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Archiver > APG > 2007-04 > 1176183138


From: Carolyn Earle Billingsley <>
Subject: Re: [APG] Georgia court case question/ Removal of Indiandisabilities
Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:31:34 -0600
References: <E1Hb7ED-0004Ip-00@pop-borzoi.atl.sa.earthlink.net><00c901c77b2e$cc78f660$e876124c@win2000a141573>
In-Reply-To: <00c901c77b2e$cc78f660$e876124c@win2000a141573>


At 11:12 PM 4/9/2007, Elizabeth wrote:
>Tracing Ancestors among the Five Civilized Tribes: Southeastern Indians
>Prior to Removal


Elizabeth: I found your entire post extremely helpful in
understanding what I'm trying to comprehend. (Sometimes it's a bit
hard to ask the right questions when you don't know exactly what it
is you need to know <g>.) I wasn't aware of Rachel's book but I'm
ordering it right now, as it sounds as if not only the book, but the
bibliography, is just what I need to further my research goals.

I'm just starting work on a lecture regarding the REALITY of
researching Indian ancestry; that is, MOST of us who have Indian
ancestry will not find any evidence of said ancestry on the
"official" "Indian" rolls, but we can still find ways to research our
Native American heritage.

Most people have the erroneous impression that ALL Indians were
"removed" to Indian Territory and that obviously wasn't true. I've
had DNA research done and have an estimated 16% Native American
ancestry . . . and I'm pretty sure which branches of the family
contributed that heritage . . . yet NO relatives yet found are
"officially" Indian.

And these family members who weren't officially removed and/or didn't
go to Oklahoma to claim rights, were definitely not wealthy or
educated either, although your example about those who were makes
perfect sense.

I suppose a lot of Native Americans did what my distant grandmothers
did: they married white men and then claimed their darkness was due
to "Portuguese" or "Mexican" ancestry.

And I'm also interested in the answer to Shell's question . . .
>And I'm with Carolyn, why did Georgia grant these Cherokee and Creek
>naturalizations? What made my fifth G-GF and the others qualify for this?
>
>Regards,
>Shell

So I welcome any other comments or leads or insights or even
stories/narratives/oral history that might further assist me in
developing leads for my research or enlighten me in any way regarding
this topic. Regards, Carolyn


Carolyn Earle Billingsley, Ph.D.
Member of APG and NGS
2100 Pleasant Grove, Alexander, AR 72002-9154
Telephone and Fax: 501.847.0114
Communities of Kinship: Antebellum Families and the Settlement of the
Cotton Frontier (University of Georgia Press, 2004)
http://home.earthlink.net/~cebillingsley/

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