Ok - I'll start I'm researching the names above and have recently added new data on the Coles and Splawns. I'll go into the Coles a little bit here - I had previously believed that John Cole (1782-1871) who married Susannah Robbins was the son of Thomas Cole whose will was filed in Spartanburg in 1816. I now believe he was the son of Joseph Cole of Rutherford Co. and had a brother Hugh, who died about 1823 in Spartanburg. More info if anyone else is researching this family. Tamara tamara@bearsandhares.com http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~tamara/genie1.html

Hello All-- I'm a descendant of Thomas and Henry Bradley, the son of Thomas Bradley, Sr, all hammermen in the forge of the High Shoals Iron Works. Family legend (mostly whispered in secret) held that the Bradley line was Native American (Cherokee). My grandfather, John Bynum Bradley was the son of Esther Bradley and a certain Benjamin Bradley, who I believe was descended from Henry Bradley (b. 1805; married Naomi Downey), brother of Thomas Bradley (b. 1807, married Jane ?). This family line is very difficult to trace, as it is near impossible to determine from census records who was the father of Esther Bradley (b. 1857; d. 1910). Her mother was Martha "Patsy" Bradley, b. 1818. We believe that Esther married her cousin Benjamin, and their children were William Cleastus Bradley, John Bynum Bradley, Mary Cornelia Bradley, Martha Belle Bradley, and Thomas Walton Bradley. I am only able to search BRADLEY lines, as it is difficult to determine if the Bradleys ever married out of the family, given that they were likely not so well accepted by their Rutherford and Cleveland County neighbors. The Bradley family was listed in various census records first as "Free Colored Persons," and later as "mulatto," and then in 1880, they are shown as "I" or "Indian," in the census. Collateral family lines report stories of discrimination against the family, that some of the children were turned away from the Harris Elementary School in the 1920s because the children were considered too "dark" to be admitted (not white enough, whatever that meant at the time, either resembling African American folk or Native American), and that the family feared their lands would be confiscated if it were ever discovered that they were Native American, since all the Cherokee and other related folks had been moved West in 1838 and earlier. My mother's father and family left Rutherford and Cleveland Counties (they moved back and forth between the two counties) for South Carolina, just over the border, to join other relatives, around 1890, and lived in South Carolina until about 1915, when their branch of the clan moved to Atlanta. The connections to the original family members were then lost. Any information on the BRADLEY family descended from these two brothers, whose families were shown as being dark-skinned enough to be categorized as "Free Colored Persons," "Mulatto," and later "Indian," greatly appreciated. I have connected with some family members, but would like to connect with more of the Bradley line. Kit McChesney ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tamara Stevens" <tamara@bearsandhares.com> To: <NCRUTHER-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 10:18 PM Subject: [NCRUTHER-L] Splawn, Cole, Robbins, Henson, Dills, Brisco(e) > Ok - I'll start > > I'm researching the names above and have recently added new data on the > Coles and Splawns. > > I'll go into the Coles a little bit here - > > I had previously believed that John Cole (1782-1871) who married Susannah > Robbins was the son of Thomas Cole whose will was filed in Spartanburg in > 1816. I now believe he was the son of Joseph Cole of Rutherford Co. and had > a brother Hugh, who died about 1823 in Spartanburg. > More info if anyone else is researching this family. > > Tamara > tamara@bearsandhares.com > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~tamara/genie1.html > > > ==== NCRUTHER Mailing List ==== > > Subscribing: Clicking on one of the shortcut links below should work, but if your browser doesn't understand them, try these manual instructions: to join NCRUTHER-L, send mail to NCRUTHER-L-request@rootsweb.com with the single word subscribe in the message subject and body. To join NCRUTHER-D, do the same thing with NCRUTHER-D-request@rootsweb.com. > Unsubscribing: To leave NCRUTHER-L, send mail to NCRUTHER-L-request@rootsweb.com with the single word unsubscribe in the message subject and body. To leave NCRUTHER-D, do the same thing with NCRUTHER-D-request@rootsweb.com. > For questions about this list, contact the list administrator at NCRUTHER-admin@rootsweb.com >