Are you researching Native Americans? [closed]

+20 votes
3.2k views

The Native Americans Project identifies, adds, sources and tracks WikiTree profiles of Native Americans who lived in what is currently the boundaries of the United States. (See The First Peoples Project for other areas.) 

We also seek out and track the mythological claims about Native Americans that make their way onto WikiTree. 

If you're interested in or otherwise researching Native Americans, please consider joining The Native Americans Project.

We now ask everyone who wants to join to please share a profile you've created or edited that demonstrates your understanding of Wikitree editing generally, including Native Americans profile guidelines, research and sourcing. You must have been a member of WikiTree for at least 30 days, have made at least 100 contributions to WikiTree profiles and (if working on profiles of pre-1700 Native Americans) have successfully completed the Pre-1700 Quiz.

Still interested? Please post an ANSWER below sharing your specific area of interest (a tribe/nation, era or region, for example); please include a link to a profile you've worked on.

Jillaine
co-leader

closed with the note: A new join thread has been started.
in The Tree House by Jillaine Smith G2G6 Pilot (895k points)
closed by Sarah Mason
Just an FYI that Totopotamoi and Cockacoeske have no known modern descendants.  They had no children as a couple.  Cockacoeske had one son but his wife left him and he had no known descendants.
I would love to be part of the Native American Project. My great aunt who researched the family told me we were of the Seneca and Onondaga.  Sadly when she passed a few years ago no one knows where her research papers when too.

I've DNA tested Gedmatch says .52  Ancestry doesn't show any.  I'm hoping to test my mom soon.

I have 4 gg grandmothers I'm unable to find anything on their lines.  I'm hoping to head to NY soon and see what I can find.  I've been told the secret lies in the Onondaga Cemetery.

Thanks Lisa
Howdy Beth Golden, I see we are 10th cousins. Our connection is John Fyshe (his descendants are Fish). I also have Beal ancestors.

My GM Lottie said her GM Euphemia Fish was Mi'kmaq Native. And I suspect Euphemia's GM Fear Bump was too. My Fish family were from Massachusetts, Maine and Nova Scotia.

My daughter Aimee Ryals-298 DNA says she is 3.6% Admixed American and 6% So. & E. Asian and African. Results are on her profile. No known NA's on her dad's side. And my 3rd cuz Marjorie Fish also heard from her father a NA woman married into our family.

I hope this info might be helpful to you and would love to collaborate with you and anyone else that's interested.  : )
Hi Cousin Cheri,

thanks for writing! The Mi'kmaq connection is quite interesting. I've not explored the Fish family except for documenting the basics for Mary Fish Brayton, my 7th great grandmother. So many ancestors, so little time :D

Right now I'm engrossed with a completely different line of my family tree (which eventually ties into my Beall ancestors: Scotland> MD>SC>GA) so won't have time to collaborate with you on the Mi'kmaq connection, but wish you every success.
Thank you, Beth. And Good Luck to you too! Hope we cross paths again when I jump back on my Scotland branches.

Happy Trails!

Cousin Cheri  : )
i have benn serching native since 2007 and know more then jest then one thing about us
i have benn serching native since 2007 and know more then jest then one thing about us it is not duplcated it is me
it is clear to me you dont to know the trouth
I’d like to join please. I sent a message concerning my grandmother, Grace Springer Bland.

Vanessa, please follow the instructions at this new "join" thread here:

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1664924/is-this-a-new-join-the-native-americans-project-thread

22 Answers

+8 votes

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Woodall-1151

Yes I am, from what I've read in the link you have sent me, I fall into the category of Mythological.  I put this up awhile back but have edited it.  If you read you will understand what is going on.  I also have a space page that I've started on him now it is posted on his profile.  It shows Native DNA distribution in the family, so I am trying to trace it.  Although he wouldn't talk much when people were around, he would tell me stories when I was young, I didn't understand all of it. I'd like to know more about what he was talking about then

by Susan Woodall G2G6 Mach 1 (12.9k points)
NA badge added.  Welcome.
Thank you very much.    I look forward to this experience.

Have a great day
+9 votes

I work occasionally in this area. I have Longan in my family and two sisters married into the Bluejacket and Captain families in eastern Oklahoma, both of which are eastern Shawnee:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bluejacket-4

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Captain-20

I've added a lot of profiles to the Bluejacket family:

https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/BLUEJACKET

And descendants of Thomas Captain above.

I grew up in Oklahoma, and am familiar with its history.

Again, I only ever work occasionally in this area, though.

by Eric Weddington G2G6 Pilot (513k points)
Thanks, Eric; do you want to be part of the project?
Hi Eric and others, Bluejacket caught my eye as I have Van Swearingen families in my ancestry (my brothers with ydna significant match). I'm hoping that someone will correct the wikitree profile Swearingen-280 that has the early thought that Marmaduke Van Swearingen became Blue Jacket. It has been debunked through DNA.

Thanks!
Hi Jillaine,

Sure go ahead put me down for the project. Just realize that I'm probably more of an adjunct member.

Hi Beth,

Interesting that you should bring up Van Swearingen. This family also intermarried with Cresap multiple times. I am the manager of the Cresap Name Study.

For examples see Ruth (Swearingen) Cresap and her ancestors. 

+7 votes
My late mother and maternal cousins have always maintained that we have a Muscogee (Creek) ancestor, who was a member of the Wind Clan of the Tama Tribal Town in Whigham Georgia. Wanting to make sure I wasn't chasing a myth, I confirmed it with a DNA test that states my 4th - 7th gg was full blooded Native American.  I am also admixed American with X2 haplogroup. There is nobody left on my mothers side of the family who knows who he/she was. While I have the names of most of my ancestors on her side, there are a couple wives that I am unable to verify where they came from and I suspect it is one of them. My reason for wanting to identify them, and for researching genealogy in the first place, is that I'm very interested in the specific culture and traditions of all my ancestors.
by Melissa Kautzman G2G Crew (410 points)
Melissa,

As I suggested to Gail H elsewhere in this set of threads, you may wish to start a new G2G thread, attached to one of your ancestor's profiles (one with the unverified wife/wives), and perhaps others may be able to help you in researching them.
Can you tell me which company did your dna test? I would like to have mine tested again. My gg-grandmother on both maternal and paternal sides was NA. I used Ancestry and they first told me I had no NA dna. When I confronted them they changed their story and said there was not enough NA dna samples in the SE to tell if anyone has a NA ancestor.

Hello Betty,

I did two, 23&me showed .6% na. CGI Genetics doesn’t specifically show na, but there was 4.9% admixed american, which I goes back to distantly related northsouth american populations, which I suspect
is from my na 4g grandparent. 

Melissa

+6 votes
I believe my 7th grandmother was a Native American, brought to Quebec from the Missouri area as a slave by a French trader.  I don't know her name and I haven't opened a profile for her.  However, I have done what I could for her daughter, my 6th grandmother, who was born in Quebec.   Would love to hear anything you have to say about this profile and any tips you might have on where to get more information.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bisaillon-75

Bisaillon-75
by Mattie Coutts G2G2 (2.0k points)
edited by Mattie Coutts
Mattie, her baptism record says that the birth father is not known. So if Michel Bisaollion was her father, he's not admitting it on the baptism record. I would mark the father as nonbiological.  

I would recommend you research the Missouria tribe to see what you can learn about it. And also about their trading history with Canadian traders.  But given the era, I doubt you'll find further details of her origins.
Yes, the father is unknown, and it is marked non-biological on the profile, though I can only read this when I go in edit mode.  And I mention in the biography that her parentage is pure speculation.  There may be a better way to display this  more clearly?  I  found a notary record dated 2 months after Marie--Catherine's birth that Michels wife sold a slave. One can only imagine why his wife didn't want her, or did the family have more than one slave? And there are quite possibly more records out there.  I have read secondary references to Michel having fathered 2 children with 2 different aboriginal women, but haven't found any original records to support this, yet...  There may be a paper trail for the man who purchased the woman from Michels wife.  PRDH gives a death and burial dates for Marie-Catherine, though I don't know the source of this information and can't find the original record myself.

There were at least 7 tribes living in Missouri before the purge.  And that is just within the boundaries of the state today, and I don't know for certain if the mother had belonged to any of these tribes or had been brought there as a slave or prisoner from elsewhere, like Louisianna.   I have found a surprising amount of information about Michel on the Internet, which references a number of sources which I haven't seen myself, but could possibly be tracked down.  the profile is definitely a work in progress, and has been an interesting one because of the number of documents that have been preserved, particularly rare for an aboriginal woman living in the early 1700's.  I agree with you that combing the trading history may reveal more leads.  Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions!
+6 votes
wikitree/wiki/Isa-Tai-1  

This man was a Comanche Medicine man, aka White Eagle.  The last name morphed to Eschiti.  This family settled in the South Central Oklahoma area, the are once called Comanche Indian Nation, now is Cotton County, Oklahoma.  This family married into my relatives, who are also Comanche, but White Eagle was the most famous. I am Lilly Martin.  I have a number of Native American relatives, including ancestors.
by Lilly Martin G2G4 (5.0k points)
+5 votes
I have relatives who are Comanche.  The specific area is Hulen, Cotton County, Oklahoma both prior to statehood and after, up to present day. People in Ft Sill, Lawton, Comanche Co, OK.  Names are: wiki/Isa-Tai-1  (this is today Eschiti).  Also: wiki/Portillo-114  I would like to be a member of the group and be able to tag Comanche profiles.  I also have another tribe in the same area.  Best regards, Lilly Martin
by Lilly Martin G2G4 (5.0k points)
+5 votes
I have a keen interest in exploring the Native American heritage of both myself and my husband. His great-grandmother was very proud of her Cherokee heritage, and that pride has passed down to the present day. Not too long ago my husband and I decided to have our DNA tested. He was very disappointed to find no Native American trace in his DNA (although other of his immediate family are positive)... and I was delighted to find Native American DNA in MY bloodline. Now I have a renewed interest in finding out more. Who were my ancestors? What were their lives like? How many of the "hints" on the genealogy programs are true, and which ones are fabricated?

I am writing to join the Native Americans Project because I want the truth. When I reached the profile of John Bryant (my husband's ancestor) on Wikitree, I realized I needed to join this project. Maybe there is something I can contribute along the way.

Please check out my profile for my husband's grandmother (Belew-256). I am relatively new to Wikitree, and still working to fill in our family tree and particularly the biographies.

In my own lineage, you will find Mary Mollie (Welch) Wilkerson (Welch-8394). Another line in my family goes back to John Amory (Hembree) and Mary Moore Ayers. I am still checking my sources to make sure I have adequate information before developing those profiles.

Thank you for your consideration!
by Betty Norman G2G6 Mach 2 (29.9k points)
You're added, Betty.  I don't see which ancestor was actually Native American or which tribe; let me know and I'll take a look and add the Native Americans sticker
Two of my Native American ancestors are Mary Mollie Welch (Welch-8394) and her daughter Sarah Wilkerson (Wilkerson-2362). They both had Cherokee blood.

My husband's family are descendents of John Bryant, Sr (1775-1856), and they believe they are Native American, but I see the controversy that fills his profile page, so I don't know how to proceed there.
+5 votes

I have been doing research on Ancestry.  I believe I  am related to   Susana Barnett of the Creek tribe.  I have not transfered all my work yet, but am in the process.  Here is a profile I'm working on https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Huckaby-915.

Thank you

by James Owens G2G Crew (480 points)
Looking good, James. I'm looking forward to seeing the sources for her specific birth date, marriage date (or is this estimated based on ages of children?) and death date.  

Also looking forward to seeing the trail back to your Creek ancestor.  Maybe one or more of us can help you get there.
+5 votes
My first time here and recent member of WikiTree and find it interesting.  My ancestor's have traced back to "Rock" (Abenaki), husband of Outchibahabanoukouehou.  Their daughter is Marie Olivier Silvestre Manitouaeewich also of the Abenaki Tribe.  She was born 10 Sep. 1615 in the Abenaki Nation, Hateau Richer Montmorency, Quebec, Canada.  Her descendants go down through Provost, Mailhoit, Ferriol, Almaw.  I am presently registered with the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation of Vermont, New Hampshire and Quebec.  I also have ties to the Wampanog Federation on my Paternal side.
by
Hi Jordan,

It appears that this is one of those times where two projects may be involved. The Native Americans project covers profiles of Native Americans who lived in what are now the United States.  Those who lived in what is now Canada are covered by the First Nations project.  You could pick one or the other, or join both.
+4 votes
I am very interested in sorting out the myths versus facts of my lineage, which seemingly includes both. Using DNA and documentation, I have been able to verify that John David "Jackie" Benge is my 5th ggf. It can be extremely frustrating to find multiple accounts for him and his family, so I really want to help clean things up.

In addition, I have other lines, including Runyon, Carpenter, Keith, Murray, and obviously Stewart, which is all intertwined with Native American connections.

Myself, siblings, our children, and 1st cousins have all tested with Ancestry and uploaded our Autosomal results here, FTDNA, My Heritage, and GEDmatch. I am also currently awaiting the results from my Y-111 from FTDNA.

I'm retired from the Army and my OCD just wants to ensure that everything truly is correct.

Thank you!!!
by Randee Stewart G2G5 (5.8k points)
edited by Randee Stewart
Thanks for your interest, Randee.  I've given you the project badge.  I see you've also found and proposed some Merges of duplicates.  Thank you.
+4 votes
When I found that Maiden Maquaes LaBattie (LaBattie-2) is my 10th Great grandmother I was intrigued given that her birthdate is listed as 1613 in New York.  I did some research and found that "Maquaes" was what the Dutch settlers called the Native tribes in their area.  I sent this information to the site managers and they added the information to the Biography.
by Mary Shelley Hough G2G5 (5.9k points)
+4 votes

I am interested in the Native Americans project.  I am a descendant of the Shawnee and possibly Cherokee as well.  As an example of a profile I have edited, please see Reuben Rutherford.  Please accept my request to join this project.  Thanks.  

John

by Living Williams G2G6 Mach 6 (63.9k points)
Nicely done. Extensive. Welcome to the Native American project.
+4 votes
My Name is Jim Barnes Standingbear, I am Shawnee and my family comes from the Hathewekela band of Shawnee, I am interested in working on all my roots and any Tribal work for tribes on the eastern coast. Please accept my request to join this project

Rodgers-2323

Hathewekela-1

Rodgers-1062
by Jim Barnes G2G Crew (920 points)
edited by Jim Barnes
Welcome, Jim. I'm going to send you a private message. Please check your email In the next day or so.
+3 votes
I realize this last post was in 2019 but for all of you in the ongoing Native American project here's a nifty source which you may or may not already have (which is being posted here in case of the latter scenario)   :-)

Douglas-Lithgow, R.A., M.D., LL.D. "Dictionary of American-Indian Place & Proper Names in New England" pub 1909 The Salem Press Co., Salem, Mass.

http://archive.org/details/dictionaryoffamer00doug/page/n8/mode/2up
by Leigh Anne Dear G2G6 Pilot (139k points)

Leigh Anne, the URL doesn't work. Says: 

The item you have requested had an error:

Item cannot be found.

which prevents us from displaying this page.

My apologies Jillaine. The copy/paste function has never worked for me in G2G so copying by hand is my routine. I almost chopped off my middle index finger the other week when clipping a bush and it appears that finger still doesn't work right... Try this:

https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofamer00doug/page/n8/mode/2up/search/Dictionary+of+American-Indian+Place+%26+Proper+Names+in+New+England?q=Dictionary+of+American-Indian+Place+%26+Proper+Names+in+New+England

Whew.
+3 votes

I am an enrolled citizen in the Cherokee Nation. I am currently researching my own ancestry.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Miller-76267

by Michelle Payden G2G Rookie (290 points)

Michelle, welcome to WikiTree. Thank you for joining us. We look forward to your involvement here.  

The Native Americans Project now asks everyone who wants to join the project to meet the following requirements before they request to join:

  • be a member of WikiTree for at least 30 days [you'll meet this item on July 15]
  • make at least 100 contributions to WikiTree profiles [you're currently at 21 contributions; see below for how you can get this up to 100]
  • successfully complete the Pre-1700 Quiz [added: IF you intend to work on pre-1700 ancestors]
  • share a profile you've created or edited that demonstrates your understanding of Wikitree editing generally, and NA guidelines, research and sourcing. [The profile you linked to above doesn't yet meet these guidelines, so you could achieve this item and increase your contributions by adding sources and other details to this and related profiles.]
  • find a Natives Americans Project Team you'd like to join. [perhaps the Cherokee team?]
When you've accomplished these, come on back and we'll happily welcome you into the Native Americans project.
+3 votes
My maternal Grand Father (Burke-3939) was a Pomo Indian born and raised on the Hopland, California Pomo Indian Rancheria in 1909. I have my own California Judgement roll number (as did my mother and my Grand Father).
by Norman Burton G2G Crew (990 points)
Welcome to the project, Norman. Is there a particular area you'd like to focus on?
My primary focus with the Native Americans is with the  Pomo Indians of California (the only state with POMOS). I don't see the POMO tribe listed in the sub categories. Currently now there are 19 Bands of POMO Indians scattered around the Mendocino and Sonoma Counties of California (I may have missed a county). Actually the POMO name was attributed by a paleontologist to several different "unrelated" tribes in California, because they assumed they were the same peoples.. The State and Federal Governments also gathered up different Indian tribes and moved them to centralized rancherias. I live way up in Humboldt County, and the 2 largest tribes here are the Hupa and the Yurok. They were routinely sent to either of two rancherias over 100 Miles apart, so you had Hupa and Yurok living together in both places. The same happened in Clear Lake, Ukiah and other towns/cities around the North Bay of San Francisco.

I haven't found any WikiTree members who are Pomo Indians besides me. There are Ancestry.com profiles by Pomo Indians living in the Mendocino County area, but we haven't communicated, and I don't have an Ancestry subscription.
Let's create a Pomo category then. I also encourage you to create a Pomo freespace page where you can help the rest of us learn more about your people. I am a "native" of California but my early education did not include much about the indigenous peoples of the state I love so much.  I would love to know more about your people.

Again, welcome to the project.
Norman, I just reviewed Wikipedia's page about the Pomo and I realize I did recently learn a small amount about your people when my husband and  I visited the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah a couple of years ago.

I am also moved by the history of your people and am horrified by the treatment of your people by those who invaded and pushed you out of your ancestral homelands.  The basketry associated with the Pomo is stunningly beautiful.
One more update: I see you created a Pomo category already; thank you. I've updated its status and placed it under the Tribes category so that it appears with all other tribes and is no longer "off on its own."
+3 votes

Pocahontas and her half-sister Tahacope (via Chief Wahunsenaca) are my 13th Great Grandmothers. Pocahontas is half Mattaponi and Pamunkey. Tahacope's mother Winanuske was the daughter of Chief Wabunsonacock Powhatan and Poechanaough Winanuske. Cora Campbell, my 3rd great grandmother is the 10th degree connection to Pocahontas (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Campbell-40120). Tahacope's adopted name was Susan Taylor (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Taylor-17311). I discovered her profile while exploring the ancestry of My 10th Great Grandmother Mary Kennon Bolling (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kennon-4).

I am interested in learning more about the Pamunky and Mattaponi tribes as well as the general ancestry of the Powhatan Nation.

by Juniper Shay G2G Rookie (290 points)

Hi Juniper.  I see your descendancy from Pocahontas. Not sure who you mean by her half sister.  There was a brother named Tatahcoope (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Powhatan-187) for whom there is no documentation of offspring. 

If you're interested in joining WikiTree's Native Americans project, please review the requirements in the original list at the top of this page and add to your answer to the responses sought in the opening post. Thanks. 

Her adopted name was Susan Taylor (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Taylor-17311), there is very little information online about her (most likely due to that history was orally passed down). So I am hoping someone else here might know more than I do. I discovered her profile while exploring the ancestry of My 10th Great Grandmother Mary Kennon Bolling (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kennon-4).

Juniper,

Please be sure when you make changes as you've done to Taylor-17311 that you add the sources for each of the changes.  This is particularly important when changing names, vitals and relationships.

I see that the profile manager hasn't been active on wikitree for well over a year.  I've added the Native Americans project and will ask one of our volunteers to take a look and see if we can find more information for you.
+3 votes

I am research some Native Americans in my family I am wondering about stuff. But I did find some stuff to help with this Native American. Be Careful reading stories here pretty gruesome detailed even. But it talks about her murder and the family. Great finds. I researching this family. I think based on photos and family stories my grandparents got mixed up may need help. Miotoka Schoolcraft family I researching because if it. 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Nyeswanan-2

http://genealogy.park.lib.wv.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Recollections-of-a-Lifetime.txt

https://hackerscreek.com/norman/SCHOOLCRAFT.htm

https://therecorddelta.com/article/schoolcraft-family-honors-relatives-murdered-in-1779

Billie

by Billie Keaffaber G2G6 Mach 4 (41.0k points)
Billie, thanks for adding those links. It would be great to see Miotoka's profile improved with inline citations that cite specific sources for each of the claims.

In the meantime, if you need specific help detangling a specific ancestor, you might want to start a separate g2g topic with the details. There are many volunteers willing to help.
Jillaine,

I only giving you what I finding. You would be hard pressed to get actul documentation do to Walter Pleckner paper Geniciding most native Americans in area. But my issue with this family is my family color photos don’t match documents and stories saying to me I got wrong grandparents. There nothing to research for me. I added stuff to parents ect. This all I have. I have found bible inscription in descendants of Halls which suggest same stories. But it in a different wife from what they have listed in records. I feel there mix up in kids in line. Wrong wife deal just can’t prove it. Probably never will. But be glad to help out in native Americans project.

Billie

Hi again,

Here the guy with Bible Inscription has Indian blood by his name. This come From George Myers Bible Sandy Carnerio a cousin gave me it years ago she now passed on. On Lula B Myers profile mentions family and bible. It even in history books lol. My Bird Allen His father. What strange though is Bird Allen Myers wife is in indian dress in one family photos. I don’t have all stuff in yet. 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Myers-13832

https://books.google.com/books?id=OllYsu8vDqoC&pg=PA104&lpg=PA104&dq=george+E+Myers+and+Nora+Byrd+NC&source=bl&ots=qaGzdtp8Ie&sig=lK5QWSzj1wGSDAaTYRkRSvSC15Y&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj8wZC2jdvOAhXI6SYKHbxFApYQ6AEIKzAF#v=onepage&q=george%20E%20Myers%20and%20Nora%20Byrd%20NC&f=false

Billie

+3 votes

I am research some Native Americans in my family I am wondering about stuff. But I did find some stuff to help with this Native American. Be Careful reading stories here pretty gruesome detailed even. But it talks about her murder and the family. Great finds. I researching this family. I think based on photos and family stories my grandparents got mixed up may need help. Miotoka Schoolcraft family I researching because if it. 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Nyeswanan-2

http://genealogy.park.lib.wv.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Recollections-of-a-Lifetime.txt

https://hackerscreek.com/norman/SCHOOLCRAFT.htm

https://therecorddelta.com/article/schoolcraft-family-honors-relatives-murdered-in-1779

Billie

by Billie Keaffaber G2G6 Mach 4 (41.0k points)
+3 votes
Hello.  I would like to join this project.  Family lore has us descendants of Pocahontas but we do not have a Bolling ancestor.
by Michelle Hunt G2G Crew (910 points)

Hi Michelle. Thanks for your interest. Please read and follow the instructions in the opening post. 

I don't believe it's possible to be descended from Pocahontas if you can't connect to the Bollings.

There have been some legends that Pocahontas had other offspring, but they've been debunked. See her profile for more details. 

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