Great idea, Dan! thanks! I'm Beth Golden, living in GA. My 2nd great grandmother, Mary Ann Bell Mobley Orr wrote to my grandmother that she was 1/4 Cherokee and according to my aunt, the family was quite proud of this heritage, and visited their family on the Rez in OK. I've yet to find the documentation. Mary Ann's ancestry (partial) is below. I too welcome the discussion and hope to meet long lost cousins! Also, if you don't know, NARA website has been completely revamped for researching NA roots. I've not started exploring, but looking forward to it. http://www.archives.gov/research/native-americans/ all the best, Beth Here's Mary Ann's info: 1. Mary Ann BELL: born 9 Apr 1836 in Cherokee County, AL; died 2 Aug 1922 in McLennan County, TX. She married Alexander Franklin MOBLEY about 1857 probably in Cedartown, Polk, GA. AF died during the Civil War and Mary Ann remarried John ORR, a widower, in Cherokee County, GA. After one of her sons got in trouble with the law, they went to TX to escape prosecution. Her parents were: 2. John N BELL: born 17 Feb 1789 in Old Pendleton, Pickens, South Carolina, United States; died 24 Mar 1862 in Cedartown, Polk Co., GA. 3. Elizabeth ODELL: born Mar 1790 in Old Pendleton, Pickens, South Carolina, United States; died 25 May 1867 in Forney, Cherokee, AL. Her grandparents were: 4. John BEALL: born 23 Nov 1760 in Prince Georges, Maryland, USA; died 1804 in Wilkes County, Georgia, USA. 5. Mary: born abt 1710; died abt 1810. I believe that Mary will be the Cherokee connection, as from what I can gather so far, the others were not Native American. 6. John Prather ODELL: born 1755 in Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, USA; married 1782 in South Carolina, USA; died 1 Oct 1836 in Pickens, South Carolina, USA. 7. Mary BOURLAND: born 1755 in Pendleton, Anderson, South Carolina, USA.