Author Archives: Roberta Estes

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About Roberta Estes

Scientist, author, genetic genealogist. Documenting Native Heritage through contemporaneous records and DNA.

Minority Ancestry and DNA

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Roberta Estes

I originally wrote this article for the Melungeon Historical Society, but regardless of the target audience, the message is the same about how to use and interpret genetic information related to the search for minority admixture ancestors.   Hat tip to Jack … Continue reading →

Posted in Melungeon | 3 Comments

Following the Croatoan

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Roberta Estes

This article is reprinted from the July 2011 Lost Colony Research Group newsletter. In 2010 when the North Carolina Society of Historians awarded the Lost Colony Research Group the prestigious Malcolm Fowler Award, their question was why we weren’t following … Continue reading →

Posted in Croatoan | 2 Comments

The Legend of Chief Kinnekeet

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Roberta Estes

Historian David Stick, in 2005, prior to his death in 2009, had begun to write a series of biographies of “Outer Banker” families.  Unfortunately, he discovered a computer virus on is system which wiped out all of his work.  He … Continue reading →

Posted in Hatteras, History | 4 Comments

The Tuscarora Eye

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Roberta Estes

Dr. Arwin Smallwood is an associate professor of history at the University of Memphis.  He is also of mixed-blood Tuscarora heritage.  His focus on Bertie County history, where his family is from, is natural, and we are all beneficiaries of … Continue reading →

Posted in Tuscarora | 5 Comments

Pamunkey Indians of Virginia

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Roberta Estes

This article about the Pamunkey Indians was found at  http://www.bigorrin.org/archive73.htm and was originally published by the Bureau of Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution in 1894. To the best of my knowledge it is in the public domain, so it is being reprinting it … Continue reading →

Posted in Pamunkey | 6 Comments

The Chowan Indians

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Roberta Estes

Thanks to Fletcher Freeman for contributing part of the following information.  In addition I used resources found in The American Indian in North Carolina (1947) by the Rev. Douglas Rights hosted at http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jmack/algonqin/rights.htm and the book  Villany Often Goes Unpunished, … Continue reading →

Posted in Chowan | 138 Comments

Who Am I Related To? – Using Family Tree DNA’s Tools to Compare Within Projects

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Roberta Estes

While this may not seem like a Native topic, it is.  I am the volunteer administrator or co-administrator of several DNA projects that are either focused on or include people with Native heritage.  The goal of DNA testing is to … Continue reading →

Posted in DNA | 3 Comments

Cape Fear, Machapunga, Coree, Tuscarora and Mattamuskeet Indians

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Roberta Estes

James Sprunt, born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1846, was an entrepreneurial cotton merchant, author, philanthropist and a major figure in Wilmington, North Carolina from the time of the Civil War until his death in 1924.  Active in the N.C. Literary … Continue reading →

Posted in Cape Fear, Coree, Machapunga, Mattamuskeet, Tuscarora | 1 Comment

Visiting the Eastern Cherokee on the Qualla Indian Reservation in Cherokee, NC

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Roberta Estes

Today was a wonderfully inspirational and educational fun day.  Come on along!!  We’re visiting the Eastern Cherokee Tribe on the Qualla Reservation.  You can read about them here:  http://nc-cherokee.com/  Here’s the tourism site:  http://visitcherokeenc.com/ Drove over the Smokies from Gatlinburg to … Continue reading →

Posted in Cherokee | 11 Comments

A Report of Research of Lumbee Origins by Robert K. Thomas

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Roberta Estes

Robert K. Thomas was hired by the Lumbee Regional Development Association, apparently in the 1970s.  The report was completed sometime after 1976.  It is not readily available.  In June of 2012, I visited the Wilson Library in Chapel Hill and photographed … Continue reading →

Posted in Lumbee | 1 Comment