Just a short note for those of you with this family legend of Indian blood. I have been researching for almost 20 years and have found 2 claims of Indian blood in family lore and how these stories can mutate and evolve. It has became fashionable after the 1900s to claim Indian blood lines, however before that one was considered Mulatto. During the 1700s -1860s the term mulatto represented a American Indian child, it was not used to represent mixed ancestry, the definition changed after the United States 1868 14th amendment to mestizo. So if you find this notation in your census records you may have a valid claim. In the 1900s, if you had high cheek bones and the right complexion, then you must have had Indian blood. My 1st wife managed to get a scholarship based her Indian heritage based on Shawnee Tribe records, which gave her tribal membership. I have however found out through my own research that this was all bogus. Just because a person with the same name married an Indian does not mean it was your ancestor. The second occurrence was my current wife's grandfather, who claimed Indian descent. He had the facial features to support the claim and it had become family legend. He actually is of German blood and his maternal line is English. Another legend bites the dust. In researching my current wife's fathers line, I did verify her linage to John Rolfe and Pocahontas, which was totally unexpected. Her father Chief Powhatan was commonly referred to as King Powhatan, which I guess would make Pocahontas a Princess. Proving your Indian heritage can be done through DNA testing which can test for the Native American genes. Take care, Jerry Wear

Hi Jerry, Some of the things you mentioned are some of my concerns. Without proof, how will we ever know. DNA won't help me as I come from one of her sons. The only daughter that I've been able to trace didn't have any children. Lona ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jerry Wear" <jlwear@earthlink.net> To: <pawashin@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 8:24 AM Subject: [PAWASHIN] Indian Princess and proving lineage. > Just a short note for those of you with this family legend of Indian > blood. > I have been researching for almost 20 years and have found 2 claims of > Indian blood in family lore and how these stories can mutate and evolve. > It > has became fashionable after the 1900s to claim Indian blood lines, > however > before that one was considered Mulatto. During the 1700s -1860s the term > mulatto represented a American Indian child, it was not used to represent > mixed ancestry, the definition changed after the United States 1868 14th > amendment to mestizo. So if you find this notation in your census records > you may have a valid claim. In the 1900s, if you had high cheek bones and > the right complexion, then you must have had Indian blood. > > My 1st wife managed to get a scholarship based her Indian heritage based > on > Shawnee Tribe records, which gave her tribal membership. I have however > found out through my own research that this was all bogus. Just because a > person with the same name married an Indian does not mean it was your > ancestor. The second occurrence was my current wife's grandfather, who > claimed Indian descent. He had the facial features to support the claim > and > it had become family legend. He actually is of German blood and his > maternal > line is English. Another legend bites the dust. > > In researching my current wife's fathers line, I did verify her linage to > John Rolfe and Pocahontas, which was totally unexpected. Her father Chief > Powhatan was commonly referred to as King Powhatan, which I guess would > make > Pocahontas a Princess. Proving your Indian heritage can be done through > DNA > testing which can test for the Native American genes. > Take care, > Jerry Wear > **** > Please visit http://www.chartiers.com/pages-new/pawashin.html for list > information, particularly the bottom of the page. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > PAWASHIN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >