cherokee in the first half of the 18th century,  A special license was needed from the colonial government to trade with the Cherokee. Any Cherokee children fathered by white men remained with their mothers in the Cherokee Nation.

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There are many documents available for this family including wills, deeds, and a lengthy court case involving the estate of Comfort Hester.  Some are reproduced on line, others are available at the North Carolina State Archives. John Hester of Bladen County gave land to his son-in-law, Sampson Davis husband of Rebecca Hester, before he died.  Looking at these documents is probably the best way to confirm that you have the right family.  John Hester was a Revolutionary War soldier, and the DAR also has a lengthy file on him so that might be another source for you.

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You stated, "John Hester of Bladen County gave land to his son-in-law, Sampson Davis husband of Rebecca Hester, before he died." Yes, this is the same family (my family) and you're probably right about the Cherokee lineage as I've yet to confirm it. As I said, I'm trying to validate the claims I've found about the Cherokee line going up the tree from John Hester. However you stated that, "Any Cherokee children fathered by white men remained with their mothers in the Cherokee Nation." I don't believe that's accurate for any of the "5 civilized tribes." Land was commonly allotted to Scott-Irish men who were married to Native women, you can even see this as late as the Dawes Roll. Early on they were adopted by the tribes and their children became leaders.  Creek example:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-McGillivray 

I just attended a seminar at the Church of LDS in Los Angeles on the incidence of European and African members of the Cherokee Nation. White men were tribal Cherokee members as long as they remained married to a tribal member. As it turns out, Cherokees owned African slaves and even after their slaves were freed, they gave them tribal membership. At one point in history it was revoked and then reinstated. 

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White men (and women) were only Cherokee if they had been adopted and lived in the Cherokee Nation.  Those people are documented; the Cherokee also gave people permits to live in the Nation.  John Hester did  not live in the    Cherokee Nation, did not have a permit, and was not a Cherokee citizen.  I am a citizen of  Cherokee Nation and I have been working with Cherokee genealogy for over 30 years.  The Cherokee have extensive documentation, citizenship records, etc.   No one in this family lived in the Cherokee Nation. This family was totally white.

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Thank you for that explanation. As someone who's in the Cherokee Nation and involved in genealogy for decades, what is your take on the Moytoys? Were they real people or are they a myth?

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There is no “Moytoy” family.  The Cherokee were matrilineal until the early 1800’s.  There were no surnames and families were made up of a woman, her mother, siblings, and male members of the mother’s immediate family and clan.  The trees you see on the Internet are made up, as are many of the individuals included on them.  Some of the individuals were historical figures, but their families are completely unknown. Positions of leadership were achieved by consensus of the residents of a town, not by inheritance.  A man called ‘Moytoy’ was a  Cherokee leader from about 1728 until his death in 1741.  His parents, siblings, and wife are unknown.  He had one known son.  It’s quite possible that ‘Moytoy’ was a title and not a name at all.  There are almost no records of Cherokee families before the Revolutionary War, and few before the early 1800’s.