Found this and thought it very interesting! It is an excepted factor and a proven one in some courts and Congress! _____ Mary Hyanno (Little Dove) Mary Hyanno, wife of Austin Bearce, and my first Indian Ancestor on record, had flaming hair, a very light skin, the color of bright burnished copper and was very lovely and fair to look upon. Austin Bearce, born Europe 1618, Married Summer of 1639 under Pagan Indian marriage rights at Mattachee Indian Village Cape Cod. Mary Hyanno, born 1625 Cape Cod, a Full Blood Indian Princess, dau. of John Hyanno, Mattachee Sagamore and wife Mary, full blood Indian Princess, dau. of a M.V. Sachem. John Hyanno son of Ihyannough, Mattachee Sachem - Cape Cod and wife a Full Blood Princess of the Narragansett's, dau. of a sachem. During the summer of 1933 Bro. A. Merlin Steed of Compton, California came in contact with one Franklin Ele-wa-tum Bearse, who had proven his identity as an Indian before the courts. In doing so he established the fact that the wife of Austin Bearse, his ancestor, was Mary Hyanno, an Indian princess and daughter of John Hyanno, Sagamore of the Mattachee Indians of Cape Cod, Mass. These Indians were a branch of the Wampannoags or White Indians. "Austin Bearse was the 4th great grandfather of Jacob Hamblin, through his daughter Sarah Bearse who married John Hamblin. They raised a large family of children and many of the prominent families of America today can trace their ancestry to Mary Hyanno, the flaming haired princess of the Wampannoags. "The evidence as to the identify of the wife of Austin Bearse is found in an unpublished manuscript, entitled: "Who Our Forefathers Really Were. A True Narrative of Our White and Indian Ancestor," by Franklin Ele-wa-tum Bearse (a Scaticoke and Eastern Indian). This manuscript is a certified copy of an original sworn statement now on file in the office of the Litchfield County District Court, in Connecticut, and accepted by the State Commissioner in Charge of Indian Rights and Claims as an authentic and legal declaration of lineage. It bases its claim as to the identify of Austin Bearse's wife upon statements in the original diary of Zerviah Newcomb, who married Josiah Bearse, a grandson of Austin, and who wrote from personal knowledge of the facts. Her diary is called, "A True Chronicle of the Bearse Family." "It is said that the above manuscript is deposited in the Congressional Library and states that Austin Bearse married by Indian rites at the Mattachee Indian village Mary, daughter of John Hyanno, a Mattachee Sagamore, and son of the Sachem Ihyannough who befriended the Pilgrims on their first arrival. In Zerviah Newcomb's diary, Austin Bearse was said to be of the Romany or Gypsy race, and the name was originally Be Arce. He belonged to a family of Continental gypsies who had emigrated to England. There was great persecution; for some minor infraction of the English law, Austin was deported to the colonies. On arriving at Plymouth, Austin was the only prisoner allotted to Barnstable. No Puritan girl at that time would marry a gypsy, as there were eligible Puritans to select from. It was therefore natural that he should marry an Indian Princess. "Further it is said that Mary Hyanno was a lovely flaming-haired Mattachee princess. Her people had an ancient tradition that a long time before white men had landed on their shores and intermarried with them. This probably indicates a Viking descent, and why the Indians were called Wampannoags (White Indians). Mary's ancestry is given as: 1. Ihyannough, Sachem of the Mattachees 2. John Hyanno, md. No-pee, dau. of No-took-saet 3. Mary Hyanno, md. Austin Bearse. Austin BEARSE and Mary HYANNO had the following children: 2 i. Mary BEARSE was born in 1640 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. She was baptized on May 6 1643 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. 3 ii. Martha BEARSE was born in 1642 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. She was baptized on May 6 1643 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. 4 iii. Priscilla BEARSE was born on Mar 10 1643/44 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. She was baptized on Mar 11 1643/44 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. She died on Mar 30 1712 in Yarmouth, Barnstable Co., MA. +5 iv. Sarah BEARSE. 6 v. Abigail BEARSE was born on Dec 18 1647 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. She was baptized on Dec 19 1647 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. 7 vi. Hannah BEARSE was born on Nov 16 1649 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. She was baptized on Nov 18 1649 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. +8 vii. Joseph BEARSE. 9 viii. Hester BEARSE was born on Oct 2 1653 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. She was baptized on Oct 2 1653 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. 10 ix. Lydia BEARSE was born on Sep 30 1655 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. 11 x. Rebecca BEARSE was born on Sep 26 1657 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA. +12 xi. James BEARSE. Sources: Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families Augustine Bearce born Europe 1618, a full blood Gypsy of the Romany Race, deported by the British Govt., on the Confidence of London 1638, entered on the passenger list as Augustine BeArce, single age 20 years; married summer of 1639 in Machatache Village Cape Cod, under pagan Indian ceremonial rights, to Mary Hyanno full blood Wampanoag Princess. Dau. of John Hyanno Sagamore at Cummunaquad Barnstable Harbor. She was a granddaughter of Highyannough Sachem of all the Cape tribes; Mary Hyanno's mother was a daughter of the ruling Sachem at Gay Head M.V.I. (Martha's Vineyard Island) of that period. At the time of the marriage of Austine and Mary, some of the best land in Barnstable County was ceded verbally and held jointly by old Highyannough to Austine and Mary, and was held by the family for three generations, without any written deed; Augustine Bearce had committed no crime, but was deported for life to the colonies, because he was of Romany Blood, and was caught on British soil. In those days at Plymouth no Puritan maid would marry a Romany, on account of religious and racial scruples, so Austine took to wife, lovely flaming haired, Mary Hyanno, (my tradition states that Mary Hyanno had red hair) who had just reached the age of puberty; Austine joyned the Puritan Church in 1650 for the protection afforded, and Mary joyned the church that same year; Austine was made a freeman in 1652. Austine and Mary had two sons and nine daughters; first child Mary born in 1640, Martha 1642. Highyannough's wife was a daughter of the ruling Narragansett of that Period; Austine and Mary lie sleeping at Barnstable, Highyannough and Squaw up the cape, and John Hyanno, Sr. and his son John Hyanno, Jr. at Gay Head M.V.I. The marriage of Austine and Mary was a powerful factor in preventing Highyannough and the Cape tribes from attacking the English; Highyannough went to sleep in 1641 past 87 years of age; so states the Zerviah Newcombs Diary. > >Sources: >26 June 1939 - From Gypsy Lore Society, University of Liverpool, England CopyrightC Mooncusser Enterprises <http://members.aol.com/capemoon/mooncusser>

At 10:00 AM 2/7/2005, Wanda Powell wrote: >Found this and thought it very interesting! It is an excepted factor and a >proven one in some courts and Congress! Wanda - I am sure that there are other researchers who, like me, would like to try to verify its acceptance. Which courts? Cite the courts and the dates, please. Which session(s) of Congress? Cite the house(s) and dates, please. Dale H. Cook; Research Member, NEHGS; Member, Mass. Soc. Mayf. Desc. Plymouth Co. MA Coordinator for the USGenWeb Project and for GenExchange http://members.cox.net/oldcolony/index.shtml