The story Bessie and Dessie told Grandma was told to nearly every one of Grandma's cousins, by the parents' generation. I honestly don't know who told the story to start with; it could've been Nathaniel, in an effort to pretty up the real story, and give his half-Indian children some sort of reason for the absence of the grandparents who lived right across the road that crossed Little Indian Creek in Stone County. This road is now called Hwy 86, and south of the bridge is what most folks know as Dogwood Canyon, a division of Bass Pro. The Macomb line here goes Andrew b 1794>Abraham Marion b 1823 Rockbridge Co. VA d 1898 Stone Co. MO>Nathaniel Jefferson b 24 Mar 1853 Knoxville, Marion Co. IA d 18 Feb 1940 Shawnee, OK>Nathan Birdseye b 30 May 1884 d 22 Jun 1936, both in Stone Co. MO>Audie Edith (and she's still alive) This is what is called Infamous Family Knowledge; a story that is believed to be gospel truth, because "Daddy would never lie to me!" from our grandparents. Guess what? Somebody did! Documentation in this case proved it! Vonda Rebuttal/Agreement 7 May 1999 Fact #1--unless Nathaniel visited kin with his family, he was never in Macomb, IL. We don't know if Abraham was before 1848. Because of the marriage I've found for Andrew in Van Buren Co. IA in 1837, I imagine Abraham was in IA. I've not found him for the 1840 census yet. Abraham, according to IFK, was raised by his mother's brother, Nathaniel HILL. There are 3 in IL in 1840. Fact #2--The Phenix family never lived in IA or IL, as far as we know. There is no reason to think Levi didn't come straight to Christian Co. MO from Wood Co. OH sometime before Jan 1877 (when he bought the lot in Billings). What we don't know yet is why, or if Martha Ella and sister Mary came with him from the start, or if he sent for them after he arrived in Christian Co. [land deeds] Fact #3--Levi was a next-door (so to speak) neighbor of George W. Nokes, the Justice of the Peace who performed both Phenix-Macomb marriages in Sep 1879 in Christian Co. MO. This is in the 1880 census. Fact #4--Nathaniel and Martha Ella's first baby was Levi, and he is buried in the Blue Eye Cemetery. Fact #5--Many prejudiced people called dark-skinned people "Black". Yes, there were Cherokee in OH in the late 1700s and early 1800s. But Levi and Martha Ella's parents were both born in PA, according to the 1850, 1860, and 1880 census in Huron and Wood Co.s in OH. There are several reasons to think the Phenix family was French and Indian. (1) Bob Phoenix says his grandfather, Wesley, son of Levi, claimed to be French and Indian. (2) The first mention of the Phenix surname in North America is in the province of Quebec, Canada, and it was the French "Phenis". (3) Levi and Martha Ella's grandfather was born in NY abt 1788-1790, according to the above-mentioned census in OH. Research into that time period in NY reveals the Iroquois Nation--a nation of farmers--lived there; specifically the Oneida. (4) Why would 2 Indian people in SWMO in 1922 name a daughter Ruby Oneida (spelled Onedia on her tombstone), if one parent who never used his middle name, who was the only child in his family with a possible Indian middle name himself, didn't want to leave a clue? (5) The migration pattern of the Iroquois/Oneida fits with what we know of the Phenix family's movement--Canada>>NY>>PA>>OH, where our group stopped. Many went onto Wisconsin, and some back up into Canada, between the Great Lakes region. (6) The Oneida were tobacco farmers. Fact #6--Abraham brought his family to Christian Co. MO from Montgomery Co. KS after 1870, and before the growing season of 1876. They lived near Delaware Town; this is where Hwy 14 in Christian Co. crosses the James River. Fact #7--Abraham did live south of Nathaniel and Martha Ella. Sue Flodberg says Bessie Moore told her that Abraham and Margaret were buried in a cemetery in "Elk" (Oak) Grove, Carroll Co. AR. Abraham outlived Margaret, and was senile in his old age. Sue can't remember who took care of him, but he used to try to stick his fingers in the hot food while meals were being prepared. Once, he actually succeeded, and was badly burned. Fact #8--Nathaniel's mother's maiden name was Cox. Martha Ella's mother's maiden name was Dimond. Both Dimonds and Phenixes were in Luzerne Co. PA in the early 1800s. The Dimonds could also be Iroquois/Oneida. They are not connected with the Diamond Match Company, another family legend; it wasn't named for a family, but for another reason. Fact #9--Nathaniel "proved up" his homestead patent in 1902. Martha Ella died in 1903. Abraham died between 4 May-22 Aug 1898, according to his pension papers; Margaret apparently died 1891-1898, for she is not mentioned as receiving a pension after Abraham's death. Although both Nathan and Nathaniel moved to the Shawnee, OK area after the 1910 Stone Co. MO Census, they were both back in Taney/Stone County by 1920.