Native Heritage Project

Jerry Strong Heart

Posted on May 24, 2013 by robertajestes

I met Jerry Strong Heart this past weekend at the Teaching Our Traditions powwow sponsored by the All Nations Veterans Council. I’ve been attending Powwows now in one form or another for my entire adult life, but that’s a story for another time. I try to attend several a year, but I’ve slipped the past few years. The last one was a couple years ago in Virginia. Saturday was a beautiful day and powwow perfect – not cold, not raining and not beastly hot. It also wasn’t packed, which probably had something to do with the $11 admission fee to the park where the powwow was held, plus the $5 powwow admission fee and the challenge of finding the location down dirt backroads. But it’s difficult to find a place to hold something as large as a powwow with hundreds of people, or more, attending.

I arrived on Saturday, a little late, but just in time for Grand Entry.

Grand Entry is a very solemn occasion, honoring veterans and those currently serving in the military, those who have gone before and fallen, our ancestors, and just about anything you can honor in the Native community and lifeways. Generally only veterans dance in the Grand Entry, and the dancing is quite subdued and somber relative to the dancing later which is often quite animated. At this powwow, there was one female veteran dancing as well. That has been a relatively new phenomenon in the past few years, but there are more and more female veterans and I’m glad to see them being recognized.

This is where I first spotted Jerry Strong Heart. Jerry was a little late to the dance too, as he was probably busy in his booth, so he’s not in the photo. Jerry was different than everyone else. After the main group had passed, Jerry’s wiry little frame could be seen running up to join the end of the procession. He entered the dance circle and sort of danced like a spring, joyfully in his purple t-shirt, bouncing from place to place. I so wish I had a picture of Jerry’s joyful, spirited dancing, but I was simply enjoying the moment, as, it appears, was Jerry. Jerry is a veteran, in case you were wondering, and quite proud of it. At powwows, everyone thanks veterans for their service.

Other than the dancing and the drum, which were absolutely wonderful, for me, an integral part of the powwow is the interaction with other Native descendants.

At some powwows, only tribally enrolled people are allowed to participate as dancers or as vendors, which often served to create two classes of people. This powwow is more inclusive than exclusive and encourages those of mixed heritage to participate. After all, you still carry Native ancestry whether you’re tribally enrolled or not and those wishing to honor that heritage are welcomed.

I met two extremely interesting people among the vendors, and I’d like to share a little about both of them with you. Today’s blog will be about Jerry Strong Heart.

Jerry is a rock man and a storyteller. But that’s not what I noticed first about Jerry or his booth. It was this sign.

Now this is an amazing sign to see, especially that last part. The next thing I noticed was a children’s “box” on Jerry’s table that said “Adults Not Allowed” and “Adults, Do Not Touch.” Kids can play in that box and purchase anything out of it, 3 for $1. Kids love it. Jerry says there are so many things kids can’t touch and can’t do, so he wanted something just for them.

I knew Jerry was different and I liked him immediately. Plus, I’m a rock person too and any genealogist is also the family storyteller, or tends to be. I sat and visited with Jerry for awhile and we discovered we also share Micmac ancestry, so we are likely related at some distant point in time. Jerry is also Mohawk.

While I was talking to Jerry, the Intertribal dance began. Not having any regalia with me, that is the only dance I could participate in. Intertribal dances are designed to be inclusive, for people who want to dance for the spiritual aspects, not competitively, for those who aren’t “dressed for the occasion” and to introduce children to dancing. Again, very inclusive. When I was in Virginia last year at their powwow, they specifically said they were not having any intertribal dances.

So I asked Jerry if I could leave all my belongings with him in the booth, including my purse, and of course, he said yes. We put my things under the table with his little doggie and off I went, without a second thought. Where else in this day and age could you do that?

After the dance, I returned to find Jerry deeply engrossed in a discussion with someone about the rocks and minerals he has for sale. His “grandson in spirit” was sitting busily beading and the breeze was blowing gently. We three sat and ate kettle corn together and visited before I bought a miniature Iroquois basket from the 1930s or 1940s and a rock, of course. Jerry tells me the rock is Amazonite although the color is quite unusual.

Jerry is a storyteller, and I have included a story written by Jerry and only edited slightly:) I have substituted a phrase for a proper body part name in order to keep the story family friendly.

For those who don’t know, traditionally, only males can play or even touch the drum at powwows and Native celebrations although that has been slowing changing for the last 20 years or so, but very slowly so. Jerry doesn’t just look and think outside the box, he lives outside the box. Here is Jerry’s story.

A Story of the Drum~*~

I was at a powwow up in Maine with my Uncle John/John a Mickmac Elder Council member~*~We met two Women on friday night~*~and made friends~*~Sat morning i walked over to the Grand Father Drum~*~one of the women was standing there~*~I walked up to her and said what’s happening; cause she had a long face~*~She said Jerry I need a male body part - they won’t let me play the drum without one~*~A very natural statement came out of me~*~I said oh, be careful what you pray for you might get it* Nothing in my life caused me more trouble than my male body part Barr None~*~I will loan you mine but I don*t recommend it~*~We had this Tribal laugh~*~I just spoke to her need without thinking~*~I took her over to Uncle John and said; Uncle the powers that be will not let this woman play the drum without a male body part~*~ Will you loan her yours~*~ Another huge laugh happened~*~John took her over to the drum, used his Influence and she played the drum~*~When I went back the next year there was an all woman’s drum~*~Now those women are playing the Drum all over the country in an all woman’s drum~*~Tragedy into comedy broke down a wall~*~That old Patriarchal BS is breaking down~*~ When the Heart Leads; The Love Happens…

And that is how our traditions and cultures change and evolve, one person at a time.

Jerry is a kind and gentle spirit, blowing in life from place to place where the wind and a whim takes him, living in the moment. I hope to see him again someday and hear more of his stories, but in the meantime, he can be found at Facebook under the name Jerry Strong Heart, of course.

Posted in Micmac, Mohawk, Powwow | Leave a comment

Lewis Larsen’s Extensive Native American Reference Library to be Auctioned

Posted on May 23, 2013 by robertajestes

From the People of One Fire newsletter, the following:

Lewis Larsen’s Extensive Archaeological Library to Auctioned Off

“Extensive American Indian related reference library from the estate of noted Georgia Archaeologist, Dr. Lewis H. Larson, Jr. over 400 Volumes” To be auctioned by Charlton Hall Auctioneers in W. Columbia SC on June 21-22, 2013.

A catalog does not seem to be available yet at www.charltonhallauctions.com

Lewis Larsen was one of the pioneers of modern North American archaeology. Along with Joseph Caldwell and Arthur Kelly, he supervised the archaeological studies at Etowah Mounds National Landmark during the mid-1950s. He then went on to a highly productive career as a professor and expert on the Mississippian Culture.

It would be very nice if this collection could be preserved intact.

Posted in Archaeology | 2 Comments

Mary Jemison, White Indian of the Genesee

Posted on May 21, 2013 by robertajestes

As I’ve been extracting the surnames of the New York Indian tribes from the Indian census (1888-1893), which consist of the Six Nations, Jemison, Jimerson, Jemerson and variant spellings are found in all of the tribes. It’s a very unusual name otherwise, but very common within the tribes.

It also has a very unusual genesis – not Native at all. Mary Jemison, the progenitor of the Jemison lines, was a captive white woman.

Mary Jemison (Deh-he-wä-mis), was born in 1743 and died September 19, 1933. She was born to white immigrant parents and died an adopted Seneca. When she was in her teens, she was captured in what is now Adams County, Pennsylvania, from her home along Marsh Creek, and later chose to remain a Seneca.

Mary Jemison was born to Thomas and Jane Jemison aboard the ship William and Mary in the fall of 1743 while en route from what is now Northern Ireland to America. Upon their arrival in America, the couple and their new child joined other Scots-Irish immigrants and headed west from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to what was then the western frontier (now central Pennsylvania). They “squatted” on territory that was under the authority of the Iroquois Confederacy.

During the time the Jemisons were establishing their home, the French and Indian War (Seven Years War) was raging. One morning in 1755, a raiding party consisting of six Shawnee Indians and four Frenchmen captured Mary, her family (except two older brothers) and Davy Wheelock, a boy from another family. En route to Fort Duquesne (present-day Pittsburgh), Mary’s mother, father, and siblings were killed and scalped. Mary and the other young boy were spared. Once the party reached the Fort, Mary was given to two Seneca Indians, who took Mary downriver. The Seneca adopted Mary, renaming her Deh-he-wä-mis which she learned meant, “… a pretty girl, a handsome girl, or a pleasant, good thing.”

She married a Delaware named Sheninjee. They had a son whom she named Thomas after her father. Sheninjee took her on a 700-mile (1,100 km) journey to the Sehgahunda Valley along the Genesee River in present-day New York state. Although Jemison and their son reached this destination, her husband did not. Leaving his wife to hunt, he had taken ill and died. She arrived alone, with her baby, in the dead of winter. She was received with open arms by her husband’s clan and settled to a happy life among the Seneca in Sehgehunda, or “Vale of the Three Falls”. She married Seneca chief Hiokatoo, and she had six more children.

During the American Revolutionary War, the Seneca were allies of the British. Jemison’s account of her life includes some observations during this time, as she and others in the Seneca town helped Joseph Brant and Iroquois warriors who fought against the colonists.

After the war, the Seneca sold much of their land at Little Beard’s Town to European-American settlers in 1797. At that time, during negotiations with the Holland Land Company held at Geneseo, New York, Mary Jemison proved to be an able negotiator for the Seneca tribe. She helped win more favorable terms for giving up their rights to the land at the Treaty of Big Tree (1797).

In 1823, the tribe sold most of the remainder of the land, except for a 2-acre (8,100 m2) tract of land reserved for Jemison’s use. Known locally as the “White Woman of the Genesee”, she lived on the tract until she sold it in 1831 and moved to the Buffalo Creek Reservation. Jemison lived the rest of her life with the Seneca Nation. She died on September 19, 1833, aged 90. She was initially buried on the Buffalo Creek Reservation.

When the reservation was closed and the burial ground there threatened, her grandchildren turned to William Pryor Letchworth, whose estate, Glen Iris, encompassed the land where Sehgehunda had been. He immediately invited them to bring Mary home. Her remains were placed in a new walnut coffin and taken back to the Genesee Valley. A full ceremony was held at the old Seneca council house, and she was laid to rest in March of 1874. Letchworth erected a granite marker, on top of which is a statue which he dedicated in 1910, after his estate had been incorporated into Letchworth State Park in present day Castille, New York.

A bronze statue of Mary Jemison, created in 1910 by Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, marks her grave. Dr. George F. Kunz helped with the 1910 memorial to Jemison, “The White Indian of the Genesee”, who is buried at “the ancient Indian Council House of the Senecas.” Dr. Kunz always was fascinated by Native Americans, and contributed much to their memorials in New York.

Today, the various Jemison families of New York carry her legacy.

Late in life, she told her story to the minister James E. Seaver, who published it as a classic “captivity narrative”, Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison (1824; latest ed. 1967). Many history scholars consider it to be a reasonably accurate narrative.

You can read Mary’s life story in the “Narrative of the Life of Mary Jemison.” The drawings in this article are from this book, published in 1856.

Posted in Delaware, Iroquois, Seneca | 1 Comment

Women of These Hills – Amanda Swimmer, Cherokee

Posted on May 20, 2013 by robertajestes

Produced in 2000, three Appalachian women in their 80′s share their stories of growing up in the rural regions of the Appalachian mountains. Take a glimpse into their lives as they share their memories of growing up not only as mountain women, but also as Cherokee, Scots-Irish and African-American women.

Amanda Sequoyah Swimmer, born in 1921, at right, lives in Big Cove, adjacent to the Smokey Mountain National Park, a member of the Eastern Cherokee Tribe, and describes her early life. Amazingly, Amanda’s experiences don’t differ a great deal, with the exception that she speaks Cherokee as well as English, from the early life experiences of the Scotts-Irish and African woman whose ancestors were slaves. They have more in common than they do differences.

Amanda became a very skilled pottery maker and produced pottery for over 40 years, receiving the Mountain Heritage Award in 2009 for her pottery making and other activities. Read more and see photos here.

You can read more about her life and see her pottery here.

Information about the Cherokee and Amanda from the North Carolina Arts Council and about visiting the Cherokee can be found at Cherokee Heritage Trails.

Hat tip to Rhonda for this video.

Posted in Cherokee | Leave a comment

Bowen Family of Columbus County, NC

Posted on May 19, 2013 by robertajestes

Lisa Y. Henderson on her Fourth Generation Inclusive blog lists the following Indian information:

Catherine Jackson. Died 7 July 1932, Waccamaw, Columbus County. Indian. Widow of David Jackson. Born 12 April 1858 in Columbus County to J.A. Bowen of Columbus County and Susan Lacewell of Bladen County. Buried Holly Ridge NC. Informant, Geo. M. Mitchell.

In the 1860 census of Columbus County: John Bowen, 45, farmer, wife Susan 46, and children John, 23, Frances, 21, Lucy, 20, Anna, 17, Jane, 15, Betsey, 13, James, 10, G., 8, Henry, 5, Lydia, 3, and Caty Bowen, 2. John and Susan were born in Bladen County. They and their oldest three children were described as mulatto; the remainder as black.

John William Mitchell. Died 5 January 1934, Waccamaw, Columbus County. Indian. Married to Colista Mitchell. Farmer. Born 1 November 1858, Waccamaw, to B.F. Mitchell and Mary Frances Bowen. Buried Mitchell cemetery. Informant, Cary Mitchell, Hallsboro NC.

In the 1860 census of Bladen County: B.F. Mitchel, 24, wife Mary F., 21, and children A.E., 3, and John W., 2.

It would appear that the Bowen family is the common link between these two individuals who are both listed as Indian.

To see additional information about family members, please visit Lisa’s blog posting:

http://ncfpc.net/2013/05/15/free-issue-death-certificates-miscellaneous-no-14-2/

Additional North Carolina Bowen family information can be found here.

Find-A-Grave shows that John A. Bowen, buried in the Mitchellfield Cemetery, was born in 1834 and died April 12, 1900. Also buried in the same cemetery is Lucy Ann Bowen born in 1841, died Sept. 7, 1898.

There is a Bowen Cemetery in Columbus County, but the burials do not appear to be any members of this family.

Columbus County was formed in 1808. The Bowen family seems to have been from Bladen County. John was born there in 1815, so in the 1820 county census, his family should be listed and he would have been age 5.

In the 1820 census in Bladen County, the James Bowen family is shown as “free colored people” and they have 2 males to the age of 14, 1 male 26 to 45, 1 male 45 and over, 1 female to age 14 and female 14 to the age of 26. They also have 2 slaves.

William Bowen also heads a “free colored” household. He has 1 male to age 14, 1 male 26 to 45, 1 female to 14 and one female over 14-26. This family also has a slave.

Judy Bowen, two houses from William has 1 white male 26-45. The rest of the family is “free colored” and consists of 1 male to age 14, two males 14-26, 1 female to 14 and one female over 45, probably Judy.

The 1790, 1800 and 1810 census shows no Bowen families in Bladen County nor any William, James or Judy who are listed as non-white in any other NC county. There is a James Bowen in Orange County in 1790 but Ancestry’s system is not currently displaying that particular census page, so I could not discern if James was white or of color.

Posted in Census, North Carolina | 2 Comments

1000 Subscribers, A Milestone

Posted on May 18, 2013 by robertajestes

Over this past weekend, the Native Heritage Project blog hit a milestone, 1000 subscribers. Thank you one and all. Not bad for just under 15 months since the blog was created!

You’ve probably noticed thank yous and hat tips to people. That’s President Calvin Coolidge who signed the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 into law tipping his hat above.

Many of the records buried in dusty archives and other places come to my attention thanks to all of you. Breathing life into our hidden and forgotten ancestors is about sharing information – and that’s what we do here. As you know, this blog is about preserving and publishing records about people of Native heritage, especially those displaced, primarily east of the Mississippi. However, I don’t restrict the records to those locations. I publish quality records that come my way. Recently we had a story about Alaska, for example.

In addition to the 1000 subscribers, we have lots of hits on the website too. Most of the subscribers read the posts via e-mail or RSS feed. Hits on the website generally aren’t from subscribers, or they are subscribers looking for something in particular. To date, we’ve had over 114,000 hits on the website as well.

We have a lot of content. I’ve published 416 articles, as of today. Remember, the site is searchable, both by key word in the box at the top right that says “search” and by category, such as a specific tribe. Categories are listed on the right hand side below “recent posts” and “archives,” so scroll down and then click on the category to see posts that relate to that topic.

Enjoy, and if you see something interesting in terms of documentation of Native people, please send it my way. Hat tip to everyone!!!!

Posted in Laws | 5 Comments

Using Tax Lists to Identify People of Color

Posted on May 16, 2013 by robertajestes

Recently, Ancestry.com put indexed Tennessee tax lists from 1783 to 1895 online. Tax lists weren’t required to be saved, so these records are sporadic at best, but extremely valuable when they are still available.

http://search.ancestry.com/iexec/?htx=List&dbid=2883

I’ve been using tax lists for a long time, but since they are now becoming more widely available, I thought this might be a good time to talk about innovative ways to use tax lists to find “hidden” people of color. As we know, if you weren’t white, you were considered to be “of color,” generally to the 4th generation or in some timeframes in Virginia, if you had “one drop” of non-white blood. So Indian ancestors and mixed race people would have been found in the “people of color” category.

The purpose of tax lists was to determine the appropriate tax for people to pay – all people.

There were primarily two different categories of taxes, and lists. Sometimes these two types of tax lists were combined into one, but often not. Landowners could own multiple parcels in different sections of the county, meaning they would be listed more than once on a land tax list. But only one record of a poll tax would exist for any one person per county, per year.
The first type of tax was on land based either on acres or valuation.

But not everyone owned land, and heaven forbid, someone not pay taxes, so there were other types of taxes too. These lists were generally called poll tax lists but in some places were called personal property lists. There were columns of items and people to be taxed.

On the example below from 1799 in Grainger Co., Tn., you can see that John Estes, Esquire, took the tax list from within Daniel Taylor’s militia company. Categories were land, situation, which was used for exceptions, white polls, black polls, stud horses, town lotte, a blank column and then dollars and cents owed by the taxpayer.

White polls – were generally white males living in the household 16 years or older. The taxpayer, if white (unless exempt), would count as 1 and then any sons, other men, indentured servants, etc., would count too.

Black polls – depending on when and where, could be black males 12 and older or all blacks 12 and older. Obviously, this generally meant slaves but could also be free people of color who were counted on the land owners list if they did not pay individually.

Horses, cows, mules, etc. You’ll see various categories depending on the list location and year. Sometimes the horses are broken down to stud horses, which were money earners, and other horses. These often were indicators of relative wealth. I saw one list in Virginia where carriages and clocks were taxed.

Schools – in some regions during some time periods, there were special taxes collected for the school. The landowner whose land the school sat on was generally exempt from the tax.

Some people didn’t have to pay tax – if you were over a certain age – which varied from place to place and time to time but was generally 45-55 years of age, or if you were infirm and you petitioned the court to be excused from paying taxes, or if you were an ordained minister. On the list example, this would have been recorded in the situation column.

On later tax lists, there was more than one kind of tax, meaning both a state and a county tax.

Sometimes tax rates varied depending on your ethnicity. If you were a white person, your rates were, let’s say, 10 cents per acre but if you were “of color” they were a different rate, and generally not lower. Sometimes by comparing your ancestor’s taxes with those of known white neighbors, you can discern that they were considered “of color”. It goes without saying that the man who took the polls, or the tax list, in this case, John Estes, was white, so compare your ancestors rates with his. For example the amount of tax paid for a white poll or a black poll should be the same if both taxpayers were white, but if they are paying different amounts for the exact same thing, look for the reason why.

Families “of color” generally had to pay for all family members over the age of 12 (or 16) , including wives and children. In some locations, petitions were submitted to the legislatures to relieve free people of color of this extra tax burden. In some cases, men refused to pay poll tax on their mixed race wives and children and were taken to court for “concealing tithables.” In fact, concealing tithables is one hint that your ancestor may indeed have had a mixed race family.

Lastly, tax lists can be extremely useful sorting out various men of the same name. If someone owned land in 2 places within a county, especially if they were not adjacent and particularly if they were in 2 different districts, the same person can be on the tax list more than once if it’s a land based tax list. If it is not a land based list, meaning a personal property or poll tax list, then they would only be listed once. In some places, there were two lists, one for land and one for personal property. On those lists, by comparing them, you can tell if there were really 2 John Does or just one who owned land in 2 places. If there are actually 2 different John Does, their location will be somewhat identified by their tax list district, and their property of course would be located in that district, were you to find their deeds. By following the tax lists, so to speak, you should, hopefully, be able to tell men by the same name apart.

No one enjoys paying taxes, but for genealogists, these lists can be a goldmine if you know how to utilize the information.

Posted in Tax Lists | Leave a comment