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Smoke and Ash

Updated November 1, 2008

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Father always called Mother his little Indian Squaw and she loved it. They were a very proud Indian couple yet never knew the language or customs known to those on Indian Reservations.
Our families grew up with grandparents who had a tonic or poltice for their ailments and grew their crops to feed their families - mother nature took good care of them. They traveled our great nation seeking answers that were never found. We lived among other Indian families...Mother was Cherokee, possibly half blood; Father was both Cherokee and another tribe, possibly Creek, since his mom stated they were from two different tribes.
=Mother's line has many women with first names only, which could also be a clue that there may be other Indian tribes involved in this family tree. I find it so strange that the men are well known, even their middle names, while nothing is known about their brides. Yes it would seem that the well known, well to do, McClains and Bozemans would at least remember a granny's last name. There are several McClains, Moons, Cochrans, Littles on the
Indian Rolls registered in Oklahoma, but it is so very hard
to locate a connection. Was John McClain a son of our Charles
and Cherokee or was it his wife who had Indian Blood? We have so much work to do ! The census records are all black and white, Indians were mostly put down as colored. Even the 1850 census records show race only as B W or C. Indians lost their lands and they lost their rights to be treated humanely. Some were dragged from their homes and forced to move to Oklahoma Indian Territory and many did not survive the trip...Perhaps my ancestors died on the Trail of Tears, yet they might have hidden until it was safe to come out and claim to be white, so they would be treated as equals. Those who hid might have become the Over Hill Cherokee Tribe. Others moved into Kentucky or Tennessee, intermarried, learned a trade or fought in the Civil War. They took on famous white names so nobody would suspect they were Indian.Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois and even Texas and Arkansas became a safe haven to many tribes...Of course Kentucky became a state after actually being a part of Virginia; Tennessee was actually a part of North Carolina. We have the locations and the time periods yet we have no documentation to prove our Indian Blood.
The Indians became invisible. They had no choice!
One ancestor suffered a house fire that destroyed any documents and photos that might connect to our past. He was Annie Stone Fenn's oldest son. We are finding more connections to Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina before the Trail of Tears began and know that many were intermarried with these tribes, before they moved into Georgia or Kentucky and onward.Some came out of New York Indian Country, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, removing to Ohio and on westward mingling with other tribes, and starting a new life. My John Wright Little left Kentucky and claimed to be white when he got to Arkansas so that he could find good work and own land. His line goes to Charles Weatherford of Virginia which could be the same father of Chief Red Eagle. Great Grandpa Charlie McClain had many visions of his elders, but of course some thought he was simply crazy. His wife, Lorena Bozeman was a healer and could stop bleeding, people still remember her faithful help in Ramer...Anne Carter also had her visions and her husband Frank Cochran had amazing premonitions, not simply intuition, but the true feeling of happenings in the family, that led him home in urgency. His sister was born with a veil over her face which the doctor removed twice and it still came back ! The third time, her mother, Luella Coonfield Cochran, took the veil and placed it in the family Bible that once belonged to her mother Lattie and it still remains. The veil is usually a gift to a seer.
In my dreams, I heard mother's voice saying Sleepy Cloud and I am still trying to learn what she meant.

 
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