This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/2V.2ADE/1055.1064.1066.2.1.1 Message Board Post: sorry that proof of even my gr-gm (1/2) SHAWNEE , HER MOTHER OCEANO DAU OF THE CHIEF. THERE WAS NO WRITTEN LANGUAGE FOR APPROX 1870 . DR. ALFORD WROTE THE SHAWNEE WRITTEN LANGUAGE. IT WAS NOT CUSTOMERY TO "RECORD" MARRIAGES THAT FAR INTO THE WILDERNESS. AND AT THAT DATE. A SHAWNEE MARRIAGE WAS A SIMPLE PLEDGE THAT MUST RESULT IN A CHILD WITHIN 1 YR. OR THEY SEPARATE AND TRY WITH SOMEONE ELSE. THE CEREMONY WAS A GATHERING OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS WITH FOOD AND PRESENTING A CARVED PIECE OF WOOD TO THE PARENTS AS A BOND.