Well, hello, stranger! Good to know you're still out there diggin' like crazy <g> Is that daughter of yours still bored to pieces with all your shenanigans? She was so cute - and SO patient - during dinner! I've not done much with researching Native Americans, Brandy, but I've learned a few things. It takes a ton of reading and just "soaking up" to even begin to get a clear picture of this whole scenario. It was all so bent out of shape by the US government in the first place, it's a wonder anyone even knows the names/locations of tribes let alone clans. Recently it's been equally bent out of shape by family tree climbers. An overall mostly factual picture is necessary before your even think about tracing genealogical connections. One source I rely on is Don Ott [email protected] who probably knows as much about the Benge Trail as anyone. He and a bunch of folks have been working madly to get the Benge Trail accredited by the Trail of Tears group. They've learned tons in the process - including walking the trail here in AR. Another is a site that both enlightens and confuses 'cuz there's so much genealogical data. http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/h/i/c/James-R-Hicks/index.html. That's where I cut this blurb from: 52. PICKENS M6 BENGE, CPT (JENNIE5 LOWREY, JOHN4, NANNIE3 WATTS, GHI-GO-NE-LI2, OO-LOO-TSA1) was born 1829 in Georgia, and died 1861 in Civil War. He married ELIZABETH WINTERS Bef. 1856, daughter of JOHN WINTERS and JENNIE SANDERS. She was born Abt. 1836 in Skin Bayou Dist, CNW, and died 1886. Notes for PICKENS M BENGE, CPT: Appointed Captain of Co A, First Cherokee Auxillaries, CSA, by Chief John Ross in 1861. More About PICKENS M BENGE, CPT: 1851 Drennan roll: Skin Bayou, 166 Elected 1: August 01, 1859, senator from Sequoyah Dist Elected 2: October 1859, delegate to Washington Military service: November 05, 1861, Drew's Regiment (CSA), Co K, Cpt More About ELIZABETH WINTERS: 1851 Old Settler roll: Skin Bayou, 150 (1896 page 190) Clan: Ani'-Ga'tâge'wi = Kituah or Wild Potato (Sonicooie) Child of PICKENS BENGE and ELIZABETH WINTERS is: 174. i. PICKENS7 BENGE, JR, b. May 07, 1856, Sequoyah Dist, CNW; d. Aft. 1906. Looks to me as if Pickens was born in GA but Elizabeth was born in Cherokee Nation West (OK - sort of). And, apparently he's not a son of John Benge (unless that's John-4 in Pickens' lineage above). Pickens' lineage in this blurb is apparently tracked thru his mother, Jennie Lowry. Pretty sure the Cherokee traced their ancestry from the maternal side whereas we use the paternal side. Oh, the index for this site says he's also known as Gau-tse-tse. I don't find either Pickens or Gau-tse-tse on the Benge Trail muster roll, by the way. Some books that might be useful: "History of the Cherokee" by Emmett Starr. "Cherokee Roots East of the Mississippi" and "Cherokee Roots West of the Mississippi" by Bob Blankenship (these are all the Rolls everyone talks about - with explanations for each one). "Our Cherokee Families" 2 volumes by Emmett Starr. A piece of trivia that might help in all this confusion: Before AR became a state in 1836, most everything west of White River was Indian Territory. You can check sites on the Internet for information. Don't know the URLs but they're things like Trail of Tears and Native Americans and Cherokee whatever etc etc. The good ones have links plus objective history. Have fun! And keep in touch. Mysty [email protected] ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, June 23, 2003 10:38 PM Subject: [ARMar] Benge Trail > This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. > Surnames: Benge, Winters, Cowan, Starnes > Classification: Query > Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/mV.2ADE/130.1.1 > Message Board Post: > Mysty, do you have access to the Muster Roll for the Benge Trail? What year did they come through Marion County? If you have access to this Muster Roll, would you please look up Pickens Benge, who is the son of a John Benge and Wurteh. Pickens married Elizabeth "Betsy" Winters whose father is John Winters. A cousin of Betsy Winters' moved to Marion County in 1837. You know her as Margaret "Peggy" (Starnes) Cowan, wife of John Welsy Cowan. How can I find this info on the Muster Roll for the Benge Trail? > > Good to talk to you again. We met at Christmas this last year. Hope things are going well for you all in Marion County.