Not saying that you are wrong, but people believing that they have Cherokee ancestry is very common. After the trail of tears it was fashionable to claim to have Cherokee relatives. Then the stories were passed through generations. Notice how most who claim to have native American ancestry almost always claim Cherokee? Also generally the story is that the ancestor was a princess(no such thing) or a great chief.
Fact is, the Cherokee were a highly civilized, intelligent, and attractive people, who were in more contact with European settlers than most tribes. Especially in the South, because the Scots and the Irish (the last aboriginal warrior tribes in Europe) had absolutely no problem with intermarriage (unlike the English and to a lesser extent the Germans). Sir William Johnson was a fluke in New York, he would not have been so in the Carolinas.
I don't claim it because we're not on the rolls, but the family tradition and the names line up -- and the ancestor in question was a MacGregor who was on the run from the law in Scotland, so he headed for the mountains of WNC as fast as he could go.
A dear friend’s grandmother was Cherokee. When my friend had to undergo chemo for a couple of years, her hair NEVER fell out. I told her that maybe it was her Cherokee blood. It really puzzled her doctor.
The big surprise for me was finding out I have Wampanoag in me.
The location and stories of my 6th, 7th, and 8th Great Grandparents living on Tribal land had many thinking they were allowed to by the Indians. Had no idea they were the Indians! LOL
Makes sense though, I had 2 families on the Mayflower, the Wampanoag were the people that befriended them and helped them.
In my family my dad always said my grandmother was part Cherokee. But she was a Mennonite. No Native blood at all.
The actual Indian blood in my family came from my mother side. The New Mexico people intermarried with many Native American. But you can’t tell which tribes. Could be any from Ute to Apache to Navajo. Not many people with New Mexico ancestry can tell the tribe but they all know they have native blood. My sisters’ DNA test says 17%.
One reason was to be able to vote in the tribal elections. He has 2 ancestors who were chiefs - one recent and one way back. They also arrived at the “Indian Nation” on the trail of tears.
Well, I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure. But, it has been the story told in our family. My Grandmother sure LOOKED like an Indian. They were poor, hard-working people. Not pretentious in any way. I'm not sure they would have anything to gain from such a story.
It was never any "princess" story. Just that my great-grandmother was exiled to Oklahoma as a young girl. Her parents died either before the trip, or during. It was never clear. But, my Great-grandfather met her when she was living on a reservation.
I am absolutely devoid of any Indian ancestry at all.
Can't be repeated often enough!
Wishful thinking is a terrible thing!
A frequently-encountered phenomenon in genealogy: Amelioration.
Regards,