Hi Betty: Once again "what the book says" differs with other information. Books are written by people who often are misinformed or possess wrong information. This is the perfect example of my belief that just because it published in a book, doesn't mean its true. We can use books for guidance, but still need to prove the information. Many people want to claim Indian ancestry which is strange as not too far back, people wanted to hide such things. Lauraine > > From: "Betty" <bbffrrpp@comcast.net> > Date: 2009/08/11 Tue AM 05:53:30 CDT > To: <can-usa-migration@rootsweb.com> > Subject: [CAN-USA-MIG] Finding Out Whether Ancestor "was" Native > > Hello, > > I was just reminded of the other family on my family-tree where I cannot > "connect the dots." I've mentioned the WILKINS surname in Maine before, > so I'll just mention that I need to find out if William and Sarah (BANCROFT) > WILKINS from early 1700's MA were the parents of Samuel WILKINS. They > moved to "Maine" ~1780, and Samuel was born in "Maine" ~1780. (Maine > did not become a State until 1820; before that it was the "Northern > Territory of MA.") > > But, I can also mention that one of my aunts has always believed that her > grandfather had a "Native American" ancestor. This would be G. Sanford > KIDDER, b1870 in Princeton, ME, near Calais. I have been researching the > KIDDER's for 15+ years, and I have never found a Native American spouse. > This is for the Maine / New Brunswick border from late 1700's to present. > Sanford's parents were Joseph KIDDER and Clarissa "Clara" WILKINS, and his > grandparents were Joseph "Calvin" KIDDER (aka Calvin) and Mary WILKINS. > So, I've been researching that name for almost as long. And, going back > to Mary's father, Samuel, I still have a major "concrete-block wall" for his > wife. No one knows anything about her; we only know her as Electra > "Leeta" (unknown). Some have suggested that she was a Native American > lady. I have no way to find out. (The possibility exists that she > was.) > > But, going back to the people who I believe are Samuel's parents, I > researched Sarah's father, Robert BANCROFT in very early 1700's MA, and > found out he was possibly a Native American. ~2 years ago I decided to > post a lot of queries about him and wrote a few letters to Historical > Societies. From helpful researchers I found that that Robert "lived > with" the Native Americans in MA, and they called him "Doctor." But, he > was not Native American, and, in fact, one or 2 of his ancestors trace back > to the Mayflower-era. > > This was not what the "WILKINS book" said. I'm saying this from memory > so I can't offer details, but it said that Sarah's father was a Native > American. Adding to the confusion is that the large BANCROFT family > in/near Middleton, MA, where the large WILKINS family was from -- had strong > ties to the "Tribe" near Stoughton, MA. One of Sarah's sisters had a 2nd > marriage to a Native American man. (Information is in archives of > several MA (US) Lists.) > A summary is that the "Bray WILKINS book" had (nee') Sarah BANCROFT with a > Native American parent, but it turned out not to be true. So, the only > one thing I cannot find out is whether (nee') Electra "Leeta" (unknown), > b~1780 "somewhere" was a Native American lady. > > Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA) > > > (We cannot find Samuel WILKINS from his birth ~1780 until he shows up as a > married man with kids in Unity, ME, in the 1810 census. One of my > "guesses" is that his mother had died as a result of childbirth, and that > Samuel and his older sister were raised by another family. His father > moved around as a surveyor. So, Samuel and Electra could have been > married "anywhere" - MA or NH, etc.)