Is There A Native American Connection In The Family???

A definitive answer to this question remains elusive and unsettled.     I believe that there may be several, and they all seem to be associated with the Cherokee Tribe, but I have not been able to find them on any of the tribal rolls or censuses that were taken.    All the possible connections are on my father's side of the family.

I'm going to include some photographs and let you decide if appearances have any bearing on this matter.

This is a photograph of Percilla (Treadway) Woody, who is my paternal 3rd great grandmother.    I obtained this photograph from the Georgia State Historical Society's Iconographic Collection in Atlanta.   On the back of the original photograph was written:  "Percilla Woody, 1799-1888, Lumpkin County, Georgia.   Cherokee Mid-Wife."  I was visiting the Cherokee Tribe's Heritage Center in Talequah, OK where I was trying to find some connection to the Treadway Family.    The person working in the genealogy department could not find any information about Percilla Treadway Woody, but when I showed her the photograph, she said, "Oh she's wearing an old medicine collar."   She went on to explain that this was a cloth and beadwork collar that was often worn by those among the Cherokee who were  knowledgeable about plants and their healing powers.   That's as much as I have ever found out.

This is a photograph of my great grandmother, Hanna Virginia "Vergie" (Miller) Jones.  She was born on the Potawatomi Indian Reservation in Jackson County, Kansas in 1875 and died in 1901.  Her father, William Washington Miller, was a tenant farmer for the Potawatomi on allotted land.  He was born in Andrew County, Missouri in 1848 and his mother, Cintha Wilhite, was born in Jefferson County, Tennessee in 1824.  There's a tradition in the family that Cintha Wilhite was also a Cherokee.    As a result of the Trail of Tears, the removal of the Cherokee from North Carolina and Georgia to Oklahoma, there were many Cherokee individuals and families who simply "dropped off" the caravan and remained in states they traveled through.  Many of the Scotch, Irish and German pioneers married Cherokee women.    Again, I have no evidence but if appearances count, Vergie (Miller) Jones sure has the beautiful characteristics of a Native American woman.

This is a photograph of my grandmother, Mable Rachel (Jones) Clark and her sister, Edith Belle (Jones) Strowig.  The date is not known, but they appear to be in their early 20s.   Both of these ladies have the characteristics of Native American women.    When Aunt Edith was in her 70s, and visiting my grandmother, I asked her if she knew anything about a Native American connection in the family.    All she said was, "It wasn't a popular subject when I was growing up and I didn't care anything about it."   Vergie (Miller) Jones died in 1901 when her daughters were very young.   Mable was 8 and Edith was 6-years-old.  They were taken to be raised by their maternal grandparents, William and Sarah (Wykert) Miller.  The Millers lived in a log house on the Potawatomi Indian Reservation about four miles east of Delia, Jackson County, Kansas.  All of their close neighbors, and many of their childhood friends, were all Potawatomi children.   To be trusted with farming the allotment land of the Potawatomi, it seems likely that the Potawatomi land owners would have given preference to someone with Native American blood and ancestry.   Again, I have no hard evidence but it is a reasonable connection.

When I was growing up, I spent an inordinate amount of time with my grandparents.   I don't know why but I was always interested in hearing the old stories.   I would beg my grandparents to tell me about "the old days" or "pioneer stories."   Of course, they were more than willing to do so.

I would visit my paternal grandmother, Mable R. (Jones) Clark at the Maple Hill Central Office where she was the chief operator.    In between calls, she would often tell me stories and show me old pictures and family treasures.    Among those treasures was a set of beadwork cuffs and moccasins.  The background color of beads was a pretty gold and down the center of the beadwork were violets with a green stem and leaves.   She said that they were given to her by Mary Maqua (Bear) the mother of one of her friends on the Potawatomi Indian Reservation, where she grew up.    I have those objects now and about 20 years ago, my daughter was interested in them and copied the beadwork pattern on moccasins she wore.  

When I was young (under 10 but I don't remember what age exactly) my Grandmother Clark called me one day and said, "My Indian friends are coming from Delia and we're going to make hominy."  Grandmother invited me to come to the Central Office and be "seen and not heard."   I lived only a short distance away and walked to the Central Office.   Pretty soon a car with four women arrived and in the trunk they had baskets of corn.    In the old days, Grandmother said that they made the lye needed to soften and remove the hard outer shell on the corn kernel, by running water through barrels of wood ashes.   She said when the water that drained through the barrel had enough lye content, an egg would float on top the water.   Then they'd put the corn in the water and soak it until the other husk came off.    After that the soft inner kernel was washed and the lye caused it to "puff up" and form the hominy.   That was then dried on old window screens.   Grandmother would put cheese cloth over the screen, pour on the corn kernels and then cover them with another layer of cheese cloth to keep the flies off.   The corn would dry in the hot sun and would then be stored until needed.   The dried corn was then mixed with water and re-hydrated in cooking.   Salt pork was usually added to give it flavor, but Grandmother also said that if you didn't have pork they often added rabbit, squirrel or other meat they could hunt in the timber.

Here's a good website with complete instructions if you'd like to try and make hominy:

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/24412/t/How-To-Make-Hominy.html

Grandmother Clark loved to visit her Potawatomi friends and often took me with her.   As time went by, some began to pass away and she would go to the "drum" funeral ceremonies.    In the summer, the Potawatomi held a fair and pow wow and Grandmother would take me (I don't remember if she also took my brother Gary Wayne) and we would go to Mayetta for the day and visit with those she was acquainted with.

So can I prove that our family has Native American ancestry:   No.   But the evidence is pretty compelling.   If anyone reading this article has information that would shed more light, please write me in the comment section at the end of this article.

Happy trails!