This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: dldove22 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.massachusetts.unknown/7569.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Rootsweb completely ate my first reply to you ): You're right to surmise that the Native ancestry may have more to do with the original people of the area, instead of the Cherokee. As what happened in my family, yours may have misremembered what the tribe was, probably due to time, substituting the name of a more easily remembered tribe. There are still descendants of the original people in all the places you named. Because there's a mention of Canada, I would check the border crossings between the U.S. and Canada, since it seems your ancestors seemed to move around, another Native trait. You may find that someone came from or visited Native communities in Canada. A friend found her Abenaki ancestors that way. I don't know where you live, but they're available in Springfield at the library of the Connecticut Valley Historical Society. I've seen that you can access them through Ancestry and many public libraries have an account. The Abenakis lived in New York as well as Vermont and New Hampshire, and Springfield, which sounds like your family. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.