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Downing-Fallin-Beehunter Mystery

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Location: Virginia and Georgia, British Coloniesmap
Surnames/tags: Downing Fawling Beehunter
Profile manager: Duane Poncy private message [send private message]
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Indigenous genealogies are difficult because most often the are few written records in cultures with a tradition of oral history. The conundrum of Major John Downing and his two supposed families, one old Virginia, and one Cherokee has created a plethora of genealogies, including some that seem to be imaginary. This page is created in order to untie the knot, or at least offer some theories. The Virginia Downing is certainly not our Major Downing, and his Hannah Fallin is definitely not Hanna Fawling/Annie Beehunter.





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Comments: 4

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Parks-2399 Kathie (Parks) Forbes
Do you have any idea where the "Hannah Fawling" claim came from ? Starr listed no wife. I'm wondering if someone found John in Virginia and magically conflated him with John with the Cherokee.
posted by Kathie (Parks) Forbes
Poncy-1 Duane Poncy
This is a good question. The closest I can dredge up as a source is the Hicks genealogy. For a long time, I thought his information came from Starr, until I realized Starr didn't give a name to this "woman of the Wolf Clan." My own family history, which is partly handed down from my Cherokee side, tells me her name was Annie Beehunter. Beehunter and Fawling are both names found in the old rolls and census records. The small Beehunter cemetery in Oklahoma also has Downings in it.

it all remains a mystery to me.

posted by Duane Poncy
edited by Duane Poncy
Parks-2399 Kathie (Parks) Forbes
There are contemporaneous records confirming the death of John Downing in the Cherokee Nation in 1760. He cannot be the same person who was married to Hannah Fallin in Virginia who was still alive and well in 1773.
posted by Kathie (Parks) Forbes
Poncy-1 Duane Poncy
Yes, I was fooled by this error a long time ago, because of all the misinformation on the internet. The Virginia Downing cannot be the same one. And his wife, Hannah Fallin came from another old Virginia Family. She was definitely not Cherokee. I think the similarity in the names is the root of this mistake, but it just proves that one should not jump to conclusions in genealogy.
posted by Duane Poncy

Categories: Family Mysteries