How can I track my Great-grandmother's Heritage?

Question

My grandmother's family moved from the Northern Kentucky hill-country to where we now live. She died several years ago. Her mother was an Indian from that area. Is it possible to track what tribe she was from AND be able to prove our true Indian Heritage?

Answer 1

Hey Eds,

It is possible. You should do your Family Tree, including birth, death, marriage certificates. Get the Obituaries too. You need each person between you and Great-Grandma. Her heritage is your's too!

If your 2ndGreat Grandmother was in the Dawes Roll, you will be lucky. Traceing from GGM to 2ndGGM will be done through birth and death certificates first. If you cannot do that, then you will have difficulty proving anything.

For your own satisfaction, you can do DNA testing to prove heritage also. But records are the best way. Start with Town Vital records - they are the cheapest. Then advance to county and then State. Call the Towns and ask for Vital Records departments and how you can get the Records.

Property, wills, pictures, bibles, are all helpful too.

Hope you persist! Good luck.

Answer 2

The links previously noted are more so oriented towards immigrant genealogy where as people were recorded as they entered into the country. However American Indian heritage or more specifically American Indian Genealogy is not as easy to trace. I would recommend a better link to establish your heritage.

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/

Answer 3

She's probably Cherokee. What's your family NAMES that you are working on? I have walker, baker, stacy, johnson, and johnston, pennington, Gabbard, Campbell, Boone, Asher, Boger, Clark, Throckmorton, Lunsford, Combs, Smith, and a many more. My family mostly came from Hazard, Ky, but we have family from all over Ky too.

Answer 4

Did you any of her old friends? Call and ask them and maybe they can show you how to prove your heritage.

Answer 5

Ancestry.com and Genealogy.com are great research sites for family history.