I enjoyed reading your information very much!! Are your Peters connected to James and/or John Peters? MM in TN On Feb 24, 2008, at 12:36 PM, Jerry Bryan wrote: >> Have any of you been told that you have a Native American >> ancestor? I >> have >> but have not discovered any truth to the story, though I'm sure >> that it's >> possible. Are you aware of any Native American ancestry in >> Anderson Co., >> TN? >> Or in the surrounding area? >> Helen > > We have a Native American ancestor story in my Peters family, but > it's only > oral history and it's pretty vague. The best version of the story > I have is > from my grandfather's sister Ella Mae Peters (married first Bayard > Yadon and > married second Thomas Clyde (Clyde) Cole). Aunt Ella died in 1987, > which > unfortunately was before I started doing family history and I never > heard > the story directly from Aunt Ella. The best living source I have > is Aunt > Ella's daughter Ada Louise Yadon, and I have heard the story > directly from > Ada. > > The story is that as a little girl, Ella was taken out in the woods > and > taught Indian lore (herbs, spices, that sort of thing) and told Indian > stories by her grandmother who had Indian ancestry. Ada's telling > of the > story elaborates a little more than that, but the key missing fact > is that > Ada doesn't know if the grandmother in question was Aunt Ella's > maternal > grandmother or her paternal grandmother. > > Because Aunt Ella was my grandfather's sister, both of her > grandmothers were > my gg grandmothers. Aunt Ella's paternal grandmother was Hulda > Asberine > (Asberine) Cross who married John Henry Peters. Aunt Ella's maternal > grandmother was Vesta Clay (Vestie) England who married first > William Cole > and who married second Chesley J. Scarbrough. My family is all > descended > through William Cole rather than through Chesley J. Scarbrough. > However > Vestie is remembered in my family either as Grandma Vestie or as > Grandma > Scarbrough. > > Aunt Ella was born in 1902. In the 1900 census, Asberine Cross > Peters was > living in the household of Aunt Ella's parents (and Asberine's son and > daughter-in-law) Alva Edward Peters and Sallie Jane Cole. Vesta > England > Scarbrough was living next door in the home of her son-in-law and > daughter > Phillip Hancher Wells and Ida Rhoda Cole. Sallie was my g > grandmother, and > Aunt Ida was Sallie's sister. That suggests that Aunt Ella grew up > with > both of her grandmothers. However, in the 1910 census, Asberine Cross > Peters was still living in the household of Aunt Ella's parents in > Bear > Creek Valley, but Vesta England Scarbrough was living a bit further > away. > Namely, Vesta England Scarbrough was living in the household of her > daughter > Mollie on "River Road" in Dist. 9. of Anderson County. I don't > know where > "River Road" was in 1910. It surely was along the Clinch River, > and surely > wasn't far from Bear Creek Valley because Bear Creek Valley was > also in > Dist. 9. But it also surely wasn't next door to Aunt Ella the way > things > were in 1900. > > Even taking the 1910 census into account, I don't think it's > possible to say > which of the grandmothers was the one who was reported to have Indian > ancestry. And in any case, Asberine Cross and Vesta Clay England > were first > cousins. So possibly they both could have had Indian ancestry, and > possibly > they both could have shared the same Indian ancestor. > > Vesta Clay England was the daughter of John England and Jane > (Jenny) Peters. > There is no particular indication that either one of them was native > American. Indeed, John England's Civil War pension application > confirms > indirectly that Jenny Peters was the daughter of Thomas Peters and > Sarah > (Sallie) England. Namely, the pension says that Jenny Peters was > the sister > of Mary A. (Polly) Peters who married John W. Scarbrough, and Polly > Peters > is known to have been the daughter Thomas Peters and Sarah (Sallie) > England. > John England's case itself is a little more interesting. He was > the son of > Titus England and Elizabeth. Elizabeth's parents are not known. > The 1850 > census says she was 55 years old born in North Carolina. The 1860 > census > says she was 67 years old born in North Carolina. And it may not have > anything to do with anything, but John England's Civil War pension > application reports that he also served in the "Florida war" (i.e., > the > Seminole War). In any case, Elizabeth who married Titus England > might be a > candidate to have been Native American. > > Asberine Cross was the daughter of Alfred Carter Cross and Zipporah > Peters. > Zipporah was the sister of Jenny Peters, which is why Asberine and > Vesta > were first cousins. Alfred was the son of William Cross. Alfred's > mother > was born in Canada, and I suspect that her name was Mary. But > that's about > all I know about her. Zipporah was the daughter of the aforementioned > Thomas Peters and Sarah (Sallie) England. I simply see no evidence > or even > reasonable possibility for Native American ancestry in this branch > of the > family. > > I do not have a picture of Asberine Cross. I do have a picture of > Vesta > Clay England that was probably made in the early 1920's (she died > in 1924). > She had high cheekbones and looks a little bit like she could have had > Native American ancestry, but those sorts of things can be very > deceptive. > > Jerry Bryan > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TNANDERS- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message