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 **************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living. (http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/ 2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)

Hi Helen, I am of the Benjamin Duncan - Mary Davis line and have completed the full DNA test program. There is no Native American blood in our family as proven by those tests. Don Duncan Southern IL DNA Kit 11804 Y-Search ID VE72J ----- Original Message ----- From: <HelenD1939@aol.com> To: <tnanders@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 1:54 PM Subject: [TNANDERS] Native American Heritage > 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 > > > > **************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living. > (http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/ > 2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598) > > ------------------------------- > 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 >

Mr. Duncan is correct when think in terms of DNA. But the issue with NA/Cherokee heritage is that 90% (my personal estimation) of the time the NA ancestry will descend thru the females. It was 'the nature of the beast". DNA will not show unless the ancestry was directly thru a male line...which is highly unusual. The Cherokee were, basically, a matrilineal society. The majority of mixed blood relationships were via the traders, military personnel, etc. which were, by nature, male. Joyce Gaston Reece

> 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