Watkins - All Things Cherokee

jsmith says

December 28, 2015 at 10:36 pm

Native American genealogy is no different than any other type of genealogy. There are tribal records that simply supplement state/federal records, and the body of records taken as a whole is what confirms tribal affiliation or ancestry. The process of establishing ancestry is exactly the same.

Dawes is only one roll of many, and it did not include Eastern Cherokee anyway.

Various tribal records can be used as a snapshot in time, to see if ancestors had a connection to the Cherokee people at any given time period.

In other words, if we look at the Eastern Band’s 1924 Baker Roll, we can see if ancestors alive at that time were listed. If they were not, they were not formally recognized as Eastern Cherokee (affiliated) at that time. We can then go back to the BIA records and the Churchill Roll (and Act of Congress Roll) around the early 1900s. Then we can go back to 1884/5 to the Hester Roll. Prior to that we can look at the Siler and Chapman Rolls in the 1850s. Then we go back to the Henderson Roll in 1835. Prior to that we can look at the Reservation Roll (early 1800s). We can use these points in time to see what families and individuals were living in Cherokee communities or were recognized as tribal members.

If an American family that has lore of Cherokee blood along a particular branch,it is just a matter of building a tree and seeing where the ancestors were living and how they were identified. If there is a tree going back multiple generations and we see a pattern of no connection. This would indicate that they were not Cherokee. This might be as follows:

1. living far away from the Cherokee people
2. not listed as being recognized as Cherokee
3. listed as White on all records, consistently (this is not a hard and fast indicator, however)
4. lived in White communities
5. come from older colonial White roots (verified by supported family tree)

We can conclude that the family claims may be doubtful, exaggerated, or possibly totally incorrect (in whole or in part). For example, in some cases, it can be possibly that a family that has claims of “Cherokee blood” and passes this down through the generations actually has very remote Indian blood from other tribal groups. But, over the years, with the retelling, the stories morphs and details change. Or, in other cases, theorized Indian blood may be totally incorrect and has no basis in truth.

But, before we can do this kind of analysis you need to do a family tree going back to the early 1800s.

Trying to trace family lineage along particular branches is simply a matter of going where the paper trail leads you and establishing parentage, confirming links, and moving back through the generations in methodical fashion. When you build a tree, and get back far enough you can stand back and review what the records are telling you. In other words, where is the family living? What communities were they associated with? What race were they listed as in NC (e.g. in the southern states, this is quite telling). What churches did they attend? What was the marriage pattern over generations?

We start with Rayford Fenner Watkins.

For Rayford Fenner Watkins (b. 1891), we can find his parents listed on his death cert: Simon Fenner Watkins and Martha Stell. Simon Fenner was born in 1862; Martha about 1865 (her birth years vary on different records). They were listed as White and lived in Wake County, NC. They were married in Wake County in 1884.

Martha Stell can be found on the 1870 and 1880 census with her parents, Lemuel and Sarah Ann (Watkins). They were born in 1835 and 1834, respectively. Lemuel was a Confederate veteran. You can actually find Sarah living with her father “Ralphord Watkins” and a Lemuel Stell is listed as a farm laborer, prior to their marriage, which happened later in the year (1860). Lemuel’s paternal lines go back to early colonial lineages. Sarah’s death certificate lists her father as Rayford Watkins.

*This would likely indicate that Martha and Simon Fenner Watkins were first cousins.

Simon Fenner Watkins’s death certificate gives his father’s name as Fenner Watkins. Fenner was born about 1828. He married Annie Mariah (she went by both Annie and Mary or Mary Ann) Alford. She was born about 1834. They were married in 1856, in Wake County. Simon was born in 1862, so he does not show up with the family in the 1860 Census. And his father, Fenner, died during the Civil War (about 1864). So, by 1870, Mary was living with her Alford family and many of her kids were living with different relatives and friends/community members. Her father, Gilbert, is listed as a War of 1812 veteran on this document. At this point, only siblings Sarah and William were living with their mother. Simon Watkins is found one page over from his mother. He is age 6, living with a single female named Elizabeth Kelly. Also, on this same page is the household of Lemuel Stell.

Fenner doesn’t show up with his father Rayford Watkins on the 1850 Census, but he would have been age 22 at that time, and probably out of the house working as a single fellow. What is very interesting is that Rayford Watkin’s household is living right next to Gilbert Alfred. Fenner’s mother appears to have died prior to this enumeration, but a marriage records indicates that Rayford Watkins married a Mariah Dean in 1826, in Wake County, NC.

The reality is that Wake County is nowhere near any Cherokee community. It was never even part of Cherokee traditional territory and was settled quite early by Anglo Americans. It is actually 200+ miles away from the eastern band communities. To give a little perspective, this isn’t much closer than Cincinnati, Ohio. The tribes in that location dwindled down to very small numbers, were removed or joined other tribes in the early 1700s. There were no Indians living in Wake or Johnston Counties when the Watkins and associated families moved into these locations. All these family lines were living in White communities, listed as White, and were descended from ancestors that were White. Some fought in the war of 1812, and received bounty land for their services, and later, the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy. Some lines held African slaves. In fact, in 1850, Rayford Fenner’s nephew, also named Rayford (or spelled various ways), was arrested in Johnston County, NC, for attempting to sell a Free Black women into slavery. He was to be arraigned in Wake County Superior Court. They were fully immersed in White society of Wake County, NC. Additionally, they tended to marry in cluster patterns (consanguineous) over the generations. For example, in four generations (along Rayford Fenner Watkins line) there are two first cousin marriages. And this doesn’t illustrate cluster marriage patterns for various other relatives. There is no possibly way there was any Choctaw connection, and Cherokee is almost as remote. If there is remote Algonquin or Iroquoian intermarriage during the early colonial era, that is extremely hard to trace, and it requires. But, this will at least get you back to the late 1700s and early 1800s. By the way, some of these lines go back to the 1600s and early Virginia settlements. You could also join various ancestry groups like sons/daughters of the Confederacy. And there are some groups for War of 1812 descendants, although they are not as active (or well-known).

See sources:

Death Certificate:

Name: Rayford Fenner Watkins Sr.
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 80
Birth Date: 24 Aug 1891
Birth Place: Wake, North Carolina, United States
Residence: Millbrook, Wake, North Carolina
Death Date: 30 Apr 1972
Death Place: Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina, USA
Spouse: Lila Thomas
Father: Simon Fenner Watkins
Mother: Martha Stell

Rayford’s Grave:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=50177063&ref=acom
Name: Rayford Fenner Watkins
Birth Date: 24 Aug 1891
Birth Place: Wake County, North Carolina, USA
Death Date: 30 Apr 1972
Death Place: Wake County, North Carolina, USA
Cemetery: Wake Crossroads Baptist Church Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place: Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, USA
Has Bio?: N
Spouse: Lila Thomas Watkins
Father: Siamon Fenner Watkins
Mother: Martha Mariah Watkins

Marriage Certificate:

Name Martha A Stell
Gender Female
Age 20
Birth Year abt 1864
Marriage Date 25 Dec 1884
Marriage Place Wake, North Carolina, USA
Spouse Gender Male
Spouse Age 22
Event Type Marriage
Household Members
Simon F Watkins
Martha A Stell

Death Certificate for Siamon Fenner Watkins:

Name Siman Fenner Watkins
Gender Male
Race White
Age 86
Birth Date 3 Oct 1862
Birth Place Wake
Residence Raliegh, Wake, North Carolina
Death Date 8 Oct 1948
Death Place Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina, USA
Household Members
Father: Fenner Watkins
Wife: Martha Stell

Fenner and Mary/Annie’s marriage certificate:

Name: Fenner Watkins
Gender: Male
Spouse: Annie M Alford
Spouse Gender: Female
Bond Date: 15 Dec 1856
Bond #: 000158981
Marriage Date: 18 Dec 1856
Level Info: North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868
ImageNum: 000117
County: Wake
Record #: 03 548
Bondsman: Alexander Adams
Witness: Thomas J Utley
Performed By: H A Hodge, Justice of the Peace

News article:

Publication: The Evening Visitor
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Date: Thursday, September 7, 1893
Page: Page 4
“The beyond tract adjoins the land above described, the of Jarvis Watkins and others, and Known as the Fenner Watkins lands, containing 17 1 2 acres.”

Name: Raiford Watkins
Spouse: Mariah Dean
Marriage Date: 27 Oct 1826
Marriage County: Wake
Marriage State: North Carolina
Source: County Court Records at Raleigh, NC & Family History

Marriage Certificate for Sarah Ann Watkins and Lemuel Stell:
Name Sarah Ann Watkins
Gender Female
Spouse Lemuel Stills
Spouse Gender Male
Bond date 21 Dec 1860
Bond # 000158254
Marriage Date 23 Dec 1860
Level Info North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868
ImageNum 008388
County Wake
Record # 03 500
Bondsman John Watkins
Witness Thomas J Utley
Performed By H A Hodge, Justice of the Peace
Household Members
Name Age
Lemuel Stills
Sarah Ann Watkins

Death Certificate for Sarah Ann (Watkins) Stell:
Name Sarah Ann Stell
Gender Female
Race White
Marital Status Widowed
Age 85y 7m 27d
Birth Date 25 Apr 1834
Birth Place Wake, N.C.
Death Date 22 Dec 1919
Death Place Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina
Burial Date 24 Dec 1919
Burial Place Wake, N.C.
Reference ID fn 506 cn 153
FHL Film Number 1892501
Household Members
Name Age
Father: Rayford Watkins

https://books.google.com/books?id=iG9XR5tAcHcC&pg=PA643&lpg=PA643&dq=%22fenner+watkins%22+1864&source=bl&ots=EvInGFIPI2&sig=OSjaOlW7xzc6GqqygniGLlk8XMU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqrMbXov_JAhXEYyYKHegMDtsQ6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&q=%22fenner%20watkins%22%201864&f=false

Muster Rolls (Civil War):
Private Fenner Watkins, 35 years old, enlisted Wake Co. 3/5/1863 (died 1/1864)

War of 1812 records:

Gilbert Alford PVT
CPT Abner Pasteur’s company, NC Militia, First Regiment
Artillery, 1st Company
Served at Fort Hampton

“Attempting to sell a free woman”
Source: Raleigh Register
Year: September 21, 1850

A man by the name of Raiford Watkins, of Johnston, was brought before Justice Thompson, in this City, on Monday, upon a charge of attempting to sell Phoebe Flowers, a Free woman of color. He was bound over, in the sum of $200, to make his appearance at the next term of Wake Superior Court, and, failing to give bond, was committed to jail, to await trial.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~prsjr/families/nc/maps/1850_nc.jpg

NOTE: This Raiford Watkins was born in 1827. He was the son of Turner Watkins, and the nephew (and namesake) of Rayford Watkins born in 1802.

Pearce lineage info:
http://02ec0a3.netsolhost.com/getperson.php?personID=I25024&tree=ncshawfamily

Comments

jsmith says

December 28, 2015 at 10:36 pm

Native American genealogy is no different than any other type of genealogy. There are tribal records that simply supplement state/federal records, and the body of records taken as a whole is what confirms tribal affiliation or ancestry. The process of establishing ancestry is exactly the same.

Dawes is only one roll of many, and it did not include Eastern Cherokee anyway.

Various tribal records can be used as a snapshot in time, to see if ancestors had a connection to the Cherokee people at any given time period.

In other words, if we look at the Eastern Band’s 1924 Baker Roll, we can see if ancestors alive at that time were listed. If they were not, they were not formally recognized as Eastern Cherokee (affiliated) at that time. We can then go back to the BIA records and the Churchill Roll (and Act of Congress Roll) around the early 1900s. Then we can go back to 1884/5 to the Hester Roll. Prior to that we can look at the Siler and Chapman Rolls in the 1850s. Then we go back to the Henderson Roll in 1835. Prior to that we can look at the Reservation Roll (early 1800s). We can use these points in time to see what families and individuals were living in Cherokee communities or were recognized as tribal members.

If an American family that has lore of Cherokee blood along a particular branch,it is just a matter of building a tree and seeing where the ancestors were living and how they were identified. If there is a tree going back multiple generations and we see a pattern of no connection. This would indicate that they were not Cherokee. This might be as follows:

1. living far away from the Cherokee people
2. not listed as being recognized as Cherokee
3. listed as White on all records, consistently (this is not a hard and fast indicator, however)
4. lived in White communities
5. come from older colonial White roots (verified by supported family tree)

We can conclude that the family claims may be doubtful, exaggerated, or possibly totally incorrect (in whole or in part). For example, in some cases, it can be possibly that a family that has claims of “Cherokee blood” and passes this down through the generations actually has very remote Indian blood from other tribal groups. But, over the years, with the retelling, the stories morphs and details change. Or, in other cases, theorized Indian blood may be totally incorrect and has no basis in truth.

But, before we can do this kind of analysis you need to do a family tree going back to the early 1800s.

Trying to trace family lineage along particular branches is simply a matter of going where the paper trail leads you and establishing parentage, confirming links, and moving back through the generations in methodical fashion. When you build a tree, and get back far enough you can stand back and review what the records are telling you. In other words, where is the family living? What communities were they associated with? What race were they listed as in NC (e.g. in the southern states, this is quite telling). What churches did they attend? What was the marriage pattern over generations?

We start with Rayford Fenner Watkins.

For Rayford Fenner Watkins (b. 1891), we can find his parents listed on his death cert: Simon Fenner Watkins and Martha Stell. Simon Fenner was born in 1862; Martha about 1865 (her birth years vary on different records). They were listed as White and lived in Wake County, NC. They were married in Wake County in 1884.

Martha Stell can be found on the 1870 and 1880 census with her parents, Lemuel and Sarah Ann (Watkins). They were born in 1835 and 1834, respectively. Lemuel was a Confederate veteran. You can actually find Sarah living with her father “Ralphord Watkins” and a Lemuel Stell is listed as a farm laborer, prior to their marriage, which happened later in the year (1860). Lemuel’s paternal lines go back to early colonial lineages. Sarah’s death certificate lists her father as Rayford Watkins.

*This would likely indicate that Martha and Simon Fenner Watkins were first cousins.

Simon Fenner Watkins’s death certificate gives his father’s name as Fenner Watkins. Fenner was born about 1828. He married Annie Mariah (she went by both Annie and Mary or Mary Ann) Alford. She was born about 1834. They were married in 1856, in Wake County. Simon was born in 1862, so he does not show up with the family in the 1860 Census. And his father, Fenner, died during the Civil War (about 1864). So, by 1870, Mary was living with her Alford family and many of her kids were living with different relatives and friends/community members. Her father, Gilbert, is listed as a War of 1812 veteran on this document. At this point, only siblings Sarah and William were living with their mother. Simon Watkins is found one page over from his mother. He is age 6, living with a single female named Elizabeth Kelly. Also, on this same page is the household of Lemuel Stell.

Fenner doesn’t show up with his father Rayford Watkins on the 1850 Census, but he would have been age 22 at that time, and probably out of the house working as a single fellow. What is very interesting is that Rayford Watkin’s household is living right next to Gilbert Alfred. Fenner’s mother appears to have died prior to this enumeration, but a marriage records indicates that Rayford Watkins married a Mariah Dean in 1826, in Wake County, NC.

The reality is that Wake County is nowhere near any Cherokee community. It was never even part of Cherokee traditional territory and was settled quite early by Anglo Americans. It is actually 200+ miles away from the eastern band communities. To give a little perspective, this isn’t much closer than Cincinnati, Ohio. The tribes in that location dwindled down to very small numbers, were removed or joined other tribes in the early 1700s. There were no Indians living in Wake or Johnston Counties when the Watkins and associated families moved into these locations. All these family lines were living in White communities, listed as White, and were descended from ancestors that were White. Some fought in the war of 1812, and received bounty land for their services, and later, the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy. Some lines held African slaves. In fact, in 1850, Rayford Fenner’s nephew, also named Rayford (or spelled various ways), was arrested in Johnston County, NC, for attempting to sell a Free Black women into slavery. He was to be arraigned in Wake County Superior Court. They were fully immersed in White society of Wake County, NC. Additionally, they tended to marry in cluster patterns (consanguineous) over the generations. For example, in four generations (along Rayford Fenner Watkins line) there are two first cousin marriages. And this doesn’t illustrate cluster marriage patterns for various other relatives. There is no possibly way there was any Choctaw connection, and Cherokee is almost as remote. If there is remote Algonquin or Iroquoian intermarriage during the early colonial era, that is extremely hard to trace, and it requires. But, this will at least get you back to the late 1700s and early 1800s. By the way, some of these lines go back to the 1600s and early Virginia settlements. You could also join various ancestry groups like sons/daughters of the Confederacy. And there are some groups for War of 1812 descendants, although they are not as active (or well-known).

See sources:

Death Certificate:

Name: Rayford Fenner Watkins Sr.
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 80
Birth Date: 24 Aug 1891
Birth Place: Wake, North Carolina, United States
Residence: Millbrook, Wake, North Carolina
Death Date: 30 Apr 1972
Death Place: Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina, USA
Spouse: Lila Thomas
Father: Simon Fenner Watkins
Mother: Martha Stell

Rayford’s Grave:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=50177063&ref=acom
Name: Rayford Fenner Watkins
Birth Date: 24 Aug 1891
Birth Place: Wake County, North Carolina, USA
Death Date: 30 Apr 1972
Death Place: Wake County, North Carolina, USA
Cemetery: Wake Crossroads Baptist Church Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place: Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, USA
Has Bio?: N
Spouse: Lila Thomas Watkins
Father: Siamon Fenner Watkins
Mother: Martha Mariah Watkins

Marriage Certificate:

Name Martha A Stell
Gender Female
Age 20
Birth Year abt 1864
Marriage Date 25 Dec 1884
Marriage Place Wake, North Carolina, USA
Spouse Gender Male
Spouse Age 22
Event Type Marriage
Household Members
Simon F Watkins
Martha A Stell

Death Certificate for Siamon Fenner Watkins:

Name Siman Fenner Watkins
Gender Male
Race White
Age 86
Birth Date 3 Oct 1862
Birth Place Wake
Residence Raliegh, Wake, North Carolina
Death Date 8 Oct 1948
Death Place Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina, USA
Household Members
Father: Fenner Watkins
Wife: Martha Stell

Fenner and Mary/Annie’s marriage certificate:

Name: Fenner Watkins
Gender: Male
Spouse: Annie M Alford
Spouse Gender: Female
Bond Date: 15 Dec 1856
Bond #: 000158981
Marriage Date: 18 Dec 1856
Level Info: North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868
ImageNum: 000117
County: Wake
Record #: 03 548
Bondsman: Alexander Adams
Witness: Thomas J Utley
Performed By: H A Hodge, Justice of the Peace

News article:

Publication: The Evening Visitor
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Date: Thursday, September 7, 1893
Page: Page 4
“The beyond tract adjoins the land above described, the of Jarvis Watkins and others, and Known as the Fenner Watkins lands, containing 17 1 2 acres.”

Name: Raiford Watkins
Spouse: Mariah Dean
Marriage Date: 27 Oct 1826
Marriage County: Wake
Marriage State: North Carolina
Source: County Court Records at Raleigh, NC & Family History

Marriage Certificate for Sarah Ann Watkins and Lemuel Stell:
Name Sarah Ann Watkins
Gender Female
Spouse Lemuel Stills
Spouse Gender Male
Bond date 21 Dec 1860
Bond # 000158254
Marriage Date 23 Dec 1860
Level Info North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868
ImageNum 008388
County Wake
Record # 03 500
Bondsman John Watkins
Witness Thomas J Utley
Performed By H A Hodge, Justice of the Peace
Household Members
Name Age
Lemuel Stills
Sarah Ann Watkins

Death Certificate for Sarah Ann (Watkins) Stell:
Name Sarah Ann Stell
Gender Female
Race White
Marital Status Widowed
Age 85y 7m 27d
Birth Date 25 Apr 1834
Birth Place Wake, N.C.
Death Date 22 Dec 1919
Death Place Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina
Burial Date 24 Dec 1919
Burial Place Wake, N.C.
Reference ID fn 506 cn 153
FHL Film Number 1892501
Household Members
Name Age
Father: Rayford Watkins

https://books.google.com/books?id=iG9XR5tAcHcC&pg=PA643&lpg=PA643&dq=%22fenner+watkins%22+1864&source=bl&ots=EvInGFIPI2&sig=OSjaOlW7xzc6GqqygniGLlk8XMU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqrMbXov_JAhXEYyYKHegMDtsQ6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&q=%22fenner%20watkins%22%201864&f=false

Muster Rolls (Civil War):
Private Fenner Watkins, 35 years old, enlisted Wake Co. 3/5/1863 (died 1/1864)

War of 1812 records:

Gilbert Alford PVT
CPT Abner Pasteur’s company, NC Militia, First Regiment
Artillery, 1st Company
Served at Fort Hampton

“Attempting to sell a free woman”
Source: Raleigh Register
Year: September 21, 1850

A man by the name of Raiford Watkins, of Johnston, was brought before Justice Thompson, in this City, on Monday, upon a charge of attempting to sell Phoebe Flowers, a Free woman of color. He was bound over, in the sum of $200, to make his appearance at the next term of Wake Superior Court, and, failing to give bond, was committed to jail, to await trial.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~prsjr/families/nc/maps/1850_nc.jpg

NOTE: This Raiford Watkins was born in 1827. He was the son of Turner Watkins, and the nephew (and namesake) of Rayford Watkins born in 1802.

Pearce lineage info:
http://02ec0a3.netsolhost.com/getperson.php?personID=I25024&tree=ncshawfamily

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- mcpeebles says
  
  December 29, 2015 at 12:26 am
  
  My goodness! I am so very thankful for your research, which puts a family legend to rest. While my family will always be advocates for Native Americans, we can accept that we are all connected from a much more distant past. My family will be thankful for your information.
  
  Log in to Reply

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