Adiene, I can't speak for anyone else, but only for myself & my search. To *me*.....a or the *piece of paper* means finding answer's & finding out who my ancestor's were besides just a name. I have no idea who anyone in my family is past my grandma. I know who her momma was because of the stories my dad shared with us when we were growing up as she was part of his caretakers & he was important to him. She died when I was 2, so if there was a chance that I met her....I don't have any rememberable memories of it. The *piece of paper* gives me *proof* of the family claim, it might give me history. The search to *prove* my Indian connection isn't about money & it shouldn't be for anyone, but I know that I have family that sadly, that's what its for...for what they can *get* from proving our connection. My search is to do what my great grandma told me in a dream/vision & that is to find our family & bring them together once again. And being an Native American is more than just saying that you are or having a piece of paper..........and if its not..........then it should be. Its also not about patience......if it was, I would have given up searching years ago. :) Alli -----Original Message----- From: cherokeegene-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:cherokeegene-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Humble, Adiene Sent: Sunday, June 1, 2014 1:43 AM To: cherokeegene@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [CherokeeGene] Joy King Wow. that looks like an awful lot of paperwork just to be called Native Indian. You are or you're not so what does a piece of paper mean. Sounds like money grabbing to me. This is what has caused a lot of us not to be able to trace our family line back just because someone wants the government to pay money to them. Our family always made their own way and didn't expect the government assistance. In fact, our families left those area early as they could see the handwriting on the wall. There were bigger opportunities for those who were willing to work for it. You girls have more patience that I have. =====*NOTICE THIS*===== Cherokee genealogy; certain conversation is allowed to do genealogy; and sort fact from (fiction). Rude people will be moderated asap! List archive http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=cherokeegene please take non genealogy to Cherokee@rootsweb.com Dual admin. Dan and Joyce ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CHEROKEEGENE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I've got to add to this one a bit. In August of 2012 I had the autosomal or 'familyfinder' dna testing. Got the results back in a few weeks. Went on for over a year and it didn't help a bit. Wasn't able to find a connection I needed anywhere....was thoroughly disgusted with it. Well, as time goes on and more and more people are having it done (on family finder) I have been able to confirm two separate lineages that I only had 'evidentiary' evidence for previously. Now, finding these relationships isn't easy. It takes a lot of time, communication, analysis and digging....especially in the surname department. BUT via that method I've been able to confirm that, yes, Joseph Shields was half brother to my 4th great, James and, yes, this James was indeed the son of James Gaston born 1770 Chester, SC. I've been able to confirm cousin's in the lineages of the siblings to both of them. So if you're willing to invest 99.00 bucks and spend some time digging and emailing and digging even more then you might get a break. Joyce Gaston Reece

Alli, you said it better than I did. I got a call from a niece just recently who wanted my research on the family so she could "get money for college". I don't think that way. Plus any info that I get, I go out and confirm it for myself. I was lucky on my dad's side that another family member found in an old bible the list of my grandmother's grandparents children, date of birth and most lived around us so it was easy to follow On mom's side she gave me the names of her dad's uncles and aunts and her cousins name. It was harder to research but better than nothing. As I researched members contacted me and together we shared info. Mom's mother had an old purse that my aunt gave me which contained tintypes (though of whom there's no one alive), and yellowed bible pages with her ancestors' names, the children's name, births, date of marriage and who they married and their birth which took me back to Zedock and Phoebe Yarborough Weeks. Mom, herself, had an old bible that listed her mother's sibling and some of whom they married, birthdates, and marriage dates and even some death dates. The greatest thing was the stories told to me by my family on both sides. How I found my grandmother had gotten snake bitten, my ggrandfather had a fellow with him looking for an escape convict in LA and sit on a log who wasn't a log. These stories gave me an idea of life when this area was not the civilized and convenient life it is now. However when you have family who you know has "secrets" that they won't talk about and you'd loved to know what that was it really sucks. Grandma would say "Little pitchers have small ears" and she meant me listening to her talking about family members who left their home for some untalkable reason around us kids. However, whether it was from the NA relationship, and both families have many of that, or the lead up to the Civil War and all the incidents that occurred before the declaration of war, I don't know. I just wish that I had asked more questions and not forgot some of what I heard. Hard copy so backs you up but how many times I've really felt that someone has taken my family in their research. In ancestry, I saw that for a fact. Adiene

That's actually how I started off my reasoning for researching Adiene....My dad told us when we were young that we had Cherokee blood in our family tree. I was so proud & thought it was so cool. Then as we got into Jr High/High School he talked about the "benefits" we could get getting our card. I started officially searching when I was around 13. I wanted to find a way to take the financial pressure off my parents for school & such. But the more I searched, the more the names became family, the loss of history became more real. I had some elderly family members, but I didn't know 1/2 the questions that I should have asked as I was trying to fill in the closer holes in the tree & never thought to ask them about those prior to them. Now all the helpful family members that I know would have the answer's & would have helped have passed. I have a family member that is married to a carded indian & she wanted my research so she could become carded like her husband & kids. It shocked me. The only time they contact me was for my research, but refuse to share what they have. Refuse to share OUR family Bible. They just "want" something from our family. They live in the areas where our ancestor's lived, in a couple areas actually & I live several states away. I decided that I would be offending my great grandma & grandma by searching for greedy reasons & I knew that's not why I should be doing it. I have some stories my dad told me, I have some skeletons that NO ONE wants to have shared or would probably believe in some cases. But its just the bad things that a family member did. One was another marriage prior that very few seemed to have been aware of. The family treasures that you have would be outstanding to have. I have several pictures that my dad gave me, but I don't know exactly who everyone is. And the greatest treasure (to me) that I have is my grandma's bible & my dad's bible that my great grandma gave him when he had kids (I think). But my grandma's bible still has the receipt for when she ordered it & how much she paid it & it has her handwriting in it & same with my great grandma's. I have a copy of another Family bible for another family name, which is also cool. I just wish I could go back & see my ancestor's to get some more answers since their offspring did away with our history over the years. -----Original Message----- From: cherokeegene-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:cherokeegene-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Humble, Adiene Sent: Sunday, June 1, 2014 11:25 PM To: cherokeegene@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [CherokeeGene] finding your connection Alli, you said it better than I did. I got a call from a niece just recently who wanted my research on the family so she could "get money for college". I don't think that way. Plus any info that I get, I go out and confirm it for myself. I was lucky on my dad's side that another family member found in an old bible the list of my grandmother's grandparents children, date of birth and most lived around us so it was easy to follow On mom's side she gave me the names of her dad's uncles and aunts and her cousins name. It was harder to research but better than nothing. As I researched members contacted me and together we shared info. Mom's mother had an old purse that my aunt gave me which contained tintypes (though of whom there's no one alive), and yellowed bible pages with her ancestors' names, the children's name, births, date of marriage and who they married and their birth which took me back to Zedock and Phoebe Yarborough Weeks. Mom, herself, had an old bible that listed her mother's sibling and some of whom they married, birthdates, and marriage dates and even some death dates. The greatest thing was the stories told to me by my family on both sides. How I found my grandmother had gotten snake bitten, my ggrandfather had a fellow with him looking for an escape convict in LA and sit on a log who wasn't a log. These stories gave me an idea of life when this area was not the civilized and convenient life it is now. However when you have family who you know has "secrets" that they won't talk about and you'd loved to know what that was it really sucks. Grandma would say "Little pitchers have small ears" and she meant me listening to her talking about family members who left their home for some untalkable reason around us kids. However, whether it was from the NA relationship, and both families have many of that, or the lead up to the Civil War and all the incidents that occurred before the declaration of war, I don't know. I just wish that I had asked more questions and not forgot some of what I heard. Hard copy so backs you up but how many times I've really felt that someone has taken my family in their research. In ancestry, I saw that for a fact. Adiene =====*NOTICE THIS*===== Cherokee genealogy; certain conversation is allowed to do genealogy; and sort fact from (fiction). Rude people will be moderated asap! List archive http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=cherokeegene please take non genealogy to Cherokee@rootsweb.com Dual admin. Dan and Joyce ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CHEROKEEGENE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message