Cherokee ancestor in the "wrong" place? Help!?

Question

There is a rumor going around in my extended family that my great grandfather was Cherokee. So I decided to get onto the free trial with ancestry.com and see if I could find some info about him. I know that he was born in 1860 and died in 1926. He is frequently listed as "mulatto" on cencus reports. His wife's name was "India" and lot of my aunts and uncles refer to her as "Indy".
But they both seem to fall out of the sky into the 1870 census report. They were listed as living in north eastern North Carolina. If he was Cherokee, wasn't he far away from his homelands? All the Cherokee I see listed were from western NC and Tenesee and Oklahoma. I found info that stated that he could have been adopted and his name could have changed, and so forth. How would I go about finding out another name to look him up? And how would I go about finding out India's maiden name?

I am so stuck!

I spent my whole 2 week trial with ancestry.com trying to figure out this information, and got absolutely nowhere. Now my trial has ended, but I may decide to purchase a subscription because I really want to know about my family.

Answer 1

Several options... one of them being that he never was Cherokee to begin with. Family traditions are notorious for being unreliable. Consider the mentality in the late 1800's or 1900's when it was extremely degrading to be ***** or mixed blood. While many persons are missed in census records, the fact that he appears in 1870, does raise the question if he may have been a slave prior to that. (Ouch.. in research, set aside emotions and work for factual results). Info about an adoption is just speculation... until you have something solid, work with what you have.
In 1880, both he and Indy would show not only their place of birth, but the parents. Did he own land? You are not likely to find that record online, but it can be the missing piece. When did he buy it? from who? who were witnesses?
As for finding her maiden name, it would help if you trace all children, and depending on when they died, if there was a death certficate, it hopefully will show up there. Age of eldest child? Estimate the marriage as 1-2 yrs prior, and go through the marriage records in the most likely county.
In hard core research, it becomes essential to attempt to locate siblings. For example, you know grandpa's brother was Joe. Grandpa might not have a death cert, but Joe died 10 yrs later and did. Or, Joe became well known, and had a biography. Those bios often contain clues to ethnic background.
One other place to consider is Melungeon research. Off the top, I will tell you it is controversial. However certain families have been HEAVILY researched, known to be of mixed blood (no one certain what kind), and they were also widely known for being secretive and elusive. There are lists of "known" surnames that are believed associated.
Lastly.. not all Cherokee will show in their "records". Many did not remain associated. However, I would look at all possibilities, to see if maybe it was the family's way of disguising a background that they felt embarrassment about.
Drop me a note via my profile if you like, and I'll see if I can't dig up something via my resources.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Many people listed on censuses as mulatto, or free persons of color, were actually Melungeons, or of tri-racial heritage. Melungeons were often referred to as "Black Dutch" or "Black Irish". They were believed to be from intermarriage of Native Americans, Portuguese or Spanish seamen, and maybe seamen from the Eastern Mediterranean region. Google the word "Melungeon" and you will find many writings and theories about where these people came from, and how they arrived in America. Good Luck!