carolelc wrote: > I have no doubt that BOTH Cinderella Breedlove and Thomas Lowry were > of Native American ancestry, specifically, Cherokee, though I have > yet to prove it. I know that Cinderella Breedlove and Thomas Lowry > were buried with a Cherokee symbol of a weeping willow on each of > their tombstones. It is possible, of course, that Cinderella was > adopted into the Cherokee, but somehow I doubt that is why the symbol > is there. It has long been suspected that Thomas Lowry was Cherokee but there has never been any proof. As for the symbol on her grave, it is there because of her husband, not through any ancestry on her line. We know the line from Charles Breedlove down to Cinderella and NONE of them were of Indian extraction. Though the ancestry of Charles Breedlove is not known, he could not himself been of Indian blood as Indians were not permitted to own and sell land in those days as we know Charles did. > A lot of the things I have read, describe Breedlove men with "dark hair and eyes," and Breedloves are listed on the Indian rolls. Also, in Oklahoma, Breedlove is considered to be a Cherokee name. Dark hair and eyes are descriptions of a lot of races, including Germans, Portugese, Welsh, etc, all of which have been alluded as the origin of the Breedlove family. Most, but not all, of the Breedlove's on the Indian rolls come from one branch, that of John Washington Breedlove, son of Simpson, who married Carrie Bruton who was at least 1/4 Cherokee. All of this branch were very influential in the Cherokee community and affairs, holding offices in the tribe and conducting their business, so it is no wonder that Breedlove would be considered a Cherokee name. John Washington Breedlove is not on the rolls as having any Indian blood, only his wife and their children. Have not been able to check the applications of the other Breedlove's on the rolls to see where the Indian ancestry was, but there were quite a few people that tried to claim Indian blood, just to get on the dole. I have identified at least ten other lines of Breedlove's that have branches in Oklahoma, including my own, so I would estimate that the majority of Breedlove's in Oklahoma do NOT come from the one proven line of Cherokee descent. My own 2great-grandmother King was a 2nd generation American, of strictly English ancestry. After her husbands death, she moved to Oklahoma about 1890. Many pictures of her wearing Indian dresses would make her appear to be Indian, but she definitely was NOT. Her clothes were probably bartered from local tribes and she taught school on a reservation so there are all kinds of family legends of her being of Indian blood, but it is just not true. I have baptismal and marriage records from the parishes in Coventry and Lincolnshire, England of both sets of her grandparents, so in fact she was 100% English since both of her parents were full British, even though one was born in North Carolina. This is just an example how legends of this nature get started. In case anyone may think I am prejudiced or racist, I do have another line that I know positively is Indian, but it has taken quite a bit of research to prove. With family living in Texas and Oklahoma and further West before statehood, there have been many of my lines that have claimed some sort of Indian heritage. Old photos are certainly misleading. The one photo on glass that I have of this same 2G-grandmother's husband was always kept in its frame until I got it. The family were strict Congregationalists and no liquor was ever allowed. When I removed the frame of this photo, so I could make copies, I found he had a cider jug in his lap that had been concealed by the frame for over 130 years. Tom King